You’d think with a tween daughter at home, Welsh actor Michael Sheen would have been declared a hero after landing a role in the super- hot “Twilight Saga.” But when Michael stopped by “The Bonnie Hunt Show” today to talk about the series, he revealed that his 10-year-old’s reaction wasn’t quite what he had expected.

“It’s a sort of double edged sword though,” Michael explained about his role as “New Moon” dastardly vamp Aro. “I remember when I was her age, things I was really into, the last thing I wanted was my dad being into it as well. when I first told her, we were eating some food and I said, ‘Look, I’m going to be in the next film. I’m going to play Aro.’ And she was lifting the food to her mouth and she froze, and I thought, ‘What is she doing?’ and a tear started rolling down her cheek. And I thought, ‘That’s nice. That’s exactly the reaction I want.’ And then she punched me.” of course his daughter’s reaction turned from distraught to elation once she realized she’d be attending the film’s big premiere.

When Bonnie asked Michael how many times he’s been questioned about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson making out on set, the actor unsurprisingly played coy, changing the subject. “Everyone worked very hard,” he replied. “It was quite weird for me to be on a set where everyone is so young and beautiful. It made me feel every one of my 2,000 years.”

Like many of Hollywood’s talented actors, Michael has a long resume rife with odd jobs, including a stint as a paperboy and a fast food worker. “I was a terrible paperboy,” he said. “I didn’t like getting up in the morning. my mum would have to do the route.” He’s come a long way since, having even recently received an award from the Queen of England, whom he’s had much fictitious experience with playing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair several times. when he finally met the “real” Queen, he quickly learned about her brusque way of ending conversations. “The thing that the Queen does which you don’t realize until you meet her, because presumably when people meet the Queen they can get very flustered and sort of rabbit in the headlights, she puts her hand out and presumably people carry on talking or keep shaking her hand. so she does this thing where she takes your hand and shoves you away!” All hail the Queen, indeed!

Did you catch Michael Sheen’s appearance on “The Bonnie Hunt Show”? what was your favorite part?

FAN

I was disappointed by the Twilight fans on the movie’s premier night. Maybe it was my own fault for getting so hyped up by the media attention, but I thought that my “New Moon” midnight premiere experience was going to make me laugh with ludicrous costumes or fake blood.

But no. Not one crazed, fanged fan was seen. Instead, I found myself surrounded by a bunch of normally-dressed people waiting patiently to see a movie. Perhaps my experience will reign unique among others who witnessed the midnight unveiling of the film, but the crowd was, in fact, unremarkable to me – as was the film.

Notably, I am affected for the worse having read the novel itself, but I felt let down by the ultimate storytelling of this movie. I never feel as if I have a completely clear or fair sight of the movie, having already read the books. It’s undeniably difficult to sufficiently compress more than 500 pages of such a widely-loved book – no one will ever be totally satisfied.

This second film focuses greatly on Bella Swan attempting to readjust her life after her first love, Edward, abandons her. His abandonment leaves her with more than just a broken heart. Bella is literally a cold, lifeless shell of her former self – until Jacob Black, a childhood friend, re-enters her life and distracts her from her depression.

When it comes to handling the subject of Bella’s depression, cinematic renditions were made that perhaps removed some of the intensity of Meyer’s written word.

Much of the dialogue in the book progresses through Bella’s internal monologue; in the film, Bella wrote several unanswered e-mails to Alice. Translations such as this were a pleasant artistic move from director Chris Weitz. While I may not have been ultimately satisfied with the final translation of “New Moon” to film, it is by the same old saying – the book is better than the movie.

The fact is, by being unhappy with the film, I may find myself extradited to the Twilight minority. Not many Twi-hards care if the movie is a dead ringer to the book – they’d rather gaze at the beauty in person instead of pages. “New Moon” will flourish at the box office – greatly in part to the pained, beautiful face of Robert Pattinson. That is why, despite what emotional marks “New Moon” may have missed with fans, it will almost certainly hit the one with a dollar sign.

FOE

Before watching “New Moon,” several people told me the movie was “better than the first,” which didn’t really matter to me because the first “Twilight” film, like the books, was total garbage.

