This week:
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
I was "offline" for a couple of days, so only received one pre-order. For compensation here's a huge image, and interesting facts.
Directed by
Bill Condon
Produced by
Wyck Godfrey
Karen Rosenfelt
Stephenie Meyer
Screenplay by
Melissa Rosenberg
Based on
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Starring
Kristen Stewart
Robert Pattinson
Taylor Lautner
Music by
Carter Burwell
Cinematography
Guillermo Navarro
Editing by
Virginia Katz
Studio
Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributed by
Summit Entertainment
Release dates
Part 1: November 18, 2011
Part 2: November 16, 2012
Running time
Part 1: 117 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
Part 1: $110 million
Part 2: $131.5 million (Estimated)
Box office
Part 1: $705,058,657
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is a 2011–2012 set of two romantic vampire films directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two individual films form the fourth and fifth installments in the The Twilight Saga series. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprise their roles.
Part 1, rated PG-13, was released on November 18, 2011, and Part 2 will be released on November 16, 2012. As of February 2012, the first film has grossed over $702 million worldwide. Wyck Godfrey and Karen Rosenfelt served as executive producers for the film, along with the author of the series, Stephenie Meyer; the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter of the first three entries. Part 2 will be released by Lionsgate in the US, in consequence of the merge between Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment. Part 1 was released on DVD on Saturday, February 11, 2012 in the United States. There was a special midnight release event, with a sneak peek of Part 2, at participating Target stores.
Plot
The film starts out as Bella Swan plans her wedding with the Cullen family. The wedding takes place, and Edward Cullen tells her that he has murdered people in the past, undaunted by this, Bella and Edward go ahead with the wedding. During the reception following her wedding to Edward, Bella is visited by her friend Jacob Black. When Bella admits that she and Edward plan to consummate their marriage during their honeymoon, Jacob becomes angry and is held back by his pack. He then runs off into the woods, and Edward takes an upset Bella back to the reception.
The couple spends their honeymoon on the Cullens' private Brazilian island. Although hesitant, Edward has sex with Bella for the first time. After Edward realizes that he bruised Bella's arm, back and shoulders during sex, he vows to never be intimate with her again, much to her disappointment; he later gives in to her seductions. Two weeks into their honeymoon, Bella discovers that she is pregnant with a fetus growing at an extraordinarily accelerated rate. After consulting with Carlisle, they rush back to Forks. Bella refuses to consider having an abortion, and enlists Rosalie's help to protect her wishes.
Opposed to Sam Uley's plans to kill Bella and her child, which is thought to be a demon, Jacob angrily leaves the pack and arrives at the Cullens' to protect Bella; Seth and Leah Clearwater join him, forming a new wolf pack. As the pregnancy progresses, Bella's health severely deteriorates. As a last resort, she begins drinking blood, which satisfies the fetus and allows her to regain some strength. Soon afterward, Bella goes into a painful labor and gives birth to her daughter, Renesmee. To save her life, Edward injects Bella's heart with his venom to transform her into a vampire, but nothing happens, and Bella is thought to be dead. Greatly distraught, Jacob attempts to kill the baby, but stops when he realizes he has imprinted on the child, becoming her protector.
When the werewolves learn of Bella's "death", they attack the Cullens' house in an attempt to kill the baby. They are forced to stop after learning Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, which, under their wolf law, means Renesmee cannot be harmed. Bella's wounds heal; she remembers her entire life as the venom reaches her heart. The Cullens all look at each other in shock. Bella's heart finally ceases, and she awakens with red eyes, a newborn vampire. The film cuts to the credits.
In a post-credits scene, the Volturi hear about Bella's conversion; Aro notes that it does not end their dispute with the Cullens, proclaiming, "They have something I want."
After the birth of Renesmee Cullen, Bella, now a vampire, finds herself enjoying her new life and abilities. However, the vampire Irina misidentifies Renesmee as an "immortal child", a child who has been turned into a vampire, and because immortal children are uncontrollable, creating them has been outlawed by the Volturi. After Irina presents her allegation to the Volturi, they plan to destroy Renesmee and the Cullens. In an attempt to survive, the Cullens gather other vampire clans from around the world to stand as witnesses and prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child.