Vampires for Dinner? Why not...

I'll certainly be posting about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, because I've got all sorts of adaptation stuff to comment on (Ginny and Harry's kiss... seriously?!), but first I'm sharing the adventures of dinner at the View Point Inn with Ashley and gang.

So I first met Ashley when she submitted a paper for TwiCon. She was stuyding something I was uber interested in, so I asked if she might want to help out with TwiCon planning. She did, she's cool, and thus she's my co-hort in formal programming for TwiCon. She and 10 of her friends and family are going on a massive Twilight-inspired trip to Portland, Forks, and all of the sights along the way and in between. Last night they were all in Portland (well, by the airport, and if the trip doesn't include a trip to Powell's, I'm not sure if you can say you've 'been to Portland'), and invited me to join them for dinner at the View Point Inn... aka the location of the prom in Twilight.

We all shlepped out there, missed the first exit, and therefore took a long, winding road to get to the Inn. I'm kind of glad for that though. It looked similar to the drive to the Cullen's house in the film; green caverns of trees with a road ploughing through, but every now and then we'd get a stunning view of the Gorge. It was great! Perhaps a bit longer, but worth it, methinks.

We finally arrived, and then the 'ooos' and 'ahhh

hs' began. It's a beautiful set up, hence why it was chosen. It's smaller than I'd expected, but it had that classic 'old grand lodge' feel to it, know what I mean? Like a ski lodge built in the 20's or something, and you expected men in tails and women in gowns to stroll through with a cigarette on the end of a stick. They took us through the foyer, through the main hall (beautiful! big log furniture, candles, hardwood floors, and the whole thing opened up to the outdoors), and out to the patio and our dining 'tent.' It was so much nicer than a 'tent', but that's the only word for it.

We had the option originally of the 'Twilight menu' or the normal menu, and believe it or not, we went with the normal menu (many more options... much better). I did get a kick out of the Twilight items on the menu- Edward's Elixir (I can't remember all of it, but it was a mix of blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate? and spritz), I ordered the Twilight Martini- basically the same ingredients but with vodka...so good. Also, we got the 'eternal love cake' which was a red velvet cake with chocolate icing. It was really good, but honestly the rest of the desserts

hugely overshadowed it. It was really pretty though.

We all got our own meals (bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with apples was mine... aaa-mazing), and then we just got one of every dessert and passed them. Brilliant. I liked dining with this gang :) The fluffy cheesecake or the flourless chocolate cake was my favorite...

Anywho, amazing food aside, it was neat to see the film's location. The broad scope and large feel from the film actually turning out to be a quaint, historical, gorgeous spot, and to see how they changed the look. The 'Monte Carlo' arch is still there, but randomly shoved into a corner of the yard. It's certainly not a natural place for people to walk from to get to the Inn, but for the film, by having them walk from back there without a fence behind, it looks as though the property goes much further back; a larger scope. Also, there's a big pond in the middle of the yard with a fountain and whatnot, and we figured the gazebo must have gone over the pond in the film.

I'm also glad it wasn't freezing when we were there as it was in the film. Apparently during filming they'd put down coats on in between shots... I feel sorry for those girls in strapless silk dresses! Luckily it was warm, pleasant, breezy, and there was no need for a sweater at all except to ward off the mosquitos.

It was also neat to see how Twilight has seeped into this Inn's daily life. In the entrance area

there's a little gift shop with the expected trinkets like key chains and stationary, but now there's also two bookshelves full of Twilight items. Calendars, photos, t-shirts, the books, the dvd, Twilight-themed soaps... you get the idea. They've added Twilight items to their menu, and they have a section of the patio where you can buy a brick, and there's one for Edward and Bella. Cute.

I hope the Inn gets through this economic slump; it's out in the middle of nowhere so I could certainly see how it's problematic, but the food was phenomenal, the views unbeatable, and the staff rockin'. Definitely a good time, and it was good to meet my TwiCon cohort in the flesh before the madness that will be TwiCon. Oh girl...

HP: HBP soon. Webshots album here.

Fourth of July, Vampires, Wolves, and Baseball

(FYI: Sorry I don't have more pictures yet; they have to be approved for use and whatnot. I'll add them when I am able to :)

Well the Vampire Baseball event was yesterday in Portland, and it was brilliant. I was contacted by the organizers of Fan Trips to do some filming and photography for the event, so I've been inundated with planning, details, media stuff and seeing how all of these bits go together to make a very successful event. I was working for media planner Leigh Trapp, and with her son, Tyler; they were incredible. Seriously. If you were there, Tyler was the one running around, getting people screaming, doing the moonwalk on the dugout, and then organizing all of the actors, setting up the effects, running water to the players...he was all over!

Anywho, the event was a lot of fun. There were fourteen members, I think, of the Twilight cast and crew, there were fan games, autographs, coffees, a podcast, etc.

I got there a little after 7am and there was already a line at the front gate and music pumping from the inside (sadly that music kept pumping for the next ten hours; it was good music, but there were only about 10 songs... you can only listen to 'Can't Fight the Moonlight' so many times before you want to rip a speaker off the wall). All of the website owners were there, prepping for the podcast (Mugglenet/Twilight Source, His Golden Eyes, Twilight Live, etc.), the food was being organized (I walked through the basement of the stadium, past 17 million hot dog rolls, to get inside), and we were going through the plan of the day.

