This fall, Blast and the makers of Vampyre Vodka gave you some blood-suckingly delicious Halloween-inspired cocktail recipes to try. Now, it’s your turn! Submit your own holiday cocktail ideas featuring Vampyre Vodka to us by Jan. 1, and one lucky winner will receive a Vampyre Vodka t-shirt, Vampire gourmet coffee and Vampire dark Belgian chocolate. Don’t forget to give your cocktail a blood-curdlingly awesome name!

Email your cocktail recipes to me at shannonconeill@gmail.com with the subject line “Blast Vampyre Vodka Cocktail Contest” by Jan. 1. Include your name and contact information in the e-mail. And sorry, we know vampires are ageless, but you must be 21+ to enter the contest.

A few weeks back, Blast Magazine asked me to assemble a list of the top ten vampire movies ever made. You can see that list here.

I received much feedback on the list and was of course offered suggestions for movies that should have been included. One that kept popping up was “Near Dark”. Released in 1987, it seemed to be a good fit for a “retro review.” And while “Near Dark” is a decent enough movie, it’s definitely not a top ten all time vampire film.

Set in the Southwest, “Near Dark” tells the story of Caleb, an aimless cowboy youth, who is “turned” into a vampire by a traveling band of undead. Caleb can never fully commit himself to their bloodthirsty ways even though he is in love with one of the she-vampires. Our hero is fortunate enough to have an animal doctor for a father who performs a blood transfusion to suck out all of the bad stuff and turn Caleb back into a human. Needless to say, before the film concludes Caleb must confront and destroy the vampire clan—and save the woman he loves.

I can see why this is set in Texas and surrounding states, for it has the feel of a Western. Cowboys on horseback, spurs that jingle jangle jingle and slash throats, showdowns on main street, and a saloon or two where bad things happen. If only there was a piano player or a stagecoach in “Near Dark,” both vampire flick and western would have been equally paid for.

Concerning vampire movie codes and conventions, “Near Dark” does seem to deviate slightly. With the exception of daylight being deadly to the vampires, there is almost no other mention of how to stop them. There’s no discussion or use of crucifixes, garlic, wooden stakes, holy water or any kind of Christian iconography. Can a vampire be turned back to human via a blood transfusion? And these vampires aren’t royalty—no urbane Count Draculas here. The undead in “Near Dark” are a bunch of psychopaths who like to populate honky-tonk joints, Winnebagos, and flea bag motels.

Indeed, these are the most gripping and memorable scenes in the movie. About halfway through the film, the brood invades a dive bar and systemically murders all the humans within. It’s a gruesome and horrible scene but done very well. And only a few scenes later, the vamp gang is holed up in a motel room during daylight. Police surround the bungalow and spray the shack with bullets. Daylight begins to stream through the bullet holes and scorch the vampires when it contacts their skin. And though it’s only a moment, there’s a quick scene that was the epitome of what this film excels at: Caleb’s father tries to rescue him from the vampires and shoots the lead vamp in the stomach. The vampire coughs and then spits up the bullet: pure camp genius.

One of the other reasons I wanted to see this film was because of its director, Kathryn Bigelow, who won the Academy Award for best director for The Hurt Locker in 2010. “Near Dark” was one of her first features, made more than twenty years prior, but it’s strictly B-movie material. It’s campy and un-serious with an ending that doesn’t quite add up or satisfy, and the cast is almost unheard of with the exception of Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton (who gives the stand out performance).

When compiling my top ten all-time vampire movie list, I tried to include not only good movies, but also ones that may have influenced the genre or had some significance where film history or pop culture are concerned. While I enjoyed “Near Dark,” I wasn’t convinced that this movie, at least in terms of my criteria, should be in the top ten. But it certainly made for a great “retro review.” 1987 was clearly a good year for blood suckers!

Tasked by Blast Magazine with assembling a top ten vampire movie list that does not include any of the Twilight films, my first thought was: there’s no way any of the Twilight movies should be on a top ten vampire movie list to begin with.

I confess I only saw the first “Twilight” (on DVD) and didn’t think much of it. From the outset it seemed quite silly that Bella had to go live with her father because her mother hooked up with a minor league baseball player. Couldn’t they come up with something better? I don’t care if it was in the book, either, because it still was an odd choice. And then Bella gets to a rural, logging community in Washington, but the high school seems as diverse as Cambridge and all the kids there appear to have sprung from an Old Navy ad. And why would vampires be going to high school anyway?

OK, I could go on. Suffice it to say, I wouldn’t have included the Twilight movies in my top ten vampire film list even if Blast had not placed that restriction upon me. Below are my top ten. Feel free to tell me I don’t know this genre or I should have included “A Vampire in Brooklyn” with Eddie Murphy. Just don’t come looking for me during daylight.

10. “Vampyr” (1932)

I’m being a little film schoolish with this choice, but Carl Dreyer simply cannot be left off this list. More well known for the silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr is a brooding work of light and shadow that typifies Scandanavian filmmaking. Perhaps more notable for its form rather than content, homage must be due in the vampire genre to one of cinema’s greatest directors.

Watch the whole movie here for FREE:

9. “Horror of Dracula” (1958)

This one could be filed under “lifetime achievement,” but if you are talking horror and then, more specifically, if you are talking vampires then any top ten list has to include Christopher Lee. The man played Dracula six times! Horror of Dracula is reputedly the best of his vampire movies (many of them being quite campy). And even if that’s wrong, this movie also stars Peter Cushing. What does that mean? Both Lee and Cushing would later go on to be featured in Star Wars movies.

8. “Salem’s Lot” (1979)

This was a made for TV movie and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Others may not rank it that high, but there’s one scene that I can never forget from this movie. It’s when a man is asleep in a jail cell and a fog rolls in. He wakes to be confronted by ‘the master.’ He is paralyzed with fear as the master takes him, and it’s truly a horrifying scene. When Stephen King inspires any movie one has to take note.

7. TIE: “Vampire Hunter D” (1985) and “Blade” (1998)

Vampire Hunter D is 1980s Japanese animation. Blade is late 1990s when Wesley Snipes was one of the hottest action stars around. Both spawned sequels, and I’m not super huge into either series, but they have been influential in the genre and both feature a half-man, half-vampire warrior taking it to other undead. I’m cheating a bit with this double whammy, but some monsters don’t play by the rules.

6. “Fright Night” (1985)

Let’s introduce a little levity to this list. A teenage boy must enlist the help of a washed up minor TV celebrity to battle a vampire in his neighborhood. Yeah, it’s ridiculous but that’s what makes it fun and memorable. It also tackles the interesting theme of ‘belief.’ The TV host doesn’t believe in monsters at the outset, so he is unable to fight the vampire, but by the end he has been “converted” and can now wage war against evil.

5. “Interview with the Vampire” (1984)

A cast full of pretty boys, erotic undertones, and directed by Neil Jordan—not to mention adapted from an Anne Rice novel. What could be better? What makes this interesting is the way the genres are cross-pollinated. It’s half vampire story and half memoir or journalistic style. It’s an odd combination but stretched the genre in a way that works and must get inclusion on this list.

4. “The Lost Boys” (1987)

It’s a good movie, but if there’s any vampire film that captured the spirit of its age this is it. Packed with teen heartthrobs, only the inclusion of Kirk Cameron could have cemented this film as its own issue of Tiger Beat magazine. The Lost Boys is 1980s to its core. Big hair, a fatherless home, and an MTV look and feel, this movie is a fun ride and well written. It’s style and substance unify to make it a top 10 lister for sure.

3. “Dracula” (1931)

There probably is no better Count Dracula than that played by Bela Lugosi. Directed by Tod Browning, who was a master of the horror genre before there were academics to break down genre filmmaking, Dracula might even be able to rise beyond on its genre trappings to be considered among the finest of American films. This is American studio filmmaking at the dawn of its power and brilliance.

2. “Let the Right One In” (2008)

Here is a good contrast to Twilight in terms of everything that a teen vampire movie should be. This Swedish film is not about product placement or TMZ segments and has no head-slapping moments of “should I suspend my disbelief any further?” Stylistically beautiful with characters that are compelling and moving, Let the Right One In is gruesome the way serious vampire films should be and doesn’t end at the senior prom. The conclusion of this movie is one of the creepiest sequences you will ever see on celluloid.

1. “Nosferatu” (1922)

If Bram Stoker started it all with his novel, then Nosferatu, directed by the German master F.W. Murnau, is the cinematic equivalent. There may have been a few other vampire movies before it, but this silent classic not only is the epitome of German Expressionism, but is also, simply, a great vampire movie. I last saw this a few years ago at the Williamstown Film Festival where a live orchestra provided the music. This movie does not date, and if it’s not among your top 10 vampire movies I’ll be visiting you in the dead of night!

Watch the whole movie here for free:

Up-and-coming director Jim Mickle is a jack of all trades. For the past decade, Mickle has been dipping his toes in the waters of just about every single different department in feature film or television production. He boasts credits in writing, editing, lighting, art department, visual effects, sound department, camera department, and most recently, directing. His latest work, an indie horror flick titled “Stake Land”, is his sophomore directorial effort that hits theaters June 17.

