ROTTEN TOMATOES: New Moon Set Visit, Day One: Twilight's Volturi Unveiled

New Moon Set Visit, Day One: Twilight's Volturi Unveiled

Get a detailed first look at the new villains of Twilight: New Moon in Part One of RT's New Moon set report.

by Jen Yamato | July 17, 2009

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Rotten Tomatoes visited the Vancouver set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, where we observed filming on crucial scenes of the romantic fantasy sequel, including the very first appearance of the Volturi, the franchise's Italian vampire coven. We gathered tons of interview material and detailed observations during our time on set, including chats with New Moon love interest Taylor Lautner (Jacob), Volturi leader Michael Sheen (Aro), flame-haired villainess Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria), series screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, producer Wyck Godfrey, stunt coordinator JJ Makaro, and members of the new Volturi guard. Read our full interview with director Chris Weitz.

Our full set interviews will come later (look for these features in our weekly Twilight Corner installments, beginning next Monday), because for now, I'm going to go in depth -- using my extensive (and borderline obsessive) knowledge of the books -- to answer a few important questions:

- With a new director, omnipresent fans, and the enormous success of Twilight, what's the on-set atmosphere like?

- Just what do the Volturi look like?

- How faithful will New Moon be to Stephenie Meyer's novel?

On Day 2 of our set visit, we ask more questions: Has director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, About a Boy) solved the nagging problems that arose in the first Twilight film? (Vampire makeup and stunts, we're looking at you.) Just how will Weitz ever put enough Edward into New Moon? (And, the inevitable question: Is Robert Pattinson really that hot in person?) Finally, how good can New Moon be?

Read on for these answers and more -- much, much, more -- for my impressions from Day One of two on the set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

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(1-20 of 39 posts) | Reply

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:26 PM

How about we forget the New Moon write up and we get the last installment of Deconstructing Harry which we should have gotten on Wednesday? Where is it Matt????!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:40 PM

Hmm. While I understand your anticipation of the last Deconstructing Harry article, I cannot comply. More New Moon!

(Reply to this)

tai0316 writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:48 PM

Great article! I'm feeling more and more confident that New Moon will be better than Twilight was.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 17 2009 04:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528234)
I think it almost has to be. Twilight, aside from the casting was a pretty mediocre adaption which was severely shortchanged on the budget. For New Moon, we're getting the same cast, same story, but a lot more money put into making it good. Should be an easy success. One of my few concerns is the ability of the film to maintain Victoria as a credible villain with limited screen time. She wasn't exactly overdeveloped in the first movie and I have to think Robert Pattinson is going to enjoy most of the manufactured screen time. I just hope by the time Ecclipse rolls around we won't be like "Oh yeah, Victoria. Kinda forgot about her".

(Reply to this)

Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 17 2009 05:47 PM

Bigbrother, I wouldn't worry too much about Victoria. Rosenberg has alluded to taking the liberty mentioned here to insert more of the missing characters - Victoria, the Cullens - in the film...

Rachelle on set spoke with us about the extensive stunt work she was doing, so they certainly kept her busy.

(Reply to this)

kaitune writes:
on Jul 17 2009 05:59 PM

I wonder though that when they do 'Breaking Dawn', are they going to adapt it according to the book or are they going to change things........ I am not much of a Twilight fan, but I am not a hater and I read almost anything I can get my hands on. The books are entertaining in a guilty pleasure way. However, 'Breaking Dawn' book sucks a hell lot. Even my mom and my friends who are Twlight fans hate the last book to death. I have no idea how they might be able to edit out the crappiness of the plot, but I wish that they would do it somehow.

'Twilight' was a so-so film, but 'New Moon' 's trailer looks great. Since I know that I would have to see this film with my friends (and again with my mom), I hope that it would be a much better film.

(Reply to this)

Janice Aries writes:
on Jul 17 2009 06:14 PM

I agree with Whitey-Mcwhite... gimme the Deconstruction Potter Day 6! :D

(Reply to this)

GST writes:
on Jul 17 2009 06:29 PM

Evil, evil, EVIL!

Somebody needs to make a Twilight/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover, I'd love to see Buffy show Bella how a REAL woman deals with pretty boy creepy vampires.

(no offense Jen... I think?)

(Reply to this)

Sean H. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 08:32 PM

If your male and you like this movie/book series then well......your a douche bag. And not just any douche. Like, Summer's Eve' douche. Maybe even a nice Spring Fresh Linen scent. But a douche none the less! Goodnight Cleveland!!!!

(Reply to this)

Dreamer S. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 09:09 PM

Needs more Potter.

But I am kind of interested in how Pattinson got kicked off set.

(Reply to this)

Shauna R. writes:
on Jul 17 2009 09:26 PM

Thanks Jen for providing us more New Moon news and not the billionth Potter article! I appreciate it!

(Reply to this)

John A. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 02:40 AM

I think writing "your" when "you're" is grammatically correct (twice in the same post) is far more douchy than liking Twilight.

Don't get me wrong, Twilight does suck, just not as bad as grammatical errors.

(Reply to this)

Melissa K. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 06:44 AM

It won't be hard for Wietz to do a better job than Catherine with New Moon... but I hope he does a MUCH better job... I have confidence, I've liked everything I've seen thus far. If the movie is half as good as the book this time around I predict a much bigger box office draw for it... Look how much Twilight made and that was ONLY because of the books...

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 18 2009 06:58 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528296)
You seem to know a lot about douche my friend. Perhaps first hand knowledge?

(Reply to this)

Sean H. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 08:54 AM

Internet grammer? Ha! You can't be serious. And yes, it does seem like first hand knowledge yea? Bah, I remember when the retorts were at least kinda witty...

(Reply to this)

Sean H. writes:
on Jul 18 2009 08:55 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528356)
I love you too!

(Reply to this)

JettaJameson writes:
on Jul 18 2009 10:13 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528296)
If you're going to insult people, perhaps learning the difference between "your" and "you're" would be a good idea, first. You're the one who looks like the douche.

(Reply to this)

jacog writes:
on Jul 18 2009 12:18 PM

I opened this thread expecting to find people insulting the franchise and its fans, and I did.

Sean H. - you are the crusty remains of an over-spiced chilli's hasty exit from the rear-end of a coyote that found this meal unwittingly in the garbage heap of an organ disposal unit. Your journey through life is like watching an asthmatic gerbil attempt to suck an olive through a straw - could be entertaining, but ultimately of no use to anyone. When your relatives hug you hello, they make it brief, for they are reminded of what it's like to squeeze the bloody puss out of a bulbous boil.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 18 2009 02:50 PM

Yes my friend, because calling someone a douchebag for reading something is the height of wit. Bravo Sir. You have really put us all in our place.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 18 2009 02:52 PM

Thanks for the info Jen, now I only worry that they're not going to stick close enough to the novels to satisfy the hardcore fans who have made the original a success. As you can probably tell I'm determined to find something to worry about so I don't go into this too content.

(Reply to this)

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