The fans started filing in, and they were awesome. So many homemade tshirts, Cullen Baseball shirts, painted faces, baseball socks, and lots of books. People were breaking into chants and cheers, and waving their books in the air (talk about a funny moment for me as a student of adaptation... at a baseball game, watching the actors, and seeing the books in the stadium... ahh the power of a book on fan mania and merchandising!).

Around 8:30 the actors started arriving and I was sent down to the field suites where they were having coffee sessions with fans. That was a lot of fun. Edi Gathegi was chatting with a couple of women about the relationships in Twilight, Rachelle Lefevre was twittering with some fans and taking pictures to post on their accounts, Peter Facinelli was wooing a big group and being his normal, comic-savvy self, and the room at the end was a fun fest. Solomon Trimble, Christian Serratos, Logan Welch, Michael Welch, Sean McGrath (frat boy), Catherine Grimme (young Bella), Ayanna Berkshire (Cora, the waitress), Alex Meraz (Paul in New Moon), and Kiowa Gordon (Embry) were in there with a big group of ladies completely enjoying themselves; hamming it up for their cameras, chatting with each other (you could definitely see the camraderie of the gang), and getting pumped for the game.

The fan games started during the coffees, and so did the heat! It was a scorcher! I felt bad for Rachelle's security in their suits! I was as hot as anything in a sundress, and I wish I had counted how many times I ran up and down the stadium steps in that heat; I definitely got my workout in! The cast took to the field to warm up, and I was rather floored at how good they were. It wasn't just connecting with the ball, they were hitting them way out, catching and throwing like pros... dang these people and their multiple talents!

The players were split into two teams: The Veggie Vampires Dances with Wolves (Peter's team), and Portland Purple People Eaters (Rachelle's team)...they came up with their own names. You'd have to ask them. The game was great. Everyone was having a good time, but obviously still competitive, and played wicked well. I was most impressed with Catherine Grimme... that girl is good!

There were lots of antics- a mock fight between the boys over a bad call, Rachelle replacing Peter with another pitcher as she didn't like his throws- and some fun effects too. There was a bit in the second inning where Catherine took a hit and immeidately was called 'safe', seemingly without running around the bases, so she looked like she had vampire speed! Really we filmed it the day before and Tyler sped it up with effects, but it looked great!

Peter's team won, and they were gracious about it... to an extent :) There may have been a few tossed gloves and well-intended tackles to the ground! Throughout the game there were pictionary games on the big screen, music, and all sorts of shenanigans. It was a lot of fun! I pretty much had access everywhere which was certainly a good time. I was on the field, in the boxes, taking hundreds of pictures of the actors, games, crew, and fans all day long.

It was neat to have a clear purpose through the day; to see the big picture and keep in mind that this was a fun, exciting and beneficial event, but still manage all of the small fires that exploded through the day. It was great, and not a shabby way to spend the fourth of July!

After the game there were autograph sessions where people could purchase autographs from each of the actors. I was with Christian Serratos and she was very cool. Friendly and happy to chat with everyone, and she enjoyed soaking JD on the field with a hose, he was another volunteer at her table. It was a nice, ridiculous way to end the ridiculous day... watching her tackle JD with a hose... haha.

I liked the laid back feel of the day; we were constantly running all over the place, and I think I subsisted on a handful of almonds and water until about 4pm, but it was still such a holiday/enjoyment atmosphere. I found it kind of disheartening to see the funds and particulars involved in doing an event like this, but I certainly understand the business aspects of the job, even if the job is playing ball on the fourth of July!

It's now just three weeks to TwiCon, and I think everything is lining up pretty darn well! Until then I'm de-Twilighting a smidge and focusing on chapters for my PhD...right. I tend to forget that I've this other giant project to do at the same time...

Pictures soon, I hope :)

Vampire Baseball

So I'm in Portland (YAY!), and have found that this city is just as rockin' as I remembered. It's gorgeous out, I've been able to finally relax a smidge and reorganize my work and contacts, and opportunities are abounding. I'm meeting with a director about an indie film on Monday, PA-ing for a few events here and there, and this weekend I'm managing a filming project for Vampire Baseball!

We're still working out the details of what that will be, but basically I'll be creating something like a video diary of the day; following the actors' coffees, arrivals, and play, fan reactions and all sorts of stuff like that to be projected on the big screen in PGE Park.

I'm sure I'll Twitter on the day, and do a write up afterwards; it's been awhile since I've been able to do one of those. Anyone gonna be there?

Sparking Adaptation Thoughts...

Every now and then, just when you think you have a water-tight schedule for how your research will progress that day, something comes along that blows it all up. Sometimes this can make you want to rip your hair from the roots, lock yourself in a small cupboard in the basement of a library and never see or speak to humans again as you rock back and forth, hugging your knees, trying to remember why you dove into PhD research in the first place, but sometimes, like today, it gets you whirling and thinking about all sorts of avenues that you hadn't thought about before.

All it took for me today was the interview on makingof.com with Melissa Rosenberg. It was only 8 minutes long, but while Twilight gossip runs rampant (and you'll notice I'm not a fan of commenting on the periphery gossip of the cast), information on the creative processes of the adaptations is not as plentiful; and every time there's just one new line of information, I get about a dozen new questions and ideas to follow.