“Stake Land” is the story of an unlikely duo trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world of savage vampires. Martin, played by “Gossip Girl’s” Connor Paolo, is the sole survivor of a vampire attack that left the rest of his family dead. Not long after the attack, Martin is taken in by a loner badass who goes by the name Mister (played by Nick Damici). Mister takes Martin under his wing and teaches him how to fight the vampires and survive in the cruel world they live in. Together the mentor and apprentice travel north to Canada, where they hope to find the safe-haven town of New Eden. Along the way they meet and join forces with fellow survivors Sister (played by Kelly McGillis of “Top Gun” fame), Belle (“Halloween’s” Danielle Harris), and Willie (Sean Nelson). Together the group battles both vampires and their human allies, a radical religious society called The Brotherhood. As the team gets closer to New Eden, it becomes uncertain whether any of them will actually survive the journey.

Blast Magazine caught up with Mickle when he visited Boston recently to promote the release of “Stake Land.” We got the chance to talk to him about how “Stake Land”got started, what makes this film different than other horror movies, working on an indie budget, future plans, and much more.

BLAST: How did the idea for “Stake Land”come about and what was the process of getting the project started?

Larry Fessenden (L) and Jim Mickle (R) at the premiere of Stake Land

JIM MICKLE: Well we’d done “Mulberry Street” and we were trying to get another movie off the ground and it was a difficult thing to get moving . I think we were trying to make a jump from like, a $60,000 movie to a $3 million dollar movie and I think a lot of people weren’t psyched about that. And we had a lot of starts and stops. So out of frustration we came up with this idea to do a web series and that we could still have control over, do it piece-meal, do it on weekends. If we couldn’t make a weekend, no big deal, we could still piece it together. So that was the original idea and that was how the whole project got started. Nick [Damici, who plays Mister] just started writing these little 10 minute short films or webisodes.

Then at some point, right about the time we were looking for financing, Larry Fessenden called and said “You know, we just did this movie called “House of the Devil”, it was [distributed by] Dark Sky Films, and they want to do another movie. Ti’s busy and I’m busy, so do you have anything?” And so we sent him that first ten page script and he dug it and said, “How do we make a feature out of this?” So that was how that all began – really by accident, because we spent a long time trying to get another thing made and were just banging our heads against the wall. And this thing came along, really without even trying.

BLAST: That’s pretty cool.

JM: I know, it never happens that way!

BLAST: So how much of the web series made it into “Stake Land”?

JM: I’d say maybe about a third of it, because the web series was a completely different world. It was Mister and Martin, but it was set in modern day, and they would get a call – basically the FBI would hire them to go to different towns. So like, it’s a Chinese vamp, so they’d go to Chinatown and there’d be a certain kind of Chinese vamp there. Or you know, they’d have to go to Ohio. So there were all these different kinds of vampires in different towns and that was the “road movie” aspect of it. And in trying to fold it altogether it just felt like a collection of short films.

So, it was right around the time of the elections that Nick decided to take it away for a weekend, and he came back and it was completely reinvented in a way, with the post-apocalyptic angle and the introduction of the Brotherhood and all these new characters. Then we went back to the webisodes and said “you know, I love this webisode and how they go in that house and there’s that little girl in the attic – where can we fit this in?” My favorite was one where they stopped in a town and Martin fell in love with this girl but they had to continue on their way.

So it was fun because we were able to sort of fit in these puzzle pieces.

BLAST: So you said that the script came about during the time of the elections. Is that what contributed to the political themes in “Stake Land”?

JM: Yeah, you know at the time I think this was September of ’08 so it was right in the heat of it. And I think it was just the fact that you couldn’t get away from it really. And “Mulberry Street” has a lot of local politics in it, in a way – it’s a lot about how the landscape of New York City is changing and new buildings are coming up and yuppies are moving in and old New Yorkers are getting kicked out. So I think that was practice for this I guess. And in this we wanted to not really pick a side so much as to say that all this is gonna lead to the country devouring itself from the inside, no matter which way the country goes. And if we continue so divided that maybe this country is too big and has too many ideas going on in it to really sustain itself. So I think that was all we really wanted to address there. And religion was a whole separate element.

BLAST: Yeah, can you talk about that, about The Brotherhood?

JM: That took the most shaping of anything, I think. There was a lot of different stuff that we wanted to address but at some point we made the decision that we had to focus here. For me it was religion because I think that organized religion is kind of a scary idea you know?

BLAST: It can be, yeah.

JM: But also I think we wanted Kelly’s character [Sister] to be the other side of the coin – she shows how there are all these great things that can come with religion and faith. But on the other side, these things can get taken to the extremes and things can get interpreted too literally, and you can also get these guys [The Brotherhood] who have way too much power for their own good. So I think we wanted to address it yet not be too specific – not be like, it’s just Christians, because it’s not that. It’s just a cautionary tale.

Nick Damici and Kelly McGillis in Stake Land

BLAST: I’d love to talk about the music – I think it really helps set the tone of the film. I found out that Jeff Grace was your composer, and I looked into his background.

JM: Yeah, he’s awesome.

BLAST: He worked on the music for all three of the “Lord of the Rings”movies as well as on “Gangs of New York”.

JM: He was Howard Shore’s assistant for a long time, and Howard Shore is awesome.

BLAST: Can you talk about working with Jeff and what you discussed in terms of what you wanted for the music of “Stake Land”?

JM: I didn’t want it to sound like a horror movie. I think that too many people go to make horror movies and they just look at other horror movies for inspiration and reference, so you just wind up with these things that are quadruple cannibalizations of horror movies. I think that’s just the wrong way to go about it.

In this we wanted it to feel like a Dustbowl movie and a Depression-era movie, and we wanted it to sound like none of the music could have been written in the last fifty years. We wanted it to have an Americana feel. And we wanted it to have moments where it was like, a tough guy movie, like a “Dirty Dozen” sort of thing, and also have moments where it was Big Horror. So it was really complicated. I came to Jeff and was like, “Look, here’s all these elements that I want and none of these things really jive together, and it’s going to be your job to find a way to make these all glue together in a way.” And he’s a musical genius so he was able to do that.

We tried to build really classical themes, so each character very much has a theme that identifies them, which is something that I think is lost in film nowadays a little bit. And we decided we wanted to take an old-fashioned approached to it and keep it strings, keep it piano. And if we had to go big, we’d have to find a way to get other sounds out of those that you don’t usually hear. So it really was just Jeff being a genius with all that, and also getting emotionally involved in it. I think too many times people don’t get emotionally involved in horror movies and I think in this one, there was enough depth to really do that and build arcs in the characters musically and story-wise.

Actress Danielle Harris

BLAST: I know that Danielle Harris, who plays Belle, has a long history of being in horror movies, including four of the “Halloween” movies. Did you see her in a horror film and decide you wanted her for “Stake Land”? What about the other actors, how did you find them?

JM: With Danielle yes, because I had grown up actually not even knowing her from horror movies, strangely enough. I grew up watching her in TV shows and seeing her sort of grow up on screen, because she’s like a year older than I am. So I always loved seeing her when I was younger, and every time she’d pop up in a movie I’d always be like “Oh awesome, her!” but I never even knew her name or anything. And then weirdly enough we were on a Fangoria horror radio show together, and I was like “Oh my god, that’s that girl!” And then I realized that we were casting [the role of Belle] and she’s completely different than what we were thinking, but she’s awesome. And I kind of like the idea of casting against what’s expected.

BLAST: That’s really cool that it just worked out that way.

JM: Yeah it is, and she’s great, she’s awesome. I mean I think that this shows that she can do other things, because I think too often she gets lumped into “running through the woods screaming” types of roles. So I hope this helps her avoid [those types or roles].

With Sean Nelson [who plays Willie], he was in a movie called “Fresh” in the 90’s, which was an awesome movie. He had to be like 13 or 14 years old at the time and he gives this amazing child performance that I’ve always sort of championed to people. So at some point his name came up on a casting list and I was like, “Dude I gotta meet Sean Nelson.” So that’s how that happened.

Connor [Paolo, who plays Martin] was through a reading, he came in and we met and I had a little bit of a stereotype against like, “”Gossip Girl” kid,” you know?

BLAST: [laughs] Right, so going into it you were probably a little hesitant.

JM: Yeah, as soon as I saw his name I was hesitant, but the casting director kept pushing for him. I kept saying, “I don’t know man, I don’t know…” But fortunately the casting director sort of wore me down and was like, “This “is” the guy, he’s awesome.” So we brought him in for a reading and it was obvious that yeah, he is the guy for the role. And he is awesome – the movie is so much him, not just the performance but his understanding of how a film gets put together. And then I realized afterwards too the importance of having to anchor an entire movie on the lead, that’s a lot of weight to carry.

Connor Paolo as Eric Van Der Woodsen on Gossip Girl

BLAST: I’d like to talk about the oversaturation of vampires in film and television at this point in time, and how that may have affected “Stake Land”. Did you think about that as you started working on this project?

