Summit is being a little crazy right now. I understand they want to cash in on Twilight's success, but it's a little ludicrous the pace they are trying to move. I don't know if I'd want to take on this job if I were a director. It sounds overwhelming. I know Catherine Hardwicke didn't do they best she could with Twilight, but at least she loved the books, had a relationship with the cast and the writer, and probably a whole list of things she wanted to make right on the sequel. Summit and Hardwicke should have just worked things out. Who knows though. Maybe Summit knows what they are doing and will get someone good with a fresh take on this franchise. Time will tell. You could be right in the end, maybe all this is intentional.

Robert Pattinson confirmed the 12mil story was bullshit. Even though he was pimped like no one should ever be pimped for a damn movie, Summit is way to fucking cheap for a raise like that. I still think 50mil is not enough!

Summit has better not mess this up.

There's also a new rumor flying around that Michael Copon has posted on his facebook page saying he will be the older Jacob Black!

From what I understand, Melissa handed in her New Moon script on opening day of Twilight, so lets HOPE she did okay. Personally, I thought her emphasizing the normal vampires and not spending enough time on Bella and Edwards new relationship was a bad choice. Made the movie clunky in the first 45 minutes. I'm horrified by the new budget and upset that they want to replace Taylor. I think he makes an outstanding Jacob. He was the one cast member I felt they picked perfectly. The issue with the werewolves growing to look 25 and 6'5' would mean that they would have to replace the guy they cast as Sam the Alpha werewolf from the first movie as well. And your talking 5 were wolves for New Moon and up to 10 for Esclipse. Then they want to kill a major plot line of New Moon by adding Extra Edward scenes to cash in on their star. The problems with Twilight can be forgiven if they do New Moon well, and it doesn't look like it.
Twilight fans were told that to get a good healthy budget for New Moon, we needed to help that movie be a smash hit. We've done our part, now Summit needs to do theirs.

@Red: The Michael Copon idea better not be true! Worst. Idea. Ever. He got fired from One Tree Hill, was a Power Ranger, and was on that celebrity sing off show. It better not be true. That's horrible.

this is like watching the Titanic sink.. way the go, Summit. you better not eff this up. there are 2 more books in the series.. you are throwing away more money if you kill the franchise with New Moon.

i hope you know what you're doing. the reason why the saga is so successful is not just because of the teen girls.. it's bec the book crossover'd from teen girls..to the twenty-somethings and the twilightmommies. So that's 3 demographics combined.

the twenty-somethings and the twilightmommies might not be as vocal like the teengirls are but believe us WE are here. for jeez sake! catherine hardwicke herself mentioned that there was a middle-aged woman who already watched the movie 8x when the movie has only been out for 3 days!

if you cast vanessa ann hudgens as emily for the sake of pleasing the teenagers, i swear i will kill someone! aarrrgh!

@Shaun: I'm not sure whether to take it as a rumor or not anymore. Someone checked his facebook page and took this screenshot:

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4396/michealcaponfacebookyv5.jpg

And it really appears to be his official page there!

While motivations, firings, dates, film budgets, etc. remain unclear, nothing is sounding promising. This is a major disappointment for all of the fans of the Twilight series. While, some think the demographic of the series is purely tween-blood, I can vouch that the series was passed on to me from a 30 something mom, and I (a 30 something mom) have returned the favor by creating a huge coven of my own, none of the members under the age of 20, though some over the age of 90.

I was very forgiving of the Twilight movie because of my love for the book, the stars, and Hardwicke's enthusiasm and love for the project. However, I assumed that my 6 times to the theater and those other ticket buyers who went to multiple performances, would be rewarded. I thought Summit would aim to do things better, not just cash in. I'm not a filmmaker, but if it's time, money, a better script/director they need to make NEW MOON better, then the project and the fans deserve it. We don't care if we have to wait a few more months. Don't treat us or your subject matter as second-rate, 'cause what goes around comes around.

It goes without saying that Taylor Lautner MUST be Jacob! Where is Stephanie Meyer in all this? She needs to protect the integrity of her creation. Catherine Hardwicke is the perfect director for this: nothing in the book compares to the moment Bella enters Bio class in the film… Edward — repulsed — winged like an angel (flanked by a stuffed owl), Bella — self-conscious — her hair billows against the fan. The danger of sexuality, the grace of Desire. Beautiful. I dreamed that Hardwicke would continue to work through the ideas she introduces. It was like My So-Called Life with Godfather ambitions. In that tradition, I had hopes Part II would be better. Only one person could have gotten those performances from those actors (while d.p. Elliot Davis got the perfect look) — and now only these actors can retain that approach! This is a real shame. Oh well, here's praying Kathryn Bigelow or Sturla Gunnarsson or Neil Jordan or Patrice Chereau (!!!omg!1) will be hired to take over "New Moon". But something tells me they're not looking for artists (Chris Weitz?????? YUCK!!). Anyone who directs "New Moon" should do screenings of "The Story of Adele H.", "Godfather Part II" & "III", and "The Company of Wolves" for inspiration and instruction.

