Taylor Lautner is ‘incredible — and I’m not saying that because he takes his shirt off in every scene,’ she laughs.

By Larry Carroll

“Twilight” mastermind Stephenie Meyer describes Rosalie Hale as the most beautiful woman in the world — a tall, statuesque vampire with long, wavy, blond hair and eyes resembling violets. Onscreen, 21-year-old beauty Nikki Reed has lived up to that impossible description, endearing herself to fans even as she further antagonizes their beloved Bella Swan.

Rounding out a week of Cullen family interviews that has included Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser and Kellan Lutz, we caught up with the refreshingly frank actress to talk about the joys of a half-naked Taylor Lautner, rainbow analysis and why she’ll never, ever own a Rob Pattinson doll.

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‘I don’t relate to this type of character,’ she says of the ‘Twilight Saga’ matriarch.

By Larry Carroll

She may be the sweet, smiling matriarch of the most beloved vampire family in the world, but that doesn’t mean Elizabeth Reaser can’t still be a badass.

With just a few weeks remaining before “New Moon” hits theaters, we caught up with the 34-year-old actress sometimes known as Mrs. Esme Cullen during her final days on the “Eclipse” set. During an exclusive chat with MTV News, Reaser was eager to talk about ripping apart mountain lions, asking for Robert Pattinson’s autograph, and why she thinks one of her co-stars should have played Esme instead.

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‘She had some fun playing, really, the most evil of all the bad guys,’ Weitz says of the actress.

By Terri Schwartz

Next month’s “New Moon” release features a number of changes from its sequel’s debut this time last year. There’s new director Chris Weitz; a new cast of characters, including bad vampires and a wolf pack; and Taylor’s Lautner’s 30 pounds of muscle.

But one of the most exciting changes from last year’s “Twilight” is purely visual in nature: shooting the third act of the film on location in Italy.

“Wow, am I glad we were able to shoot there,” Weitz said with a laugh in a recent phone interview with MTV News. “We went to about 12 different hilltop towns in Tuscany, which was both delightful and exhausting, because it had to be done relatively quickly. Montepulciano had the most symmetrical main square that I could find, so that was the winner for that reason.”

Fans can expect about 20 minutes of the film to be spent in Italy or in interior shots set in Italy. While trailers released for “New Moon” show hints of flashbacks featuring the Volturi, Weitz said most of the time is dedicated to the present day.

The use of color in the film is a big change from “Twilight,” especially with the striking use of red shown in the trailers during a festival in Italy.

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Fourteen-second lip-lock conveys the pair’s mutual desire and sense of danger.

By Larry Carroll

In the “Twilight” Nation, every leaked shot is cause for celebration, every new piece of footage is reason to skip school, and every new glimpse of Robert Pattinson is the highlight of a given week. It’s no surprise, then, that the Internet is abuzz with a never-before-seen clip from “New Moon” that features a scintillating smooch. OME, indeed.

“It’s still my birthday,” Bella (Kristen Stewart) asks in an early scene from the November 20 “Twilight” sequel, noticeably swallowing her fears over a blossoming romance with vampire Edward Cullen. “Can I ask one thing? Kiss me.”

The clip plays for only 47 seconds but will undoubtedly be replayed for hours by drool-heavy Twilighters wishing they could get a similar wish on their next birthday. Looking like he’s about to cry, RPattz leans in and lets KStew wrap her hands around his face, simultaneously kissing his leading lady and conveying the sense that Edward is battling back the temptation to make the human his late-night snack.

The two star-crossed lovers swap spit for 14 seconds, each moaning to convey their mutual desire and sense of danger. Edward doesn’t say a single word during the clip, but he doesn’t need to.

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Actress also talks about cast’s shared love of kittens, board games.

By Larry Carroll

The tabloid covers may be dominated by Rob and Kristen, but in the hearts and minds of “Twilight” fans, there is no cover girl as dazzling as so-sweet-she’ll-give-you-a-cavity series star Ashley Greene.

