Twilight Yearbook: Who's the Prom King?

Just like high school and college, Twilight was four years. Watch the stars create their own video yearbook:

Ready for a "Twilight" Spin-Off? Here's How the Stars Say The Series Could Go On

Movie Reviews: "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part Two" and "Silver Linings Playbok"

The Runaways Isn’t a Runaway Success

If Almost Famous had a director fresh out of film school, this is what might have happened.

"The Runaways" begins with a simple, static shot. A platform heel, heat rising off the concrete and then a dark red splash, a cherry bomb if you will, drops on the sidewalk. The source of the single crimson droplet? Blood. And where's it coming from? Between Dakota Fanning's young thighs. In case you were unsure, you are now pointedly aware that what you're about to embark on is a slightly ill-fated coming-of-age story.

Based on Cherie Currie's memoir, Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, the film follows a young Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Currie (Dakota Fanning), during the founding, rise and fall of the first all-girl rock band, The Runaways. If you've seen any rock biopic, you know the clichés "The Runaways" will dole out; broken families, the allure of fame at all costs, Valhalla decadence at every turn, in-fighting, egos, ODs, and eventual implosion. What writer-director Floria Sigismondi attempts to do so things stay fresh is focus on the love and friendship between the two young girls. Obviously, by saying "attempts," we mean it's not a total success.

While Stewart and Fanning give admirable performances as sexually-charged, angst-ridden, fight-for-your-right-to-rock young women, Sigismondi is lost in her own lens. Best known for directing music videos, particularly Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," her imagery is luxuriously drawn in shags and polyesters, alluringly capturing a mid-70s time capsule. But Sigismondi trades storytelling for art, making long stretches of the film feel like unedited music video footage where aesthetic takes priority over plot.

Thankfully, even Sigismondi can't drag down Michael Shannon, whose portrayal of the band's bombastic, hilariously tyrannical, manic Svengali of a manager makes the film worth the price of admission. With beautiful visuals, an excellent cast and an outstanding soundtrack, "The Runaways," much like the band it portrays, is filled with unrealized potential and is ultimately sabotaged by the person entrusted to captain the ship.

Kristen Stewart Loves Rock 'n' Roll and Joan Jett

Kristen Stewart may be known for playing Bella in "The Twilight Saga," but sitting down to speak with her, there's obviously a lot more rock star blood flowing through her veins than audiences might expect. It's an aura that landed her the role of Joan Jett in "The Runaways," the new film about the rise and fall of the groundbreaking 1970s all-girl rock group, and a heaping of praise from Jett herself, who is not only one of the film's producers, but was on set throughout filming.

Portraying a real life character is daunting enough. Doing it while the real person is watching you recreate one of the most formative, meaningful times in their life might be too intimidating for some actors to bear. But Stewart was thrilled to have Jett as a mentor and guide.

"The fact that Joan wanted to be a producer, be on set every day and was so open about a time that's so important to her; it definitely says something about the people that they hired to play the parts," Stewart says. "She easily could have said, 'Get someone else. I can't tell this girl what I need to tell her.'"

Stewart explains that both Jett and lead singer Cherie Currie were extremely forthcoming in divulging details about their past. "There are things that we needed to know that aren't in the movie; details, personal reflections about things. It was nice having them there. We can't know how everything happened and it would really be awful to just make it up and try to fill in the blanks when it can be real."

One of the greatest pieces of guidance Jett offered was regarding manager Kim Fowley (played brilliantly by Michael Shannon). "Kim is written really aggressive," Stewart continues. "Every time I sort of went, 'Wow, I would punch him in the face,' Joan would be like, 'No, you'd laugh at him. You love the guy. You aspire to be as crazy and freaky as him.' There's no way of knowing that without her."

"The Runaways" opens March 19.

Michael Shannon Runs Away with "The Runaways"

Michael Shannon is an actor's actor whose career has stretched from a bit part in "Groundhog Day" to the stages of the Steppenwolf Theater Company to his Oscar-nominated turn in "Revolutionary Road," where he yanked the spotlight right out from under Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

In "The Runaways," the new film about the groundbreaking all-girl 70s rock band whose founding members include Joan Jett (played by "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart) and Lita Ford, Shannon is at his scenery chomping finest in the role of Kim Fowley, the band's foulmouthed, manic manager. From his first moment on screen, Shannon straps the movie to his back and walks off with it.

At the film's recent press day, Shannon, in a tight hooded sweatshirt and jeans, looking more like a hipster than a movie star, looked almost crestfallen when his onscreen supremacy is mentioned.

"At the risk of sounding coy," he rumbled, "it's a little awkward to be honest. I have a lot of respect for the people I work with. I don't like to feel like the hard work they put into something isn't getting the credit it deserves. It's never my intention."

However modest he may be, Shannon is undeniably dynamic and captivating as a man who recently knighted himself "a psycho Svengali."

