A lot of things were going on yesterday. Oprah was announcing the end of her daytime talk show. Sarah Palin was touring the country, promoting her new book and jabbing at Obama’s policies at every turn. Surely, Taylor Swift was walking around somewhere telling someone that she wasn’t dating Taylor Lautner.

But ask most any girl under the age of 16 (and their moms, for that matter) what November 20 meant to them, and they’d tell you one thing: “New Moon.”

At midnight last night, girls were lining up at theaters all around the world to catch the first glimpse of the sequel. Would it include all the important parts from the book? they wondered. Will the special effects be cool? Will there be enough Edward?

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit I was asking myself the same things as I walked into the theater. And in the end, I was not disappointed.

Catherine Hardwicke’s “Twilight” was lacking in these ways: there was stilted dialogue, awkward special effects and some funny scenes that weren’t meant to be funny. Director Chris Weitz transitioned the cold, awkward world of “Twilight” into a warm, emotional and dynamic “New Moon.”

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg seems to have taken a little more time with this script, as the banter between the characters feels natural. She leaves the “lion and the lamb” quotes in the book where they belong.

The movie touches on almost every important scene in the book, which will please die-hard (or Twi-hard) fans. The movie moves quickly, giving about 15 minutes to process every intense emotion that Stephenie Meyer spent 100 pages talking about, so it can feel a bit rushed. But when you realize that the movie is over two hours long, you re-think that assessment.

The only part of the film that was seriously lacking was the wolf pack. Only two of the four have any serious build, and if you’re going to spend half the movie walking around shirtless, you need to at least get rid of the muffin top. Not to mention the fact that the wolf transformations are by turns incredibly realistic and incredibly…not. The wolves sometimes look fierce and other times, look like cartoons, which is a big disappointment if you’ve seen “The Golden Compass.” And there’s an unforgivable sequence where wolf pack leader Sam Uley jumps off of a cliff and you feel like you’re watching an animation from the “Tomb Raider” computer game you had as a kid.

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner have incredible chemistry. Kristen plays the broken Bella very well, and Lautner exudes the warmth of his character. Plus, he’s not bad to look at either. In the end, your heart breaks when he begs her to stay, and the most loyal Edward fans wonder if maybe they wouldn’t choose Jacob instead.

But in the end, the movie brings you back to Edward and Bella, as it should. It ends on a well-deserved cliff-hanger, leaving the Twi-hards squealing until next June, when the third installment, “Eclipse,” is scheduled for release.

• 66 percent say the love story in “New Moon” is the biggest draw in their decision to buy a ticket.
• 57 percent claim Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) is the secondary character they’d most like to see in his or her own “Twilight” spin-off movie.
• 39 percent of moviegoers plan to take off time on Friday – from school or work – in order to see the movie.
• 27 percent of respondents surprisingly picked “Breaking Dawn” as their favorite book among Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” novels; 16 percent chose “Eclipse; 11 percent voted for the first “Twilight” and only 8 percent pegged “New Moon” as their favorite. (38 percent said they love all the “Twilight” books equally.)

“New Moon” hits theaters Friday.

According to Schiltz, however, when “Monsters” plays in “New Moon,” Twi-hards won’t be squealing for Hurricane Bells. Schiltz told Blast that the song he wrote will introduce everybody’s favorite vegetarian vampire, Edward Cullen.

“Bella gets a camera for her birthday,” Schiltz said excitedly, setting up the scene. “She takes it to school and…’Monsters’ is in that scene. It’s the first time you see Edward on camera. He pulls up in the school parking lot and…he walks out and he’s in slow motion. And then that’s when you hear the guitar riff.”

So if you think you can’t wait ’til Friday, do what I do: put “Monsters” on repeat, close your eyes and imagine Edward Cullen is coming to wish you a happy birthday.

Watch our full interview with Hurricane Bells below:

Tanya DeJesus and Melissa Unger contributed to this report.

Brooklynne Peters and Melissa Unger contributed to this story.

Fans got to submit their questions before the Q & A session and Lutz, who plays Emmett in “Twilight,” answered some randomly selected questions and made the fans swoon with his charm. Here are some of the questions he got to answer.

QUESTION: How do you feel about being part of one of the biggest movie franchises of all time?

KELLAN LUTZ: You know what? It’s a real, it’s an honor to be a part of something that fans are so loyal to and support. It’s a magic carpet ride. To all of us actors, I think we really are living in this “Twilight” zone and it really hasn’t sunk into how big of a phenomenon it is.

Q: What is you favorite part of playing the role of Emmett?

KL: I love how much fun he gets to pick at Bella, especially in “Eclipse.” Kristen Stewart is amazing. Just to make her laugh when we were shooting and have her crack up. She would be like “I’m sorry Kellan, I can’t take it!” It’s so funny. It’s fun.

Q: What is it like playing a tough big brother?

KL: I have a lot of experience playing a tough big brother. I have a large family and I got picked on growing up and I did some picking on the little ones. So it’s always fun playing the big brother role, especially trying to crack jokes on Rob when he doesn’t get it. Again, we have such a great cast and we’re all, without any of us it wouldn’t be the family that we’ve forged.

Q: What is your favorite non-Emmett scene in “New Moon?”

KL: I’ll have to say just watching the Volturi. I never got the chance to meet them. But Michael Sheen’s amazing. I finally got to meet them while shooting “Eclipse,” and they are a great group of actors.

Q: Do you have any secrets you can share with us about “Eclipse?”

KL: I’m topless throughout the whole movie, pretty much!

Q: What are your plans for after “The Twilight Saga” ends?

KL: I’m gonna cry and be depressed. I love being a part of this franchise. To have all you guys, fans, and to play Emmett…I wake up happy everyday and I’m not sad. But when it’s all said and done, I want to be the next action star. I want to play Jason Bourne.

Brooklynne Peters and Melissa Unger collaborated with Tanya DeJesus on this story

But don’t take our word for it. Just ask the teenage girls who waited for hours-upon-end this weekend just to get a glimpse of him as he passed through the Natick Collection on his “New Moon” mall tour. Even without the appeal of his co-star Ashley Greene (”She’s my best friend,” he said), who was supposed to join him (her appearance was cancelled), Lutz, with his blue eyes and movie star smile, had no trouble filling a mall with screeching “Twi-hards” a week before the release of “New Moon.”