But I found the statement true – in some respects. The movie was less of a hastily-thrown-together series of shots of Kristin Stewart biting her lip and Robert Pattinson glaring from underneath his eyebrows and more of the crew trying to do a good job with the dismal source material they had to work with.

I will concede that the film had its moments. It accurately captured the awkwardness of high school social interaction, but I have a feeling this was an accident due more to the stiff dialogue found in the novel than anyone involved being in touch with their teenage selves. And Dakota Fanning made a pretty creepy vampire, but even that wasn’t as eerie as Bella and Edward’s creepy, codependent relationship.

“New Moon” opens with Bella having a weird dream. Useless slow motion shot of Edward approaching, blah, blah, fast-forward to Jacob Black, who spent his summer growing biceps.

A series of events happens that serves no other purpose than to advance the plot so the story can sustain itself. Nothing about this movie is organic or natural (I even have my suspicions about that forest).

But the movie helped me narrow down what in particular I hate about the “Twilight” “saga.” It’s not so much the pointless liberties taken with vampire/werewolf lore or that the final book in the series is the worst book I have ever read, and it’s not even the lack of faith the books have in the human race (Bella can’t wait to shed her teenage woes for the perpetual thirst for blood).

This installment presents the alternative to lifeless, creepy Edward: Jacob. It’s kind of a useless plot device, because by the end of the first book you know which one Bella’s going to end up with. I suppose Meyer wished to extend the life of the series, and what better way than by introducing a conflict that doesn’t even stand a chance?

Jacob is everything Edward isn’t: alive, within a dateable age range, capable of feeling actual emotions. He makes her laugh and they build things together. When Bella cuts her head on a rock, he cleans off the blood without having to restrain himself from brutally murdering her. And yeah, he’s a werewolf, but at least he’s not after her jugular. All along, he is doomed to fail.

What I hate is this: This book series was penned by a woman and features a female “protagonist.” But in this day and age, shouldn’t we discourage young women from defining themselves by men? Can’t we stand on our own? You’d think – with the plot hammering it into her head that she can’t depend on the men in her life – Bella would learn to stand on her own two feet. But she never does. This isn’t a love story – it’s a tragedy of codependency. It’s ridiculously old-fashioned (in the most negative sense of the phrase). When Edward leaves, Bella spends months staring blankly out the window. An extremely small number of high school relationships “work out,” but are any of them worth your soul?

But really, I hated it all. I hated the Kristin Stewart Loud Gasping/Breathing Track, the complete lack of motivation of the characters, Charlie as a self-deprecating father figure when really he could be the voice of reason – and I still hate the vampire sparkle.

Jessica, Bella’s pal that serves as her shallow, blond foil, asks the most poignant question of the film: “What the hell is wrong with you?” Bella doesn’t really have a substantial answer, but I pose the same question to all the misguided fans of Stephanie Meyer’s shallow, misguided venture into the supernatural: What the hell is wrong with you?

-Marie Uhler

The (mostly) good: Kelly Gustafson

On a campus this size, with more than 15,000 undergraduate women, it’s hard to escape talk of what team people are on. no, this is not Team Aniston or Team Jolie, and if you don’t know what I am referring to, you are oblivious to the cultural phenomenon that is “Twilight”.

So much so that Volvo launched an ad campaign recently launching the Web site whatdrivesedward.com. throughout the book series and both movies, Edward Cullen, the epitome of every teenage girl’s perfect boyfriend, drives a shiny silver Volvo, creating free advertising for the Swedish carmaker and adding opportunities to play off of this marketing device.

So when “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” opened on Nov. 20, being a twenty-something girl who read the books obsessively, I was at the midnight showing, along with hundreds of other college girls, and surprisingly, many moms. apart from the only males in the audience who were obviously dragged to the theatres by their vampire-crazed girlfriends, every theatre was packed with girls who had chosen distinctive “sides”.

Team Edward or Team Jacob.