I'm not familiar with makingof.com, but obviously I'm now going to stalk it for some of my behind-the-scenes informational needs. This interview was fairly general, but she did give me a few jumping off items that I'm going to have to see if I can learn more about. It was neat to hear about the processes in general; what she is used to, how she generally works, and then the specific examples with the Twilight Saga. I was surprised to learn that she considered her collaboration with Stephenie Meyer in Twilight's adaptation was less than it is in New Moon and Eclipse, as I certanily always got the feeling that she was heavily invovled in all of the processes. Although that may have been more towards the end; once they had a draft they circulated it to Meyer, and that's where the tweaking happened, whereas in Eclipse, Rosenberg actually sent Meyer her outline for the film, and they've worked together utilizing the unwritten elements of the novel (i.e. the significant backstory and mythology that didn't need to be in the book, but Meyer had to create to understand and write the text), and incorporating them into the film.

I also liked how Rosenberg called these moments 'easter eggs', using the DVD terminology for secrets hidden in the disc that only the die-hards would find, or the fans would understand. This is a nice nod to the ravenous fanbase who will, of course, have read all of the correspondance on The Twilight Lexicon, read the deleted chapters on Meyers's website, and have poured through every periphery text that has branched off from Meyers's four original texts. It's interestng to have one media's terminology (easter eggs for DVDs) apply to a film and a novel.

Lastly (well, lastly for this post, I've gotta go type some of this up while I'm thinking about it!), it was nice to hear Rosenberg's acknowledgement of the fans. She knew she was working with something beloved by millions, and many would disregard this in the creative process and just write the story that they felt needed to be told, but when working with a hugely popular text like this, and producing one of thes translation for an event film*, I think you need to realize the impact that respecting the fans can have on the final piece. It doesn't sound like she found that to be a shackle to her writing, but instead more of a motivation to turn a well-realized novel into a better-realized screenplay.

I still don't think the Twilight Saga is a perfect adaptation (nothing ever will be), but it's brilliant to analyze the different aspects of this particular work, and see how they have approached each translation of the novel, and how they are learning from each act as well. Twilight was open to all, very few knew what it was they were actually working with (as in the scope and mania surrounding this film). Now, with New Moon, it's a closed set, very few pictures and interviews have been released, and the set-visits were very limited and controlled (good for the filmmakers to control the interpretation and access of the media, but not necessarily an accurate representation of that set; it's more tailored and limited), and there have been less leaks of information online. I'll be quite interested to see how this affects the script, the film, the advertising and reception of the finished work.

See? Rambling... brain spinning... I love these days that get me thinking. I'm off now to see what other avenues and questions I can pull from this.


*I feel the need to define 'event film' as I don't think I have before. Event film is a rather new term, and it basically refers to a film that transcends one media, is from another print source, usually, and has entertainment events attached to its releases (i.e. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Twilight... based off of beloved books, huge fan base, midnight release parties, conventions, concerts and merchandise associated with each release etc.)

TwiCon and update

TwiCon's program is online! I'm sure we're still going to have to tweak it here and there as things come up, but it's there! Panelists are preparing, papers are being composed, and fans are getting more fanatic :) Anyone planning on attending?

I'm nearing the end of my year in Wales, and preparing for a bounce-all-over-the-place summer in the States! I had a conference this past week that I've been helping to organize for a few months and we had someone drop out at the last minute, so I whipped up a presentation on Twilight, of course. It's definitely a topic I can wax on without notes at this point! It was actually really interesting. I talked about authorial intent and audience expectation; i.e. what Stephenie Meyer's motivations were when writing it, what the filmmakers intentions are, what the fan's expectations are, and exactly how all of those things worked together during Twilight's adaptation to the big screen. It was actually kind of fun, and the questions at the end were brilliant. People asking all sorts of academicy stuff, and the discussion was a great stimulant for more research. Yay for last minute papers working out!

I've just one more week in Wales, then I'm heading home to see my folks for a few days in Pennsylvania, then to North Carolina for a family thing, then Oregon to work on an indie film set and shadow some production companies (I need more practical experience), then to Dallas Texas for TwiCon, then to New Hampshire for camp (YAY!) , then my sister's wedding in New Hampshire, and back to Wales in September! Whooooosh. Well my carbon footprint has not been small this year, but I hope I counter it somewhat by not owning a car, only using bikes, walking and public transport whenever I am in one of these many locations and being as hippily green as I possibly can :)

(p.s. this second picture is from Abergwyngregn, the next town over from Bangor where I was housesitting two weeks ago. I just popped it in to remember how gorgeous where I live is!)

Here's my list of to do for the blog:
* Talk about the script reading course I took at the Script Factory in London (rockin')
* Scene by scene analysis of Twilight
* Script vs. novel analysis
* Play the board game ad-nauseum (just bought it... disappointed that the trivia questions aren't challeging enough :-D)
* Maybe talk a bit about stage adaptations; I saw Lord of the Rings ages ago, I keep hearing about a Harry Potter stage play, and then there are the cross overs like Billy Elliot, Chicago, Nine, Mama Mia... I'll stew on that one
*...And any other random thoughts that enter my head :)

Now I just need 57 hours in my day, and I'll get all of it done! Plus my two chapters for my PhD, my yearly review, my scholarly article, and finding more conferences away from my Uni at which to present.