A stumbling second step in a long steep journey DOWN hill. While Twilight wasn't THE best of what it could have been, twilight fans accepted it. (glitter) And we eagerly await new moon. but rushing through 50 mil? Not the way to make us eagerly await eclipse! Because of the tight budget shouldn't you slow it down JUST a little bit, maybe take some time to see what you can do without and what can't be lost? Strive to make a suquel worth waiting in line with screaming teens and tweens and face it, 20 somethings worth it? Maybe if you slow it down, "jacob" may actually have time to get ready for the role, and save the hassle of casting for a new one? I heard rumors of the american pie director being asked…. well let's go for broke and just call up kevin smith! (joke) SUMMIT…QUIT MESSING AROUND! You make it good, we'll make you rich.

$50 million and half of it is going to Rob & Kristen? Well, that's an even smaller budget to work with than before. Ughhh! I think Summit is doing a really fantastic job in stressing out all of us obsessed fans! What the……heck! And rushing the film to be released as well and they don't even have a director yet?! Gosh, they must be insane. I am not on Team Jacob, but one thing I hate in a series of movies is when they change actors. That's just ridiculous. Twilight is still making mega bucks, what's with the low budget still??? I don't get it. Summit needs to get with the program and satisfy us fans soon cause I am going crazy over here.

Ugh. Is anyone else insulted that Summit apparently thinks we are all a bunch of mindless morons who will pay $8.50 to see a thrown together piece of crap just because it's Twilight? They apparently are so greedy and have such a huge lack of respect for the people responsible for giving them money that they are willing to sacrifice what could be a fantastic movie in order to get more money faster. Chris Weitz? Seriously? Did they not see The Golden Compass, one of the worst book to big screen adaptations ever? He was responsible for American Pie and all of it's spawn!!! Recasting a key character with a rabid fan base?! What are they thinking?!

Money can't fix stupid!

I can't believe Summit is doing this to the fans after all the money they have made for them you would think Summit would care… even the SMALLEST bit about what the fans would want… a GOOD sequel to Twilight. Summit is going to end up botching New Moon because they are too greedy and have gone insane and it will end up hurting EVERYONE!

@Shaun: What do you think about Steven from Covenant movie?

I think Steven will be awesome. I love Taylor but he is a baby and Jacob in the second book must be taller, stronger not to mention charmin. Sorry!! Steven is the way to go. As far as Summit goes please read and listen…we are going to be the ones going to see the movie, you better watch out. I have officially seen the movie 25 times and will problably see it another 25.

Personally, I loved the Twilight movie and the more I watched it, the better it got because after the first viewing, I was able to move past trying to anticipate what was taken from the book to be in the movie and what wasn't. The movie had a lot of material to cram into a two hour movie and I think it definitely carried over the overall feel and tone of the book with bringing Bella and Edward's love story to life on the big screen.

That being said, I think Summit is being very greedy right now and trying to push things through for the almighty dollar instead of making a good, quality film. I cannot imagine why on earth they would even think about pushing Catherine Hardwicke or Taylor Lautner out of the sequels. Catherine knows this film franchise very well, she already has ideas in play and has a working rapport with the cast and the screenplay writer. From what I understand, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are very angry over the fact that Catherine is not directing New Moon and they are definitely justified in their anger. They are a team that worked together to produce a film that has a strong, and enormously wide demographic fan base and a team that has a proven track record for success. As for Taylor Lautner being replaced, he is part of the team and everyone knows he IS Jacob.

Summit needs to take a step back and re-evaluate what they are doing and why. Is it really for the good of the film and the audience to make the changes they are planning to make? Do they care how the fans feel about these changes or how the "team" that worked on the movie feels? Is it the almighty dollar that is driving the decisions they are making? I know businesses are driven by profit but when that is all they are thinking about, it shows in the film and in the presentation to the fans. If that is what it is, then it is a sad day for all Twilighters.

