Vampire Paradise

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN: REVIEW

Says North Carolina’s Charlotte Observer, “Is there any loneliness more profound than a vampire’s? Imagine passing the centuries with no hope of lasting human contact, living always surrounded by death – the deaths of friends you lose and the deaths of strangers you kill – and hiding from a species to which you feel superior in many ways. Now imagine being stuck in the body of a middle-schooler, trapped in a frosty country that reflects the coldness of your own skin, and you have Let the Right One In. Sweden’s John Aivide Linqvist wrote the screenplay from his novel, and Tomas Alfredson directly as subtly as you could hope: The bits of carnage are brief, violent enough to convey the vampire’s disgusting compulsion, yet never gratuitous.… The film succeeds on two counts: It shows the mundane horror of the existence of Eli (Lina Leanderssohn), who will be forever 12, and the horrible mundanity of the life of Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), a normal 12-year-old who lives in the apartment next door and is found in others boys’ company only when he’s being bullied (Both actors make their debuts and could not be better).
  “…The story is more his than hers. Through Oskar we feel the joy of bloodying a bully’s face for the first time, the earliest sexual stirrings, the pain of choosing between keeping one true friend and keeping the neighborhood safe from her. Vampirism is often used in our culture as a metaphor for addiction, with thirst for blood replacing a third for sex or drugs; here, it’s simply a soul-destroying condition….”
   The film has been in limited release, though word is that an American version is in development.

HEROES & VILLAINS OF TWILIGHT

In interviews with London’s The Mirror, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart shared their thoughts about the making of the film.

ROBERT PATTINSON: “When I got into bed with Kristen, I said, ‘I’ve only known you for an hour and we’re in bed.’ I must have gone way over the top with it as well, because I remember looking up afterwards and director Catherine Hardwicke had a look on her face as if to say, ‘What are you doing? You look like you’re having a seizure.’ I felt something with Kristen which very rarely happens between two actors. I went out of the room and really wanted the part and I sent an email to Catherine about it. I then read all the books in a weekend. I don’t think Catherine knew I was in Harry Potter.”

KRISTEN STEWART: “My favorite thing about my character Bella is she is supposed to fill the role of a damsel in distress, but in an odd way she holds the power. She is very sure of herself and not afraid of the situation, which is so much bigger than her. Bella and Edward have a strange dynamic. He’s a vampire and would suck the last bit of blood out of her, yet she’s completely fascinated by him. Vampires are classically meant to draw you where they have you in a complete submitting state to where they can kill you. So that’s a little bit sexy, to completely let something take over. It’s forbidden fruit. It’s something you can’t have, you just want more.”

The Canwest News Service interviewed Edi Gathegi and Rachelle Lefevre regarding their villainous roles in Twilight as, respectfully, Laurent and Victoria. The following are highlights.

EDI GATHEGI: “I saw that fans were sort of disgruntled about my casting, because Stephenie doesn’t necessarily have an African-American in the book. [But] Laurent is described as being ‘olive-toned. But there are many different types of olives. Black olives anyone? The next day, the fans read it and they became instant supporters and believers.”

RACHELLE LEFEVRE: “Catherine [Hardwicke] and I were in a room with racks and racks of clothing, and we started talking about it and telling each other what we thought about the character, based on the books. We got as much information as we could. She obviously had ideas and I had ideas and this whole thing unfolded in this three-hour fitting where I was in all sorts of crazy things – leather pants, jeans, cut-off shorts, all kinds of crazy outfits. What we made sure of was that we had a story for every outfit. Everything had a purpose. I really felt involved in the costume process.”

EDI GATHEGI: “The book was the source material. That’s where I started from and did my own personal research and imaginative work. It was never going to make it in the film, because it was just too much, but I was trying to model parts of my character after Monsieur de Saint-George who was this famous French black man and renowned lover and a general of the army. He was like a Renaissance man, very regal.

RACHELLE LEFEVRE: “Vampires live among us in this world. I can’t get away from the thought of how well Stephenie has an explanation for absolutely everything that it would make it possible to have this virus, this infection, whatever it is, and still live in the world. For me, it opens up all kinds of new possibilities for the genre.”