It'll be fiiiiine :)

New Old Montepulciano Pictures

Just wanted to bring these up. There was an anonymous comment on my last post (thank you for your extremely helpful input!) of these pics of the fountain in the square.

First of all, they're gorgeous, and second of all, I'm really interested in what this is going to look like when it's all done. Maybe they found these too? Maybe they're going to try to get something to look like the original? Inspired by the Italian masters? We shall see!


First One

Second One

I'm not sure who the owner is, so I'm only linking back to their page. Full credit to them :)

Montepulciano Report

Sorry for the delay, but now back to Montepulciano...

It was lovely. My trip back to the States last month was brilliant, but it was jam-packed, busy as anything, and I was exhausted at the end. Italy, on the other hand, was like one, big, spa visit :) I felt so rested and focused when I came back, and Montepulciano was certainly the highlight of the trip.

We drove from Siena to Montepulciano and on the way we stopped in Montecino and Pienza, both cities famous for their red wine and peccorino (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong) cheese...so good). The countryside of Tuscany was beautiful; rolling green hills, tall cyprus trees lining the drives of vineyard after vineyard, and ancient walled cities every 20km or so, one of which was Montepulciano.

I made my father pull over at one point so I could get a picture from the road as we approached the city, as I'm sure it'll be an establishing shot in New Moon. The city sits on top of a hill and while it's gorgeous in hues of orange, red and brown amongst the greenery, it is rather ominous and forbidding. That's the point of these hill-fort towns though, to protect them against invaders and be forbidding; that's precisely what Montepulciano does. It certainly 'sets the scene.'

After navigating the incredibly confusing, centuries-old roads (seriously, I'm amazed my father didn't kick me out of the car for leading him astray as his navigator). I then spent the next three days wandering these alleys, photographing as many of them as possible (there are 60ish photos on my webshots album, but I took 402. Yeah, 402.), and enjoying the quiet peacefulness of the city while sampling its fabulous food and wine :)

On my second day there I was sitting in the Piazza Grande working my way through a film theory book with a glass of red and enjoying the general splendor of the beautiful day and the striking architecture that would soon be turned into a film set. Behind me I noticed a sign in front of the Information Center for the town, and as I approached it I could see it was the call for extras auditions for New Moon. The men one day, and the women and children the following day.

I went into the Info Center and asked one of the employees there a bunch of questions about Montepulciano's participation in the filming. She hadn't heard of the books, but she said she did notice that they were going to be particularly busy during that week, despite that usually being a fairly quiet tourism time for them. She said that she had been handling some of their hotel bookings, and that she was also helping out booking accomodation and other odds and ends for the film crew.

It was clear pretty quickly that she didn't know what the town was in for. I told her I had heard about a gathering of the Italian fans that was going to take place at the end of filming and she just said 'that's nice. We're excited about the tourism.' It will be neat to talk to her after the filming, and again perhaps a year from now to see how tourism has increased due to the Twilight connection.

Anyway, I got some good quotes from her and a couple of leads about where filming might happen around town, so I donned my camera again and returned to wandering the streets of Montepulciano.

Obviously the Piazza Grande will be used. That will be the busy square that Bella runs through just as the clock (conveniently on the tower) strikes noon. There are two alleys on either side of the main building, and both are fairly atmospheric, but I'm not convinced that they'll be the ones used in the film. Looking at the front of the building, the alley on the left is the town's public toilets, and the alley on the right is a cash machine... practical, yes, but not very visually dynamic. You can see on the pictures though just how they might be dressed, or how the camera angle could change to include only those elements that the filmmakers want.

The other building that they are supposedly using (none of this is confirmed, I'm just going on Montepulciano's tourism board), is the Palazzo Selimbini. It's about a ten minute walk straight downhill from the Piazza Grande. Sadly it wasn't open, and honestly, I'm not even sure what it is yet (hotel? Restaurant? Bank? They've all come up on my searches, but the sites are in Italian... yeah... let me know if anyone finds out). But I took pictures anyway. It is a forboding front, so it could be part of the Volturi headquarters, and there's a really good-looking alley (yes, I became a connoseuir of alleys on this trip) right next to it... so who knows?

And the final day I climbed up the clock tower building to the terrace and took some photos from there of the gorgeous scenery. It was also a national holiday (literally, such is my life... of course it was a national holiday), Italian Liberation day, so there was a band in the square, and it was the most blue-sky day we'd had since we got there.

It was definitely a brilliant town, and it is how I pictured Volterra in my mind. I'm not certain why it was Montepulciano instead, but if it projects the right feeling, is believeable, and nothing makes you say 'oh that's just not an ancient fortress-city in Italy'... then it's good. For all intents and purposes it's perfect... but then again, I haven't been to the actual Volterra, now have I?

Anywho... my webshots are here, please don't reproduce them without credit and permission. Cheers!

Let the Right One In

So I was in London last week for a media archives training course, and decided to go see Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma In), as it's certainly not playing anywhere in North Wales, and apparently I'm now a vampire movie expert (even though I have yet to see Coppola's Dracula...I know, I know, I'm a disgrace... I'm on it, don't worry :-), and lots of people have been asking if I've seen it yet. I'd heard a lot of the buzz, and figured it was certainly something worth checking out.