The second installment of the saga was infinitely better than the first. A new director, Chris Weitz, an increased budget, better special effects, and improved cinematography all made the film’s sometimes cheesy script flow smoother. also, the sequel has the advantage of having the first movie to lay the necessary groundwork and build character development, allowing for the “New Moon” chapter to start right away, without repeating what fans already know.

The enhanced results of the second film can also be attributed to the fact that the stakes were raised for the actors in the film. an increased budget meant that Summit Studio expected a lot more out of the previously-unknown actors. Taylor Lautner, who plays the character of Jacob Black, had to gain 30 pounds and then audition for a role he had played in the first movie.

Jacob’s character also contributed to a better movie experience. And not because he’s 200 pounds of tan, muscular 17 year-old. no, really. his character just seems much warmer (108 degrees warmer), and more attainable than Edward’s character. Yes, Edward appears god-like at times, but that just makes him that much less realistic. The development of Jacob’s character in the movie brought out the best of both Lautner and Kristen Stewart, who plays the character of Bella Swan.

Stewart’s acting is so hot and cold that it’s hard to peg her down, but the “New Moon” film made it clear that her strengths lie in her ability to overact. The chemistry she has with both Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, and Lautner is also vital, and scenes with either of them are usually flawless.

The one fatal flaw I found in the second movie was similar to the flaw that majorly disappointed me with the first: Pattinson’s inability to successfully master a believable American accent. Seriously, you’re famous now. Spend the extra money and hire Tim Monich to be your dialect coach. Minor, yes, but it takes away from what Edward is supposed to be. Capturing the true essence of the books is a daunting task, but it’s do-able.

I would definitely see the film again. no matter its flaws, it’s undeniable the impact that “Twilight” has had on our pop culture. It has defined an era, with vampire spoofs spinning off “faster than pink eye spreading in a preschool”.

The (mostly) bad: Matt Emmons

Last Friday night found me at home with nothing to do. My friends were all gone for Thanksgiving and I had absolutely no way of entertaining myself. this is the only situation capable of spawning my dive in to the murky waters of the Twilight phenomenon. I went by myself to see New Moon. And not even to pick up girls (which I hear is pretty easy to do at these things).

Let me begin by saying that I’ve never read any of the books in the series. I did not see the first movie. all I really know about Twilight is that Robert Pattinson’s six pack is fake and Taylor Lautner was Sharkboy, so you’re not going to hear any “well the movie was pretty good, but it’s nothing like the books” from me.

There’s not much to say but that New Moon was hard to watch. whether it’s the repeated appearance of a cameraman in the mirror during a time lapse sequence or the entire theater laughing when Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) tells a vampire that “things are going to get ugly,” the entire production comes off as almost comical. When the protagonist, Bella Swan *groans at name*, hits her head riding a dirt bike in an effort to make a mental projection of Edward Cullen appear, Jacob rips his shirt off to mop up her blood. he remains shirtless for the rest of the movie. Sometimes he even has a reason to be shirtless. also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an offensive amount of chest heaving in a movie. It’s like no one ever catches their breath.

I spent most of the movie trying to figure out when vampires lost their signature fangs, became vegetarians and began showing up in photographs. I spent the remainder of the movie trying to decide at what point werewolves attained the ability to transform at will. I guess that whole “full moon” business is right out the window.

Also, the thought occurs: a beautiful girl whose name begins with “Bell” falls in love with a monster that turns out to be gentle. We’re one talking French candlestick named Lumiere away from being Beauty and the Beast, aren’t we?

I’m going to end with the positive point. THE positive point. The soundtrack was good. New Moon features tracks from the likes of Muse, OK go, Thom Yorke, and Death Cab for Cutie. I only question how so many well respected artists were coerced in to appearing in such a mockery of a film. Maybe Muse’s Matt Bellamy thought the film was a sort of vampire awareness public service announcement. That seems like the sort of thing he’d do.

If you’re a fan of the Twilight series of novels, then you’re obviously going to want to see New Moon because you’ve already been hoodwinked. if you’ve not read the books, or think the entire thing is a joke, then stay far FAR away.