But just a few hours before the Natick Collection madness began, Kellan, dressed in black from head to toe, capped off with brightly bleached hair (it’s jet black in “Twilight”) sat down with Blast and a few other reporters to talk about sudden fame, snowboarding and making fun of co-star Kristen Stewart.

Like many of the actors in “Twilight,” Lutz was just another struggling actor before his role in the vampire series thrust him into the spotlight. With a few parts here and there, he wasn’t unknown, but the “Twilight” phenomenon brought him and many of his cast mates unprecedented fame.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that Lutz plays a lovable, bulky vegetarian vampire in “Twilight” who likes to play off of his more serious, sparkly brother, Edward. Edward is caught in a tricky situation with a human girlfriend named Bella and his overwhelming desire to have her for lunch. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

Those who have seen the movie might not be able to picture Lutz in any other role, though he says it came very close to being that way. Initially, he was offered an audition for the part of Edward, the pensive, pining bloodthirsty lead.

“I had just gotten back from doing ‘Generation Kill,’” Lutz said, “which was seven months in Africa portraying Marines killing people. I did not want to play a depressed, complex character like Edward. And my agent’s like ‘It’s gonna be huge!’ and I’m like ‘Cool!’ *click* (simulates hanging up a phone).”

But thanks to that persistent agent and a change of perspective, Lutz found his way to playing Emmett Cullen, who he claims he is more suited for.

“He’s this happy-go-lucky guy with no fears,” Lutz said with a gleaming smile. “He’s indestructible. He’s this monster. And he just laughs, cause nothing can hurt him…and he just makes fun of Bella.”

Fans of the books know that Emmett Cullen spends most of his time finding ways to poke fun at the saga’s clumsy, red-faced heroine Bella Swan, played in the films by Kristen Stewart. Lutz brought that spirit to the set of “New Moon” and “Eclipse” by ribbing Stewart whenever he got the chance.

“I do!” Lutz said when asked if he liked making fun of people on set. “Especially Kristen…we had some great scenes in ‘Eclipse,’ and it’s fun just hanging out with her, ’cause she’s just such a free bird. Saying the funny lines that my character gets to say and having her laugh when she’s not supposed to…(she’d say) ‘You guys, we gotta go again!’ She’s adorable.”

Lutz shared about a specific scene in Eclipse where, though she tried, Stewart couldn’t keep a straight face due to Lutz’s humor.

“There’s a scene when Bella hurts her arm because she hits Jacob,” Lutz said, “and so Jasper and I walk in, and I say some really funny comments. She tried to go tit-for-tat with the humor, (but) she just kept on laughing.”

Lutz, Stewart and the rest of the ensemble cast for “Twilight” have been working together for two years, giving them time to develop a rapport. But critics wondered if that chemistry would be altered when the decision was made to find a new director for the second film, “New Moon.” Once the success of the franchise became apparent after the release of “Twilight” ( “It opened so high that they greenlit it the next day, which was amazing,” Lutz said) the sequels were put on the fast-track to release.

“Twilight” Director Catherine Hardwicke declined to direct “New Moon,” claiming she would need more time to prepare than the studio would allow. Director Chris Weitz (”About A Boy,” “American Pie”) was quickly brought in, and the Twilight world waited with baited breath to see if he could recreate the magic in “New Moon” that Hardwicke had brought to “Twilight.”

Lutz said that the two directors had very different styles, but each suited the story they told. “Twilight” had to make a vampire love story not only realistic, but compelling, and Lutz said Hardwicke succeeded in making that happen.

“‘Twilight’ is an artsy movie, and Catherine had just such a great independent style,” Lutz said. “She really captured the beauty of what ‘Twilight’ is.”

“New Moon,” which details the heartrending loss of first love, called for a melancholy tone, which Lutz said Weitz was perfect for. “(Weitz is) so chill. He’s so easygoing,” Lutz said. “It didn’t feel like work.”

In “New Moon,” much to the fans’ dismay, Lutz and the rest of the Cullens disappear for awhile, acting in Bella’s best interest.

“All us Cullens wish we could be in that movie so much more,” Lutz said. “But we can’t because we’re sticking really close to the book. And we’re in the movie for the really crucial scenes, but we disappear. We go away for Bella’s safety.”

Now, before the second movie has even been released, the third one is on its way — and yes, there’s yet another director. David Slade (”30 Days of Night”) is following Weitz’s tear-tinged “New Moon” with an edgier “Eclipse,” which just wrapped filming.

In “Eclipse,” the Cullens are back…along with some werewolves, some angry vampires and a very clumsy Bella. This makes for a lot of fight scenes, which are Lutz’s forte.

“In ‘Eclipse,’ I worked so much doing fight training,” Lutz said. “My character’s there for all the action.”

But Lutz wanted to make sure he got in on the real action on set.

“I nagged and nagged and nagged so I could do all my stunts,” he said. “And I was so annoying that finally -– I’ve been annoying for the past two years trying to do my stunts — they finally allowed me to do a lot of my own stunts, which is great. ‘Cause whenever I can do that, I put 150 percent into it, versus stunt guys who get paid, you know, to not get hurt. They don’t wanna get hurt, ’cause that’s their job, so they do it, like, 145 percent. I just enjoy doing them. They’re fun to me. I’m a thrill seeker. I like taking risks and getting hurt.”

There’s one film left to make in the series, but Lutz expressed concern that “Breaking Dawn” may never make it to the big screen. Contrary to the pacing of the first three films, Lutz said all of the actors are killing time while the studio has yet to release the names of potential directors, release dates or any other plans for the film.

“We aren’t filming it,” Lutz said. “There’s no word. It’s a real bummer because when we did ‘Twilight,’ we always hoped to continue on with the book series.”

With the success of the franchise came more big-name actors, like Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning. Lutz said he fears that if the studio doesn’t move fast, they’ll lose their cast to other projects, putting the “Twilight” saga on hold.

