It’s so hard to compare roles — [but playing Bella] was difficult for other reasons,’ actress says.

By Larry Carroll

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Ever since she broke through playing Jodie Foster’s tough, imperiled daughter in the 2002 hit film “Panic Room,” moviegoers and critics alike have been quick to praise Kristen Stewart’s acting skills. Now, the 19-year-old actress is back in theaters next Friday (February 26) with “The Yellow Handkerchief,” a romantic drama she was cast in after Foster recommended her to the film’s producer, six-time Oscar winner Arthur Cohn. But when it comes to which role was tougher to play — her “Handkerchief” rebel Martine or “Twilight” icon Bella Swan — KStew and Cohn disagree.

“I followed Jodie’s advice because she’s a great actress and director,” Cohn said of casting Stewart in “Handkerchief,” a love story featuring old and new romances blossoming side by side. “Kristen had an enormous sensitivity for an extremely difficult part. With all respect to ‘Twilight,’ I think this part was infinitely harder to pull off.”

Making matters more interesting, Kristen was only 15 when she landed the role. It wasn’t until “Handkerchief” hit Sundance in 2008 that she was even cast in the “Twilight Saga” films. But with all due respect to her producer, Stewart disagreed with his thoughts on which role was more difficult to pull off.

“No, I would say definitely not,” Stewart insisted, claiming that Bella is the more complicated portrayal from an actor’s point of view. “It’s so hard to compare roles — this was difficult for other reasons.

To read the full story click here.

Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz and others talk about splitting the book into two movies, who should direct and more.

By Jocelyn Vena

With the box-office success of “New Moon” and fans eagerly anticipating the June release of “Eclipse,” it looks almost certain that “Breaking Dawn,” the final book in the “Twilight Saga,” will hit the big screen. But there are two big questions surrounding the potential film: Who will direct it, and will it be split into two movies?

MTV News spoke with the “Twilight” stars last week at a New York screening of “New Moon” and asked them to weigh in on the saga’s future.

“If I had a wish list, Gus van Sant would be pretty cool,” Peter Facinelli said, mirroring Robert Pattinson’s director pick. “I just think he’d be an interesting choice for it. I mean, ‘Milk’ was phenomenal. I would just love to see ‘Breaking Dawn’ done, because I’d like to finish the whole chapter.”

To read the full story click here.

It might not hit theaters till next year, but we’re bringing you all the vital details early!

By Larry Carroll

Nowadays, “New Moon” is tearing apart box-office records like a Cullen feasting on a freshly killed deer. With the “Twilight” sequel nabbing the advance-sales record, the biggest single-day record and the highest-grossing midnight showings of all time, fans have to wonder: Can this franchise get any bigger? Fortunately, they only have to wait seven months to get the answer.

Many of the saga’s stars have cited “Eclipse” as their favorite of Stephenie Meyer’s novels, and with “30 Days of Night” filmmaker David Slade at the helm, it seems likely to be a very distinctive entry into the blockbuster series. With that in mind (and since we’re always on top of the latest “Twilight” news) we wanted to bring you our cheat sheet for “Eclipse” a little bit early to give you one-stop shopping for all the latest details on what could possibly be the biggest film of 2010.

To read the full story click here.

On November 20, millions of Twilighters will pack movie theaters worldwide, eager to see “New Moon” and meet the actors who will portray Volturi vampires, werewolves and other newcomers to the franchise. And, in a cast as huge as the “Twilight Saga,” some of the actors are looking forward to those introductions as well.

“The cast is so big now,” said Justin Chon, who plays “human” Eric Yorkie. “Seriously, it’s like an army. You really don’t get to meet everyone.

“The premiere is going to be wild; it’s gonna be a zoo,” he laughed, sounding for a minute like a super-fan. “I want to meet Michael Sheen!”

This week, we interviewed “Twilight” veteran Billy Burke, who also said he has yet to meet Sheen, Dakota Fanning or Bryce Dallas Howard and is eager to do so later this month at the Los Angeles premiere.

To read the full story click here.

Greene and co-star Kellan Lutz screen part of ‘Twilight’ sequel for friends in Las Vegas.

By Jocelyn Vena

Fans will have to wait until November 20 to see “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” when it opens in theaters, but star Ashley Greene revealed that she’s already seen it and loves the film.

“The first one is very much a love story, and this one is kind of more about heartbreak and healing, and … the wolves come in and there’s that threat, that danger,” Greene told People over the weekend when she hosted the Yelloween party at Tao Las Vegas dressed as a peacock. “I actually saw the movie about two months ago, and it’s really good.”

To read the full story click here.