Let the Right One In is an independent Swedish film by director Tomas Alfredson, and written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his novel. It's about a sober, bullied, twelve year-old boy named Oskar who befriends his mysterious new neighbor, Eli; Eli smells kind of funny, often walks barefoot through the snow, and only comes out at night... it's only later that we discover this is because Eli is a vampire who has been twelve years old for a very, very long time.

It. Was. Brilliant. Seriously. I've just recently been exposed to the pleasures and versatility of World Cinema, and it's fascinating. The things people seem capable of doing when Hollywood studios aren't in charge amazes me. There are other, unique stories that are able to be told that simply 'wouldn't sell' in Hollywood without a better reason that simply being brilliant. How refreshing, huh?

In this film, I'm sure the budget was minimal, but it wasn't necessary to be large. The only special effects were the movements of Eli, and to be brutally honest, they were far superior to Edward's cartoon-like running or his sound-effect-enhanced speeding around the Volvo to open Bella's door in Twilight. I found those effects kind of cheesy, and also the tinkling when Edward sparkles, and the cheese factor took away from the more respected aspects of the story.

The gritty realism of Let the Right One In, and the raw atmosphere of it simply lend to the believability. It's a harsh climate (perpetually snowing), very little daylight, muted, dated colors, and the emphasis is on the pseudo love story of these two twelve year-olds, along with a lot of the pains of growing up. Serious issues such as bullying, lost love, bad relationships, death and divorce come into play, but it all just contributes to this compelling story between Eli and Oskar.

This is from Ebert's review (who I'm not a huge fan of, but he sums this up nicely):

Remove the vampire elements, and this is the story of two lonely and desperate kids capable of performing dark deeds without apparent emotion. Kids washed up on the shores of despair. The young actors are powerful in draining roles. We care for them more than they care for themselves. Alfredson's palette is so drained of warm colors that even fresh blood is black.

And that, I think, is an interesting part. That if you remove the vampires, you have a compelling, striking film that tugs at the heartstrings and all of that, but with the vampire element, it takes on this fantasy appeal, and you know how I feel about fantasy... I think once something is declared fantasy it allows you to put aside your own hesitations and uncertainties, and analyze big concepts more easily. If this was just a love story, I'd be hung up on the bullying, or the disgruntled parents... but because it has a bit of the supernatural, I can look beyond the plot points and examine the nature of love; what it's capable of overcoming and confronting, and how far friendship may go.

The shots were great, the characters great, the quirky humor moments great (attacking cats, dredging bodies...), and the young actors that carried the film were superb.

I do wonder if it's getting more attention because of the raised profile of anything vampire right now (thanks to Twilight's success), but I kind of think anything that draws attention to the power of independent film is okay by me.

I just hope Hollywood doesn't do a 'remake' soon. Let's just hold onto the original for awhile.

Montepulciano randomness...

Ok, so such is my life, right?

I'm in Montepulciano, which I realize is the site of Voterra for New Moon, but really I'm just thinking of it as a great place to have some great wine with my parents while they're on vacation. It's only a two-hour flight from Wales to get here, and I hadn't seen my folks in awhile, so it was just a nice hill-town for me to break away from work and see my parents. A vacation, right?

Of course I should really know by now that all things Twilight follow me no matter where I go...

So I'm sitting in the Grand Piazza in Montepulciano having a glass of Noblie (a wicked nice red wine here), and I notice a sign next to the information center with 'New Moon' in bold. Of course I have to look at it. It's a notice about casting for extras for the film (I'll upload the photos as soon as I'm back in the UK, Monday, but will post the info here). So I notice the New Moon casting, and go into the info center to chat to the staff about it.

They are horribly unaware of the wave about to descend upon them. They're excited about the prospect of more publicity and tourism, but I don't think they quite realize the following that Twilight has, and the possibilities that may arise with New Moon tours. I'll try and have a full transcript of my conversation with them, or at least something like it, when I'm out of Italy, but it was funny. I just can't escape! (Not that it's a bad thing).

The woman that worked in the information center was brilliant, and encouraged me to check out a wine shop up the street because a woman that worked there knew a bit about locations and whatnot. So I wandered up there, forced myself to taste another few sips of divine red (oh the things I suffer through for my work... :-p), and I asked her about locations. She gave me another spot she's heard of as a filming site, so I'll try and check that out in the morning.

So tomorrow is checking out this location, and climbing the clock tower (yes, the one that Kristen Stewart will run towards in order to stop Edward from stepping into the sun. And I've been taking pictures of every alley that I think may be a contender for that scene, although the alleys right next to the tower-building aren't that great. Both are picturesque, but one has a public bathroom at the end, and the other has a cash point/ATM at the end... not so cinematic...) to take a panoramic view of the area. It's just gorgeous here. Yes, I can see the Twilight elements happening here, but it's just a stunning piece of geography and history as well.

More soon, hopefully with many pictures :)

Casting Info:
28-29 April Donne and Bambini: 9:30-1, 2:30-7 (Women and Children, I think...my Italian is not so stellar)
5-6 May Uomini: 9:30-1, 2:30-7 (Men, I think, see note above regarding my Italian :)

Oh Italy...