LOS ANGELES — Vampires and werewolves continued to howl at the box office with a $42.5 million weekend for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

Summit Entertainment’s “Twilight” sequel remained no. 1 over what proved a record Thanksgiving weekend for Hollywood. But “New Moon” was nearly blind-sided for the top spot by a real-life football drama.

“The Blind Side” had a great second weekend with $40.1 million, coming in at no. 2 just behind “New Moon.” Released by Warner Bros., the inspirational story of Baltimore Ravens tackle Michael Oher stars Sandra Bullock as a woman whose wealthy family takes in the homeless teen and enrolls him in private school.

The two movies propelled Hollywood to record revenues over the five-day Thanksgiving period. Wednesday-to-Sunday receipts came in at an estimated $278 million, according to Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

That surpassed the previous Thanksgiving record of $244.4 million set in 2000, when “Dr. Seuss’ how the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Unbreakable” topped the box office.

New wide releases had so-so results. Disney’s family comedy “Old Dogs,” starring Robin Williams and John Travolta as single guys forced to mind 7-year-old twins one of them never knew he had fathered, came in at no. 4 with $16.8 million for the three-day weekend.

The Warner Bros. action tale “Ninja Assassin” opened at no. 6 with $13.1 million. The movie features Korean pop star Rain and Naomie Harris in a thriller about a hit man on the run from his assassination clan.

“Fantastic mr. Fox,” the 20th Century Fox animated comedy with a voice cast led by George Clooney, expanded to nationwide release and pulled in $7 million to finish at no. 9.

While the weekend haul for “New Moon” dropped steeply from the movie’s $142.8 million opening, “The Blind Side” actually went up from its $34.1 million first weekend.

“New Moon” raised its domestic total to $230.7 million after just 10 days. That’s nearly $40 million more than the first movie, last year’s “Twilight,” took in during its entire 20-week run.

The “Twilight” movies star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in an adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s books about teen heartache among a school girl, a vampire and a werewolf.

“The Blind Side” lifted its 10-day total to $100.3 million and has generated Academy Awards buzz for Bullock.

It took just seven days for one of the year’s biggest films to reach a box office milestone. according to Variety, the Twilight Saga: New Moon took in $17.9 million at the box office on Friday, bringing its domestic total to $206.1 million.

the film has already surpassed Twilight’s $192.8 million domestic total after just seven days in theaters. the film is currently playing in 4,042 theaters nationwide.

Sandra Bullock’s true-story football film the Blind side slipped to second place after a surprising Thursday win at the box office with $16.2 million for a cumulative gross of $76.3 million. Disney’s new hand-drawn animated film the Princess and the Frog is making some big waves at the box office, taking in $277,000 from just two theaters, for a three-day gross of $707,630. the film will receive a wide release on December 11.

be sure to check back tomorrow for our Box Office Beat down with all the highlights of this holiday weekend at the box office.

New Moon actress Ashley Greene was the guest of a November 24 Maxim magazine party — thrown by the magazine itself in light of the recent release of her movie.

Ashley Greene, latest Maxim cover girl, arrived at New York City’s club Avenue for a party hosted by the magazine. Greene discussed her cover garb – dressed for summer, with a low-cut shirt and high-riding shorts.

“The cover…I absolutely adore it, and I don’t think it could have come out any better for me,” she told E! Online. “I’m very much a Jacksonville beach girl. I love jean shorts, T-shirts, the beach.”

Greene is making a lot of appearances these days – not just on magazine covers but in most media, promoting New Moon and discussing its upcoming sequel Eclipse. She’s 22, and far as plastic surgery is concerned, only one rumor has followed the actress: rhinoplasty.

“From the photographs I can see, it appears that Ms. Greene has had a rhinoplasty and the tip has been over operated and is asymmetrical,” plastic surgeon Sherrell J. Aston told MakeMeHeal.com in September 2009. “She should be able to get an excellent improvement with a secondary rhinoplasty performed by with someone who has a great deal of experience with nasal surgery.”

This may be true, but Greene may not want another operation or need it. her public approval is based heavily on her current look, which seems to serve her fine.

