Production

Development

In early November 2008, Summit announced that they had obtained the rights to the remaining books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. On November 22, 2008, one day after the theatrical release of Twilight, Summit confirmed that they would begin working on New Moon. "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment," said Meyer. Melissa Rosenberg had been working on adapting the novel prior to Twilight's release and handed in the draft for New Moon during Twilight's opening weekend in November 2008.

The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book —Chris Weitz, director of New Moon[11]

In early December 2008, it was announced that Twilight director Catherine Hardwickewould not be returning to direct the sequel. Hardwicke cited time restrictions as the reason behind her leaving the project.on December 13, 2008, it was announced that Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass and co-director of American Pie, had been hired to direct New Moon.

[edit]Casting

Due to major physical changes that occur in the character of Jacob Black between Twilightand New Moon, Weitz considered replacing Taylor Lautner in the sequel with an actor who could more accurately portray "the new, larger Jacob Black." In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds. In January 2009, Weitz and Summit Entertainment announced that Lautner would continue to play the role of Jacob in New Moon. In an interview, fellow cast member Kristen Stewart talked about Lautner's transformation saying, "He's an entirely different person physically."

In late March 2009, Summit Entertainment released a list of the actors who would be portraying the "wolf pack" alongside Lautner. The casting for the rest of the Quileute tribe was headed by casting director Rene Haynes, who has worked on films with large American Indian casts, such as Dances with Wolves and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. A casting call was also held in Vancouver in February 2009, specifically asking for "any first nations/aboriginal actors and actresses between the ages of 15 and 25".

Talking about the casting of Michael Sheen as Aro, director Chris Weitz claims to have "'aggressively' pursued the actor", and describes the character as "on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat."

Filming and post-production

Pre-production for New Moon started in December 2008. Filming was scheduled to begin on March 23, 2009 in Vancouver, but began a few days early. David Thompson Secondary School served as the location for the high school scenes in the movie. Filming inMontepulciano, Italy occurred in late May 2009 and ended on the 29th.^{[citation needed]} The film received a rating of PG-13 from the Motion Picture Association of America for "some violence and action".

Music

Main article: New Moon (soundtrack)

The score for New Moon is being composed by Alexandre Desplat while the rest of the soundtrack was chosen by music supervisorAlexandra Patsavas, who also produced the Twilight soundtrack.^] The New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was released on October 16, 2009 by Patsavas' Chop Shop label, in conjunction with Atlantic Records.

[edit]Cast

See also: List of Twilight films cast members

From left to right: Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson, the stars of New Moon.

The Cullens and the Swans

• Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who has fallen in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. She is heartbroken when Edward abruptly leaves her, but is raised out of her depression through her friendship with family friend Jacob Black
• Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire love who abruptly leaves town to protect her. For much of the film, Edward only appears as a figment of Bella's imagination.
• Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who becomes best friends with Bella. Greene explained that she would like to boost her strength and stamina for the sequel and said, "Compared to the first film it's a much larger part for me."
• Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Bella's father and Forks' Chief of Police.
• Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, leader and father figure of the Cullen family.
• Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife and the mother figure of the Cullen family.
• Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, a member of the Cullen family. In an interview, Lutz said, "I've talked to the producers, and they say I have a lot of funny lines."
• Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family who "feels really strongly about her hatred for Bella." Reed, a brunette, stated that she will not dye her hair blonde to film the sequel. "It took 36 hours initially to make me blonde, and every other day, I was bleaching my head and my skin," recalled Reed. "This time around, we are testing out different wigs and stuff."
• Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen family who thirsts for Bella's blood after she gives herself a paper cut. This particular scene is Rathbone's favorite, and he stated that he is "very excited to film [it]."Jasper also has the ability to sense and control the emotions of others