So just a quickie... sorry I've been rubbish at updating this, but I've been ridiculously on the move in the past four weeks (I live in Wales, but I went to Portland Oregon for 10 days, San Francisco for a week, Boston for a week, New Hamsphire for a few days, three days back in Wales, a night in Liverpool, and now I'm in Italy visiting my folks whilst they are on vacation- life is tough, huh? :-p)

So I'm in Italy, and I'm heading to Montepulciano tomorrow...yeah, the place that will be Volterra in New Moon. I don't even plan this stuff; I think Twilight just follows me everywhere I go now. I knew I was meeting my parents in Siena, but beyond that I didn't know where we were going; and yes, it's the make-believe Volterra.

Anyway... I'll take a bajillion pictures, I'll have a glass of red (or four) in the square and take notes, and hopefully have some more rockin' posts coming up when I've stopped moving for more than 4 days and can finally get some of this work, analysing and research up!

Arrividerchi (yes, I know I spelled that wrong... I'm in a rush, at an internet cafe!)



UPDATE: So I'm in Montepulciano and daaaang I can so see the Volturi inhabiting this place. I took a good 100 pictures before the rain rolled in this afternoon (I killed time when it started raining by going to a wine tasting. This guy named Adamo poured for me, and he's amazing. He's 71, he's been working at this wine cellar since he was 15, he knew very little English, but a smattering of Spanish, and I know a bit of Spanish, so somehow we managed a conversation over many mini-glasses of wine... it was brilliant).

Anyway... very cool city, very Volturi-like. And I'll try not to follow any gorgeous women down any dark alleyways... especially if they're named Heidi. I'd rather not end up as someone's snack... ugh, especially not Caius'...I bed he has horrible table manners.

More soon :)

College Fairs...

So I'm back in the States (yay!) and thus far I've spent a week in Portland (so much fun; I think I may need to move there full-time), a week in San Francisco (gorgeous every single day), and tomorrow I leave for a week in Boston. Yay all around :)

So I'm actually here to do some college fairs for my University, and the first one was yesterday. It was uber busy and slightly manic (not to mention they spelled Bangor, Wales with an 'h'... yeah, they spelled it 'Whales' on my sign... really, Really??), but it was a ton of fun to talk to high school sophomores and juniors who were thinking about coming to Bangor for their undergraduate degree.

It was very cool to talk to all of them, and share my story, but there was definitely a huge chunk of the people that I talked to because of their interest in Twilight and my work with it... funny. I'd start talking about my university, and how it let's me study what I'm passionate about, but that they make sure it's got the academic chinks to stand up to a PhD review board, and then I'd get... "Wait, Twilight? You're studying Twilight?!?" It was kind of great. And it's certainly a great conversation starter when the person that approaches my booth is wearing a 'Team Edward' t-shirt. Heehee...

So I'm going to Boston tomorrow, and the fair there is on Tuesday and Wednesday if there are any high school students looking to attend and find out about some colleges, or if anyone is looking for grad school and is going to this fair to check them out either.... I'll be there! Come find me: Here's the info.

In other news... it's not looking likely that I'll be on New Moon (insert horrid groan here). I still can't really believe it went from me possibly being on the crew of the film, to not even getting a set visit..... They're being massively protective of this set, as I'm sure most of you have realized as there are no stories or pictures of the filming out there thus far, really, and it's pretty much just mainstream entertainment that is getting access. I think that kinda blows, as the first one was so exciting because it involved the fanbase and the periphery elements (like academics like me!).

One of the high-ranking crew has offered to help me with research though, so hopefully I'll still get some sort of information; granted it won't be my own observations and therefore I'll have to take them with a grain of salt, and they'll probably have a 'studio' spin on them, but still... I'm glad they're still talking to me and not just banning any aspect of my work and New Moon, and I'll take whatever info I can get at this point.

Bugger.

Anyway... I'm gonna keep truckin' along. I am working my way through the DVD, so hopefully after my week in Boston I'll start posting some scene by scene filmy-analysis-type stuff. Keep an eye out :)

Twilight Release on DVD

The day has come! It's in our hands! YAY!

Well, it's not yet in my hands, but it will be momentarily. So I'm back in the States after a 24-hour travel day, I had an extra week to kill, and as I'm mildly obsessed with Portland Oregon, I decided it was necessary to come up here and play for a week. So my pre-ordered DVD and Director's Notebook went to my folk's place, and they're forwarding it onto me. I am looking forward to seeing the film again (although it's still in a few theaters around Portland...fun), but I'm looking forward to the commentary, deleted scenes and featurettes even more!

Some of the extra scenes that have already been released made me cringe in a 'what the heck were you thinking' kind of a way (letting Edward suck a sip from Bella's finger?! He'd NEVER do that. He'd never let himself be that tempted), but I'm stoked to see some of the other missing bits, the commentary, and the infamous 'Midnight Sun' (or Dark High Noon if you're the TL) scene.

It's been an impressive weekend for the DVD already, selling more than 3 million copies (a feat only matched by Harry Potter OOTP, Pirates of the Carribean, The Dark Knight and Transformers, apparently). As if we can be surprised by anything from Twilight anymore, but still... it's good to see the success.

This whole process has been so interesting to analyze. There's a new term in the film world called 'The Event Film' that Twilight is most certainly a part of. These are films like The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter that have a massive fan following, and the film releases (and every other release associated with the book/film) are massive events effecting profits, the economy, merchandising and star power among other things. A book just came out discussing all of the different elements of The Lord of the Rings in regards to this, and I think I'm writing the Twilight one...not sure yet how this is shaping up :) Fun.