JM: No, not really. Because with “Mulberry Street”we wanted to make a zombie movie and at the time there were no zombie movies, or rather it wasn’t a hot thing. So we started working on it and by the time film”"came out there were like a thousand zombie movies and everyone would say, “Oh great, here comes another zombie movie.” And it’s like no, when we came up with this idea. The purpose [of "Mulberry Street"] was to save zombies and put them back in the mainstream. So “Stake Land”is kind of the exact same thing but with vampires.

BLAST: And that’s not frustrating at all?

JM: It is frustrating, but at the same time it probably helped the film get made, I have to be cognoscente of that.

BLAST: That’s true, that’s a good point.

JM: At the time we were part of a three movie deal – there were three movies being made and we got the biggest of the three budgets. I’m sure that was due to them really liking the script, but also they probably looked at it and said “The first “Twilight” movie is coming out, vampires might be hot, let’s pay a little more attention to this one.” So yes, on the one hand it’s incredibly frustrating because I think a lot of people will write it off without even seeing it.

BLAST: Of course.

JM: But on the other hand I think a lot of people will give it a lot of credit because they’re tired of what’s out there. And it probably helped us get financed, even though we didn’t do that on purpose. So, at the end of the day I think you have to make a movie for yourself, and know that, “Alright I might be the only guy in the world that likes this.” And I think I’ve been lucky that twice now I’ve done that and it just so happens that other people really like it too. So I can go back and say “Good, I didn’t specifically make this for anybody.” And I think that’s partly why they worked, because they feel different and they aren’t trying to be sold to the masses.

BLAST: Horror is typically an expensive genre to shoot due to the costs of makeup, special effects and elaborate props, so was it difficult for you to make a successful horror movie with a small indie budget?

JM: It was, but I think that if I hadn’t done “Mulberry Street”first I would have said “Oh this is impossible.” But that really “was”impossible, so “Stake Land”was almost like a luxury. It’s so funny how in context everything gets changed. Coming off of “Mulberry Street” – we shot that movie in just 18 days, there’s about 15 or 16 huge set pieces in the film, we had no stunt guys, we had a six person crew, we used DV cameras, we had Home Depot clip lights, and we shot in a one-bedroom apartment, so everything was just totally minimal.

So by the time we came to “Stake Land”, we shot it in 26 days, which is still impressive for a movie of this size. But in some ways it actually felt like a luxury and it also felt like a good step up. We had a stunt guy for a couple days, so it was a change to go “Oh, this is what happens when you have money, you don’t have to expect that guy to jump and do a back flip!”

BLAST: [laughs]

JM: “You can bring in this other guy who can dress like him and he can actually make it really convincing!” That kind of stuff. And effects guys – the first time around we had one guy doing “Mulberry Street,” this time we had two really good guys who also had three or four people who were helping them out.

So yes, it was really tough and incredibly frustrating but fortunately I was coming off of something that was even tougher, so I was able to enjoy it.

BLAST: There were a lot of really cool locations that just worked perfectly for the post-apocalyptic setting, so where did you shoot? Did you bounce around or just film in one location?

JM: We did two big chunks. We shot for two or three weeks in Pennsylvania – I grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania so we shot there. Then we took a three month hiatus to let the seasons change and let the characters sort of grow up and age. And then we went to upstate New York to the Catskills and shot there for another two or three weeks.

Dario Argento's "Suspiria" is one of Mickle's horror film influences

BLAST: Were you a huge fan of horror growing up as a kid? What are some of your influences that you’ve drawn from when making your past two films?

JM: Growing up, horror movies really terrified me and I went through a phase of hating them. But when I got to be about nine or ten years old I started thinking “Oh, why is this scaring me?” and I started really watching them and became addicted to them. So I really fell in love with movies through horror movies.

A lot of the Sam Raimi ones were the first ones that really made me think “Oh there’s something interesting going on here, it’s not just stupidity for stupidity’s sake,” you know? And then also that was around the same time that “El Mariachi”was coming out and Robert Rodriguez was in this “Do It Yourself” mode – that was a big inspiration. Early John Carpenter stuff really affected me. I think he does elevated genre – or did, he hasn’t done it in awhile unfortunately – but he also combines genres really well and that was my introduction to a lot of different kinds of movies. Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” and all the kind of classic stuff from the 70s was sort of reviving right when I was getting into it.

BLAST: So you’ve done two feature films now, both of which were horror films. You also did a short film called “The Underdogs”which was horror as well. So are you aspiring to be the next George Romero or are you interested in making movies outside of the horror genre?

JM: No, hopefully now we’ll be able to get the movie made that we were trying to get made after “Mulberry Street.”

BLAST: Can you tell me a little about that?

JM: Sure. It’s a book adaptation called “Cold in July” and it’s adapted from the book by Joe Lansdale. And it isn’t horror – it’s actually country-noir, set in the late-80s in east Texas. So it’s much more confined. Both of these movies ["Mulberry Street"and "Stake Land"] are like ensemble movies – they’re big and apocalyptic. I just want to make a movie about a couple characters going through some intense situations [laughs]. So I think this will still be exciting and it’s got a lot of suspense in it, but there aren’t any monsters and I’m happy to be stepping back from that for a little bit.

At the end of the day it’s about the story, really. That’s all I cared about, and these two are really just coincidences, that they’re both horror. And I think also, after “Mulberry Street”, we felt like we could have done a little bit more but we just didn’t have the budget. Not that this was the chance to say “Now we have money, we can do that,” but it was a little bit like, “Alright, we know what we did wrong the first time, we know we can get it right this time.”

BLAST: So are you writing the script for the adaptation of “Cold in July”?

JM: Nick and I co-wrote it.

BLAST: So you’re working with Nick again.

JM: Yeah, and he’ll be [acting] in this one too. Probably not the lead, but he’ll be in it. There are three or four pretty awesome parts in it, and he’ll have a really bad-ass part.

BLAST: For your previous films you’ve been the director and the creator, so the scripts have all been based on your own ideas. How has it been, and how do you think it will be, working on this new project in which you are adapting someone else’s story and ideas?

JM: It’s been really interesting. I mean it’s been a long time, and I think it probably needed a long time because I think there’s no right way to adapt and I think you sort of learn along the way. Originally we tried to be very faithful to the book and do it literally page by page, and we wound up thinking, “It doesn’t have the same effect as it does in the book, and why is that?” So it was an interesting case of analyzing why something works, and then trying to figure out a way to make it work. And at some point you come to an epiphany that sometimes you have to change some things to make it feel the way it’s felt in the book. So it was a really interesting case.

It’s funny because we’ve sent all these drafts to [Lansdale] and we just sent one that we made some big changes in, but also I think it’s the most successful by far and the most faithful in a way. I just emailed it to him yesterday and now I just have my fingers crossed that he’s not gonna read it and freak out. He understands very much that things have to change though. But it’s tough, because you take his words and you’re trying to write in his style and come up with plot points in his style, and the whole time you’re saying “but this is all to make it feel much more like you made me feel when I read your book!” So it will be really interesting to see how it works.

BLAST: If somebody were to go to your IMDB page, they’d see that you have credits in almost every different type of field when it comes to working on films – directing, writing, editing, art department, lighting department, etc. Does that influence how you work as a director?

JM: Yeah, I think it makes me more efficient. Not that I’ve spent enough time in any one field to say that I’m a master of it, but it does really help to know what you can and can’t do, and knowing how to stay within your boundaries. Also knowing what the pace of a shoot day is like. I can’t even imagine going in and having never been on a set before and all of a sudden directing a movie. It must be the most bewildering thing ever, seeing all the people on set and being like “Who are all of these people?” So I think it’s a good way to be able to pop in and say, “Look I know that this sounds crazy when I say it but I know you could do this one thing…”

BLAST: You can relate to them better.

JM: Yeah, exactly. And I think they also respect it. You know I think a lot of times directors will say “I want it to look like this!” and then walk away and everybody is left scratching their heads. I think I’m more able to say “I want it to look like this, but I think this is how we could do it and if you have a better idea let’s do that.” So it’s an easier way to come at things I guess.

BLAST: Makes sense.

JM: And editing, definitely – I think anyone going into film, to come from that background is pretty helpful. I kind of shoot to edit, so I sort of know what I’ve got and know how to make the story work. I think I’m able to walk away [from editing] when people might stay a little bit longer but then also maybe I’ll stay a little longer thinking, “Well I know this one little thing that I might be able to get.” So it’s all part of the voice.

BLAST: Well, unfortunately we’re out of time. Thanks for taking the time to talk to Blast!

JM: Thank you!

Well, The Vampire Diaries definitely reminded us all exactly why we keep coming back to watch it this week. Despite all of its crazily written plot twists, and over dramatic “epic” romances, “The Sun Also Rises” managed to both literally and figuratively rip hearts out.