“Us actors are having offers for tons of stuff now,” Lutz said. “To get the…actors that are a part of this – the Volturi, the wolves, the Cullens, that’s a lot of actors to just say months before we shoot, ‘Hey, can you guys come do this movie?’ ‘Cause we don’t have contracts. Versus the first three films we were all under contract. So nothing’s telling us ‘hold these dates.’ There’s only a small time frame that we could shoot…because of weather. So I hope they make their mind (up) after ‘New Moon’ comes out.”

Lutz said the determination of the film’s future might be in the hands of “Twilight” fans.

“I think it really matters for the fans,” he said. “If they come out and support ‘New Moon’ like they did ‘Twilight,’ and then ‘Eclipse.’ Because we all want to finish this baby. It’s such a part of us and it would just seem empty not to finish the last chapter.”

Lutz also addressed the rumor that “Breaking Dawn,” the longest novel in the saga, might be filmed in two parts.

“I’d hope that they’d want to shoot it all,” he said, “cause it’s such a big book. If they were to split it…there’s not really a clear line. I feel like if you did three fourths of the book and then the last part or something…but I think they would have to shoot it all in one push. Five months worth. But if they don’t greenlight it…”

Portraying a playful vampire and joking around on set makes Lutz’s job sound pretty ideal. It becomes clear, though, that it’s not all fun and games as he described his taxing tour schedule.

“Definitely the hard part,” he said, “is just getting on the airplane and trying to find time to sleep.”

Hopping back and forth between the East and West Coasts and getting three to four hours of sleep on average, Lutz said he relies on the love and support of the fans to sustain him.

“Definitely meeting the fans and the energy that they bring really keeps you going,” he said.

Due to the series’ instant popularity, its stars, and by default, Lutz, instantly lost much of their privacy to the persistent clicks of paparazzi cameras following their every move. Lutz initially didn’t have it as bad as his co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, but it wasn’t long before a photo surfaced of him, shirtless, exercising in his own gym.

“Being a part of ‘Twilight,’” he said, “definitely opened my eyes to how nuts it is to be a named actor and have paparazzi follow you and crash their cars trying to get pictures of you. And all you can do is be like, ‘Ha ha. Karma.’”

But the sudden fame will have no lasting effect on his life, Lutz claims. He said he plans on using it to pursue his acting dreams, but nothing else.

“You know, I’m not here to become famous or to be a millionaire,” he said. “I’m just very passionate. You know, I might have to do my hair before I go out more,” Lutz said. “(But) I’m not gonna let anything change me. I think fame or whatever it is we have changes the people around you. And as long as you stay true to yourself, everyone else will get a wakeup call and you’ll find out who your real friends are and who’s in it to get something else out of you.”

Lutz told us that though he enjoys his work, he’s eager to get home after the press tour to spend some time with none other than his mother for the holidays.

“My mom’s very traditional,” he said, “and puts up lights and cooks great meals with little cookies…it’s just great to be with family. I feel like a little kid when I go home. I have a little stocking full of, you know, candy. It’s great.”

He said he also looks forward to fitting in one of his favorite pastimes over the holiday season — snowboarding.

“I have my season pass in California,” Lutz said. “I bring my dog in my truck, and throw my boards in the back. It’s a piece of crap truck. But it’s my baby. I love it.”

Look for Kellan Lutz in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” which hits theaters this Friday.

The first three films have been made, but Lutz expressed the fear that if “New Moon” doesn’t get enough love from the fans, “Breaking Dawn” might never get made, leaving the saga permanently unfinished.

“We aren’t filming it,” Lutz said when asked about the progress on “Breaking Dawn.”

“It’s a real bummer,” he said, “because when we did ‘Twilight,’ we always hoped to continue on with the book series. Like you saw with ‘Aragon’ –- the fans didn’t support it enough, so they didn’t make the sequel, which would suck.”

Some may find it hard to believe the the cultural phenomenon that is “Twilight” wouldn’t have enough fan power to propel the series to completion. But with no word from the studio and no actors under contract, “Breaking Dawn” falling through could become a real possibility.

“There’s no word on ‘Breaking Dawn.’ They said goodbye to all the crew in Vancouver,” Lutz said. “Like, a real goodbye.”

The actors of “Twilight” were under contract for the first three films in the saga. But with “New Moon,” the cast expanded, enveloping several big-name actors, including Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning. Suddenly, due to the popularity of the series, the actors of “Twilight” have rapidly filling schedules and less time to wait on studio decisions.

“Between ‘New Moon’ and ‘Eclipse’ I did three films,” Lutz said. “Us actors are having offers for tons of stuff now. To get the…actors that are a part of this –- the Volturi, the wolves, the Cullens — that’s a lot of actors to just say, months before we shoot, ‘Hey, can you guys come do this movie?’ Because we don’t have contracts for it. So nothing’s telling us, you know, ‘Hold these dates.’ And there’s only a small time frame that we could shoot in…because of weather. So I hope they make their mind (up) after ‘New Moon’ comes out.”

In the end, Lutz said that it’s all up to the fans.

“We all fell in love with our characters,” he said, “all hoping that you know, we could continue on…it really matters for the fans, if they come out and support ‘New Moon.’ Because we all want to finish this baby. It’s such a part of us, and it would just seem empty not to finish the last chapter.”

The new vampire flick represents 75 percent of the site’s ticket sales right now.

“Ever since we started selling advance tickets to New Moon on August 31, the demand has been unstoppable, as the fan base just keeps growing every day,” said Fandango Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler. “New Moon is tracking to be Fandango’s #1 top advance ticket-seller of all time.”

The Top 5 Advance Ticket-Sellers on Fandango (as of November 12, 2009) are as follows:

1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. New Moon (2009)
5. Twilight (2008)

According to a Fandango survey of more than 2,000 New Moon ticket-buyers, the first Twilight movie helped fuel the fan frenzy that has carried over to the other installments in the series:

• 55 percent said the first Twilight movie inspired them to read all the books by Stephenie Meyer.
• 51 percent plan to see New Moon more than once in the theater.
• 61 percent said they have read the novel New Moon more than once.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (Media credit: KCSPresse / Splash News Online)

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner arrived in Paris on Monday and checked into a luxurious hotel before going out for a late dinner where they met up with Fergie, People reported.

