The Twilight Saga: New Moon | |
---|---|
Directed by | Chris Weitz |
Produced by | Wyck Godfrey Karen Rosenfelt |
Screenplay by | Melissa Rosenberg |
Starring |
Kristen Stewart |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
Editing by | Peter Lambert |
Distributed by | Summit Entertainment |
Release | November 16, 2009 (Los Angeles premiere) November 20, 2009 (United States) |
Running time | 130 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $50 million |
Gross revenue | $709.7 million |
Preceded by | Twilight |
Followed by | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, commonly referred to as New Moon, is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novel New Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in late November 2008, following the early success of Twilight. Directed by Chris Weitz, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively. Melissa Rosenberg, who handed in a draft of the film script during the opening weekend of Twilight, returned as screenwriter for New Moon as well.
Filming began in Vancouver in late March 2009, and in Montepulciano, Italy in late May 2009. The film was released on November 20, 2009 in most countries, and set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight screening, grossing $26.3 million, which was superseded by its sequel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. This led to the highest single day, domestic gross on an opening day, with $72.7 million, until it was beaten in 2011 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which made $91.1 million, by nearly $20 million. Furthermore, New Moon opened with the third highest domestic opening weekend since 2002 grossing a total of $142,839,137. The film also became the highest grossing film released by Summit Entertainment, and was the widest independent release, playing in over 4,100 theaters in its theatrical run, until it was surpassed by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
New Moon was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on March 20, 2010 through midnight release parties. As of July 2012, $184,916,451 in North American DVD sales, selling more than 8,835,501 units, 4 million of which were sold within its first weekend, beating Twilight's 3.8 million units sold in its first two days. The film was well received by fans, but received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Plot[]
On her 18th birthday, Bella Swan wakes up from a dream in which she sees herself as an old woman. She expresses her distaste about growing older than her boyfriend Edward Cullen, a vampire who stopped aging physically at 17. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, Edward's adoptive family throw Bella a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, Bella gets a paper cut. Edward's brother, Jasper, becomes overwhelmed by the scent of Bella's blood and attempts to kill her. Realizing the danger that he and his family pose to Bella, Edward ends their relationship, and the Cullens leave Forks, Washington.
Edward's departure leaves Bella heartbroken and depressed for months; however, when her father, Charlie, finally decides to send her to live with her mother in Florida, Bella refuses and agrees to spend more time with her friends. After seeing a movie with Jessica, Bella sees a group of men on motorcycles. This reminds her of when Edward previously rescued her from an assault, and she sees his image warning her to stay away. Bella discovers that any thrill-seeking activities she engages in evoke Edward's preserved image. She is also comforted by Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who helps to ease her pain over losing Edward. When Jacob suddenly begins avoiding her, Bella discovers that he, and others of his tribe, are descended from a long line of werewolves, and Jacob has just undergone his first transformation. Bella also learns that the werewolves are an age-old enemy of vampires. Jacob's pack members are on constant alert for Victoria, a vampire seeking to avenge the death of her mate, James, who was killed by Edward after James kidnapped and tried to kill Bella. With Jacob busy coming to terms with his shape-shifting nature, Bella again finds herself alone, and she returns to seeking thrill-inducing activities.
Through a series of miscommunications, Edward believes Bella has killed herself by jumping off a cliff into the ocean. Distraught over her apparent suicide, Edward travels to Italy and attempts to provoke the Volturi (a powerful coven who act as vampiric overlords) by exposing himself as a vampire to humans. Alice, Edward's sister, and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward, and arrive just in time to stop him. Edward explains that he always loved Bella and only left to protect her. However, the Volturi determine that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire herself. Alice stops them from killing her by sharing her premonition, in which Bella has been transformed, with Aro (Michael Sheen), a Volturi elder who is able to read thoughts through touch. Soon after, they return to Forks and Bella forgives Edward for leaving her. The Cullens vote in favor of Bella being transformed into a vampire, much to Edward and Rosalie's dismay. Later, Jacob reminds Edward of the treaty the Cullens made with the shape-shifting Quileute tribe: they will not attack each other, as long as the Cullens do not feed on any humans, a necessity for Bella's transformation. The movie concludes with Edward telling Bella that he will change her into a vampire after she marries him.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who falls into a deep depression after her true love, Edward Cullen, leaves her. Her friendship with Jacob Black is expanded as she realizes that he can mend the hole left open by Edward.
- Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire boyfriend who abruptly leaves town to protect her.
- Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases Bella's pain over losing Edward. He reveals to Bella that he is part of a pack of werewolves whose main goal is to protect her from the vampires Laurent and Victoria.
Secondary cast[]
- Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, leader and father figure of the Cullen family.[23]
- Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife and the mother figure of the Cullen family.
- Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who develops a deep friendship with Bella.
- Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, a member of the Cullen family.
- Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family.
- Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen family who thirsts for Bella's blood after she receives a paper cut.
- Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Bella's father and Forks' Chief of Police.
- Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria, a ruthless vampire who wants to avenge her lover, James.
- Edi Gathegi as Laurent, a vampire who wants to kill Bella, because he thirsts for her blood.
- Michael Sheen as Aro, the leader of an ancient Italian vampire coven known as the Volturi.
- Dakota Fanning as Jane, a guard of the Volturi who has the ability to torture people with illusions of pain.
- Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley, Bella's self-involved friend.
- Michael Welch as Mike Newton, Bella's friend who has a crush on her. He joins her on a date with Jacob
External links[]
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon at the Internet Movie Database
The Twilight Saga films |
Twilight • New Moon • Eclipse • Breaking Dawn - Part 1 • Breaking Dawn - Part 2 |
Kristen Stewart films |
Panic Room (2002) · The Messengers (2007) · American Ultra (2015) · |