The episode started out on a good leg, with Damon and Katherine’s awesome “goodbye” scene and dealing with his wolf bite, Caroline and Matt dealing with Tyler, and Elena dealing with slowly breaking it to Jenna that she was going to be a vampire.

Towards the middle somewhere, though, the episode took a turn to its classic TVD side. It was full of tragedy and self-sacrificing that all just seemed like a little too much. Elena blamed herself over and over, Bonnie offered to sacrifice herself twice, Stefan decided to sacrifice himself, and Jenna managed to again make a situation that wasn’t specifically about her and make it all about her. Seeing an episode that the entire season had been building for go down in such an over-the-top way was disappointed.

Then things got amazing. Right around the time Damon and Alaric had their bonding moment, the episode went from trying to force epic, to actually being epic. Ian Somerhalder and Matt Davis work so well together; Not only are their scenes together good on the eyes, but they always pack the right level of broody-man emotion. Throw Kat Graham into the mix, and the scenes of the crew preparing their great rescue were some of the most well executed this season.

Jenna’s character has never served a dramatic plot purpose that has really caught our attention, but for whatever reason, her death was one of the saddest TVD has managed, and with all the deaths packed into just two seasons, that says a lot. Elena’s reaction, Jenna’s fear, Jenna’s purpose –it was all very raw and heart wrenching to watch.

And just when we thought that if one more person offered to give themselves up to die we would all vomit, John did it. But John’s was the only sacrifice that made perfect sense, and fit perfectly, and despite the fact that his character is always touch-and-go as far as whether or not we actually like him, his death packed a punch. The letter, and the ring, combined with the cemetery scene and the gorgeous cover of Bon Iver’s Skinny Love by Birdy playing the background made the death’s of two B-list characters seem very hard-hitting in a really memorable way.

Speaking of memorable, there is not a single Matt/Caroline or Tyler/Caroline that can rightfully say they did not appreciate this episode. Poor Matt has been in this awkward stringing along place for so long that to see him keep doing it was serving an injustice to a relationship that once held a very dear place in our hearts. Him finally standing up and saying he couldn’t do it anymore at least showed he has some backbone, though it left their relationship on good enough terms that it can in no way be considered the last angsty scene we will see from them. However, not even Matt can deny the supernatural creature chemistry that always happens with Tyler and Caroline. Her trying to talk him down last episode, the cuddle on the couch at the end of this episode (he was definitely naked right?) and the way they both talk to each other just makes me want to give them their own show and watch them do their snuggle, giggle, cry thing for hours.

And because The Vampire Diaries can never just tie things up and end them, there is still Damon to worry about and his Tyler Lockwood wolf “nip.” Though despite the fact that this show loves its cliffhangers, we can’t help but feel not as worried as we should for Damon for exactly the reason Stefan pointed out: they always find a way.

At just a few minutes before 8 p.m., when all of us were anxiously flicking on our TV’s Michael Trevino (who plays Tyler Lockwood) tweeted “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand we’re back…” and back they were. “The Vampire Diaries” returned from one of the CW network’s famous, fan-dreaded hiatuses with an episode that seriously packed a punch.

“Know Thy Enemy” brought the series back with a big-name packed episode (Hello, Isobel’s back) that housed Katherine and Isobel (and possibly even Klaus?) all in once place, and not only that, but in once scene. The Katherine and Isobel bonding moments left everyone wondering how our favorite leather-jacket-wearing three-some and their pals would pull themselves out of this one, only to send us for a loop when Isobel turned out to be in some trouble of her own. The disappointing news however, is if her disturbingly-fiery death, at her daughter’s feet, was permanent –as most are– this may be the last we see of Mia Kirshner.

The episode without a doubt had everyone on the edge of their couches, beds, or what-have-you, with its unending twists and turns that had us jerking around and screaming at the television right from the start. Sending us from hating John, who seems to constantly make questionable decisions, to feeling for him by the end of the episode –David Anders always delivers flawlessly in that way.

Even Katherine broke out her flat iron, which always implies that she means business. Whenever the she-vamp strolls on screen sporting straight hair, we always wait anxiously for Nina Dobrev’s face-off with herself which has proved on countless occasions to be not only a well maneuvered trick for Katherine but for the post production geniuses who staple it together seamlessly.

Bonnie is getting more super-witch by the minute, proving to be an essential piece to the season’s puzzle. It is refreshing to see her pulling some major weight and becoming a front-running character after she disappeared for a number of episodes after her grandmother’s death in season one and seemed to take the back-burner when Caroline’s vamp storyline first picked up in the beginning of season two.

It what could definitely be considered the twist of the episode, Alaric got his brain/soul/good nature swapped with Klaus in some kind of bizarre possession ritual, leading to him approaching Katherine in a rather suggestive way. If every viewer on the planet wasn’t already wondering what was going down in Mystic Falls, they are now.

Also, Stefan and Damon had another of their recent brotherly chats, knocking glasses when they realized that for once, they may actually be one step ahead of the game. And though it is almost too much brooding, good looks, and sarcasm for us to take in, it always proves to be gold when the writers give Paul Wesley and Ian Sommerhalder their moments together.

Matt and Caroline continue to tug at viewers’ heartstrings episode after episode, (though now he seems to have thrown her under the sheriff-mommy bus) which leaves everyone with the same daunting question: Where is Tyler Lockwood? Fans have been assured that crowd-favorite Michael Trevino is returning soon, but for many soon is not even soon enough.

Warner Bros. has announced that a new “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” film will be going ahead without the involvement of creator Joss Whedon, who is currently working on directing the feature film “The Avengers.”

Whit Anderson has been signed to author the script. She is a long-time “Buffy” fan but is a relatively unknown writer.

She commented to the Los Angels Times, “I didn’t really watch much television at all, but I always watched ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ I just loved this character. I was the same age as Buffy, and it was so rare to have a female lead character on TV in those days who was strong and capable and smart but also allowed to be feminine.”

The “Buffy “series began as a camp 1992 film, originally written by Whedon, and after that, it became a legendary television series.

Anderson added, “The fate of the world is on her shoulders, but some days she wakes up and she just doesn’t want to do it. And are we doomed and destined to love someone? That conflict was very interesting to me.”

Whedon emailed E! Online, regarding the decision to make a new “Buffy” film without him.

He said, “This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths — just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own.”

SAN DIEGO — The reboot of the 1984 miniseries “V” saw its pilot episode screened at Comic-Con International Wednesday evening to a crowd of several thousand attendees eager for the always anticipated Preview Night. Screened alongside the pilot for freshman series “Human Target” and “Vampire Diaries,” “V” was a standout thanks to its particularly solid cast.

Starring Elizabeth Mitchell (familiar as Juliet from “LOST” — and BLAST will be doing its best to get that question answered, by the way), Alan Tudyk (“Firefly,” “Dollhouse”), Morena Baccarin (“Firefly”) Morris Chestnut (“Boyz N the Hood”), and Scott Wolf (“Party of Five”).

Beware of Spoilers Beyond This Point

The pilot opens with sprawling overhead shots of cities with the provocative tag-lines: “Where were you when JFK was shot?” “Where were you on 9/11?” Then it finishes with “Where were you today?”

Shortly after, the sudden arrival of hovering alien motherships over Earth’s major cities triggers panic until the beautiful, otherworldly, and human-looking “Anna” (Baccarin) appears projected on the bellies of the massive ships (which are not as well rendered nor as cool-looking as the Galactica) and delivers a message. In gist, it’s “We come in peace” mixed in with “hey, Earth has something we need, but don’t worry we’ll be best friends with you and cure cancer and then be on our merry way.”

That certainly bodes well, doesn’t it?

We fast forward a few weeks to a point where humanity has largely welcomed and become enthralled with the “visitors” (“V”). This is the part that doesn’t ring quite true, even in context of this being a show about alien invasion. If giant alien spaceships that demonstrate clear superiority and just happen to electronically disable human jets that approach it, it seems difficult to believe that humanity as a whole would be, like, just so totally super excited to be, BFFs.

Thankfully, there are a few characters here and there who feel the same way. One of them is a doubting priest (Joel Gretsch) who questions the Vatican’s official position on the Vs (“we are all God’s creatures”) as well as one of his parishioners who staggers into the church, bleeding to death and begging the priest to deliver a package to a secret meeting.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Mitchell’s character, Erica Evans, is an FBI agent working with Alan Tudyk to uncover some kind of “sleeper cell” in a plot line that is very random and very unexplained. The lack of exposition is saved by the charismatic Dale Maddox, played by the always excellent Alan Tudyk (whose first appearance on screen prompted the biggest cheer of the night — Comic-Con is the natural environment for “Firefly” fans, after all).

The story moves along as V spokesman and leader apparent “Anna” encounters a middle-echelon broadcast reporter played by Scott Wolf. He asks her as she enters the UN if all the Vs are babes and she replies with, “You’re not so bad yourself.” The positive press coverage on her sense of humor inspires “Anna” in a very Big Brother-esque scene to announce to one of the other V’s that she chooses Wolf’s character Chad Decker to interview her.

