A first peek at the new ‘Eclipse’ trailer and surprise guests are expected on Friday’s ‘Oprah Winfrey Show.’

By Larry Carroll

With “The Oprah Winfrey Show” set to air its “Twilight”-themed episode on Friday (April 23), we can already imagine the talk-show host introducing the cast in her trademark vowel-hugging inflection: “Taay-LOR LAUT-ner! Kris-TEN STEW-art!” Or maybe, “Ro-BERT PATT-inson!” But Twi-Hards will have to wait until the show airs to find out for sure.

Details about Winfrey’s “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” show are being as closely guarded as the KFC recipe. What we do know, though, is that fans will get their first look at the David Slade-directed third film in the franchise. The unveiling was first teased on the official “Twilight” Twitter account: “Visit our social networks after to chat live with surprise guests from the cast.” The tweet continued, “After the trailer launch, stay for a live video chat at 8:15 p.m. ET/ 5:15 p.m. PT with Bryce Dallas Howard, Nikki Reed and Julia Jones!”

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Adam Lambert, Muse, Paramore and more discuss whether or not they will have their tunes included in the next installment of Stephenie Meyer’s franchise.

By Jocelyn Vena

When it comes to the “Twilight Saga,” the soudtracks are almost as anticipated as the films themselves. And with the “Eclipse” soundtrack set for release on June 8, many fans are wondering which artists made the cut.

Adam Lambert had hoped that his song “Suburban Decay” could find a home on the soundtrack. He told MTV News that it could be the perfect tune to further elaborate the love story between Bella and Jacob. “It’s a great song and I hope to perform it someday, and I think it will find a home on a soundtrack or something … maybe ‘Twilight,’ ” he said. “It just didn’t quite fit [in my album]. It’s very theatrical. … It’s very campy, and it was just a bit too campy for the album as a big picture.”

Like Lambert, Brooklyn, New York, band Care Bears on Fire would love to get their song on the soundtrack. “Oh my God! It would sound awesome,” bandmate Izzy said. “[It would sound] vampire-y, duh — or werewolf-y, depending. I’d kind of like to be vampire. I feel like that’s more our sound.”

And while these artists are hoping they’ll have their shot, Muse have already hinted that after appearances on the first twol films’ soundtracks, they may take up space on the third installment as well. “It’s great to have the feeling of being a new band again in so many people’s eyes or minds … we might even do something for the third one,” drummer Dominic Howard said.

“['Eclipse' director David Slade is] kind of a friend of ours ’cause he directed about three or four of our videos for the second album, and he’s a really great video director,” Howard further explained. “I know he did that really great kind of sick horror [film '30 Days of Night'] which was a bit of a vampire/zombie vibe, wasn’t it? So I think he’s a great director, and he’s quite a funny character as well. So, yeah, we might do something for him as well.”

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Muse rumored to be included on soundtrack for third film in ‘Twilight’ series.

By James Montgomery

Attention “Twilight” lovers: If you’ve memorized every note of the “New Moon” soundtrack, you’re in luck: On June 8, you’ll be able to get your hands on the next soundtrack in the series, “Eclipse.”

The release date was first posted Monday (April 19) morning on Amazon.com, and subsequently confirmed to MTV News by a spokesperson for Atlantic Records, which will be releasing the soundtrack in conjunction with music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas’ Chop Shop Records.

No official announcement has been made about just who will be appearing on the soundtrack to “Eclipse” (the film itself hits theaters on June 30), but some reports on “Twilight” fansites have already penciled author Stephenie Meyer-faves Muse onto the album, which makes sense because they’ve already appeared on the first two editions of the “Twlight” soundtracks.

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KStew says Bella’s growth made third ‘Twilight’ film easier than ‘New Moon.’

By Eric Ditzian

Kristen Stewart had an 11-month break between finishing the shoot for “Twilight” in April 2008 and beginning “New Moon” last year. Production on “Eclipse” (opening June 30), though, kicked off just seven weeks after the conclusion of “New Moon.” And when KStew returned to slip back into the character of Bella Swan, she found the vampire-loving teen had a new sense of purpose.

It was that resolve, Stewart reveals in Entertainment Weekly’s summer movie preview issue, that made the character much easier to play. “I wasn’t as tortured as I was on ‘New Moon.’ Bella really knows what she wants in ‘Eclipse.’ She’s not just a dumb kid talking because she’s in love.”

That’s not to suggest that playing a more-focused Bella was a breeze. Though the teen matures over the course of the story, graduating from high school and getting engaged to Robert Pattinson’s Edward, at one point she is pulled back into the romantic embrace of Taylor Lautner’s werewolf Jacob. That scene was difficult, both because Stewart sees Lautner as something of a younger brother and because she understands that Bella truly loves Edward.

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Summit Entertainment rep says ‘very little’ had to be re-shot for the third film in the ‘Twilight’ franchise.

By Larry Carroll

Early Wednesday, reports of “Eclipse” re-shoots had Twilighters running around like Chicken Little, concerned that the sky may be falling on their beloved Edward and Bella. Later in the day, the studio responded to the rumors.

“The re-shoot was planned for months, like it is with the majority of films,” a studio representative told the Web site Gossip Cop on Wednesday afternoon, downplaying the severity of the additional scenes while conceding that they were indeed scheduled to occur — often a bad sign with a feature film only two months from release. A rep for the studio confirmed the Gossip Cop statement to MTV News.