So yay for being in Portland, yay for nearly having Twilight in my hands, yay for New Moon possibilities (no, I still haven't heard anything, my fingers are permanently crossed and I hope yours are too), yay for time away from Uni (I love it, but everyone needs a breather for themselves!) and yay for the monstrous amounts of analyzing I'm about to do. I'm not sure how I'll proceed.. scene by scene analysis? Comparison to the book? Character analysis? We'll see how the spirit moves me.

More soon... yay Portland :)

Twitter....

Just fyi... I've joined the Twitter world! I'm still figuring all of this out... I can see what MC Hammer had for breakfast? Really? Um... I think I can live without that :)

Anyway, now you can see my daily ramblings, grumbles and squeals of delight if you'd like to :)

http://twitter.com/MaggieParke

What's my line?

Dang rumors are running rampant, are they not? Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Soloman... nuts! The past two weeks have been manic in my world as well, and I think I've actually been living the crazy life of a real PhD student recently- up at 7am, in bed around midnight, and literally working that ENTIRE time. Nuts! Things are rockin' and rolling though. Planning conferences, teaching classes, examining methodology, organizing the academic elements of TwiCon(If you're coming to TwiCon and want to share something, there's a new call for papers up! You can present a Twilight-themed paper or sit on a Twilight-themed panel), and lots of international office (my part-time job) news- I'm coming Stateside! My University's International Office is sending me to Boston and San Francisco for college fairs, and of course I'm going to turn it into a partial research trip as well and hopefully hitting up Portland and perhaps Vancouver :) ...and oh yeah, my first chapter is due in four days. It's fiiiine...

But my focus for today is not ranting about my levels of busy... that's dull. Instead I'm going to explore something I've been mulling over recently with Twilight. I can't wait until I have a copy of the film in my hands to really tear some of the scenes apart, time things, analyze shots, angles, lighting, cuts etc., but until then I'm contenting myself by thinking about elements that I remember from set that have changed with the finished film, and what thoughts may have gone into the decision to cut things.

The last time I saw Twilight in the cinema was about five weeks ago, and before I went in, I reviewed my notes and the dialogue gathered from the scenes I observed being filmed so I could see what made the cut and what didn't. The interesting thing is that every scene that I observed being filmed had at least three additional lines per scene that didn't make it to the finished film. Some of these lines were straight from the book, some were inventions, some poignant, some hysterical, and a myriad of other adjectives. Some I can see why they were cut, as they weren't integral to the scene or weren't necessary, so they could be removed without compromising the scene, others I really wonder why... the stock answer is 'it always comes down to time.' The film has to be made under a certain time or none but the truly obsessed would be able to stand it for six hours or more (granted that would be a dream come true for many Twilight or Potter fans). So yes, of course time is a factor.

But why some of these lines? Lines that already made it through various drafts and bodies of approval, and that were actually filmed only to end up on the cutting room floor. For example, in the restaurant scene, the dialogue on the day of shooting had a few additional lines that were the only lines of the day to illicit a response from some of the visitors on set.

Bella: You're not getting anything?
Edward: No, I'm on a special diet.
Bella: .... (just a deep breath and then goes into the 'you gotta give me some answers')

It's basic, gets the point across, and shows us that Edward apparently doesn't eat.

But the original response from the day of filming was
Bella: You're not getting anything?
Edward: No, I'm on a special diet.

Bella: What, like South Beach?
Edward: Not exactly (smirk)

It's a minimal change, but it had a few of us chortling out loud, and one guest turned to me and asked, "Is that line about the South Beach diet in the book?" to which I responded, "No, not that one," and she said, "That's great! It's such a heavy movie, it needs that lift." And it did lighten the scene, especially when you could see the incredulous and slightly amused look Rob/Edward gave back to Kristen/Bella.

So why change this? Why remove it? Why was something different from the text there in the first place?

There are a bunch of reasons, and I'm on the trail to discover the definite whys, but I'm speculating on the possible whys in the meantime. I'm thinking it's because yes, that line really did change the tone of the scene. For some, that was a welcome and necessary change from the seriousness of Bella nearly being attacked, a speedy get-away through town, and the weighty understanding between Bella and Edward when she agrees to have dinner with him at The Bloated Toad restaurant. And for others (i.e. the filmmakers) it was outside of the tone that they wanted to maintain for that pivotal moment in Bella and Edward's relationship, and yes, I'm guessing it also came down to time. The finished film was two hours; I'm guessing with all of the extra scenes that they've cut and lines that I've seen removed, it probably ended up somewhere around the 2:30 mark and that wasn't where they wanted it to be, so each scene was dissected and superfluous elements removed and relegated to the 'special features' menu on the dvd.

In the same scene there was another cut- Here's the original dialogue in the film:
Bella: Wait, you said you heard what they were thinking? What, you can read minds?
Edward: I can read every mind here (lists them) but you? Nothing...

And here's what they filmed in April:
Bella: Wait, you said you heard what they were thinking? What, you can read minds? (pause) What am I thinking right now? Wait.... ok, go.

Edward: (smirk) I can read every mind here (lists them) but you? Nothing... it's very frustrating.

