Episode 30: “New Moon” Reactions Discussion

1. Wray Said,

   Hey Guys! Thanks for the shout-out on your latest podcast!

   I went to all of your links, so it took a while, but I compiled a few comments.

   I stopped listening to the /filmcast soon after Jen’s comments because the first thing one of the guys says in his review is “nothing happens in this movie”. Now I love, love, love reading film criticism (and listening to it), but when someone generalizes with an outright untruth I just stop listening.There’s a lot of plot in New Moon and many things “happen”, the question is whether or not it’s compelling. The written review was much more interesting, though, because the reasons he dislikes the movie are clearly explained.

   I used to be a fairly regular listener of “Imprint” until the first movie came out. They (and their listeners) generally hated “Twilight”. And that wouldn’t have been so bad, but almost every podcast after that was one of the hosts would routinely imitate Kristen Stewart’s performance, or Catherine Hardwicke’s interview “enthusiasm”, or something derogative about the movie. It just became tiresome. They weren’t the only ones though – many fan podcasts dropped off the planet after the double whammy of Breaking Dawn and the Twilight movie. Yet they LOVED the second movie. They LOVE Chris Weitz. And this is consistent throughout the fandom. Twilight Series Theories, Twilighters Anonymous, Twilight Lexicon, TwilightMoms – they all love Weitz and want him to come back. I think this is fascinating.

   Steady Diet of Film was pretty funny – I loved that they had someone who was not familiar with the books. She was so shocked that Bella and Edward wait until they are married…in the FOURTH book! The fact that people are so shocked by this just makes me giggle.

2. Wray Said,

   Sorry! I have another postscript/recommendation:

   If you have time, check out Slate.com’s review with Dana Stevens. She and a fellow reviewer hash it out as outsiders who are just trying to figure out the appeal. They are older, well read, usually snarky, and they briefly delve into some of the larger questions about the Twilight phenomenon. They aren’t book fans, so they offer a different perspective. I am an avid listener of Slate’s Culture Gabfest – always something to think about.

3. Marina Antunes Said,

   Great recommendation Wray. I listened to Dana on the Spoiler show but didn’t realize she had done another.

4. Shannon the Movie Moxie Said,

   Thanks so much Wray, I was wondering what was going on with Imprint as I only listen to it occasionally. I’m so disheartened that so many of the big fan sites love New Moon and want Weitz back, I feel so diconnected to the masses at the moment (although, technically that tends to be the norm sans Twilight) but at least some folks out there still love the first film.

   I’m not surprized stopped listening to /film after Jen’s thoughts. I agree that dismissiveness left me a bit annoyed as well, as do any reviews that say the film starts with her 18th birthday party – because it doesn’t, it starts with her dream.

   Which reminds me, I watched Twilight recently and didn’t notice opening credits save Summit and the title.. and I think that is done for New Moon too.. all the credits are at the end, yes? Interesting choice.

   I’ll have a look for the Dana Stevens review, thanks for the heads up!

5. Wray Said,

   Shannon,

   Is there a theory about the choice of putting credits before or after a film? I really liked the credit sequence at the end of the first film and I loved the fade to black and white with Victoria. I also loved the opening sequence in New Moon with the moon phases going in to the dream sequence.

6. Shannon the Movie Moxie Said,

   Not as far as I’ve heard but here I would have to say that it would be a conscious choice, as feels aligned to the books being in the first person – in both cases we know it’s a work of fiction but it doesn’t put up barriers for us to travel into the created world.

   I’m with you on both the Twilight credits and the opening on New Moon, they were beautiful! I can’t believe they didn’t do anything special with the New Moon end credits. And the actors who are part of the wolf pack didn’t even have their names listed except in the scrolling credits. A travesty!

7. Wray Said,

   Now that just seems wrong. Speaking of the wolf pack, I thought Chaske Spencer did a terrific job with only a few lines. He seemed like a leader. He also conducts himself very well in interviews. The other guys have a great rapport and appear to have really bonded off-camera.

8. Becca Said,

   Wray,
   I totally agree with you about Chaske Spencer, he truly comes across as a very nice person and i think he really came across as a great actor, I think that The Wolf Pack should have more dialect, what do you think?

   Shannon,
   I agree with you when you talk about the credits, i was expecting the credits to be more like the Twilight’s one, thats another thing that disappointed me. I thought that The Wolf Pack names should have been put in the main credits.

   Have any of you seen the new clips of Kristen in her latest film The Yellow Hankerchief?

9. Wray Said,

   Becca – I’ve seen clips of the Yellow Handkerchief, but I saw photos last year and I thought it was making the festival circuit then…Looks like a nice little indie film, but nothing special. William Hurt is in it though, and I think it really is his character’s story.

   So, Becca, you were at the Montepulciano filming? How did that come about? That is actually one of the few places I’ve been in Italy (strangely enough), but it was YEARS ago. Fun to see it on screen.

   I’d like to hear more Quilleute too – that was (and is) one of my favorite elements in the series right from the beginning. Even in Twilight, my fav chapter was “Scary Stories”.

10. Becca Said,

    Wray, I was visiting Italy and soon realised that they were filming so i made the long journey to Montepulciano, i was staying in Florence and it took around 7 hours to get to..I can see why they filmed there as it is in the middle of nowhere, from the train station the city is about 1 hour away and the bus service only runs around twice a day.. I got then and they were using fans as extras as there was so many..The atmosphere was great as there were so many fans..but they did in fact film more scenes than they showed in the film.. i hope they are in the deleted scenes or bonus features on the DVD..
    Hopefully, i will be going to Forks soon
    Have you been the sets??

11. Marina Antunes Said,

    I didn’t feel the need to fight the crowds during filming but I have checked out a number of the Vancouver set locations. Most are public spaces though a few are private residences which makes things a tad more difficult. Still – it’s kind of cool driving along Columbia Street and seeing the theater they used for the exteriors!

12. Wray Said,

    Marina – I saw a video you posted a while back giving a tour of the film locations. It was pretty funny (especially the pocket Edward stuff). If I remember correctly there was a public park, swimming pool, and a theater.

    Becca – When I was there, we stayed in Sienna and then decided to take a day trip to Montepulciano…by bus. It WAS in the middle of nowhere. Lots of farm land. We ended up missing the last bus and had to stay overnight, while all of our stuff was in Sienna. It was crazy fun though and gorgeous!

Add A Comment