They did a press event on Tuesday and got ready to leave for the next stop on their European “New Moon” press tour.

But Robert and Kristen were among the last to leave.

“[Pattinson and Stewart] were the last ones to leave the terminal to board the plane,” one photographer on the scene told People. “Out on the tarmac, he took her hand, like young lovers. They stopped and looked at each other, their plane, the scene. They seemed very calm, in love. They continued holding hands boarding the plane.”

Let the comments begin.

Enjoy.

Bubl� is famous for his smooth vocals, covering classic songs from past eras. �Crazy Love� features �Georgia on my Mind� and �Haven�t Met You Yet�. Bubl�s usual demographic follows him for his unique voice that has hints reminiscent of Frank Sinatra or Fred Astaire. His modern day rendition of old-time classics have become wedding anthems around the world.

In contrast, the �New Moon� soundtrack, released by Warner Brothers records to help excite Twilighters everywhere for the upcoming release of the second movie in the Stephanie Meyers series, is comprised of all original works. Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke, Lykke Li, The Killers, Muse and more all wrote original songs exclusively for the soundtrack. The contributors� list is impressive at the very least, but even more so when you consider the songs were written specifically for the movie.

Paramore, who headlined the first Twilight soundtrack, hang in on the Billboard 200 chart at number 16 with �Brand New Eyes� which was released in late September.

Both �Crazy in Love� and the New Moon soundtrack are available at all major music retailers. The Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theatres November 20..

Not to mention the fact that we’ve seen many of Bella’s dream sequences in stills from the movie. But nevertheless, the clips just keep on coming. Here are two more that were recently released that further detail the wolf pack’s transformations as well as a full 45 second fight scene with the Volturi. *Sigh*

If so, you’ll be happy to learn Summit Entertainment and Realtime Arcade recently launched the “Twilight The Movie Game” mobile trivia game. It’s packed full with hundreds of trivia questions aimed at bringing you back to your “favorite moments from the movie.” In the game you can either fly solo and tackle the questions alone, or challenge friends in the competitive mode.

The game is currently only available through AT&T, but is promised to hit all other service providers soon.

Additionally, an iPhone/iPod Touch game dubbed “Scene It: Twilight” will be coming the App Store on iTunes at everyone’s favorite indeterminate date, “soon.”

What’s more, if you don’t already own an iPhone/iPod Touch, RealArcade are giving the devices away, as well as copies of the game. To win you simply have to follow @RealTwitter on Twitter and be ready to answer Twilight trivia questions.

Debut trailer and more information @ Twilight The Movie Game

See the best ones below.

Catch the rest at newmoonmovie.org

Photo credit: ralphy137, robpattinson.blogspot.com

The producers used their own money to buy the rights, and Andrew Niccol will write the script and direct the upcoming film.

“The Host” is a love story set in the future in which the earth has been taken over by an alien race called the “Souls.”

Variety further reported that Wechsler and the Schwartzes also teamed on “The Road,” a movie adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel. That film is coming out November 25.

Variety said Niccol read the book and jumped at the assignment.

“We wanted Stephenie to be involved in the adaptation, and have her endorse and be part of the creative decisions,” Wechsler said tot he magazine. “`Twilight’ has proven she more more about what works than most.”

Of course, this wouldn’t be the future if there weren’t some sort of convergence, and sure enough, the app integrates with Facebook and Twitter (What, no MySpace? Twilight fans always struck us at the MySpace type) to allow users to post to their other social networks about Twilight. The app also allows users to select an avatar of their favorite Twilight character. (We wanted Bella’s dad, but that’s not a choice.)

As the release of “New Moon” approaches, the app will continue to be updated with showtimes, movie news, tickets, and and products from the Twilight series. The Twilight Tracker app is available for $2.99.

* DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE — MEET ME ON THE EQUINOX
* BAND OF SKULLS — FRIENDS
* THOM YORKE — HEARING DAMAGE
* LYKKE LI — POSSIBILITY
* THE KILLERS — A WHITE DEMON LOVE SONG
* ANYA MARINA — SATELLITE HEART
* MUSE — I BELONG TO YOU (NEW MOON)
* BON IVER & ST. VINCENT — ROSYLN
* BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB — DONE ALL WRONG
* HURRICANE BELLS — MONSTERS
* SEA WOLF — THE VIOLET HOUR
* OK GO — SHOOTING THE MOON
* GRIZZLY BEAR — SLOW LIFE
* EDITORS — NO SOUND BUT THE WIND
* ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — NEW MOON (THE MEADOW)

But counter to all that giggling and squealing comes a certain amount of disdain.

The most popular article in the history of Blast and its dozen or so blogs is and remains titled “Twilight sucks… And not in a good way.”

In that article Blast reporter Kellen Rice argues about the writing style of the series, citing “sickeningly purple prose (and) the lack of general writing quality.” But the biggest part of Rice’s passionate argument came not as a literary critic but as a woman.

“The books present a female heroine who can hardly take a step without needing some boy to rescue her,” Rice wrote. “In fact, the books represent sexist views in almost every way, from the fact that Bella gives up her ambitions and plans for college to get married to Edward, the fact that she is portrayed as a modern Eve, begging the noble, moral gentleman for sex while he desires to preserve their virtue, the fact that their relationship is dangerously unhealthy, and finally to the fact that nearly every single female character in the book is a hopelessly negative caricature.”

Kellen got a lot of responses. More than 3,600 comments as of Sunday night have come in the past 13 months, (its follow-up article has more than 1,000). These comments included women saying to her: “All of your opinions are completely FALSE!” and “YOU JUST THINK TOO MUCH JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE !”

