Star Life Talk and Gossip

This time it isn’t me, it’s my friend Robin, who just returned from TwiCon yesterday!  I’m totally jealous, so I took Edward hostage until she agreed to asked her kindly if she would write a little something up to tell the rest of us about it.  Here are some of her thoughts.  Since she’s brilliant, she has a lot of thoughts, so I’m only posting some today.  There will be more tomorrow!

Twilight

I’m guessing you’re not thinking about a romantic image of a darkened sky, are you? Good, neither am I. The book and resulting movie of the same name have created a Harry Potter or even Star Trek-like pop sensation over the last few years. Add the word “convention” and if you’re like me, you’re covering your ears, imagining thousands of screaming teenage girls. Ouch. But when I was invited to attend TwiCon in Dallas, as a fan, I couldn’t say no.

I’d like to think I’m not a “fangirl.” I don’t troll the web every morning looking for the latest scoop on RPattz’s hair or shirtless photos of the cast (okay, I have trolled for that, but I don’t do it EVERY day). I am a mother, after all. I’m too cheap and impatient to get tickets to stand in line to get an autograph, but when I was asked to participate at TwiCon on the fanfiction panel discussions, I eagerly agreed.

I planned to meet up with friends I’d made in the fandom as a fanfiction writer and validator on twilighted.net, and talk about the wonderful things that authors, both new and experienced were doing to extend the world Stephenie Meyer created. My one goal was to get a photo of the cast of The Hillywood Show – they made a hilarious parody music video of the movie that me and my kids LOVE (and I did get the shot). But, if I ran into oh, Kellan Lutz or Peter Facinelli in an elevator, I’d like to think that I’d shake their hand and offer them courteous congratulations on their success and appreciation for their talents as actors. No screaming, no OMG YOU’RE EMMETT!

Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen

Alas, we’ll never know. The elevators only held fans when I rode them. And the occasional Klingon – Not sure if he got the dates wrong for the Star Trek convention, but yes, a Klingon attended one of the discussion panels. Who knew that twilight’s reach was interstellar?

A Klingon

So, my first viewing of any celebrity was on Friday night at the 100 Monkeys concert. Jackson Rathbone is one of the lead singers for the band, and I figured that was my one chance to be in the same room with a celeb. I’d post a photo, but he’d be a tiny dot in a blurry black square! Whether you like his music or not (I enjoyed it), I was very impressed by the band. Now, I haven’t been to a concert in years, but these guys did something I’d never seen before. They switched instruments every song (all but the percussionist – he had a ton of instruments all his own). For the first song, Jackson played bass, the next he was on keyboards. He sang, played lead guitar, and even drums! Now that’s talent. Oh yeah, he acts, TOO.

Jackson Rathbone, who plays Jasper Hale

I did scream along with the crowd when he came out (I whistle, actually), and when he took off his hat, but I agree with my friend Marcy that the other lead guitarist (no, I don’t even know his name, sorry!) was the cutest. See, I’m not a total cynic…but I didn’t tweet about it. (that’s a discussion for another time). If you happen upon the 100 Monkeys, though, and like an alternative rock/bluesy kind of music I recommend checking them out. They put on a great show.

100 Monkeys, image courtesy of Starshine Mag

More on TwiCon tomorrow, when we hear about Peter Facinelli!

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Image courtesy of Buzznet

According to Summit Entertainment, Rachelle Lefevre has scheduling conflicts that won’t allow her to appear in the 3rd installment of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse.  Lefevre has played the role of Victoria, the wicked vampire stalking Bella, for Twilight and New Moon, but now will be replaced by the bigger name Bryce Dallas Howard.

Now, I’m not an agent, but it seems very unlikely to me that a small time actress, who got the biggest break of her career in this series, would suddenly come up with “scheduling conflicts.”  And if you ask Lefevre, my instincts are on the money.  In a statement released yeseterday, Lefevre stated:

“I was stunned.  I was fully committed to the Twilight saga.  I am hurt deeply by Summit’s surprising decision to move on without me…I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it.  Summit chose simply to recast the part. I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the Twilight audience.”