One of the first hints of the Vs’ nefarious plots is revealed a few minutes before the interview is to take place. In short, Anna instructs Decker to ask only questions that cast a positive light on the visitors. When he tells her that it’s not a journalist’s job to spin, she threatens to cancel the interview and seduces the reporter with the promise of career advancement should he do as she asks. Decker casts away his scruples and relents.

The final act of the pilot culminates in Erica and Dale’s investigation leading them to some kind of warehouse. Erica enters first and discovers an anti-V rally, led by one guy who makes some very good points. He suggests that the Vs are reptilian-like creatures that cloned humans so as to appear human and asserts that the Vs’ reveal of themselves to Earthlings was merely the last stage in their plan to conquer the world.

Erica asks for proof and the doubting priest comes forward, bearing the bloody message given to him by his parishioner. Inside are photos of a mysterious terrorist suspect that Erica has been investigating and who she hasn’t been able to attach to any name or any of the many forged passports they found at a crime scene earlier. Just as the group of skeptics begin to put the pieces together — specifically that the man in the photograph is a V — they are attacked.

Shockingly, among these attackers is Dale Maddox, who tries to kill Erica until she manages to strike his head with a bar and discovers that the claim of the reptilian-like aliens wearing human skin is in fact the case.

The pilot ends with Erica and the priest, who both managed to survive the attack, realizing that they now need to form a resistance.

So what’s the verdict?

The potential for true drama and intrigue is definitely there. The interplay and politics of the Vs’ relationship with characters like Chad Decker and Erica’s V-obsessed teenage son could certainly be interesting and the gradual reveal of the Vs’ true intentions make for a promising story.

The bad?

For the most part the writing was predictable at best and flat at worst. Several of the characters suffer from LOST-imitation-itis, which is to say that the writers are clearly attempting to create a diverse ensemble each with a interesting to-be-revealed backstories but unfortunately fall short. Characters like Erica Evans’ son, the priest, Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut) are all plagued with dull and familiar dialogue (a possible exception being Nichols, who is at the end revealed as a “traitor” V, an alien who fights on the side of the humans) that serves to make them feel like filler characters.

On the other end, of course, is Morena Baccarin’s fantastic performance as “Anna.” She is unsettling and somehow nonthreatening at the same time. Creepy, yet pleasant. On the whole Baccarin is the standout performer and her character Anna is certainly one of the most intriguing and unique characters on the show.

Visually, the show is clearly a pilot — the CGI shots are uninspiring. The cinematography, on the other hand, was nicely done and on the whole the pilot was edited superbly. There were many moments of great storyline juxtaposition and parallels that really contributed a lot to the sense that there is a lot of story to be told with this premise.

In all, it earns a B rating. Certainly intriguing but ultimately hampered by its lackluster plotting and general predictability. Despite that, though, it is absolutely worth a try when it arrives on screen later this year.

It could be said that the hip world of the undead has moved from the zombie horde fad that populated the last few years back to the blood sucking, easily sexed-up vampire scene. With the “Twilight” movies and books being the new midnight release craze, “True Blood” getting the green light for season two, and the popularity of the “Underworld” series, blood suckers are in when it comes to creatures of the night.

Coming out in the middle of the vampire chic craze is the live action adaptation of the manga/animated series “Blood: The Last Vampire,” the story of a half vampire, half human girl named Saya and her quest to hunt down the demon known as Onigen, an ancient evil that is responsible for killing her father.

In order to do this, she teams with an organization simply known as “The Council,” a group of black tie spooks led by the rough voiced veteran known as Michal. Noticing a large vampire/demon infestation in Japan, the council has Saya go undercover at an American Air Force base in Tokyo where she befriends repressed military brat Alice McKee.

Despite the generic plot of the movie and the not so pristine run of anime-turned-live-action flicks, “Blood” is a surprisingly entertaining time. This is mostly because of how much the film embraces its style over its substance. The entire movie used a manga-like pacing and framing to get the effect of the crossover to work. The lighting is never natural; instead it’s either pitch dark, electric red, or perpetual twilight in order to fully push the current scene’s mood.

The story’s backdrop also allows for multiple visual options. Being that the main location for the story is an American military base, based in Japan, in the early Vietnam era, all these cues show up. The soundtrack rings with old rock and roll of Buddy Holly and The Surfaries. The military grunts are all eerily similar looking to give the sense that something is very wrong with the setting while the hippy youth gives a good comparison with their flared looks. Saya dawns the classic skirted Japanese school girl look throughout the movie while the setting moves to the mountain forests of Japan to give it a classic Samurai vengeance theme.

The acting in the movie varies. Gianna Jun, who stars as Saya, trips over a few of her more clichƒ©d lines, but isn’t anything hard to watch. Alison Miler plays a decent sidekick in the Alice role, though the character herself is slightly useless to moving the plot along. The main baddie demon is played by the long legged Japanese model turned actress Koyuki, who moves cold and smooth through all her scenes, fitting her “devil with class” role.

The spooks of The Council take the movie, especially Liam Cunningham portraying the veteran Michal. Cunningham spits out every line in an unnatural scripted way, which would be a deterrent if he wasn’t supposed to be a faceless black tie agent bent on killing demons and keeping quiet about it. His robotic, gravelly voice fits his role like a glove and he may be one of the best black-tie agents seen in the theaters in quite sometime.

“Blood” suffers from its budget more than anything. The graphics are mostly cheap, Sci-Fi Channel original movie level, the fight scenes are mostly quick cuts and cheap tricks with light rather than anything impressive, and the poor blood effects are covered by the one line fix, “demon blood is different than human blood.” The demon forms of the vampires are terrible computer graphics which could have been left out without the film suffering at all.

All in all, “Blood: The Last Vampire” is a cool movie. Following in the steps of “Dick Tracey,” “Sin City” and “Watchmen,” it is a style-over-substance comic interpretation which may not change your view on life, but will get a few good wide eyed moments out of you.

Season two of the HBO original series “True Blood” started last week, and you should really be watching it. Not just for the romance between vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and psychic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), and not just because it’s about vampires. Make no mistake: “True Blood” is not your little sister’s “Twilight.” It’s got action, intrigue, plenty of steamy scenes, Southern charm, creatures of the night, Anna Paquin, a guy that turns into a dog, and enough blood splatter to make a Jackson Pollock painting jealous.

You should be watching it, and here’s why:

1. The supernatural. Vampires have come out of the coffin. They walk among us (at night). They drink synthetic blood at our bars. They’re dating the girl next door. And they’re not alone: voodoo witchdoctors, psychic waitresses, and people who turn into animals are all regular cast members.

2. Bon Temps, Louisiana. When’s the last time you heard of a vampire story set in the deep South? New York City or Sunnydale, California, maybe. Transylvania, definitely. But Bon Temps, Louisiana? Shoot son, that’s what I call original! In a small town where everyone knows everyone, when strange things start happening around Merlotte’s Bar, rumors spread quicker than wildfire. Plus, the setting makes for plenty of Southern humor and Cajun accents.

3. The opening credits. Jace Everett’s country single “Bad Things” will have you singing along and getting down with your bad self every week.

4. Love Triangle meets unrequited love meets star-crossed lovers. A decent tragic romance is a hard thing to find. So when you get a triumvirate of tragic love archetypes all on the same show, you can’t take your eyes away. In summary: Bill and Sam both like Sookie, who is interested in both Bill and Sam, but then she chooses Bill, leaving Sam loveless and alone, and unfortunately Bill is a vampire and Sookie is a human so theirs is the ULTIMATE FORBIDDEN LOVE, mostly because he wants to EAT HER and she is BLONDE AND PLUCKY. Yeah. “It’s Complicated” on Facebook.

5. Beefcake. There are a lot of attractive men on this show, and a lot of shirtless scenes (it’s hot in Louisiana, ok?).

6. Cheesecake. Poor Anna Paquin. What a homely girl. And that Rutina Wesley”¦ too bad about her face. All kidding aside, both leading ladies are strikingly beautiful. Paquin’s pouty lips and Wesley’s gorgeous gams could keep anyone (girls included) tuning in week after week.

7. Tara Thornton. From the moment she said, “This ain’t rude, this is uppity” I knew it was love. Possibly the most honest (some would say foul-mouthed), confident (some would say cantankerous) young woman to ever grace the airwaves, Tara (Rutina Wesley) is Sookie’s best friend and confidant.

8. Jason Stackhouse’s clueless face. To look that devoid of intelligence, that often, to that degree of comedic effect, is pure acting genius.

9. Lafayette. Much of the show’s strength lies in its supporting cast, and Lafayette “" a cross-dressing, drug-dealing, no-nonsense short order cook at Merlotte’s Bar “" is no exception. If you see nothing else of “True Blood,” watch Lafayette’s AIDS burger monologue from the first season. You’ll think twice about stiffing your waitress.

10. Vampire Bill’s string quartet. Always just off-screen, but working hard during both steamy scenes and the scary bits, Bill’s string quartet is one of the best parts of the show. I’ve never seen these musicians, but I know they exist because of the haunting cello line that pops up whenever our leading vamp-man is on screen.