And this: (punctuation cleaned up)

“Why don’t you goddamn feminists go shave your legs,” wrote a commenter named Kristen. “If you don’t like the idea of women needing help, then DON’T read the books or go out into the real world, because women should just stay in the kitchen and clean. I’m a girl, and I think women usually do need a man to help them with things, and that’s why we aren’t all lesbians. … Seriously, no man wants a girl who’s all about womens’ rights, so shut up and be happy you can vote.”

At first glance, these comments beg for remarks about the girls eventually attending college to get their “MRS” degree and pump out a few kids. They’re laughable, and to come the comments are contemptible.

But are they wrong?

This back and forth argument is nothing new.

Northwestern University communications professor Janice Radway 1984 book “Reading the Romance” is one of the seminal looks at how women are affected by romantic literature.

Radway’s arguments, written before most “Twilight” fans were born, illustrated that both sides are correct. Romance novels, she argued, have the ability to provide escapism and empowerment for woman, allowing them to dream of and aspire to a “a different life,” or “revolt against male domination,” wrote critical theorist Douglas Kellner, in his essay “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism and Media Culture.” At the same time, however, the books may be understood by some as enforcing traditional gender roles on woman, forcing them to live in a world of female submission to “prince charming” — which is universally seen as an attractive male force.

In contemporary American literature and cinema, no where is this conflict more visible than in “New Moon,” the second installment in the Twilight Saga, due in theaters in November.

In “New Moon,” the male hero, Edward, leaves the female protagonist, Bella, for “her own safety.” Distraught, she goes on autopilot for months, disengaging from reality and eventually putting herself through life-threatening, self-destructive acts to get her man back.

Analysis of Bella’s dangerous rebellion — and author Stephenie Meyer’s writing thereof — can go both ways as well. Some will see “New Moon” as anti-woman and vehemently anti-feminist, while others will see (and have read) Bella’s actions as heroic and empowered.

Kellner touched on the idea of rebellion as well when he cited media scholar John Fiske in writing about how teenage girls in the 1980s saw Madonna’s rebellious fashion statements as empowering examples of how to express themselves.

The only logical conclusion is therefore the same conclusion we can draw in most social science theory: No one’s totally right.

In a recent study, Fandango found that “New Moon,” which doesn’t open until November 20, accounted for 37 percent of its recent ticket sales, beating out “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” which had 36 percent and “The Informant!,” which only had 9 percent. “Jennifer’s Body,” raked in 4 percent of sales.

Speaking of “Jennifer’s Body,” Fandango polled users, asking “Which role would you most like to see Megan Fox play?” Thirty-two percent of responders said they want to see the sexy star play Wonder Woman, while 30 percent said Catwoman. But what’s most astonishing is that 13 percent answered “Bella in ‘Breaking Dawn.’” Thirteen percent of polled moviegoers want to see Kristen Stewart get the boot.

No, we’re not talking about “Twilight” … this time.

Since then the buzz over the new “Vampire Diaries” series has exploded into a bit of a phenomenon, drawing comparisons to the mega-popular “Twilight” craze. Despite the similarities, “The Vampire Diaries” is not just a brooding love story as much as it is also a thriller at times — an element which adds to its appeal.

After months of anticipation fueled by countless online promotions and on billboards strewn everywhere, the series made its debut last week with incredible results. “The Vampire Diaries” surprised nearly everyone when its ratings resulted in a staggering 4.8+ million viewers on Thursday night, making it the highest rated series premiere ever for TheCW. With the talents of a production team consisting of Leslie Morgenstein (“Gossip Girl”), Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl”), Kevin Williamson (“Scream,” “Dawson’s Creek”) and Julie Plec (“Kyle XY”) the series proved itself golden on its first night.

And so it seems vampires and love stories won’t be unpopular any time soon. But to the show’s merit, it holds promise on going beyond a simple trend. This is clear when we see how the show treats the family relationships between the human characters. As long as “The Vampire Diaries” continues to focus on the relationships of its characters in a way viewers can relate, it will undoubtedly prove its staying power.

Tonight continues with another new episode, “Night of the Comet”, which deals with the aftermath of Damon Salvatore’s arrival — nicely portrayed by Ian Somerhalder — and the havoc he may cause in Mystic Falls.

Catch “The Vampire Diaries” every Thursday at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Here’s the latest synopsis:

In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful TWILIGHT series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as BELLA SWAN (Kristen Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of—only to find herself in greater peril than ever before.

Following Bella’s ill-fated 18th birthday party, EDWARD CULLEN (Robert Pattinson) and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world. As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edward’s image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks.

With the help of her childhood friend JACOB BLACK (Taylor Lautner), Bella refurbishes an old motorbike to carry her on her adventures. Bella’s frozen heart is gradually thawed by her budding relationship with Jacob, a member of the mysterious Quileute tribe, who has a supernatural secret of his own.

When a chance encounter brings Bella face to face with a former nemesis, only the intervention of a pack of supernaturally large wolves saves her from a grisly fate, and the encounter makes it frighteningly clear that Bella is still in grave danger. In a race against the clock, Bella learns the secret of the Quileutes and Edward’s true motivation for leaving her. She also faces the prospect of a potentially deadly reunion with her beloved that is a far cry from the one she’d hoped for. With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a worldwide phenomenon, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is a spellbinding follow-up to the box office hit.

U.S. release via Summit Entertainment, November 20, 2009.

Librarians have stripped the books from shelves in some junior schools because they believe the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs, reports the Australian Daily Telegraph.

One Aussie school even ran a special class for young students explaining the “racy and supernatural themes” in the books.

Australian Catholic Education Office spokesman Mark Rix told the newspaper that “individual schools had to decide whether the books were suitable.”

Librarians have pulled the book from shelves, and parents were told not to allow their children to bring the books to school.

“It comes down to the discretion of the school to keep an eye on what the kids read,” said Rix. “Some primary students are not ready to read Twilight. That said, some secondary students may not be either.”

Surprised they allow this kinda thing in Utah. (Media credit/Sky News)

The words “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” are even carved below their mugs.

The farmer used GPS technology to design the maze, which sits on a 400-acre farm that grows carrots, onions, cabbage, corn, pumpkins and other squash, according to Radar.