“New Moon,” the second film in the “Twilight” saga, opened this weekend in most theaters around the world and even managed to top expectations, becoming the third biggest opener ever in the history of film. The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine brings Taylor Lautner on the cover, together with an interview that offers a look behind the scenes, into what playing a wolf is all about. as fans already know by now, Lautner plays Jacob Black in the “Twilight” franchise, one of Bella Swan’s (Kristen Stewart) best friends ever since childhood. The second film sees him learning about his dual nature, as well as about his mission on earth. In other words, Jake is a wolf that, with the help of the Wolf Pack, must keep vampires from harming the good people of the town. as such, he immediately becomes Edward Cullen’s (Robert Pattinson) enemy.

But Jacob is also in love with Bella and there are key points in the film where she too seems to reciprocate. “Because she’s different, meaning she’s more of the plain Jane type,” Taylor says of Bella’s appeal. “You know, she’s not fake. I know that attracts me too. just somebody who is down to earth and themselves. I mean, apparently Edward likes her smell. But Jacob’s relationship with her is – Jacob has just always liked her. they used to be friends because their fathers are best friends. And he’s just always had a crush on her since he was a kid. Now they are getting to that stage where things can start,” the actor further says.

As for some fans being of the opinion that Jacob is actually interfering in between Bella and her one true love Edward, the actor explains that there are two sides to ever coin. Granted, the two characters (the men, that is) are completely different and it’s precisely because of this that Bella gets to love them both to different extents. On one hand, Edward is all serious and dramatic, while on the other, she can have fun with Jacob. there is no doubt that Bella would always – and should – choose Edward, but that’s not to say that she doesn’t love Jake too, Taylor adds.

However, even for a guy like Jake, this could get too tiresome at one point, Lautner agrees. “If I was Jacob, and I feel like I have lived as him, it gets so annoying. Because she’s in the car with you one moment, about ready to kiss you and then she leaves and is with Edward. And then she’s back with you, you know,” the actor explains in the same interview for the mag.

Please refer here for the full interview with Rolling Stone, as well as for more photos of recently beefed up Taylor Lautner.

My spouse recently revealed that he’s actually a werewolf,and wants me to convert. It’s not like he’s asking me to convertreligions, but I don’t want to be shedding all over my clothes. Ilike the idea of improved eyesight, but does this mean that I’d haveto be fixed? What’s your advice?

STEP ONE I’m not sure where I stand on werewolves, or, for that matter,vampires. Are they real? or have they tricked me into believingthey’re not real? None of us will ever know with 100% certainty, so,erring on the side of caution, I will treat your question withdignity and seriousness. I want you to view this section of thepaper as a “safe place,” where you can come and confide in me all ofyour (hopefully erotic) secrets and not worry about me judging you.That being said, if this is just some sort of “fan-fic” email from a” new Moon-ie” then you are a loser because the Dark Knight is thebest movie ever and your stupid movie only made US$140-million lastweekend whereas the Dark Knight made US$158-million in its first weekend and is awesomeand you blow.

STEP TWO In your pros and cons list you have “improved eyesight” as a pro,but you’re just chomping at the tip of the hairy iceberg there.You’ll also have improved smell, hearing and taste! Of course whatyou’ll be tasting are unsuspecting villagers and your brain willhave shrunk considerably, but still! would converting to Anglicanismgive you better eyesight? No. would converting to Judaism give you abetter sense of smell? I would like to say no but I’m terrified ofcoming across as anti-Semitic, so … maybe? unless … unlessmaking my Jewish friends seem more supernaturally powerful thanGentiles is anti-Semitic … I … I just don’t know …

STEP THREE If becoming a werewolf doesn’t float your boat, then go behind yourspouse’s back and become a vampire. I can’t imagine it’s that hard.the older I get the more and more kids look like vampires to me,with their hair all flat and in their eyes and their skinny jeansand deathly skin and rock music. I get pretty scared at nights, letme tell you.
Anyhoo, if you’re a vampire you can’t become a werewolfas well. It’s scientifically impossible. And if you had to choosebetween werewolf or vampire, vampire is clearly better. yes, allvampires have a stage where they whine and moan about not being ableto see a sunrise and having to live with a bloodlust or whatever,but that’s usually just to get out of turning some nag they’resleeping with into an eternal nag that will never, ever go away. Imean, seriously, a Bluray HD sunset is almost better than the realthing! And ohhh, it’s sooo hard to live forever as a powerful, coolversion of your youthful self. Waah waah.

