‘Twilight’ actor will play a thief in the Australian outback. By Fallon Prinzivalli Robert Pattinson Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images Robert Pattinson is on a roll, Twilighters. It was just announced that the beloved actor has joined director David Michod’s “The Rover,” also starring Guy Pearce. While there is little known about the project, Deadline Hollywood reports the film takes place in the near future and follows a man (Pearce) who ruthlessly hunts a group of thieves through the rough Australian outback after they steal his car. Pattinson will play a thief named Reynolds. According to Variety, Michod will pen the script based on an original idea from “Animal Kingdom” star Joel Edgerton and himself. David Linde and Liz Watts are set to produce under Lava Bear Films and Porchlight Films. The news immediately follows the announcement that Pattinson signed on for “Mission: Blacklist,” the movie adaptation of Eric Maddox’s book “Mission: Blacklist #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein — As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture.” The actor will star as the man who led the hunt. Both “Rover” and “Mission” are still in development, but Pattinson has a busy year ahead of him. He travels to the Cannes Film Festival to promote David Cronenberg’s mind-tripping “Cosmopolis” and closes out “The Twilight Saga” as Edward Cullen one last time in “Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” Also available on VOD beginning Friday is the titillating drama “Bel Ami,” which opens in Los Angeles, New York and select cities June 8. For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com .
There’s nothing terribly sensational here to get excited about in the first two official stills from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 , except for — ZOMG! — a certain pair of blood-red vampire eyes staring out at us amidst the smoldering looks and pale prettiness on display. And the almost surreal perfection of Robert Pattinson , Kristen Stewart , and Taylor Lautner ‘s complexions. Fun fact: Twilight ‘s vampires not only sparkle in the sunlight, they never have to blink. Hit the jump for images! For those who haven’t been caught up to speed on where we’re at by the time Breaking Dawn – Part 2 rolls around: The last time we saw Bella (Stewart) she was dying a horrible death while giving birth to her half-vampire spawn when her undead hubby, Edward (Pattinson) saved her by turning her into a vampire. Hence the blood-red eyes — the mark of a newborn vampire. Breaking Dawn – Part 2 brings the whole saga to a close as Vampire Bella embraces and adjusts to her newfound vampire-ness, which is a pretty awesome deal — super strength and speed, even more flawless skin, no need to worry about being ripped to shreds along with the pillows during sexytime… and, Twilight Fun Fact #2: Vampires don’t cry. The intricacies of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire physiology make it so that vampires pretty much have no use for tears. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say that’s a metaphor for Bella’s newfound strength and self-confidence after spending so many movies unsure of herself and weeping over her star-crossed romance. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 hits November 16.
Barbra Streisand turned 70 this week. Seventy! The star marked the milestone with a party to remember in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, celebrating with close friends and enjoying a performance by Johnny Mathis. The legendary singer-actress was joined at Taverna Tony by 80 guests, including John Travolta, Warren Beatty, Pierce Brosnan and Keely Smith, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, her stepson Josh Brolin and Diane Lane, Kenny G and Donna Karan. “It was an intimate magical event with only very close friends, people I’ve known and loved more than 20 years,” Streisand personally told People . “The highlight of the night was my son’s film that he made for me. People kept asking, ‘Who’s that singing?’ And when I said it was Jason, everyone was blown away by the soulfulness of his voice. Quincy Jones wanted to sign him on the spot.” “All my friends made it an evening full of surprises for me, flying in the remarkable Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard and gifting me with the performance of my favorite singer, Johnny Mathis, and many, many more highlights.” Happy birthday to one of the greats! In her career, Barbra has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, five Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, one of a select few entertainers who have ever won all four. Not a bad resume. [Photo: WENN.com]
Attention, Twihards: stop bidding on the Breaking Dawn sex pillow and feast your eyes on the following photos. Summit Entertainment has released a pair of new photos from the final Twilight Saga installment – first posted by our friends at Movie Fanatic – and we’ve got your early look below. It’s not an especially exciting early look, we grant you, it’s just a glimpse at the newly-married Cullens and at Taylor Lautner as Jacob. But since when has anyone minded staring at these three, right? That’s what we figured… Last month, Summit also unveiled the first Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer , featuring Bella as a vampire. It’s rather awesome. The Twilight Saga concludes on November 16.