If you find yourself in Utah, the maze will be open to the public from September 24 until Halloween. It takes about an hour to get through it, but only minutes to fall in love with Edward or Jacob.

“New Moon” will be in theaters, and so will you, on November 30.

If you’re not, well, we won’t judge you (OK, maybe just a little bit).

But, we all have embarrassing clothes shoved in the back of our closet — acid wash jeans, an old JTT t-shirt, maybe even a rogue pair of overalls.

In the spirit of “whatever floats your boat,” check out these New Moon tees, celebrating the new flick.

Show off your “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” pride, because we know you 20-something Miss Blast Readers (and your moms) are really excited for these.

The shirts are available exclusively at Nordstrom.com on October 1 and in stores October 15.

A new still released from “New Moon” shows Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson locked in a loving gaze.

“New Moon” is one of the most anticipated films of the fall movie-watching season, and you can bet that Blast is going to be all over it as we progress toward release date.

According to users of the popular movie ticket site, the “Twilight” sequel beats out “James Cameron’s Avatar” and “2012″ as the most eagerly awaited fall flick.

• The Twilight Saga: New Moon: 39%
• Avatar: 23%
• 2012: 16%
• Where the Wild Things Are: 9%
• Disney’s The Princess and the Frog: 7%
• Other: 6%

“It’s crazy,” the “New Moon” hunk said. “But the fans help. They’re a big part of the motivation.”

Lautner credited a childhood karate teacher, who also played a blue Power Ranger in the hit series. The karate coach encouraged him to go into acting in the first place, he says.

He also evaded a question about his rumored love interest, Disney’s Selena Gomez.

“She’s a great girl,” he said, saying nothing else.

The New York Daily news reports that The Twilight star will appear nude in a new indie movie called “Welcome to the Rileys.”

“Rileys” stars James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) and Melissa Leo, who play a grieving couple who are still facing the pain of losing their young daughter eight years later.

Stewart plays a 16-year-old stripper/prostitute named Mallory. Somehow she helps reunite the sad couple.

“The speculation is that Stewart will strip in several scenes,” The Daily News reported.

Twilight mania is already in full swing over this flick. This is up there with Daniel Radcliffe’s little stage show.

“It’s an independent movie that nobody would normally see and now it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go see Bella in this stripper movie—it’ll be crazy!” the actress told WENN.com.

“Bella” is also playing Joan Jett in another upcoming flick.

The images show the characters Alec, Aro, Caius, Jane and Marcus. Enjoy!

Blast: How do you think playing conventions has changed things for the band, do the people attending already know who you are?

MH: I think definitely the size of the convention will have some sort of bearing to that end. TwiTour is a little smaller and they do smaller conventions, and so not many people there had heard of us but I think we gained quite a few new fans, whereas TwiCon was pretty huge and we had quite a few people there who already knew who we were. I think we gained a handful of new fans there, too, though.

Blast: How did your songwriting change after Breaking Dawn came out and there wasn’t that mystery left anymore?

MH: When I read the first three, I didn’t have this notion of writing songs. But it’s funny, as I was reading Breaking Dawn, every scene or every chapter I would read I’d think “oh, that’d be a cool song, ” so yea, it was a lot different reading Breaking Dawn. The mystery was kind of gone, but she tied it up pretty nicely I guess in the end so it was fun to read.

Blast: So you have two CDs at this point: Twilight Hour and Endless Day?

MH: Yea. Twilight Hour is just me and an acoustic guitar and I actually recorded it myself in my walk-in closet in my bedroom. So yea, it’s pretty raw and rough and unpolished, but it turned out to be pretty good for what it really is. And then we got a record deal about a year after I recorded that one, and we polished up a lot of the songs from Twilight Hour and added a new song as well.

Blast: Was it after the record deal that you gained Brent and the rest of the band?

MH: Brent is my friend and guitar player in the band. He actually joined back in 2008, pretty early on. People started approaching me about playing shows and I kind of needed a little extra something to play live shows, and it turned out that Brent was really good at guitar and we got together and just kind of did the acoustic, coffee house, you know small club type thing for about 8 or 9 months. It was just he and I for a long time, actually.

Blast: Are you still playing coffee houses, or mostly “Twilight” related gigs?

MH: Oh yea, we still play a lot of local gigs around here in Atlanta. We do acoustic shows but now it’s more with the full band. So we do both, we do full band shows at clubs with the electric guitars and drums but we still do the acoustic stuff, too.

Blast: And are you still writing now?

MH: I’ve been writing songs since long before Twilight came out; it’s kind of hard to turn that off. Melodies are always popping into my head and whenever I sit down with my guitar, inspiration starts hitting, so yea, we’re always writing.

Blast: Do you have anything public planned with the release of “New Moon” in November, since everyone isn’t quite at the convention level yet?

MH: Sure, yea, there are a lot of casual Twilight fans out there, and we’re trying to reach them as well. We are playing a huge film release party in Salt Lake City for the twilight moms, actually. They’ve invited us to come up and play that and they’re expecting to have you know, three or four thousand people there. It’s kind of a more casual event than something like TwiCon. So yea, we’re definitely trying to reach out to those casual fans too. Our music is a little bit like that in itself. We’re not like, really overtly Twilight with our references – well, except for one song we have called “Jacob Black,” that’s pretty blatant. We try to keep the references to : ”Twilight” pretty subtle and we did that on purpose because we didn’t want to alienate casual Twilight fans or casual music listeners even.

Blast: Do you think as a band you’ll eventually move beyond from “Twilight” inspired music to just Mitch inspired music?

MH: Yea. You don’t want to pigeon-hole yourself as an artist for you know, a fad – a passing fad. As it stands right now, it’s really fun to do and people are into it, but yea for longetivy’s sake, we’d love to do some more mainstream type music. You know, inspiration comes from all over when you’re a song writer, not just one specific thing, but I think “Twilight” has a lot of cool themes and stories and I think there are a lot more songs to be written to that end.

Blast: Speaking of the stories in “Twilight,” what point was the easiest to write songs for?