NEW MOON, NEW PAY RATE

With a $70.5 million debut weekend behind it, Summit Entertainment was quick to announce they would be gearing up for the sequel to Twilight, New Moon. Reports the Chicago Sun Times, "Not only have deals ben cut for a not-unexpected second Twilight, but I've learned a third film is also virtually a done deal -- though that won't be confirmed for some time.
   "Also," the piece continues, "sources say stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will get huge salary boosts from the $2 million each earned for Twilght — reportedly $10 million more, per film, plus a nice percentage of the future movies' box-office take.  While Pattinson and Stewart are coming back... it's not confirmed that director Catherine Hardwicke will be back behind the camera. The director told the AP Sunday, 'I want to be sure that [the second film is] going to be done right. I don't want to rush into it. It's not like Friday the 13th or Halloween. You can't just do it super fast and knock another one out.' Hardwicke indicated she wanted to be sure she and the film's producers were on the same page going forward."

THE MUSIC OF "TRUE BLOOD"

In the article "Blood Tunes," printed on November 23rd in the Birmingham News, a look was provided into the music of True Blood.
   In regards to picking out songs for the show, music supervisor Gary Calamar explains, "There's a built-in sound to True Blood because of the regionality. There are 10-plus songs in every show, and the main setting calls for classic blues to new Southern rock to Americana. There's also industrial and Goth, lots of heavy, dark beats. The trend in television these days is music, music, music. Some network shows use it as padding. Fortunately, in the case of True Blood, we're using it artistically and creatively. And the budget, although not extraordinary, allows us to use a lot of good music."
   In the interview, Calamar admits that there have been disagreements between he and executive producer Alan Ball, particularly in the case of the show's main theme, Jace Everett's "Bad Things," which Ball discovered on iTunes and wanted touse, though Calamar didn't necessarily agree. In the end, Ball was the winning "vote."
   "It was a nice little exerise to try and beat it, but Alan's instincts were right," Calamar says. "It's a fantastic song that mixes up the menace with humor and wit."
   According to the story, a soundtrack to the show is in the works. 

TWILIGHT ACTORS VAMP FOR FILM

TWILIGHT: ASSORTED VIDEOS, PART 1

VAMPIRES & SLAYERS PRINT MAGAZINE. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO ORDER, JUST CLICK HERE.

JOSS WHEDON ON SAYING GOODBYE TO "BUFFY"

From the Vampires & Slayers archives we've pulled this interview with Buffy/Angel creator Joss Whedon in which he reflects on the evolution of Buffy the Vampire Slayer through its seven year run. If you'd like to read more in depth interviews with Joss on Buffy's run, as well as the evolution of Angel through its five year run, then check out the first print edition of Vampires and Slayers magazine. You can find information on how to order the magazine below or through the entry devoted to it.

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VAMPIRES & SLAYERS PRINT MAGAZINE. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO ORDER, JUST CLICK HERE.

MOONLIGHT AUDIO INTERVIEW: CATCHING UP WITH ALEX O'LOUGHLIN

Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin, who is currently in the midst of developing a new series for CBS, took some time to catch up with V&S about what's happening in his career. In the conversation he readdresses the cancellation of Moonlight and gets into a discussion of what he looks for in the characters that he plays. For a written version of this interview, please check out the premiere edition of the Vampires & Slayers print magazine. Information on the mag and ordering can be found by clicking below, or by going to the entry on the mag featured on the main page.

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More information on the Vampires & Slayers print magazine, featuring Moonlight, Twilight, the Buffyverse and more, can be found by clicking HERE.

TWILIGHT AUDIO INTERVIEW: CATHERINE HARDWICKE ON THE CHALLENGES OF ADAPTATION

In this excerpt from an exclusive interview conducted by V&S editor Edward Gross, Catherine Hardwicke discusses the challenges of adapting Stephenie Meyer's novel as a film. In particular, she addresses the needs of adding an action quotient, actually filming action sequences that are hinted at or discussed from Bella's point of view in the novel. For much more from Catherine as well as screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, with profiles of Stephenie Meyer, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, check out the print edition of Vampires & Slayers magazine. Look for the entry on the mag on the main page, or head down below for a link to it.

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For information on the Vampires & Slayers magazine, please click HERE.