If this doesn’t convince you, try it for yourself. The next episode of “True Blood” airs this Sunday night on HBO, right after the sun goes down, 9 p.m.

Something pale white and ice cold has allegedly been lurking the halls of Boston Latin, a prestigious Massachusetts exam school, and it’s not just the Bostonian students and faculty. In attempts to quell rumors and comfort parents, the headmaster of Boston Latin sent a notice out to all students, faculty and parents, stating that rumors involving vampires had spread through the school and that no one’s safety had in fact been in jeopardy. Notice that the administration never actually denied the presence of vampires at the school.

Fans of “Twilight” know what this vague, reassuring statement means: The Cullens are currently living in Boston. There is no other way to explain this situation. Obviously no one is in danger because they would never feed on human blood, and in fact, they are actually protecting Boston Latin from bad vampires. After all, the Volturi (the evil vampire equivalent to the mob) is from Italy and might be interested in a school named “Boston Latin.” Obviously, the police are still way off track, looking to “goth” students as possible sources of the rumors. We know better. If you want to find the vampires – look to the wealthy, good looking students who keep to themselves.

For now, Cullen clan, you secret is safe with us.

On a side note, it is actually refreshing to see that students these days are becoming more creative, because honestly, rumors about vampires are way more exciting than teen pregnancy.

The world has been bitten by the “Twilight” bug — right in the neck.

In the latest word on the series guaranteed to elicit delight, Borders will be offering an exclusive 2-disc DVD set this spring and holding midnight release parties at stores nationwide to push sales of the DVD, which comes out March 21.

The DVD set includes bonus special features, unique photo cards and special packaging.

The standard DVD/Blu-ray release will include audio commentary, trailers and promotional reels and extended and deleted scenes. The Borders-exclusive special edition will also feature over one hour of additional content produced by Borders, including:

• Cast interviews with Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella), Cam Gigandet (James), Edi Gathegi (Laurent) and Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria) that were recorded during Comic-Con in San Diego.
• Red-carpet footage from the global movie premiere in Los Angeles, including a never-before-seen segment that contains interviews with Kellan Lutz (Emmett); Ashley Greene (Alice); Nikki Reed (Rosalie) and the rock band Paramore, which contributed to the movie’s soundtrack.
• A re-edited version of the Borders Book Club episode that features author Stephenie Meyer discussing the phenomenon behind the “Twilight” saga.

The set will also include 10 photo cards with images of the cast.

It will sell for $29.99.

Borders will hold midnight release parties on March 20 for fans, with vampire-themed games and movie discussions.

The Twilight Soundtrack has spent 12 straight weeks in the top 10 (settling currently at #5) and is about to break the record for the longest run in the top 10 since 8 Mile. For some artists included in the soundtrack, this might be old news, but for Sam Bradley, Bobby Long, and Marcus Foster, this could be a career jump starter, and we were lucky enough to talk to all three of them this week about their involvement in the Twilight soundtrack, their music, and their upcoming endeavors.

If you haven’t heard of them, these three Brits are friends and musical collaborators with Rob Pattinson, who performed their songs “Never Think” (co-written by Pattinson and Bradley) and “Let Me Sign” (written by Foster and Long) on the soundtrack.

Eager to get closer to anything Rob, Twilighters have shifted their die-hard gaze towards these three and have accidently stumbled into some really genuinely‚ good‚ music. Now before you listen, be aware that these aren’t the typical musicians you’d expect to gain worldwide attention from a teen phenomenon. We’re talking Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley inspired music – not anything like the Disney pop Jo Bros or Miley Cyrus hits blaring in teen girls’ ear buds across the country (thank goodness). What makes Twilight so different from most teen phenomenons, and what I believe gives these boys so much hope, is the huge presence of twenty-something, even thirty-something fans that might have already grown up on this type of music. Either way, needless to say, the guys don’t mind the sudden influx of new fans.

“It’s put me on the map that’s for sure,” Long said. “I used to play 5 gigs a week for like 2 people because I always thought it was important to get an education in music and play for like nobody and learn how to play. Now all of a sudden. . .”. Now all of a sudden he has gone from around 50 plays a day on Myspace to around 700, and has girls screaming at his gigs in London – one girl even ran up to kiss him before being asked to leave. Unphased by his new audience, Long described the change: “Well, it’s nice. It’s really nice playing to people but it can be a bit uncomfortable. . . it’s not at the stage like Rob has it, though.”

At this point, it’s a good thing they’ve all witnessed Robert’s rocket to fame and how wild fans can be. “They’re insane,” Long laughed, describing Twilight fans, “but they’re funny and I think they’re aware they’re like that, so they have a sense of humor. But they’re all nice people”. Marcus recognizes how many of his new fans are Twiligthers as well; something hard to hide when they have profile pictures of Rob. “It’s crazy. I get lots of messages every day, it’s quite funny.”

Joking about the vivacity of the Twilight fans, and claiming he would never have‚ too‚ many fans, Sam stated, “if I was to be chased down by fans, that would be a good thing. It would be fun – I reckon I can run faster than them”. The three musicians even have a livejournal community dedicated to them – “land of dreamers”.

Just a year ago, none of them (not even Rob) could have expected they’d be talking about being overwhelmed by fans. Sam, Marcus, and Rob all went to school together in London and met Bobby by playing different venues when he came to London to study and do his music as well. “He was one of the guys playing at an open mic,” Sam said about meeting Bobby, “we looked at each other from across the room, our eyes met . . . and the rest is history”.

While Marcus has been playing for years, both Sam and Bobby have had late starts into musician-dom, not learning the guitar until 17. “It was something that just felt kind of natural,” Bradley said about playing. Long seems to have had a similar beginning: “I was just this shy, lead guitar player in like, grungy bands. . .I only starting singing about a year and a half ago, two years ago”. And thank goodness he did.

Despite their modest start, all three have big plans for the future.

Sam Bradley is in the studio all this week in Vancouver recording and then off to Paris to finish production for the rest of the month where he will meet up with Foster and Long to do back-up vocals.

“I heard about that,” Bobby said in reference to the collaboration in Paris. He didn’t hear it from Sam. “Someone else on Myspace told me”. Oh the wonders of the modern world.

“I just say it out loud and assume he knows it” Sam joked, proving their communication to be only a little strained from Vancouver to London with the help of loyal fans. Fortunately, Sam did e-mail Marcus to ask, and he’s confirmed he’ll be on board if he can get there.

Set on a tight schedule, Bradley has basically a month to get everything done. “I’m so tired, it’s been really good. We’re getting some really good stuff,” Bradley said in reference to the recordings. In addition to Marcus Foster and Bobby Long, Sam’s regular band will be playing on the album, and his sister will be providing some vocals as well. “It’s a mash of people playing, basically . . . everyone connected means something”.

As far as what can be expected on his new album, he stated, “there are lots of new songs, there are also some that have been on the Myspace but they’re different – it’s more professional.” Sam also disclosed that one fan favorite, and Sam’s personal favorite, “Sea Blue” will be appearing on the new album.

While in France, Bradley will also be playing at Kord Unplugged, right in the heart of Paris on February 12^th. “It’s going to be really intimate and really, really sexy,” Sam promised of the gig.

Currently working on a demo, Bobby Long is planning a trip to the states in April. This will be a crucial trip for Bobby, considering a great majority of his listeners are from the US (remember, Twilight was biggest here). He’ll also have the chance to meet with industry people and record labels. Arriving in New York on April 12^th, he’ll be playing at the Lakeside Lounge April 13^th‚ and Arlene’s Grocery on the 14^th. After that, he’ll be heading to Los Angeles, where he is still looking for venues: “we’re looking around, we have a few offers in LA but we’re looking for places to play on the 15^th‚ 16^th‚ and 17^th, so if anyone has any ideas. . .”.

If you do have any suggestions – feel free to leave them below in the comment box. Also, according to Sam, he “better be playing” in these gigs as well, so if you’re a fan it could be a great chance to see them both.

As far as New Moon goes, Bobby revealed that there were a few songs that he wrote with Marcus around the same time they wrote “Let Me Sign” that he thinks could be appropriate for the next Twilight installment, if they are asked to contribute.‚  Although they have talked about recording “Let Me Sign” themselves, Bobby and Marcus aren’t exactly how to work it out. “We don’t know whose album we’d put it on. Like, we kind of wrote songs together last year and that was one that we kind of gave to Rob. We preferred the other ones actually . . . maybe Rob can keep that one,” Marcus laughed.

Marcus, hoping to broaden his fan horizon from just Twilighters, will have another song featured in an upcoming movie. Starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, the “Five Dollars a Day” soundtrack will include “Make it Easy”.‚  Foster also has an upcoming gig in Brighton on February 6^th, but has had his focus elsewhere for a while: “At the moment I’ve just been doing a lot of recording, and concentrating on that and also I’m trying to get a band together as well so I’ve been kind of waiting to get the right kind of group of people”. All this recording however, does mean he’ll have new songs to upload on his Myspace in the near future. This might come as bad news to all the fans that have grown to love the current songs listed there, but Marcus is excited about the change: “I’m actually quite tired of them at the moment, like, I’m looking forward to changing them in a week or so”.