MH: Definitely the end of Eclipse has been the most written about as far as my songs go. That’s kind of when Jake takes off and Edward and Bella decide they’re going to get married. There’s also the big fight scene with Victoria and the newborns. So a lot of the story lines kind of came to a head at the end of “Eclipse,” and so there’s like five or six songs that came from that specific time in the stories.

Blast: As “New Moon” is approaches, and even “Eclipse,” are you trying at all to get onto the soundtracks?

MH: Yea, we’ve done a little light. . . I don’t know, we’ve shopped it around lightly to a few people and as it turns out, once “Twilight” was such a booming success, it’s just like everyone in the entire world is trying to get on the soundtrack for “New Moon.” So you know, it’s not as easy as it would have been if we had really tried last year to do it for the first film. But you know either way, if we get on a soundtrack or if we don’t, we’re just happy to do what we do. But yea, we’d love to be involved with one of the films somehow.

Be sure to check out Blast’s Mitch Hansen Band giveaway on YouTube to win free stuff from the band!

Jackson Rathbone was probably the busiest cast member at TwiCon this past weekend, attending not only as the actor portraying Jasper in “Twilight,” but as a part of his band, 100 Monkeys. They played a concert at TwiCon, and in downtown Dallas, to huge, adoring crowds. Blast was backstage before the TwiCon show, and got to see the boys getting hyped up, and Rathbone having a moment with his family before going on stage. Rathbone also wrapped up the convention with a private question and answer session on Sunday morning after his late-night 100 Monkeys concert Saturday night. Charming, and no doubt as tired as he could be in the same clothes he was wearing the day before, he was carefree as he joked with the crowd. When asked which musician of all time he would pick to play with, he chose Bach. “That would be awesome,” Rathbone laughed. “He could be crazy on the piano and I would play some electric guitar. So yeah, Bach.”

Alex Meraz, the “New Moon” actor playing Quileute werewolf, Paul, had a private brunch event with about 250 lucky attendees. Sweet and honest, Alex answered questions, including how Stephenie Meyer approved of his casting and his advice to Taylor Lautner to lay off the weight lifting and weight gaining in between films.

Throughout the weekend, Blast’s favorite Brits became a fan favorite as well. Each took turns playing at the VIP party on Thursday evening, followed by Sage, a musician and friend of Nikki Reed. The sound situation wasn’t ideal, and the boys had to mic the guitars as if they were playing back at the open mic nights they met at years ago in London. The show was still great — intimate and endearing, and they all had more shows at Poor David’s Pub in Dallas during the weekend, and all performed at the Volturi Masque Ball event on Saturday night.

The cast Q&A session, though definitely too short, was hilarious. Between Peter Facinelli’s death defying act of jumping off the stage and running down the aisles of screaming fans and Jackson Rathbone’s snarky answer concerning Peter’s layered birthday acting method, the cast put on a great show. The session included all of the cast attending the convention: Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, Alex Meraz, Kellan Lutz, Billy Burke and Christian Serratos. Questions were sent in by fans, and while some elicited humorous answers on their own, like when Kellan misheard the question and thought he had been asked “which werewolf would you eat,” instead of “which werewolf would you be,” a great number of the questions centered around how the actors “prepared” for their respective roles. And while preparing to play vegetarian vampires might have been a challenge in the beginning with “Twilight,” most of the development wasn’t that drastic in “New Moon,” and could have been answered with “I prepared for my role by going to acting school.” However, Rathbone instead started in on a very complicated technique of acting in order to make things more interesting: Peter Facinelli’s birthday technique.

“Peter told me,” Rathbone began, “to get into the darker side of Jasper, I needed to pretend like people know it’s my birthday, but they forgot. Then he said that wasn’t dark enough, so I had to pretend it was my birthday, people knew, but then they threw a party for this girl instead. I thought she was my cake.” After pausing for a moment to allow for the uproar of laughter, Jackson finished saying, “actually, Peter has a book coming out and it’s called, ‘How to Act and the Birthday Technique.”

YouTube sensation Evil Iguana Productions (we discovered them!) was also attending the convention as special guests, and premiered their latest “Twilight” spoof, which was received with lots of laughter. While introducing the spoof, Craig Deering asked, “Why another ‘Twilight’ spoof?” to which Allen Murphy answered, “Do you know how many girls love ‘Twilight?!’” He’ right of course, considering at least 2,990 of the 3,000 attendees must have been female, and definitely love EIP.

Check back for more exclusive pictures and interviews from the TwiCon weekend.

Here’s a Blast video of Billy Burke, “Twilight’s” Charlie Swan as he answers a question at TwiCon’s Q&A with the cast of “Twilight.”

If Bella, Edward, and all the other hot undead from the Twilight book and movie series haven’t filled that vampire void of yours, enter Twilight: The Video Game, a recently announced digital endeavor hoping to complete the trifecta (book, movie, video game) recipe that other successful franchises (Harry Potter) have nailed so well.

We really don’t know much on the project as of yet, as the game’s website launched today, complete with, well, not too much. What we do know however is that the game will “allow players to immerse themselves into a deeper form of storytelling and adventure, gaining a deeper understanding of the Twilight saga…”

Sounds cool, but it gets better when the description lists the words “open” and “non-linear,” thus possibly proclaiming a deeper level to the game. But really, those are just words, until we get a hands-on we truly won’t know.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to experience the story through the perspectives of your most “beloved characters.” Who you love is up to you, but if I could get into Bella’s head (or pants), I’d be a happy dude.

Finally, both the Cullen household and Charlie’s house will serve as the games’ main hubs of activity and you’ll be able to deck out the interiors in any way you see fit.

The game’s description leaves us on somewhat of a cryptic note saying, “create your own character and play in multiplayer as a human, vampire, or werewolf.” Multiplayer? Like I shoot you, you shoot me multiplayer? Or social, MMO-type multiplayer? We have so many questions! For now, why don’t you go ahead and speculate, it’s all the rage.

When we learn more on this developing project we’ll be damn sure to send every last ounce of information your way, but for now, let us know in the comments what you hope for out of this Twilight game.