With “New Moon” less than a month away (hooray!), and Alice Cullen’s screen time substantially increased, we caught up with the actress and occasional MTV News correspondent to get her latest thoughts on stealing expensive cars, playing board games with Kellan Lutz, and the “New Moon” cast’s shared love of … kittens?

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Ad features scenes of Rachelle Lefevre in action, Taylor Lautner backflipping into wolf form.

By Eric Ditzian

We’re not even into November yet and the extended looks at “New Moon” continue to flood in on an almost daily basis. This week alone Summit Entertainment dropped 11 brand-new pics of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and others, plus a fresh clip that showed Stewart’s Bella Swan going face-to-face with a shape-shifting werewolf. Continuing this streak of “New Moon” sneak peeks is a brand-new 30-second TV spot, which premiered during “Access Hollywood” on Wednesday, that showcases a number of vampire versus werewolf face-offs.

The ad gives us our first good look at Rachelle Lefevre’s vampire Victoria in action. Flame-haired and steely-eyed, we see her standing in the woods as she stares down an approaching werewolf. She then pulls a super-fast 180 and takes off in the other direction as the hairy beast floods the frame. The shot then cuts to Victoria sprinting through the forest while the wolf charges behind her. Finally she leaps athletically into the air to escape her predator.

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‘He looks good with his shirt off, but you look at those eyes,’ Jackson Rathbone says.

By Terri Schwartz

BOSTON — Taylor Lautner and the 30 new pounds of muscle he put on to play Jacob Black in “New Moon” have already spawned numerous excited fan reaction videos on the Net. But co-star Jackson Rathbone thinks that when the actual movie comes out, Lautner’s physique isn’t what’s going to set the ladies’ hearts aflutter.

“Nikki Reed keeps telling everybody, and I think it’s true, yeah, [Lautner's] got his shirt off, and he looks good with his shirt off, but you look at those eyes. You really do,” he told MTV News when we caught up with him on the set of his indie film, “Girlfriend.”

Rathbone admitted to watching a fan’s video reaction to the first trailer, in which we see a shirtless Lautner transform into a wolf for the first time. “You can’t hear the rest of the [trailer] because it’s just screams and screams. I think they were happy screams,” Rathbone joked.

But looks aren’t all the 17-year-old actor has going for him. Rathbone said Lautner’s performance in the film was enough to sway half the cast and crew over to Team Jacob. Rathbone, who plays vampire Jasper Hale, didn’t want to disclose his allegiance, though he hinted, “I’m all for my brother.”

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Plus, a brand new TV spot from ‘The Twilight Saga’s New Moon’ teases the impending battle between Edward and Jacob to win Bella’s heart. Before a brand new clip of “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon” makes its debut on Access Hollywood on Thursday night, October 22, a sneak peek to the clip is brought forth. Introduced by Taylor Lautner, the 10-second preview shares glimpses on the battle between Robert Pattinson’s Edward and the Volturi to save Kristen Stewart’s Bella. The clip preview aside, Access Hollywood has also unveiled the first TV spot for this “Twilight” sequel. Centering its attention to the three major characters, the made-for-television footage reels in many never-before-seen sequences from the movie, including the impending battle between Edward and Jacob to win Bella’s heart.

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‘I thought it was way cooler than anything I’ve seen from the first movie,’ one fan says.

By Eric Ditzian

NEW YORK — “Twilight” fans are nothing if not vocal, reacting with zeal or disappointment as casting developments, actor comments and brand-new footage sneak out. Now only one month stands between the vampire franchise devotees and the second installment in the saga, “New Moon.” The passion — and the fresh peeks at the film — continue apace.

Another clip has hit the Web, this one showing Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan in a confrontation with the wolf pack of Native American shape-shifters and featuring a CGI-fueled transformation from human to fang-bearing beast. And so MTV News hit the streets to find out what you had to say about this latest video.

The overwhelming response from the folks hanging out in our home base of Times Square was that “New Moon” seems like it will deliver cutting-edge thrills. “I think the special effects where he turns into a wolf is actually very cool,” Matthew Shait said. “I think that will be one of the things that drives the movie.”

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