This summer, all three are hoping to tour the states together. “We had this amazing plan at the start where it was going to be US and go to Vancouver and rehearse and then get a car and then just drive down to America,” Bobby said laughing before revealing the more practical reality: “we’re just trying to get visas”.

The styles of their music vary slightly, as is to be expected with individual endeavors, but their musical collaborations are seamless. Their personalities obviously contribute to their charm, with Sam’s humor, Bobby’s sweetness and Marcus’ general mystery, there’s a strong balance between all three that makes them fascinating to listen to. And then, of course, let’s not forget the accents.

Whether there is more Twilight action to be expected or not, Sam Bradley, Bobby Long, and Marcus Foster are at the dawn of their careers. All three were very adamant about how much they appreciate the support and love they receive from their fans, so if you want to help along the chance that they might be able to tour in your city this summer, the best way to help that along would be to show your support at Bobby’s gigs in New York and Los Angeles this Easter.

Be sure to check out their Myspace pages:‚ 

Sam: www.myspace.com/sambradley06

Bobby:‚ www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong

Marcus: www.myspace.com/marcusfoster

Summit Entertainment announced Sunday that Catherine Hardwicke, the “Twilight” director, will not be involved in the already anticipated sequel, “New Moon.”

“Summit’s targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, New Moon, does not work with Ms. Hardwicke’s required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen,” Summit and Hardwicke said in a joint statement. “Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for ‘New Moon.’”

“I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct ‘New Moon,’” said Hardwicke. “Directing ‘Twilight’ has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film.”

We’re not sure exactly why Hardwicke is out for the cash machine that is Twilight and its coming sequels.

“Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the Twilight franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects,” said Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production. “We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch.”

Blast got a chance to speak with Kellan Lutz and Edi Gathegi at Friday’s premiere of the film “Twilight” at the Regal Fenway 15 in Boston.

Lutz and Gathegi play Emmett and Laurent in the film. The New England Fan Experience and the Boston Phoenix organized the event.

“Twilight” grossed over $70 million in its opening weekend, almost doubling the production costs for the film.

By the way: Because of a reporting error, Kellan Lutz’s name was spelled wrong.

Check out Ty Burr’s take on “Twilight.”

Blast will have its review up by midnight with a second review to follow by our renown “Twilight” detractor, Kellen Rice.

SAUGUS, Mass. — A couple hundred girls in your stereotypical Hot Topic style black band t-shirts and their moms have swarmed a stage set for a question and answer session with “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson that’s scheduled for about three hours from now.

Half are standing, and half are sitting. But they all look comfortable preparing to see their beloved “Edward” and have him possibly answer one of their own questions.

Scattered among the crowd you can see the lucky few people with their special “Twilight” t-shirts that signify that they will be one of the 500 who get to see Pattinson in person and get an exclusive poster signed by him.

The crowd this afternoon is tame compared to uncontrollable scenes reported in San Francisco and Chicago earlier.

This isn’t really the mob scene we were expecting, but it’s still early.

Blast met Pattinson this afternoon at a photo shoot in Boston and we’re here at the Square One Mall. Blast will bring you more, including a special TWILIGHT EXTRA issue of Blast Magazine featuring our Twilight coverage, movie review, interviews, photos and more!

Known to many as Adam Davies, the archenemy of Jeremy Piven’s character Ari Gold, Jordan Belfi joined the cast of Entourage in its first season. Over three years, he has become famous on the show for getting Ari fired from their agency and making life a living hell.

Now in season four, he returns to continue the never-ending hatred existence that has become Adam vs. Ari.

Since Belfi is loyal to his producers, Blast could not obtain juicy revelations about this season’s story line. All we can share is the polite, “great things to come,” quote. But Belfi did say that in the likeness of the first and second episodes (where a car race surged between Adam and Ari) there will be more action and continuous shock.

Now, back to Belfi.

Born and raised in Southern California, Belfi decided to take a route many actors leave behind and attended college before going to castings. In wanting a change of scenery he enrolled at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and studied film and theatre.

“I went to the snow because Wesleyan proved to be the school I wanted to attend. What I took away was pretty invaluable, not because of who I met but because of who I became. I wanted to go away and grow and I always had the sense that I’d come back to L.A., so I wanted to be out of my element,” said Belfi in a recent chat. “College helps form who you are, it gives you time to grow and it’s something you can bring to your work as an actor. I think bringing knowledge back to your work helps color things and inform the choices you make. It was very important to me.”

Now, as an accredited actor, Belfi is trying out different settings in front of the camera. Belfi has managed to act in major television shows, star in blockbusters and be part of independent film casts.

He has a recurring role in the popular vampire drama Moonlight, aside from his Entourage gig, and he has appeared in Smallville, Shark, Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This summer, production finished on the Touchtone Pictures sci-fi thriller “The Surrogates,” where Belfi performs opposite Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames.

As if that didn’t keep him busy, Belfi also finished work on the WWII-based, indie-drama “Christina,” which tells the story of an American soldier and what occurs when he brings his German lady love to the states.

Without being pretentious, Belfi is carving a path to act at various levels, while remaining under the radar. Like others who have acted in different mediums — Natalie Portman or James Franco — Belfi is obtaining new roles, playing them accordingly and taking time off afterward to do what he enjoys: backpacking.

Recently, he enjoyed a solo European tour where he stayed at hostels and traveled by train for what he called, “one of the great thrills of his life.” Although he could have stayed at swanky hotels and gotten the VIP service, he chose the normal way to backpack and even stayed at random people’s homes. As he put it, everything created a fantastic trip that kept him grounded and gave him a local’s perspective.

And it seems that he wants to remain grounded in every aspect.

“Entourage has been the best experience of my career it and took me to a whole new level. The prestige of HBO and the quality all around makes things feel like we’re making a movie every week, and in a way we really are making mini movies each week. To be surrounded by talented people, writers and directors is all I can ask for. I feel great to be working at all levels, from the biggest of the big, to small indie films, to hit TV shows,” Belfi said.

In “The Surrogates” Belfi will portray a crooked exec. The movie, based on a comic book series, is set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through remote-controlled artificial bodies (surrogate robots). After someone begins murdering these robot images, a cop (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years to investigate the crimes. Belfi plays the VP at the company that manufactures these robots.

“The experience, itself was great. This is a huge science fiction studio movie,” he said. “Working with [Bruce Willis] was the best part because someone you admire comes face to face and suddenly all the nerves go away, for a period you are just peers — actors working together. Working at that level was exciting.”

Belfi may choose to remain under the radar – acting and living a relatively Hollywood-free life – or become the next “it” star. Whatever ends up happening he said he wants to be noticed for one thing only.

“I think it’s simple: I just want to be known as a really good actor, in the end that’s the most important thing to me,” confessed the blue-eyed hunk.

Catch Belfi’s menace of a character on Entourage Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO. Watch Moonlight on Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBS.

Fangirl squeals could be heard across the nation Saturday as it was confirmed that two more special guests will be attending TwiCon, an unofficial Twilight convention in Dallas this July.

Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, who play Emmett and Alice Cullen will be at the convention.

Other special guests so far include Mike Welch (Mike Newton), The Bella Cullen Project, Evil Iguana Productions, and Kaleb Nation – the “Twilight Guy”.

Bailey Gauthier, or “NoMoreMarbles” on Youtube, is one of four partners making up the newly formed TwiCon Partners, LLC. Bailey and partner Becka Grapsy work with Becky Scoggins and Jordan Bressler, of BresslerScoggins Literary Management, a publicity and marketing firm. Bailey admits there are a lot of challenges in organizing a large convention.

“The hardest part about the convention getting started is just that it’s the first one and therefore there’s a lot of ‘first time’ stuff that’s got to be done that won’t necessarily be done for cons after this,” Gauthier said, “like building rapport in the industry and just over all having to set the foundation for future events. Not only with professionals involved but with the fandom as well.”

TwiCon has a 2,000 ticket sell-out limit, which they hope to reach. Considering the 6,000 screaming Twilight fans that swarmed Comic-Con in San Diego this past summer, selling out doesn’t seem unlikely when stars like Lutz and Greene are already being announced so far in advance. Even though other conventions might occur closer to home, it can be expected that a number of fans will pass those up and make the trek to Texas for Twicon.

“We are different just in sheer size,” Gauthier said. “There are events that are specifically fandom based, and then there are‚ others that seem to be more geared toward‚ getting autographs and meeting the stars. TwiCon brings both elements together, not only are we trying to line up an amazing special guest list‚ of those involved with‚ the movie, but we are also bringing together‚ fandom icons as well, such as well-known Twilight inspired bands,‚ fan sites, and bloggers.”

“We are fan-run but are managed by a professional firm, so we have a great blend in how we do things, with a balance of fan passion and professional organization,” Gauthier said.