‘Rob and Kristen will be there too, to pop in those gold contacts one last time,’ director Bill Condon posts on Facebook. By Jocelyn Vena Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” Photo: Summit Entertainment Just when “Twilight Saga” fans thought it was over, “Breaking Dawn – Part 2” director Bill Condon has confirmed that the cast will have to head back up to Canada one more time to put the finishing touches on the November release. Condon took to the movie’s official Facebook page on Saturday to confirm that he’s hard at work on the final film in the franchise, including a bit more shooting. “Greetings from Los Angeles, where we’re hard at work on ‘Breaking Dawn, Part Two.’ It’s truly crazy to think that it’s been a year since we wrapped production in Vancouver , since for those of us in the editing room the work has never stopped. A film is a lot like a puzzle, with each piece — each shot, no matter how brief — needing to fit exactly with the ones around it,” he wrote in the post. “Our ‘Part Two’ puzzle is finally coming into full view, and in a few weeks we’ll be heading back north to pick up some additional shots — the last tiny missing pieces. We’re not shooting any new scenes or dialogue, just some technical work with some of our cast and stunt actors.” He added that for the re-shoots, the film’s lead couple, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart , will be back to help complete the movie. “I am really looking forward to being back on set with some of the friends I’ve made on my ‘Twilight’ journey, like the great Guillermo Navarro, our cinematographer, and his crew. And yes, Rob and Kristen will be there too, to pop in those gold contacts one last time. … “I’m excited to report that before too long we’ll have another trailer for you to decode,” he teased. “And wait until you see the first posters — they’re unlike any ‘Twilight’ images you’ve seen before. And then November 16th will be upon us and the final film will be yours!” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ Teaser Trailer Best ‘Breaking Dawn’ Interviews Of 2011 Related Photos ‘Breaking Dawn’ Stars Sparkle At U.K. Premiere
For ‘Twilight’ Tuesday, we chat with experts about why young readers relate to the YA heroines. By Kara Warner Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate No matter how you feel about “The Twilight Saga” as a film franchise, Stephenie Meyer ‘s vampire romance inspired millions of young readers to pick up a book and read. Anything that gets young people to lose themselves in the written word — whether it’s “Twilight,” “The Hunger Games” or “Game of Thrones” — is a positive step. This week’s “Twilight” Tuesday is all about understanding what it is exactly about the characters in these books, particularly the very popular YA genre, that gets us obsessed and day-dreamy about them. Why do we love Bella and Katniss? What does that say about young readers today and the future of the genre? I took my questions to a few very informed experts. “The thing with the Bella phenomenon, she was kinda like an empty vessel, and I feel like part of the appeal there was just a really blank slate on which people could project their own identities,” said Lauren Oliver, best-selling author of “Delirium” and “Pandemonium.” “It was fantasy. It allowed you to float up through it. “In terms of heroines now, I think what’s really interesting about them is that, many of them, for example ‘The Hunger Games,’ certainly in my books, the characters don’t necessarily start out being so fierce and badass, which I think to some extent would be not even off-putting, but alienating,” she continued. “Because I’m not sure that people feel that way. I do think what’s significant is that these characters are portrayed as being very much at the start, normal girls, but very moral normal girls who because of a set of very extraordinary circumstances are able to step into strength that they didn’t know they possessed. I think that really resonates with people because everybody I assume would like to feel that, if given the chance, they could be someone special.” Dr. Jenn Berman, host and therapist on VH1’s “Couples Therapy” said the love for both types of heroines hearkens back to classic literary characters we’ve loved for centuries. “Both characters are appealing on a very archetypal level. One is very much a damsel in distress, this sort of empty, insecure vessel, which I think is very identifiable for young women,” she explained. “The other is sort of this superhero, strong, independent woman who doesn’t need anybody, which I think is also something that is very inspirational for women. In each one of us we have both of those entities, and as a result, people are drawn to these characters.” Kristin Rens, senior editor at HarperCollins, pointed out that while Bella and Katniss are pretty different, they also share a few qualities to which a lot of teens relate. “Bella and Katniss are obviously very different characters. But one thing they have in common is their drive — the fact that they both very much know what they want, and they won’t stop until they reach their goals,” Rens said. “When you’re a teen, there are so many parts of life that are out of your hands, so there’s something very