I am very concerned about this movie. As a fan of the books, I was slightly disappointed by the movie. Why? Well I brought the book in to the movie house with me in my head. You can't put everything in a 500+ page book in a 2 hour movie with a minimal budget. I know every other studio turned down this script. It took alot to get it filmed. I know Catherine was passionate about this movie and had a great relationship, I've heard, with the cast. I believe she tried to the best she could with what she had. And I've grown to love it when not comparing it to the book.
But what Summit is doing, just ticks me off royally. They want to rush this movie through thinking the fans will show up no matter how bad/good the movie is. They are just after the money and it makes me sick. They wouldn't give Catherine the time she needed. The budget that New Moon is rumored to have is disgraceful. I am so afraid this movie series will end up like the Interview with the Vampire series. Interview was great. But the Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, sucked.

Summit, don't mess with a series that us fans love. We will not "settle" for a mediocre movie. You will find that New Moon will tank if you mess with the cast, the story and don't do it justice. Just my opinion.

@diane nudell: I think the Covenant was a terrible movie. I thought that dude was hot though. I don't know if he can act or not. I just think it is SO weird of Summit to change Jacob Black now. Taylor has a lot of fans. That douche Copon would have zero chemistry with Kristen. He would probably drive her insane. I really hope that is not true. The whole of Summit would have to be on crack.

You're doing an awful lot of reporting on Twilight… Just saying.

It doesn't surprise me that they're rushing production, given that there are no new books in the series due out any time soon and the target demographic has a notoriously short attention span. Either they could take the time to make a good movie and hope people still remember it exists by the time it comes out, or they could rush something into production while they're still getting publicity left over from Twilight and have it turn out to be a big old turd. It's kind of lose-lose.

I really liked the movie, I will be going to see it again in the next week or so. I know you can't cram the entire book into 2 hours, that not possible without it being HORRIBLY rushed, however, there should have been a little bit more time spent truly developing the relationship and understanding of the profoundness of their love/relationship. They could have easily cut out the 10 mintues about James, Victoria & Luarent attacking other people, there was no need as it was not in the book at all. What is an extra 10 minutes in a film when it is 2 hours already?

In regards to Jacob/Taylor. Yes, I thought he was great for the 1st movie, however, realistically, it will be very difficult to see him as anything but a 16 year old boy, certainly not as a 25 year old man. I feel that Steven Strait from the Covenenat, as well as 10,000 B.C. would be perfect for the role. He is a mature actor, as well as appearing much more mature. Plus, if you look at some of the pictures of him (there is one in particular), he looks like Taylor, but older – which what would be ideal. Changing actors is never really ideal, no one likes it, but sometimes you have to, and here I think they should & could get away with out it being a devistating tragedy.

Summit has demonstrated they are not prepared to deal with blockbuster movies. They are making many mistakes by rushing it (as if the fans are going to go away). They are following the Saw films mentality, instead of trying to grow something worthwhile. They should follow how Hellboy went. It was made very cheap, was a great movie (at least I loved it), and then signficantly increased the budget for the second, yet still reasonable given the FX involved. The result was a much more critically acclaimed sequel.

I would love to hear what Stephanie Meyer has to say given her involvement in many early decisions of the first film. Thinking they can keep the budget close to Twilight's, even after the MAJOR score they got with the 1st film being made for only $30mil.

Everyone focuses on the next 2, but I really want to see the 4th book made into a movie. The next 2 have to pull it off well for that to happen.

I am so annoyed with Summit. They are DESTROYING this movie. First Catherine Hardwicke and now taylor lautner???

Taylor IS Jacob Black.
If Michael Copon plays jacob, i probably won't see it.

New Moon is my favorite book in the series and I do not want to see it ruined.

This is getting worse and worse!!! Summit don't be idiots!!! You are going to ruin this movie! Stop being greedy!!!!!

oh my goodness… all these bad news about new moon is making my head spin…
but, to sum up all the crappiness out of it,
Summit is sucking out all the excitement of Twilight fans regarding the New Moon movie. and that it has, not even going into pre-production yet, the potential to suck…BIG TIME.

they were yanked out of our lives when we began to feel super comfortable knowing that catherine was to take some extra time to make sure that new moon will be much better and that taylor is still growing and that he had vowed to bulk up to portray the jacob in new moon….

dark, dark times for legions of Twilight fans all over the world…

I am totally disgusted with Summit Entertainment. I will not support ANYTHING they offer in the future no matter how badly I would like to see it. I just watched Twilight for the 23rd time this evening and it just keeps getting better. I love the simplicity and humor and the LACK of state-of-the-art special effects. It's refreshing. I plan to buy the DVD when it comes out because I love Catherine Hardwicke's dedication to this film and the enthusiasm of the entire cast. I REFUSE to spend my money on any version of New Moon that does not cast the original actors (especially Taylor Lautner) and put Catherine Hardwicke back at the helm. In other words, no matter how much I love this series I WILL NOT RETURN TO SEE THE SECOND MOVIE. I'm heartbroken.

