
Hey Twi-Hards!
Want to be the first to see Eclipse when it comes out on June 30? Well tomorrow, pre-sale tickets will be available on both Fandango.com and Moviephone.com, so make sure to go online and reserve yours before they sell out!
It’s no surprise that salary negotiations would be the key stumbling block to splitting the fourth and final Twilight book, Breaking Dawn, into two movies. (The actors’ contracts cover only four movies. This would make it five.) But who could have guessed it would be the supporting actors, not the stars, who would go to the mat for more money. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, co-stars Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz are taking a hard-line approach to negotiations, while Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are close to signing their deals for both films. Director Bill Condon has already done so.This WHOLE thing is making me sick. The Rachelle Lefevre/Bryce Dallas Howard drama came out of NO WHERE. We didn’t see it coming, and we had no warning (neither did Rachelle). So at this point — expect the unexpected. Sorry to be so cryptic, but this is just pure insanity.
Greene and Lutz don’t have huge roles. Greene portrays Alice Cullen, the future-seeing sister of Edward Cullen and Bella’s closest friend in the Cullen clan. Lutz plays older brother Emmett Cullen and his part, so far, has been minor. Yet sources tell EW.com that the duo are asking for $4 million a piece for each of the final two films. Greene and Lutz had initially banded together with fellow co-stars Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone to form a united front, but sources say Reed backed down and is now close to finalizing her deal, which is said to be in the $750,000- $1 million range per film–the amount Summit initially offered the four cast members. (Rathbone’s status remains unclear, and his reps had not returned a call for comment at press time. Reed’s manager declined to comment.)
The studio declined to comment on the negotiations. But sources tell EW.com that Greene and Lutz believe that because the supporting actors do as much publicity as the lead actors, and have to log almost as many hours on set, they should be paid accordingly. One source involved in the negotiations says that Greene and Lutz just want to get $1 million or more.
Either way, what is peculiar is that Greene and Lutz are banding together at all. Greene’s Alice is a much more instrumental character than Lutz’s Emmett is. And considering that Summit has replaced actors before who played hardball (Rachelle LaFevre was dropped from the upcoming Eclipse in favor of Bryce Dallas Howard), it wouldn’t be a surprise if Summit chooses to replace either actor. It’s just fans will probably be much more outraged over Greene leaving than Lutz.
- May 15th – Nordstrom’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse line: Previewed yesterday, the Eclipse line follows Nordstrom’s successful run with New Moon merchandise. See: Nordstrom.com/Eclipse for more (including details on a coming Eclipse premiere giveaway).
- May 18th – Eclipse Paperback Media Tie-in: Paperback book with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’s one-sheet cover. Available at: Barnes and Noble.
- May 25th – Eclipse Mass Market Paperback: Paperback version of Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer with unique cover of Kristen Stewart as “Bella Swan.” Available at: Barnes and Noble.
- May 25th – Eclipse Collector’s Edition: This is the hardcover collector’s edition of Stephenie Meyer’s Eclipse. Available at: Amazon.com.
- May 27th – Eclipse Board Game: The third in the Cardinal Industries board game series. Available at: Amazon.com. This video should give you an idea of what to expect.
- June 5th – The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella – This is Stephenie Meyer’s newest Twilight series release, a backstory book devoted to the Eclipse character “Bree.” Available at: Amazon.com.
- June 8th – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Soundtrack – While the artists list for Eclipse’s soundtrack isn’t yet available (except for with Muse), pre-ordering for the album is. Available at: Amazon.com. A bonus tracks option is also available at Amazon.com with the same release date.
- June 29th – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion: This is Mark Cotta Vaz’s third illustrated film companion for the Twilight series. Usually, these include photos, interviews, spotlight features, and more. Very, very interesting. Available through: Amazon.com.
- June 29th – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Score: This is the official score to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse by Howard Shore. Available at: Amazon.com.
- TBD – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Barbies: “Alice” and “Victoria” are two of the Twilight femmes being immortalized into plastic. As a part of Mattel’s summer line (date of release to be determined), these two join the already-release Twi-o of Barbies, “Edward,” “Bella,” and “Jacob.”
- TBD – Scene It? The Twilight Saga Deluxe Edition: Announced earlier this year, this game will be a combination of the three films (Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and is scheduled for a fall 2010 release.