Lefevre does admit that she has a role in another film, Barney’s Version,  but she insists that this film has a very minor overlap with the filming of Eclipse, and that it never occurred to her that there would be any conflict.  “I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap.”

Summit wasn’t too thrilled with that statement, and promptly issued an official response.

Ms. Lefevre’s representatives were advised as early as April that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was expected to start shooting in early August.

If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, we feel that she and her representatives would have included us in her decision to work on another film that would conflict with the shooting schedule of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.

It was not until July 20th that Summit was first informed of Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to BARNEY’S VERSION, a commitment we have since been advised she accepted in early June.  Summit had acted in good faith that she would be available to fulfill her obligations both in terms of rehearsals and shooting availability for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. We feel that her choice to withhold her scheduling conflict information from us can be viewed as a lack of cooperative spirit which affected the entire production.

Furthermore Ms. Lefevre took a role in the other film that places her in Europe during the required rehearsal time, and at least ten days of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE’s principal photography.  This period is essential for both rehearsal time with the cast, and for filming at key locations that are only available during the initial part of production.

Contrary to Ms. Lefevre’s statement, it is simply untrue that the Studio dismissed her over a ten day overlap.  It is not about a ten day overlap, but instead about the fact that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story.

The fact remains that Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to the other project – which she chose to withhold from Summit until the last possible moment – makes her unfortunately unavailable to perform the role of Victoria in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.

You’d think that after all the uproar over replacing Taylor Lautner, Summit would have learned not to screw with fan loyalty.  And fans are not happy about this.  They point out that everyone knew about Lefevre’s role in Barney’s Version, because it was being reported in the trades, so how could Summit NOT know about it?

And does it strike anyone else as just a little suspicious that they could get a star the caliber of Bryce Dallas Howard at a moment’s notice?  I mean, it’s the end of July and she just happens to have August, September and October free for an “unexpected” role with an immediate 3-month shoot?

Here’s what I think.  I think that Summit was so pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback they got when they cast Dakota Fanning as Jane that they thought they’d see if they could pull it off again.  But since everything was cast, they had to replace someone.  They must have been in talks with Howard for months–she’s too big a name to just step into a role like this without months of negotiations. When Lefevre informed them of her little tiny scheduling overlap, they saw a chance to push her out without looking like bad guys–I mean, who could get upset over a scheduling conflict, right?  But Lefevre didn’t go along with their plan, and now they DO look like bad guys.

Twilight fans are furious, but we all know they (ahem, we) will still go see this movie.  Eclipse is the best book in the series, and far and away the fan favorite.  And who doesn’t want to see Edward rip Victoria to shreds?  Unfortunately, when Rob Pattinson takes her apart in this movie, the cheers will be very personal.  We’ll go see it, but there’s nothing Bryce Dallas Howard can do now to make fans approve of her in this role.  And I wouldn’t be surprised to see fans boycott her in the future, either.  That would be only marginally useful; the one we should be boycotting is Summit Studios.  However, since they produce the Twilight films, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Image courtesy of askmen.com

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Parents lend me your ears. If you are among the millions of parents in the world who are problematic about what your child sees on the web, then maybe you should get this Internet filter software that Dave Ramsey is endorsing on his show.

InternetSafety.com announced today that Dave Ramsey, the radio talk show host whose syndicated program reaches more than 350 radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada, has endorsed the company’s Safe Eyes family Internet filtering software to help parents protect children from inappropriate online content and Internet predators.

Ramsey will promote the software on The Dave Ramsey Show, heard on over 400 radio stations by 4 million listeners who tune into his advice on finances and family life each week, as well on their website which receives more than a million visits per month.

The well-known radio and television personality is endorsing Safe Eyes because of its ability to shield families from a variety of online dangers; the product’s availability for PC and Mac computers as well as the Apple iPhone; and its #1 rankings from respected sources including PC Magazine, Laptop Magazine and America’s leading consumer advocacy organization.

(Source) Press

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