For more information, or to register for Twicon, visit http://www.twicon.org.

“Twilight” will fill the November 21 vacancy recently left by the nine-month delay of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

According to the vampire flick’s producers at Summit Entertainment, the eagerly anticipated “Twilight” movie release date will be moved up from December 12.

“When Warner Bros. decided to move ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ to the summer of 2009, we saw a unique opportunity to slot in our film which has been gaining tremendous awareness and momentum over the past several months,” Summit said in the statement Friday. “We by no means are trying to fill the shoes of the incredible POTTER franchise for 2008, rather we are just looking to bring the fans of Stephenie Meyer’s incredible book series the film as soon possible from a programming perspective.”

While Summit declines all suggestion that they are trying to replace “Harry Potter” in the holiday season, it looks like “Twilight” is going to be the “it” kids movie of Christmas break. We at Blast speculate that it could soon be filling another big set of shoes that the witches and wizards have left empty … big screen, possibly three-dimensional shoes.

These are some of the greatest moments of Stephenie Meyer’s series. If you have not yet read “Breaking Dawn”, the fourth novel in the series, and do not want to read any spoilers, please do not continue reading this. If not, enjoy!

10 – The end of “Breaking Dawn”

“‘We have plenty of time to work on it,’ I reminded him.

‘Forever and forever and forever,’ he murmured.

‘That sounds exactly right to me.’

And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.”

9 - Bella and Edward’s first ever kiss from “Twilight”

“I couldn’t breathe.

He hesitated – not in the normal way, the human way.

Not the way a man might hesitate before he kissed a woman, to gauge her reaction, to see how he would be received. Perhaps he would hesitate to prolong the moment, that ideal moment of anticipation, sometimes better than the kiss itself.

Edward hesitated to test himself, to see if this was safe, to make sure he was still in control of his need.

And then his cold, marble lips pressed very softly against mine.”

8 – Jacob imprints from “Breaking Dawn”

“My jerking came to a stop; heat flooded through me, stronger than before, but it was a new kind of heat – not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human baby. [...] The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was the baby girl in the blond vampire’s arms that held me here now.”

7 – The cliff jump in “New Moon”

“I smiled and raised my arms straight out, as if I were going to dive, lifting my face into the rain. But it was too ingrained from years of swimming at the public pool – feet first, first time. I leaned forward, crouching to get more spring…

And I flung myself from the cliff.”

6 – Bella first sees Edward in “Twilight”

“It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. [...] The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.

[...]‘That’s Edward. He’s gorgeous, of course, but don’t waste your time. He doesn’t date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him.’ She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he’d turned her down.”

5 - The wedding from “Breaking Dawn”

“I didn’t realize I was crying until it was time to say the binding words.

‘I do,’ I managed to choke out in a nearly unintelligible whisper, blinking my eyes clear so I could see his face.

When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious.

‘I do,’ he vowed.”

4 - Bella’s first kiss with Edward as a vampire in “Breaking Dawn”

“It was like he’d never kissed me – like this was our first kiss. And in truth, he’d never kissed me this way before.

It almost made me feel guilty. Surely I was in breach of the contract. I couldn’t be allowed to have this, too.”

3 - Bella punches Jacob in “Eclipse”

“Finally, he let go of my face and leaned away.

‘Are you done now?’ I asked in an expressionless voice.

‘Yes,’ he sighed. He started to smile, closing his eyes.

I pulled my arm back and then let it snap forward, punching him in the mouth with as much power as I could force out of my body.

There was a crunching sound.

‘Ow! OW!’ I screamed, frantically hopping up and down in agony while I clutched my hand to my chest. It was broken, I could feel it.

Jacob stared at me in shock. ‘Are you alright?’

‘No, dammit! You broke my hand!‘”

2 – The meadow scene from “Twilight”

“‘Isabella.’ He pronounced my full name carefully, then playfully ruffled my hair with his free hand. A shock ran through my body at his casual touch. ‘Bella, I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt you. You don’t know how it’s tortured me.’ [...] He lifted his glorious, agonized eyes to mine. ‘You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever.’”

1 – The tent scene from “Eclipse”

“‘Please!’ Edward hissed. ‘Do you mind!’

‘What?’ Jacob whispered back, his tone surprised.

‘Do you think you could attempt to control your thoughts?’ Edward’s low whisper was furious.

‘No one said you had to listen,’ Jacob muttered, defiant, yet still embarrassed. ‘Get out of my head.’

‘I wish I could. You have no idea how loud your little fantasies are. It’s like you’re shouting them at me.’

‘I’ll try to keep it down,’ Jacob whispered sarcastically.”

SAN DIEGO — It was 10 o’clock Wednesday night and the San Diego Convention Center had just closed down the Comic-con festivities for the night, and yet mothers were setting up sleeping bags on the sidewalk as their daughters settled under blankets, snacking on chips.

When asked what they could possibly be waiting for outside the entrance to the convention center’s massive Hall H entrance, the reply was unanimous.

“Twilight.”

They would wait 16 more hours.

“Twilight” was released in 2005, and has spawned two sequels: “New Moon” and “Eclipse.” Collectively, the series has sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.

Taylor Lautner, who plays the character Jacob Black in the upcoming movie adaptation of the books said, “The fans are the driving force behind this thing.”

The series tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan, who meets the intriguing yet elusive Edward Cullen upon her arrival at Forks, Wash. Edward, as well as the rest of his family, turn out to be a secret coven of vegetarian vampires; they don’t kill humans. Bella and Edward’s inevitable love is doomed from the beginning as her being a human draws various “bad” vampires to come and kill her. In “New Moon”, a second love interest is introduced in the form of Jacob, Bella’s best friend who just happens to be a werewolf.

For the August 2 release of  “Breaking Dawn,” Meyer’s fourth and final book in the series, distributors have printed more than 3.2 million copies; more than half the copies of the rest of the series now in print, and a record first-printing for “Twilight” publishing company Little, Brown and Company.

“Breaking Dawn” will answer the big Twilight questions: Who will Bella choose, and will she become a vampire?

Meyer’s saga has become a cultural phenomenon, though this year is by far its biggest yet. In addition to the release of “Breaking Dawn”, a movie adaptation of the novel will be released December 12 starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward.

This year’s San Diego Comic-con hosted a special event Thursday to promote the upcoming film. Meyer, director Catherine Hardwicke, and some of the movie’s cast attended the panel. Waiting anxiously for them were thousands of screaming fans, though only about 6,500 were admitted to the hall.

“I saw the book as a film before I saw it as a book,” said Meyer of her excitement for the “Twilight” movie.

The Comic-con event was the first experience the cast had of the true intensity behind the “Twilight” fan base, and it was clear from their faces and the nervous hitch in their responses that none of them were prepared for the thousands of girls, women and even men who were screaming their hearts out for the characters that had captured their hearts.

“I fell in love with ["Twilight"] just like you guys did,” said Hardwicke to the audience. “I wanted to see Bella and Edward living, breathing. You know we tried to do the best we could [for the movie].”

Stewart said that, as a “sappy, sensitive girl”, she took the role of Bella to try to depict the “perfect-but-not-perfect-but-perfect-in-its-ideologicalness love” felt between Bella and Edward.

“Bella and I are really different if you get inside my head,” said Meyer, who said she gets just as frustrated with Bella’s decisions as the rest of her fans. “I’m actually a lot more like Edward.”

Meyer was able to confirm that a song by Muse; her favorite band and some of the inspiration behind the series, had been signed for the movie soundtrack, while Hardwicke confirmed that two songs written by Robert Pattinson will be included in the soundtrack of the movie, and that his spontaneous piano playing during filming might be used as Bella’s Lullaby.

The three “bad vampires” were a large part of the panel; Cam Gigandet as James, Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria and Edi Gathegi as Laurent.

“I wanted to be a part of [Bella's] world in every way I could,” said Lefevre. “If that meant I had to terrorize her than so be it.”

Trailers and clips of the film, especially the extended “ballet studio scene” aired at during the panel, show the movie version of “Twilight” focusing more on action than the novel did. This is good news for Gigandet, Lefevre and Gathegi because that means more screen time for them before their inevitable deaths. For Gigandet, his comes at the end of the first movie.

“We don’t actually die because you’re stuck with us on DVD forever,” joked Lefevre.

Fans have been initially hesitant about how the cast compares to the characters, and none have felt this sting more than now-”Twilight”-golden-boy Robert Pattinson.

“I just wanted to play [Edward] because he’s the hottest vampire in the world,” said Pattinson with a laugh, causing a deafening scream from the crown.

“[Vampires are hot] because that’s how I write them,” Meyer added, which turned the screaming into a deafening roar.

Although movie adaptations of “New Moon” and “Eclipse”, the second and third novels in the series, have not yet been confirmed, the idea that the “Twilight” fan base will not cause “Twilight” to be a box-office smash, regardless of the quality of the film, seems nearly impossible.

“I would love to be in [a sequel]. Love to,” said Gathegi .

“So would I,” said Gigandet wistfully.