"I got about half of it," Shannon decrees. "[Kim's] an intricate human being; it's hard to pin him down. But I feel that way any time I see [actors playing real people.] Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great in "Capote" but he's not really like Truman Capote. I think I got enough of it that you got the story."

As for his young co-stars, Stewart and Dakota Fanning, as lead singer Cherie Currie, Shannon has nothing but the highest praise. "They're very fearless," he says proudly. "It's pretty incredible when you think of how young they are and what they've already accomplished. Kristen was totally submerged into it. It was very convincing."

"The Runaways" opens Friday March 19.

Behind the Scenes of The Twilight Saga: New Moon with Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Chris Weitz

November 21st, 2008. Twilight opens. Fans go wild.

November 20th, 2009. New Moon will open. Fans will go wilder.

It took just 364 days, a lifetime for most Twi-Hards, a millisecond for anyone involved in the filmmaking process, but the second film in the Twilight saga, New Moon, is locked, loaded and ready to unspool in theaters across the country. You can almost hear the collective cries of “OMG, OMG, OMG!”

Since their unveiling last year, the cast has grown accustomed to constant scrutiny. That’s what happens when you’re involved in one of the biggest cultural phenomenons of the new millennium. But with New Moon, two unlikely heroes have emerged from the massive fame shadow cast by Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson; director Chris Weitz and Taylor Lautner, whose role as Jacob Black is greatly expanded.

Weitz was admittedly nervous about taking over the Twilight reins from director Catherine Hardwick, who helmed the first installment in the series. The only way he knew to combat that anxiety was to be extraordinarily prepared once he arrived on set and to make sure everyone involved understood his level of commitment. In order to bring the cast and crew onto the same page, he began by handing out what Stewart refers to as his “syllabus,” a gesture that still leaves Pattinson in awe. “I’ve never had that from any director,” the actor begins, running a hand through his equally famous locks. “It was like forty [or] fifty pages long. And this is in addition to a bunch of letter, emails, everything, trying to show he’s on the same page as us and completely with us in making the film. He is like a saint. I think that shows in the movie. It’s got a lot of heart, especially for a sequel and a franchise.”

“I was the new kid,” Weitz shrugs. “All of the actors knew their characters but what I really didn’t want was sequel-itis or the idea that we were just cranking out a franchise. I wanted everyone to know what sort of movie we wanted to make.”

Stewart explains that Weitz’s gesture was the ultimate set unifier. “It was like inviting everyone onto this project and saying, ‘Please, everyone love it, and please, everyone, be invested and work hard.’ It was very encouraging.” The admiration she had for her director only grew as they spent more time together on set. “I think to be a good director, you have to be a good person and you have to care about people. I don’t know a more compassionate human being [than Chris]. He really loves the project as well. He wasn't just jumping onto the next big thing. He’s incredible. I love him.”

“It’s just a love fest,” Weitz grins.

However, production on New Moon didn’t begin with sunshine, puppies and lollipops. Amidst controversy and reported bad blood around Hardwick’s replacement by Weitz, there was tremendous fan uproar when it was suspected that Taylor Lautner would be swapped for Michael Copon, an actor who was thought to be more believable as the suddenly 6’5, muscle bound Jacob described in New Moon. It was only after intense training and a diet that required him to consume over 3200 calories a day, that Lautner’s position in the franchise was secured, and that’s a blessing because New Moon wouldn’t be the same without him. In fact, Lautner steals the show right out from under his co-stars. If anything, for newly minted Twilight fans, Jacob emerges as the heartthrob, far overshadowing Edward, whose absence is the centerpiece of New Moon, while Lautner’s star is catapulted into the stratosphere.

When asked if he was ever concerned about making Jacob too appealing, Weitz replies, “It’s a balance in terms of how he’s written and how Edward is written. For the die-hard Twilight fans, nothing will ever beat Edward. You’ve got this very strong, simple fact that they know he’s The One which allows you to push as hard as you can and make Jacob as winning as Taylor has been able to be.”

Lautner is so disarmingly attractive, both physically (he’s shirtless for the majority of the film) and emotionally, that Bella’s refusal of Jacob in the film seems too obviously born out of loyalty to the book rather than rational. But Lautner defends the series’ love triangle as well as the devoted camps of both Team Jacob and Team Edward. “It just depends on what kind of girl you are, what kind of guy you like,” Lautner says, offering a gleaming smile that makes him vaguely resemble a younger, ethnic Matt Damon. “Edward and Jacob are complete opposite guys. They’re hot and cold. Literally. I personally love Bella and Jacob’s relationship, how they begin as best friends and it starts to grow into something more and more. Both guys are in love with Bella, both guys are always going to be there for Bella and they’re protective. It’s just what kind of guy you like.”

You can decide which team you’re on November 20th when Twilight: New Moon opens nationwide.