‘I’m excited to see finished stuff from ‘Eclipse’ rather than anything in progress,’ director says.

By Terri Schwartz

With filming on “Eclipse” wrapping up, we couldn’t resist asking “New Moon” director Chris Weitz whether he had seen any of the footage from next summer’s blockbuster. He hadn’t, he said, because he’s been busy working hard to bring fans “New Moon,” which hits theaters in less than a month. Surprisingly, he said he didn’t really want to see the footage yet.

“As a fan and a filmmaker, I’m excited to see finished stuff from ‘Eclipse’ rather than anything in progress,” Weitz said. “When you see works in progress, there’s always some guy standing in front of some big green curtain, and it’s all terribly disappointing. You really want to see the good stuff once it’s all finished.”

After “New Moon” was finished filming , Summit Entertainment announced that David Slade would be directing “Eclipse.” Weitz said he had some early chats with Slade to let him know what “New Moon” was going to look like and how he had filmed the story, and then let Slade decide how he wanted to film the series’ third installment.

“It was like the transition team, so I could kind of let him know where things are going,” Weitz said. “The transfer of power was very successful. The transition teams coordinated extremely well.”

To read the full story click here.

‘We don’t get nearly as much love as we’d like,’ he says of the non-bloodsucking characters in the Twilight’ franchise.

By Larry Carroll

LOS ANGELES — It’s not easy being human. Particularly if you’re in a “Twilight” movie and everyone around you is a vampire or a werewolf.

Nevertheless, solid supporting actors like Michael Welch, Anna Kendrick and Christian Serratos have watched their careers blossom over the past year, maximizing small amounts of screen time with endearing, largely improvised dialogue. Now, with “New Moon” about to hit theaters, 28-year-old Justin Chon is ready to steal scenes again alongside his non-bloodsucking buddies — and, with a role in the eye-popping Web short “Turbo,” bring some humanity back to Hollywood.

Recently, we caught up with Justin to talk about “New Moon” and “Eclipse,” Eric’s relationship with Angela and why it’s time to call “game over” on big-budget video game movies.

To read the full story click here.

Twilight Watch: On the Set of Eclipse with Ashley Greene

by Andi Teran

Direct from the set of Twilight: Eclipse, VF.com caught up with Ashley Greene (aka “Alice Cullen” in the Twilight saga) to discuss filming the upcoming New Moon, cast reunions, and how becoming a vampire has changed her life.

VF.com: So you’re in Vancouver right now on the set of Eclipse …

Ashley Greene: I am. I just got to set! It’s an hour drive every day, really pretty; we’re way out in the middle of nowhere.

What are you filming today?

There’s a lot of action in this [movie], a lot of fight-sequence choreography. Me, Nikki [Reed], and Kellan [Lutz] are working today, and we’re doing another installment of the fight sequences. We’re doing a section of the huge vampire/Cullen/wolf/newborn battle.

What’s it like working with different directors on the same character?

At first, it’s a little difficult; it’s a lot of give and take. Everyone’s different and has their own take on it, but it’s been pretty good. You have to sit down and go, “This is what I’ve been doing, this is why I feel this way,” and you have to take suggestions. Basically, it’s about communication, and it hasn’t been a problem yet.

To read the full story click here.

‘The movie takes a downturn,’ she says of the follow-up to ‘Twilight.’

By Jocelyn Vena

Kristen Stewart isn’t the only one growing up in the public eye. Her onscreen alter ego, Bella Swan, is also becoming a young lady on the big screen. And Stewart admits that when Twilighters hit the theaters next November to see “New Moon,” Bella is a different girl than they saw in “Twilight.”

“I’m excited for the movie — a different kind of excited though because I’m finished filming that. I want to see how it turns out,” she said in an interview for the November issue of Allure. “The movie takes a downturn. In the first one, it was all about discovery and in this one, Bella matures quite a bit.”

To read the full story click here.

When there’s this much Twilight news, the prudent thing to do is just to wrap it up into one manageable portion.

For starters, some of The Twilight Saga: New Moon’s soundtrack artists were featured in an interview with Vanity Fair recently.

Included in the interview were Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), and OK Go’s Tim Norwind.

In the interviews, the three all discuss their involvement with the New Moon soundtrack.

Church stated that Sea Wolf’s song, “The Violet Hour,” was one that was likely to be involved in the birthday scene. Said he, “All I know is it’s going to be in a party scene … a house-party scene.”

Clark, on other hand, did not know where her song with Bon Iver, “Roslyn,” would fit into the album. Though, she did offer some insight into the mood of the song, saying that it is “a somber song, for sure, very aching, longing, and beautiful.”

To read the full story click here.