STEP FOUR your spouse may thinks it’s a nice idea to make you into a werewolfas well, but the logistics of a dual-werewolf household aredifficult to say the least. when a full moon hits, who locks you inthe basement? your neighbour? And, if you manage to have both of youtrapped there, what if you kill each other in a werewolf-rage? Andwhat if you end up making a baby while trapped in werewolf form?does that mean you’ll have a werewolf baby? can werewolves even workthrough the concept of protected sex while trapped in a dingybasement? see, there are too many questions and not enough werewolfanswers. your husband should just be thankful that a human loves himenough to inject him with horse tranquilizers once a month and chainhim to a cot by the furnace. also, DARK KNIGHT RULES.

Email your questions and concerns to Darkknight2008. If he says “Why soserious?” one more time …

Comments (0) Send to a friend Permalink Related Posts November 23, 2009, 10:54 AM Extremely Bad Advice: My, Don’t you look Letching by Steven Murray November 16, 2009, 6:08 PM Extremely Bad Advice: Bewitching Buddies by Steven Murray October 29, 2009, 8:49 AM Extremely Bad Advice: Imaginary Ends by Steven Murray October 23, 2009, 11:14 AM Extremely Bad Advice: Coming to Hams-terms by Steven Murray October 16, 2009, 2:38 PM Extremely Bad Advice: Recon-text-ualizing A Relationship by Steven Murray

If you went to see New Moon and happened to be at the same showing as Katie Holmes, chances are you missed a bunch of it. Holmes went with friends and talked through the entire flick. Twihards were seething with anger but apparently didn’t say anything because of Holmes’ celebrity status.

Sources tell Fox411:”Katie came into the movie theater with two of her girlfriends in a great mood. They bought tickets in advance to see ‘New Moon’ like all the rest of the Twihards. They checked out the snacks and then they took their seats and kept talking.”

The source went on to say, “Katie talked through all of ‘New Moon.’ It was unbelievable – they talked nonstop about the movie and everything else. some people wanted to tell them to be quiet, but when they realized who it was, they stayed silent. no one wanted to shush Katie.”

Is this Katie’s suicide attempt? Her one way to escape the clutches of Tom Cruise? no one in their right mind would wreck New Moon for a Twihard, right? get all your celebrity betting odds in the Bodog Sportsbook today. Don’t have an account yet? Join Bodog today.

Police in Michigan are looking for a man who reportedly bit a teenage girl at a screening of New Moon, the latest instalment in the popular Twilight movie series.

According to the girl the man had been making lewd comments at her throughout the film before approaching her as she was trying to leave the crowded theatre and biting her. from the story:

“Every so often if I said something or my friend said something he would lean back and make a sexual comment that was very unnecessary and not needed,” says Erin.

Once the movie was over she tried to leave the theater but the line to leave was slow.

Erin then says he grabbed her by the back of the hair and pulled her down and bit her on the neck. the bite did not break the girl’s skin.

The man was caught by surveillance cameras and police are saying they could face assault charges if he is found.

This odd attack isn’t the only Twilight-related oddness. Robert Pattinson, the actor heart-throb who stars as Edward Cullen in the popular series has admitted to being a bit unnerved by some of the adulation he’s received.

“People ask me to bite them and want to touch my hair,” Pattinson told the News Of the World.

“I just don’t want someone to have a needle and give me HIV and I don’t want to get shot or stabbed.”

Pattinson recalled one time where a group of girls approached him bleeding from scratches they had just opened up on their necks.

“They were like, ‘We did this for you’ … I didn’t know what to say — ‘Thank you, guys?’”

Finally, an online bulletin board has also been gathering stories of Twilight-related violence which includes seemingly ordinary incidents of slightly-defensive fans in disagreements to possibly very serious cases of assault.

Photo: Robert Pattinson signs autographs. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)

Comments (0) Send to a friend Permalink