The Twilight Saga: New Moon (or simply New Moon) is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film directed by Chris Weitz from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the 2006 novel New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.[2] It is the sequel to Twilight (2008) and the second installment in The Twilight Saga film series. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively. In the film, Bella gets closer with Jacob, who is a werewolf, after Edward leaves her, but when the vampire decides to take a drastic move, she must make a decision between the two.[3]
Summit Entertainment announced it had greenlit the film on November 22, 2008, following the early success of Twilight.[4] Principal photography began on March 23, 2009, in Vancouver, Canada,[5][6][7] and ended in Montepulciano, Italy on May 29.[8][9]
The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiered at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, California on November 16, 2009, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 20, by Summit Entertainment. The film received generally negative reviews from critics,[10][11] but grossed $711 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2009. It set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight opening in the United States and Canada, grossing $26.3 million, which was superseded by its sequel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. This led to the highest single-day domestic gross on an opening day, with $72.7 million,[12] until it was beaten by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).[13] The film also became the widest independent release, playing in 4,024 theaters, until it was surpassed by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.[14] New Moon was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 20, 2010.[15] As of July 2012, the film has grossed $184.9 million in North American DVD sales, selling more than 8.8 million units,[16] four million of which were sold within its first weekend, beating Twilight‘s 3.8 million units sold in its first two days
Cast
- Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who falls into a deep depression after her true love, Edward Cullen, leaves her. Her friendship with Jacob Black is expanded as she realizes that he can mend the hole left open by Edward.
- Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella’s vampire boyfriend who abruptly leaves town to protect her.[18][19]
- Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases Bella’s pain over losing Edward. He reveals to Bella that he is part of a pack of werewolves whose main goal is to protect her from the vampires Laurent and Victoria.[3][20][21]
- Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see “subjective” visions of the future and who develops a deep friendship with Bella
- Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria Sutherland, a ruthless vampire who wants to avenge her lover, James[22] This would be her final appearance as the character before being replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in the next installment a year later.
- Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Bella’s father and Forks’ Chief of Police[23]
- Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, leader and father figure of the Cullen family[24]
- Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family[25]
- Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who is physically the strongest vampire of the family.
- Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen family who thirsts for Bella’s blood after she receives a paper cut. He has the ability to manipulate emotions.
- Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley, Bella’s self-involved friend[26][27]
- Michael Sheen as Aro, the leader of an ancient Italian vampire coven known as the Volturi
- Dakota Fanning as Jane, a guard of the Volturi who has the ability to torture people with illusions of pain[28][29]
- Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, Carlisle’s wife and the mother figure of the Cullen family[30][31]
- Edi Gathegi as Laurent Da Revin, a vampire who wants to kill Bella, because he thirsts for her blood[32][33]
- Noot Seear as Heidi, who leads the tourists into the Volturi’s chamber and urges them to stay together while Demetri leads Bella, Alice and Edward in the opposite direction. Heidi’s special ability is to make herself attractive to other people, regardless of species or gender.
- Michael Welch as Mike Newton, Bella’s friend who has a crush on her. He joins her on a date with Jacob.[34]
- Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley, Alpha of the Wolf Pack
- Tyson Houseman as Quil Ateara
- Kiowa Gordon as Embry Call
- Alex Meraz as Paul Lahote
- Bronson Pelletier as Jared Cameron
- Graham Greene as Harry Clearwater, a Quileute elder and Charlie’s friend
- Gil Birmingham as Billy Black, a Quileute elder and Jacob’s physically disabled father
- Christian Serratos as Angela Weber, Bella’s shy but caring friend
- Justin Chon as Eric Yorkie, Bella’s friend and Angela’s boyfriend
- Tinsel Korey as Emily Young, Sam’s imprinted fiancée whom he once hurt unintentionally
- Jamie Campbell Bower as Caius, a Volturi elder who is very strict about vampire laws
- Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus, a Volturi elder who has the gift of seeing the relationship connections between people
- Justine Wachsberger as Gianna, Volturi’s human secretary
- Cameron Bright as Alec, Jane’s brother who has the ability to cut off senses
- Charlie Bewley as Demetri, a Volturi guard who is a gifted tracker
- Daniel Cudmore as Felix, a Volturi guard who has supreme strength