I really enjoyed that line because it showed the incredulity of Bella, but also the quick understanding and acceptance that she seems to have for supernatural elements when it comes to people she loves. This then spins directly into her showing us a quirky bit of her personality by challenging Edward to look at what she's thinking... but I liked how she said "wait" like she had to censor her thoughts first :)

I think the scene in the film read well. It was beautifully staged and although particular moments that I appreciated and enjoyed in the text were removed, it kept the inherent elements of the book while adding quirky and unique elements for the film (i.e. going around the room and saying what each person was thinking about, and ending with the biker daydreaming about cats... = rockin'). But this is just an illustration of what editing does. I'm not saying the scene was better or worse for adding or removing these elements, but it does show you how different one film could possibly be from another version of just itself (not to mention from a different director, different cast, different screenwriter etc.), made from the same shots but from different angles or with a line said in a different tone.

-----> I need to go on a 'tone tangent.' The line at the end of this scene when Edward says "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore" and Bella responds, "then don't".... the actual line from the script was, "Edward, you don't have to." and Kristen changed it to "then don't," which I think is more effective, stronger, and more Bella-like. Bella can be blunt and brave without being cliche, and I think this line shows that, and I was grateful there was enough fluidity in the script to allow for this change. It didn't feel right to Kristen, the Powers that Be agrees, and she chagned it to what was more natural for her and Bella.... anyway, tangent over.

Okay, that was just the tip of the iceberg, but it's good to get some thoughts down on the page while I'm thinking of them. Of course I often wish that they could include in a film all of my favorite bits from the book, but I understand now that that isn't possible; and, frankly, it would make for a long and dull film, due to the inherent differences in reading a book and reading a film. But I have now been wondering how bits that make it through all of that and are actually filmed end up cut...

Anywho... I'll leave you with this fun tidbit that gives credit to the research of the crew: Rob was having a problem remembering what the square root of pi was and it took multiple takes (no one was frustrated, it just took multiple takes, and by the end we were all chanting the square root of pi... I don't think I'll ever forget it!)... but I overheard Judy, the script supervisor, say to Rob, "You're supposed to have two PhDs, you should know the square root of pi." It's true, Edward apparently went to medical school with Carlisle twice, but this is information only shared in the extra materials of Stephenie Meyer. It's in the extra chapters on her webpage and the interview sessions on The Twilight Lexicon... I got rather excited that not only did the whole cast and most of the crew read the book (unlike other adaptations I know... cough*The Dark is Rising*cough... but they read the extra, peripheral stuff that not even all Twilight fans have read. They did their research, and that pleased me.

Okay, until next time... and also if anyone fancies commenting on this, were there added bits in the film that struck you as 'out of character' for whoever was delivering it? Or what about added bits that you loved and are glad things were changed? Why?

Update...

I know, I know, I'm horrible at posting often. It's my biggest pet peeves with other blogs that I read, but it takes me a long time to come up with something worthwhile to say (as much as I'm sure you guys would really love my mundane ramblings...), and even longer to get my rear in gear and post it! (and yes, this picture is where I live, it's Cwm Idwal in Wales).

So it's the start of a new semester, classes start tomorrow, and I'm rather stoked. I'm teaching IT (web design and photoshop, that sort of stuff), and Writing for Children which I'm really looking forward to. It's a base course in Children's lit, as well as a lot of workshop elements on how to write literature that children may read. I'm still planning on some film placements and career shadowing opportunities, so fingers crossed for all of that please, but I'm gaining some pretty great core experience in the meantime as well.

Also, I gave a presentation last Friday about my work thus far, and I think it went really well. I put together a power point (it's on my googlesite if you're really bored :) just outlining the basics of my research; why I'm studying what I'm studying, how I came to do it, the opportunities I've had, where it's all going and what I hope to do with it in the end. I enjoyed the actual presentation, and afterwards I got a ton of questions and for one of the first times in my academic career, I knew the answers to all of the questions. That was always the part that I dreaded. I feared that someone would ask me something that I wouldn't know the answer to, I'd be stumped, and look like the brainless fool that I sometimes feel that I am.... but I actually answered everything, got into some great discussions with fellow academics, and held my own discussing Twilight, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and adaptations in general. It was brilliant.

I know there's been a ton of news recently regarding all of these adaptations (Dakota Fanning, America Ferrera, I know the same info you do, and no, I don't have any opinions on the rumors until they are facts; that is when I evaluate everything and reflect on it, but there are too many things said before they are confirmed, and rumors are a waste of my time, frankly, though they can be interesting to consider... and as a side note did you see the newest Twilight spoof video? The girl playing Bella is the girl from Free Willy 2, Nadine... I had such a crush on Jason James Richter :-) anyway, sorry that I'm not a news site... and I probably won't be anytime too soon... I'm a reflection, digestion, and regurgitation in a smart-way site :) I wish I could post every day about what I'm mulling over, but there's too much work with the whole PhD thing going on, not to mention teaching, TwiCon planning, two other conferences, my work in the international office, and my work for my beloved summer camp!

I can't stop my head from thinking though, and there are many, many elements of Twilight that have been stewing for the past month. I think editing will be the first that I'll tackle... then maybe characterization.. although I can't make promises :) Who knows where the heck my brain will go; and I certainly can't stop opportunities from arising, so don't worry, I'm not going to stop this anytime soon. I'll be processing different elements of the film, talking about the process of a film pre-shoot (i.e. where Harry Potter and New Moon are right now... what they're doing to prepare, who's doing what, where they're going etc.), so I'll be back up soon. I just need to get the first week of classes under my belt!