Glimpses of 'New Moon'

By Sarah Sluis

The most anticipated fantasy movie of the fall is undoubtedly New Moon. The official trailer recently appeared online, and there's also a featurette with additional clips circulating on the Internet. The footage of the second film, which releases November 20th, looks promising. Both the Twilight and New Moon trailers center on a moment where heartthrob vampire Edward saves his beloved Bella from danger, but in New Moon there's an additional "save" scene that reveals a big plot point of the second movie: Jake's a werewolf!! The trailer also shows off New Moon's bigger budget: there's sweeping helicopter shots, a CGI transformation that's quite impressive, and a glimpse of Dakota Fanning, whose star status certainly added to production costs. I'm willing to put some faith in director Chris Weitz, who basically ruined another fantasy franchise, The Golden Compass. The big-budget movie was stiff, failed to convey the uniqueness of the book's fantasy world, and nixed any chance for the sequels. Weitz is only directing, not writing, which might improve the odds of the film's success. Plus, he's working with a fantasy world that's already been architected in the first film, which leaves less to chance. I loved About a Boy, and I hope he can extract some of that charm from the actors in New Moon. While this is a movie for the fans, not the critics, New Moon also looks like a fun time for those that are interested in the franchise but find the books to be subliterate. To entice fans and get them excited about the release, Summit is putting on a roadshow convention, which will feature star appearances, exclusive footage, and a gamut of parties, trivia contests, panel discussions and more. Considering Twilight fans have created Beatlemania-type situations in their quest to catch a glimpse of star Robert Pattinson, which initially seemed to surprise Summit, this move is a complete 180 degrees into the right direction.

In the meantime, there's plenty of other fantasy literary adaptations in the works, though none with the romance that female viewers seem to crave. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which is helmed by Weitz's brother, Paul Weitz, hits theatres a month before New Moon, on October 23. The movie focuses on a restless young boy who sees an elaborate circus presentation. He befriends the leader (John C. Reilly) and becomes a vampire himself to star in the show--but in the process, breaks a truce between two warring factions of vampires. Also, Salma Hayek appears as a bearded lady. For Twilight fans that are old enough to see R-rated movies (and there's plenty of them) Jennifer's Body releases on September 18th. Seeing Megan Fox, a possessed soul, prey on her male classmates sounds like an empowering break from Bella's brushes with death that always seem to require rescue from her male companions. All of these movies appeal to wider audiences (namely, males) than Twilight, but they just might help scratch that Bella-Edward itch for fans.