If anything could top the opening-morning panel on 3D in Hall H, with a surprise appearance, by Johnny Depp, it was the panel that followed on Summit Entertainment’s upcoming slate.
“Upcoming” as in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
The fan reaction didn’t disappoint. After camping outside the convention center all night to catch a glimpse of Edward and Bella in person, the rabid crowd rose to its feet and shrieked as the stars took the stage (see video below) for a panel discussion and a pair of clips from the highly anticipated sequel.
Director Chris Weitz introduced the clips.
In the first, Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, teaches Bella (Kristen Stewart) to ride a motorcycle. But she keeps having flashbacks of her former love interest, Edward (Robert Pattinson), and jumps on the bike to try to escape her memories.
She quickly tumbles to the ground and cuts herself, and Jacob takes off his shirt as a makeshift bandage. Lautner's half-nude figure elicited minute-long shrieks from the women in the audience -- but the clip cut just as the pair seemed about to kiss.
Stewart (see video below) said she didn't actually get to ride the motorcycle in the film but was on a "dorky rig." Lautner, meanwhile, said he put on weight only to lose it because he was in the gym six to seven days a week and burning too many calories.
He said that in addition to eating constantly, acting while half-naked in jean shorts in Vancouver and drenched in cold water was difficult -- but he was "doin' it all for you guys."
In the second clip -- shot in Italy -- a breathless Bella runs in slow-motion through a crowd of red-robed individuals to reach Edward, who -- shockingly -- is unbuttoning HIS shirt. "Stop, stop, no Edward, don't!" Bella yells before the clip ends.
Weisz said heartbreak and the ecstacy of reunion attracted him to direct the series.
"And I've been stalking Rob Pattinson for the last 10 years, so when I got the chance to get within touching distance of him I jumped at it," he kidded.
Logistically, he said, filming in Italy presented a large challenge because of the hundreds of fans who gathered around the set and applauded after every take. At one point, he had to go to the bathroom but couldn't because he was afraid he'd be mobbed by fans looking for him to "set up a meeting with Rob."
Stewart said she was happy to conclude the film in Italy because she could "barely stand up" after it was all over. She was dressed in her Joan Jett garb and a new mullet-like black haircut and often dug her head into her arms or covered her mouth while sitting on the panel.