Adding that “very little” actually needs to be re-shot, the studio rep then went on to tell the site that the scenes will not involve key moments between Edward and Bella, nor the much-anticipated epic battles. “None of the meadow or action scenes are being re-shot,” explained the source while simultaneously shooting down rumors that director David Slade was encountering artistic differences with the studio.

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I think we’d be very happy with all of them,’ she says of the roster.

By Larry Carroll

SAUGUS, California — Less than a month after Kristen Stewart confirmed to us the three leading candidates to direct “Breaking Dawn,” word has leaked that “Dreamgirls” filmmaker Bill Condon may have emerged as Summit Entertainment’s top choice for the final “Twilight” tale.

As Twilighters continue to hold their breath in anticipation of a big announcement likely to come soon, we spoke with another Stephenie Meyer fan who has a more personal stake in the decision: The lovely and talented Ashley Greene. Hard at work these days filming her first starring role in the supernatural thriller “The Apparition,” the woman sometimes known as Alice Cullen took a break from shooting to give us her breakdown of the big three “Breaking Dawn” candidates.

“They didn’t get to where they are by making mediocre, boring films,” Ashley said of her excitement over the names. “I think they would all bring incredible elements to the films, and that’s what I think we’ve been doing the whole time. You’ve seen such a difference between Catherine [Hardwicke], and then we went to Chris Weitz and then David Slade, and it’s progressively getting a little darker.

“They are all incredible directors,” she added. “I think we’d be very happy with all of them.”

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No deal is in place, but there have been negotiations between the ‘Dreamgirls’ director and the studio.

By Eric Ditzian

Last month, word dropped that three Oscar-nominated directors were on Summit Entertainment’s short list to helm “Breaking Dawn,” the yet-unannounced final installment of the “Twilight” franchise: Gus Van Sant (”Milk”), Sofia Coppola (”Lost in Translation”) and Bill Condon (”Dreamgirls”).

Now, it appears Condon has established himself as Summit’s top choice for the gig, according to a Deadline.com report. No deal is yet in place, but several meetings have led to negotiations between the director and the studio.

What’s more, citing unnamed sources, Deadline reports that “Breaking Dawn” will be split into two films (as has long been rumored) and will begin shooting in the fall. The director search kicked off after “New Moon” director Chris Weitz declined the chance to return to the franchise.

MTV News’ request for comment has not yet been returned by Summit.

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‘Twilight’ scribe Melissa Rosenberg talks about potential directors for the franchise’s conclusion.

By Eric Ditzian

The “Breaking Dawn” questions are familiar by now: Who will direct? Will the final book in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series be split into one film or two? Could the whole thing receive the ever-popular 3-D treatment? Then there’s one query that has gotten less play but which is still highly relevant to the proceedings: Just how do you make a PG-13 movie out of a book that features oodles of vampire-on-teenager sex and the gruesome birth of a vampire/human baby?

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has stepped up to reassure Twilighters that not only will “Breaking Dawn” be rated PG-13 (as the two earlier films were) rather than R, but that nothing in the story will be sacrificed in the process.

“That’s your audience,” she told Film.com. “In this series, you don’t sacrifice anything. There are some movies that wouldn’t play at PG-13, like ‘The Hangover,’ but this is just not one of them for me. Again, if you’re capturing character, emotion and emotional journey, you’re OK.”

Rosenberg also addressed another pressing “Breaking Dawn” question: Who’s going to step into the director’s chair? Among the names floating around the Web are Sofia Coppola (”Lost in Translation”), Gus Van Sant (”Milk”) and Bill Condon (”Dreamgirls”). As the writer behind every ‘Twilight” script, does Rosenberg have any say in the process?

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Character provides insight into Victoria’s creation of vampire army in Seattle.

By Terri Schwartz

Oh my Edward. Stephenie Meyer has announced she is publishing a new book called “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner,” due in bookstores June 5 and available for free at BreeTanner.com from June 7 to July 5. The novella will act as something of a companion piece for the “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” film. But it begs the question: Who exactly is Bree Tanner?

It seems a bit surprising that Meyer would choose to write a novella about a character who shows up for such a short period of time in the novels. Don’t worry about hauling out your copy of “Eclipse” to find the surprisingly few pages Tanner appears on, because we did all the dirty work for you. Here is a cheat sheet telling you everything you need to know about the short-lived Bree Tanner.

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‘There’s so many different kinds of intertwining stories,’ the ‘Twilight’ star says of the saga’s final book.

By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

One movie or two? That seems to be the big “Twilight” question these days for fans, who await a resolution to the unsettled matter whether “Breaking Dawn,” the final volume in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire book series, will be split into two parts for the big screen.

The franchise’s stars have weighed in on the debate too. Kristen Stewart told MTV News she’s keen for a two-picture finale. Nikki Reed said she’d also love the chance to take part in two films. Peter Facinelli thinks the idea would be “fantastic.” And now Ashley Greene has offered her opinion.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it split up because the book is huge, and there’s so much that’s involved, and there’s so many different kinds of intertwining stories,” she told MTV News at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

“The problem with changing books into film is that you don’t have time to tell this intricate story that you do in 700 pages of a book,” she added. “I don’t think it could hurt.”

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