Bring on "Little Ashes" and Joan Jett!

Write to Summit Entertainment and tell them how you feel. Make sure that you don't use profanities, it doesn't help and it lowers your IQ. Also keep the letters as short as possible so that they will hopefully be read. Good luck!!

I agree with *Kristen* Write letters, don't just take this, and please, please, please, be respectful and brief. Let Summit know that we will not take this lying down. We do not want our movie ruined, and we are willing to stand up and say so!!

You know everybody has their views on new moon but no one has even given it a chance yet let them MAKE it first.it's not like the world is going to end if the movie's not perfect they do say the sequal is never better than the first. i know the first one wasn't the best movie ever but it was good concidering the budget. i mean come on i do agree that they could have made it a little longer. and ya know what we can leave comments all we want but it is never going to change a god damn thing. If they change jacob's character what are you going to do about it complain? even if you do they have the say and so what if you don't go see it they could care less they have millions more people lined up to see it.

Fact it is a Phenomenon, due to Stephanie Meyer.
Hardwick is an incredibly gifted filmmaker yet missed the emotional intensity of “Twilight”. If you haven’t read the book how could you understand the passion and longing they have for each other. How they feel one could not live without each other and the physical pain each of them feels when apart? I do think there were lots of rushed moments and poorly shot scenes. I can only hope the studio steps up with “New Moon”. This is defiantly the book to make all the corrections in. We need to revisit Bella and Edward's relationship and feel the passion. The movie “Twilight” unfortunately was a great disappointment.

What is with all the Chris Wietz bashing here? I was disappointed in The Golden Compass, too, but remember this guy also made About A Boy (another book adaptation and a fine one). Twilight has more in common with About A Boy than it does with The Golden Compass. Twilight is not a book series built on big ideas. I think Wietz could be perfect for the job. He certainly couldn't do worse than Hardwicke did.

Taylor Lautner is Jacob Black. You can't change him now after people accept him! He's perfect for the role. It sounds like summit is screwing everything else up too.

I really don't understand people from Summit-Have they EVEN read the Twilight saga before they started shooting Twilight-they are acting like they didn't now that Jacob develops this amazing heights and strength in New Moon.I mean what were they thinking when they were casting actor for the role of Jacob-if they thought that Taylor wasn't tall enough or big enough or whatever, then why did they cast him in the first place. Because I am not buying that story that they didn't expect that Twilight would be such success.That's just LIE.They didn't know that it would be THIS BIG but they are not blind, they knew how many Twilight fans are out there in the world-and with such great actors as Kristen and Rob they had to know that film would have decent success-not this big but at least decent.And it was so obvious from the beginning that there would be New Moon-I mean you have in history many movies that were not even close as good as Twilight, that got their sequel, so WHY then all this pretending that all of the sudden Taylor is not tall enough or strong or bla bla whatever.Why didn't they just cast other actor from the beginning.And not now when millions of fans adore Taylor as Jacob-How stupid do you have to be-to replace one of the three most important actors in the entire story??? Because face it Edward-Bella-Jacob-the triangle.I mean what's next-they've replaced Katherine with Kris-Guy who ruined Golden Compass,they want to replace Taylor who After Kris and Rob has The Most Important role-so what next -maybe they don't like Kristen-why just not cast Pamela Anderson as Bella and Schwarzenegger as Edward and get over it. Unbelievable.I don't know what to say but powers-that-be in Hollywood always do when they want -they don't care what audience wants-they did it To Prison Break-killing the leading lady role and losing so many fans but they didn't want to admit that they were wrong and in the end they brought her back in 4 season-now when it doesn't even matter because they have already kill all the essence of the show -So now they are doing it to Twilight and I just wanna smack them it the face-stupid greedy….well you can add the rest yourself.And I don't believe in that story that Rob and Kris will get 12 mil-give me a brake.They have make so much many and STILL are not satisfy still want more-budget of 50 mill come on-for a movie witch requires so many effects and has mo much action-greedy …….

