Stephenie Meyer confirms Taylor Lautner will be in ‘Twilight’ sequel

In a post on her website, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer confirms that Taylor Lautner will reprise his role as Jacob in the hit vampire romance’s sequel, New Moon. As EW first reported last night, this news ends months of curiosity about whether Lautner would return.

READ THE NEWS BELOW:

January 7, 2009

Good news about New Moon from director Chris Weitz:

I’m very happy to announce that Taylor Lautner will be playing Jacob Black in New Moon and that he’s doing so with the enthusiastic support of Summit Entertainment, the producers, and Stephenie Meyer.

The characters in Stephenie’s books go through extraordinary changes of circumstance and also appearance; so it is not surprising that there has been speculation about whether the same actor would portray a character who changes in so many surprising ways throughout the series. But it was my first instinct that Taylor was, is, and should be Jacob, and that the books would be best served by the actor who is emotionally right for the part. I think that fans of Twilight the book and the movie will be surprised by the Jacob Black that Taylor will bring to the screen in New Moon; and I’m looking forward to working with him and the rest of the cast in realizing the film.

very best

Chris Weitz

I’d just like to add that I was very much a part of this decision. My first priority was always what was best for New Moon—what was going to give us the best possible movie. I’m truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to Summit, and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing what he’s going to bring to Jacob’s character this year.

- Steph

Source by Joshua Rich

It’s a Twilight Thing? So, explain it to me!

With the holidays over, I can safely say, I was bitten by the Twilight bug.  Thanks to my teen daughter, and her need to see the movie again and again, I finally had the time to see what all the fuss was about.  I read all the books in three days.  Yep, I was hooked, but increasingly I wonder why.

While the stories pulled me in and I had seen the film before ever reading a page of the series, why did I feel cheated the way the story was told on film after reading the book?  Is it because I am a much older reader, pulled in by the history of the Quileute Tribe and Cullen family more than the teen forbidden love?  Is it because I am a child of more darker vampire stories like Anne Rice’s work? I was disappointed that more was not shown of Carlisle’s hisory during Bella’s first visit to the Cullen home as it was in the book.  The flight through the trees was impressive, but hardly necessary.

I will admit, I found the cinematic Edward Cullen creepy.  No offense to Rob Pattinson, who intrigues me as a future One2Watch4, but he wasn’t the Edward I envisioned while reading the books. Of course, after multiple viewings of the film (which I make my daughter pay for out of her own money ), I can see the nuances of his performance where he seemed much older than the character’s 17 years.  That was the point after all and I hope to see more of that in the sequels.

I had no issue with the other kids.  Bella even reminded me of my own daughter in the way she dressed and acted.  The suffer-in-silence type.  Jasper kind of grew on me, but more because I wanted to check under his bed for monsters before he went to sleep.  Hopefully his story will be told well in Eclipse and more of what he is about comes out for film audiences.  It would be a shame to not do that story justice.

The love story certainly pushed a few buttons.  Who is not enamoured with a love so strong and binding?  Not that I haven’t found a similar love, but as time passes, you seek things that remind you of that feeling, that passion, that tends to diminish after years of living a life of routine and the mundane, even if it is with your true love.

For all it’s faults, I can’t shake my attraction to the story, although I question some of why the characters did, or accepted, the things they did.  Probably too much thinking on my part, but I can’t help it!  Sue me.

I hope beyond hope that Summit’s rush to film and release New Moon, which is so obviously financially driven, doesn’t become the Twilight fanchise’s X-Men: The Last Stand.  My plea is, if it isn’t working by September, for God’s sake, push the release date back!  There is no crime in waiting.  I think fans are willing to wait for something great, instead of something you can put on a T-shirt.

So, tell me, what is it about the books and film that pulls you in?

Twilight

Release Date:  November 21, 2008

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has always been a bit different, never caring about or fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke) remarries and decides to move with her new husband to Florida, and Bella decides to go live with her father, Charlie (Billy Burke), in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn’t expect anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a boy unlike any she’s ever met. Intelligent and witty, his piercing eyes see straight into her soul. Soon, Bella and Edward are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance. Edward can run faster than any cheetah, he can stop a moving car with his bare hands, and he hasn’t aged since 1918. Most importantly, he’s a vampire. Like all vampires, he’s immortal. He doesn’t drink human blood (they’re vampire “vegetarians”), which is rare among the vampire population. Instead, they go on regular “hiking” trips, where they feed on prey such as grizzly bears and mountain lions. For Edward, Bella is the thing he has waited ninety years for – a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. And what will they do when James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi), and Victoria (Rachel Lefevre) come into town and James sets his sights on Bella? Will true love prevail when Edward is forced to save her life and conquer his thirst? The true question is, When you can live forever, what do you live for? Read more