aspirational and appealing about characters like Bella and Katniss who are able to take control of their own lives, even when the odds are stacked against them.” Dr. Berman added that we all have a little damsel in distress in us, as well as a superhero; the trick is balancing them. “In order to become fully formed people, we have to find a way to both make friends with our damsel in distress and find a way to rescue her on our own,” she said. “As long as you understand why and what you need to do with that archetype, it’s OK, but to romanticize the damsel-in-distress archetype, you set yourself up for unhealthy relationships. What you do [to prevent that] is you say, ‘Wow, there is a part of me that would really like to be rescued, but I’m not going to give into that part of me. I’m going to rescue myself instead.’ ” The same goes for the superhero Katniss archetype, however, in that romanticizing that type of woman can also set you up for an unhealthy perspective. “Healthy relationships aren’t interdependent,” Berman said. “If you are an island, then you’re not having an emotionally intimate relationship, so the truth of a healthy relationship lies somewhere in between both of these archetypes.” How do you relate to Bella? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet me @karawarner! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Hunger Games’ Related Photos The Hunger Games Twilight: Breaking Dawn
After spending an elusive third straight week at #1, ‘The Hunger Games’ now ranks among the biggest box-office successes in history. By Kevin P. Sullivan Josh Hutcherson in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate For the third weekend in a row, “The Hunger Games” proved its power as a serious box-office champion. Two competitors stood a chance to take the top spot, but both “American Reunion” and “Titanic 3D” fell short, leaving “The Hunger Games” at the top with earnings of nearly $303 million since its debut. Now that “The Hunger Games” has racked up its third consecutive weekend at #1, it seems like an appropriate time to see where the film stands among the all-time box-office champs, what records have been broken and what records still stand. Consecutive Weekends With so many movies coming out each week, it’s often difficult for a film to retain the top spot in its second weekend, let alone its third. Repeat weekends have become a mark of true success at the box office and signs of a real hit. With this weekend, “The Hunger Games” became the first film in 2012 to spend three straight weeks at #1. The most recent movie to achieve that was “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” back in November of last year. Versus “Twilight” Speaking of the vampire romance series, “The Hunger Games” officially passed the highest-grossing film in “The Twilight Saga,” “Eclipse.” The third “Twilight” movie grossed just over $300 million, right behind where “The Hunger Games” stands after its third weekend. Many had compared the two series throughout the lead-up to “The Hunger Games,” but since its debut “The Hunger Games” has thrived off word-of-mouth and a larger male audience than “Twilight.” Champion of 2012 Right from the start of the summer movie season, the biggest tentpole films of the year already have a film to beat. “The Hunger Games” is far and away the highest money earner of the year so far. Its total gross currently stands roughly $104 million ahead of its closest competition, “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.” The toughest competition has yet to come, however. With releases like “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and the first “Hobbit” still on the lineup for 2012, it will be difficult for “The Hunger Games” to hold onto that spot. Opening Week So much of the “Hunger Games” buzz came from its enormous opening weekend, the third best of all time behind “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” and “The Dark Knight.” With a $152 million bow, it also ranks as the best March and spring opening ever. All Time Granted the movie is only three weeks old, “The Hunger Games” still has a long way to go before ranking among the highest earners of all time. It currently stands at #37 behind “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Do you think “The Hunger Games” will be the highest-grossing film of 2012, or will “The Dark Knight Rises” take the glory? Leave your comment below! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos Hunger Games MTV Rough Cut: Gary Ross MTV Rough Cut: Jennifer Lawrence MTV Rough Cut: Jennifer Lawrence And Josh Hutcherson Related Photos ‘Hunger Games’ Cast Hits NYC Inside ‘The Hunger Games’ Capitol