What's the rush-the fans are not going anywhere-few moths here or there who cares we would wait as long as it takes -for them to make it right, and they would even get more fans, new fans if they made New Moon better then Twilight.But No it always has to be The Way THEY want it to be.It's the game of power-It's like saying to us fans-You make us rich buying tickets and watching movie but WE are Untouchable And WE will do what ever the heck we Want and there's NOTHING you can do about it.That's just sick.
I love Kristen and Robert and I love Taylor-if they can make Tom Cruise look tall in his movies than what's the big deal with Taylor-it's not that hard to make him look older and stronger and taller.Heck I am not movie maker but I can number you couple of tricks that would make him look exactly like Jacob in New Moon.But nobody cares what fans think.How disappointing to think that they have this amazing cast for the movie and these great books from Twilight saga and they are just to stupid to use all of that properly.

WTF!! Summit is only thinking about getting this movie out as fast as they can.
The very thought of them adding in Edward, to capitalize on Robert, makes me cringe!! That was the most important part of the second book! That pain and longing his absence caused Bella. If you don't capture that emotional tone by having him be gone, the movie will tank! It was so exciting when Edward came back at the end! That would not work if you have him showing up through out the movie! The audience should feel that same "where is Edward" longing that the reader had, or the whole ending looses it's punch. Studio's have way to much control over things, and yeah, maybe not high enough standards for art!
Summit will be getting a letter from me.

OMG. i can't believe how incredibly f*c**d up you guys are. I'm a huge Twilight fan and I'm so inlove with Taylor Lautner, BUT I would understand if Summit would pick someone like Michael Copon to play Jacob Black over him. you've always been complaining at how you wanted the movie to atleast be 89% faithful to the book. and now that Summit is casting someone who would closely fit Jacob's description in New Moon, you're still complaining!

and let me just remind MOST of you that you had the same reaction when Robert Pattinson got the role of Edward. but as soon as you've seen the photos and trailers show up online you a** w*p*s suddenly went ga-ga over him..like he was your choice to begin with!

let's give Michael Copon a chance and if he sh*ts all over the movie..we can all complain.

for the mean time….SHUT THE HELL UP!

Twilight success has made it all the way here to puerto rico it has been one of the best movies i've seen

Wow…it's happening. Just how I thought it would. Summit is truly letting the success of Twilight go to their heads. I agree 1000% with TwilightDreams. If you didn't think Talyor would fit Jacob in the rest of the series, why the hell did you waste your time casting him? And now you wanna change him?..Brilliant. You know i'll tell you something- i wasn't too big on Taylor to begin with, but they had already casted him, so I decided to give him a chance. He's a pretty ok guy, and who knows…maybe he would have been a good New Moon Jacob. We'll never know now because Summit is rushing the production once again!!! But it doesn't matter how much I rant and rave about Summit's decision, they're going to do what they want. and that's fine. But when New Moon turns into a "What The Hell Did We Get Ourselves Into?" kinda deal…wow. I didn't even want to see that happen.

Ugh…guess I gotta sit back and watch a very rushed production of New Moon. (Then again, alot can change in a year. It's not like they made the movie YET. ;])

First off can i say, twilight was an epic fail, i heard they spend 5 weeks total on the script, all they did was cast Rob (terrible actor) b/c of his looks and threw in a couple of choice phrases from the book and called it twilight. they played the same damn song throughout the movie that just got louder and louder. they are rushing into the next movie, which is going to be an even bigger failure, AND Stephenie Meyer already stated that she doesn't think they will even be able to do book #4 due to Reneseme's appearance and adult like movements in a baby, with that being said, what about Stephenie Meyer's part in all this? well she did a cameo in the first movie, and i read that she will be working closely with Chris Weitz, like she did on the first movie, so she obviously doesn't care about the quality of the movies. this is so disappointing. what i don't understand is how i can see a fan based clip of the baseball scene that is comparable to the movie, it was pretty damn good considering they didn't have all the equipment that summit does. i don't understand, all i know is i'm considering changing my major to film directing just so i can redo this crap-tastic series. i will stick to reading the books and keeping the love story of edward and bella true in my head

I do agree that the series is a bit too rushed, especially if it causes Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse to have a different director. However, it's not Summit rushing through New Moon that upsets me but rather how low of a budget they set for the sequel given the success of the first movie. With a $37 million budget for Twilight and worldwide gross of $382 million, you would think they would set a higher budget than $50 million! They probably see how highly anticipated fans are about New Moon (with the trailer being viewed 10.6 million times on MTV and Myspace alone), so they're banking on fans seeing the film regardless of whether it's good or bad.