Twilight The Video Game

SAN DIEGO — Being preemptive always bites the journalist in the butt, and of course immediately after our New Moon post went live, Chris Weitz showed the (almost) reunion scene between Bella and Edward and Italy.

And it was beautiful.

Proving that Taylor Lautner being shirtless is old news, the fan screams at Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen removing his shirt to incite a response from the Volturi nearly drowned out the sound of scene being shown. And it looks like Taylor wasn’t the only “New Moon” cast member hitting the gym: as the fan behind me repeatedly stated, “You can’t fake that definition.” RPattz has finally got his set of abs.

The scene showed Bella and Alice driving up in Alice’s famous yellow Porsche to stop Edward from revealing himself in the sunlight and causing the Volturi to kill him. Bella runs through a festival going on in Italy to try to stop Edward. Of course the scene ended before Edward saw Bella and they have their long awaited reunion, but the camera work and cinematography was breathtaking, showing a big step up from “Twilight.” Of course, being on location in Italy might have helped.

Chris Weitz needs to create more films not based on religion and relying on CGI. “New Moon” looks like it could actually be really, really good. Guess we’ll just have to wait until November 20 to know for sure.

SAN DIEGO — Chris Weitz, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Ashley Greene debuted an exclusive clip of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and what an exclusive clip it was. Showcasing the integration of Edward Cullen into the mostly Edward Cullen-less “New Moon,” the Bella/Jacob chemistry and Taylor Lautner’s smokin’ hot bod, let’s just say the Twilight fans got what they came for.

“I hope you guys are pleased when you see the results,” Taylor humbly told the audience before the clip was revealed. From the screams at the chest reveal (a shot with clearly only one purpose when filmed), they seemed to be.

Kristen Stewart admitted she unfortunately did not do her own stunts in the motorcycle scene that was shown. “Yeah, no,” Kristen replied when asked if she ever thought she would ride a motorcycle for the film.

Taylor, however, did every stunt we could get his hands on (that the insurance company said was okay) Chris Weitz said. “If Jacob is doing something impressive or dangerous in the film, it’s pretty much Taylor doing it,” said Chris. “And Rob just stood there looking good.”

It has been previously announced that Robert Pattinson’s Edward would be involved in the film version of “New Moon” more than he was in the book. He continually referred to himself as a supporting role in the morning press conference and again in the Hall H panel. From the clip shown, instead of just being a voice like in the novel, here Edward is a visual hallucination, telling Bella to “Stop” when she starts to ride the motorcycle and appearing in the road behind her when she is driving away — ultimately distracting her and causing her to crash (and Taylor to take off his shirt, etc. etc.).

“I’ve noticed you are very cold to the touch, with skin like marble and you glow like a diamond when the sun hits you,” Chris Weitz replied when asked if Robert Pattinson resembled Edward Cullen.

The visual and emotional look of Chris Weitz’s take on the saga looks a lot more interesting and less edgy than Catherine Hardwicke’s take to the first film. Ashley Greene even said Portland was a bit edgier than filming in Vancouver.

“I have been stalking Rob for the past 10 years,” Chris Weitz admitted when asked about coming to the film, saying he was excited to actually get to direct the film (though he had not read a “Twilight” novel before he was signed on).

“In spite of how glib I may seem, I really do appreciate the love the Twilight fans bring to this book,” he said.

The final shot of the film was taken in Italy, Stewart said, which was her favorite part of the Italy shooting. Robert seconded her saying the location they filmed at was exactly how he pictured it in the book.

Ashley Greene said she is most excited for the final showdown at the end of “Eclipse,” while Taylor said his is the sleeping bag/tent scene (DUH!).

“I can’t wait to actually get pregnant,” Kristen Stewart said.

“Actually, being involved in the cesarean,” Rob said after with a laugh. “I just can’t wait.”

“New Moon” hits theaters in November.

Despite a similar premise to “Twilight,” about forbidden love and vampires, there isn’t too much “The Vampire Diaries” shares with it. The show is based on a series of young adult novels by LJ Smith, and while the show isn’t 100 percent true to the books, the literary fans will find that the spirit of the story remains intact and the transition to the television medium works well.

The pilot starts with an atmosphere of urgency. It’s classic Williamson with an isolated stretch of road, a couple and swift violence. Williamson grabs the audience’s attention immediately without being overindulgent.

As the stage is set with a “monster” on the loose we are introduced to Elena Gilbert (up-and-comer Nina Dobrev), a girl whose sudden loss of her parents leaves her life in chaos. Meanwhile, making matters worse is her younger brother, Jeremy, whose self-destructive behavior doesn’t help matters.

Nina Dobrev arrives at Liv Nightclub at the Fontainbleau Miami Beach on June 12 for The Vampire Diaries Kick Off Party

Elena meets the new guy in school, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Welsey) whose mesmerizing abilities prove he is not just another high school student. He is in fact, a vampire.

Just when it appears Stefan and Elena are getting closer, another attack takes place. From here, the story picks up at an exciting pace. Stefan is greeted by his brother, Damon (a charismatic Ian Somerhalder). It is clear with the first deadlock stare they share a rocky history. As Damon taunts Stephan by staking a claim on Elena, the brothers begin what is one of the best moments of the episode. The set up for the fight, the witty dialogue and the context of their relationship makes this a worthwhile storyline.

Overall, the pilot for “The Vampire Diaries” is a great start for the series. Audiences will love the hints of humor thrown into the mix of drama, Sommerhalder’s delicious bad boy taunts and the formulaic love story. Dobrev and Wesley are refreshing as their chemistry onscreen intensifies with each added scene. The only stark contrast is the narration of the diary entries which comes across as awkward at times. The atmosphere for the series is balanced, and the collaboration between talent and production are not over the top. There is a focus on keeping up the suspense until the final scenes.

“The Vampire Diaries” drew several cheers even from fans who were skeptical about a “Twilight” reboot. Each scene element demonstrates why this will certainly be the perfect show to take over the coveted slot formerly belonging to “Smallville”. If attendees for Comic-Con get a chance, for the Saturday showing of “The Vampire Diaries”? It’s worth the watch!