For ‘Twilight’ Tuesday, we imagine the vampires and wolves in a battle to the death. By Kara Warner Taylor Lautner in “Breaking Dawn” Photo: Summit Like most of our fellow “Twilight” fans, we spend a lot of time thinking about and overanalyzing the mythical world Stephenie Meyer created and the record-breaking film franchise it spawned. And even though we still have too many months to wait to see “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” the wait was made slightly less painful this week due to a couple of new trailer teases . Since we’ve had the series on the brain more than usual this week, along with the countless stories about “The Hunger Games” reaching “Twilight”-level numbers, I’ve decided to philosophize my way through this week’s “Twilight” Tuesday with the question: If the Cullens and the wolf pack were featured in a “Hunger Games”-style, fight-to-the-death tournament organized by the Volturi (of course), who would come out a victor? The first thing to address is who would be reaped into the tournament? And how many? If we go with 24, the ranks are difficult to fill out due to a lack of named weres. Nevertheless, here are the contenders (including a few of those who don’t live through the end of the series): Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Carlisle Cullen, Esme Cullen, Alice Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale, Renesmee Cullen, Sam Uley, Quil Ateara V, Embry Call, Paul Lahote, Jared Cameron, Leah Clearwater, Seth Clearwater, Collin Littlesea, Brady Fuller, James, Victoria, Laurent, Riley Biers and one of the unnamed wolves from the end of “Breaking Dawn” who show up as part of Sam’s pack. Whew. Now, who will be defeated and how? My colleague Katie Byrne makes the very astute point that the Cullens are total pacifists and will not kill each other, no matter what. I say that Jasper might be the one to crack, since he doesn’t always have total control over his actions, but the rest of the Cullens will probably rein him in and quarantine him or something. Also, as much as it pains me to admit it, the vampires will likely outlast the werewolves (confession: I prefer wolves to vamps), particularly the Cullens with their supernatural abilities. But again, would the Cullens allow the seemingly needless fights-to-the-death to happen? This is a Volturi-created death match after all, so they might make like the end of “Breaking Dawn – Part 2” and save everyone. Except for James, Victoria, Laurent and Riley, of course. Ms. Byrne argues that if the Volturi did somehow succeed in making the tournament end in death and destruction, the Cullens would all join hands, eat a few handfuls of nightlock (assuming that the poisonous berry also works on non-humans), and end the “Games” with a civilized, non-bloody mass suicide. Or the Volturi might recognize the Cullens’ value (just like the Gamemakers did) and let them live — under the constant threat of death and destruction, that is. Who do you think would win the “Twilight” Hunger Games? Share your thoughts in the comments or tweet me @karawarner with your theories! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos Top Five Favorite Moments From The ‘Twilight Saga’
‘I’m not engaged. I’ve worn this same ring on this finger since November!’ Cyrus tweeted on Monday in response to rumors. By Christina Garibaldi Miley Cyrus at her Pilates class in Beverly Hills Photo: Splash News Miley Cyrus is putting those engagement rumors to rest. On Monday (March 26), the Internet was abuzz that Cyrus and her “Hunger Games” star boyfriend Liam Hemsworth were going to tie the knot after photos surfaced of her wearing a large sparkler on her ring finger. I’m not engaged. I’ve worn this same ring on this finger since November! People just wanna find something to tal about! It’s a topaz people! — Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 26, 2012 But Cyrus took to Twitter on Monday to shoot down the rumors, saying, “I’m not engaged. I’ve worn this same ring on this finger since November! People just wanna find something to [talk] about! It’s a topaz people!” Speculation began last week after Cyrus tweeted a photo of her new manicure and the ring. Most recently, she was spotted sporting the large stone on Saturday as the two posed for pictures on the red carpet at Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XVVIII in Phoenix. Even though they won’t be planning a wedding anytime soon, the couple, who have been dating on and off since 2009, have a lot to be excited about. “The Hunger Games” had the third-biggest opening weekend of all time, beating out all of the “Twilight Saga” movies when it raked in $155 million. Hemsworth and Cyrus will next be seen together on an upcoming episode of MTV’s “Punk’d,” where the former “Hannah Montana” star tells her boyfriend that two naked people have locked themselves in her car, a prank Hemsworth doesn’t seem to be too fond of. “I knew she was doing the show. I honestly thought she had enough respect for me not to do me, and she got me really good,” Hemsworth recently told Ellen DeGeneres. “Your girlfriend comes running around and she’s yelling hysterically and you see two naked people in your car… I think my instincts were pretty right.” Related Artists Miley Cyrus
Katy Perry channeled two of her contemporaries this weekend with a cover of Rihanna’s “Only Girl” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” in Manchester (UK). The singer has teased an upcoming collaboration with Rihanna – though it’s unclear what that will entail specifically – and paid homage to her BFF here. Perry has been touring Europe, where she’s been linked to model Baptiste Giabiconi , in the wake of her surprising divorce from zany comic Russell Brand. Take a listen to the live Gaga-Rihanna medley below … Katy Perry – Only Girl / Born This Way (Live)
