The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
Encyclopedia
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn, is a 2011/2012 two-part romantic
fantasy film
directed by Bill Condon
and based on the novel Breaking Dawn
by Stephenie Meyer
. The two parts form the fourth and final installment 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 November 30, the film has grossed $511,000,702 worldwide. The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics, while response from fans and other viewers has been more positive.
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.
, Bella Swan
is visited by her friend Jacob Black
. When Bella accidentally indicates to him that she and Edward plan to consummate their marriage during their honeymoon, Jacob tries to attack Edward but members of his wolf pack hold him back. He then runs off into the woods, and Edward takes an upset Bella back to the reception.
The couple spends their honeymoon on a private island in Brazil. 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 says that he will never have sex 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, and they rush back to Forks. Bella refuses to heed the urging from most of the Cullens for her to have an abortion, and enlists Rosalie to protect her wishes.
Opposed to Sam Uley's plans to kill Bella and her child, Jacob leaves the pack in protest and arrives at the Cullen house to protect Bella; Seth and Leah Clearwater join him. As the pregnancy progresses, Bella's health severely detoriates. 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 very painful labor and gives birth to her daughter, Renesmee. To save her life by turning her into a vampire, Edward injects Bella's heart with his venom, 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.
When the werewolves learn of Bella's death, they attack the Cullen house to try to kill the baby. They stop when they learn of Jacob's imprinting of Renesmee, which, under werewolf law, means Renesmee cannot be harmed. Bella's wounds heal and she wakes up with red eyes as a new-born vampire.
In a post-credits scene, the Volturi learn of Bella's conversion; Aro notes that this is not the end of their dispute with the Cullens, as the Cullens "have something he wants."
Supporting characters
After confirming one film, Summit had been keeping their eye on a fifth installment. In May 2010, Billy Burke
and Peter Facinelli
were the only cast actors who were confirmed for both parts of Breaking Dawn, while other cast members such as Ashley Greene
and Kellan Lutz
were still in negotiations for a second part. If the actors holding Summit back from making an official announcement did not reach an agreement with them, the studio would not have minded recasting their roles, as was done in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with Bryce Dallas Howard
's character, Victoria. However, in June 2010, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start production and it was made clear that all major actors, including the three lead roles, the Cullen family, and Charlie Swan, would return for both parts. Actresses Christie Burke, Rachel St. Gelais, Sierra Pitkin, and Eliza Faria will play Renesmee at her various ages in Breaking Dawn.
approved the second and third adaptations of the franchise, and scheduled the two films to be released six months apart. Wyck Godfrey, producer of the previous films in the series, stated in mid-2009 that they had every intention to make the film version of Breaking Dawn, but Stephenie Meyer
, author of the series, explained on her website's Breaking Dawn FAQ that if an adaptation were to be created, it would have to be split into two movies because "The book is just so long!", saying that she would have made the book shorter if it were possible. She also believed it to be impossible to make a film due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby that has complete awareness, "The one thing that I've never seen is a CGI human being who truly looks real"; however, she did acknowledge the film might be possible due to the quickly-advancing technologies. Moreover, because of the mature and explicit nature of the Breaking Dawn book, fans and critics questioned if the studio would be able to keep a PG-13 rating, noting that the movie should not be rated R for the ever-growing fan base. In March 2010, Variety
reported that Summit Entertainment
was considering splitting the 754-page book into two films, along the same lines as Warner Bros.
' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since under contract for only four films, the status of Kristen Stewart's, Robert Pattinson's and Taylor Lautner's contracts were in question, making the possibility of a split unlikely. Producer Wyck Godfrey stated that all three main cast members were signed onto one Breaking Dawn film.
In March 2010, it was announced that Summit was searching for Academy-Award nominated directors to helm the project, with names like Sofia Coppola
, Gus Van Sant
and Bill Condon
rumored to have been approached to direct. On April 28, 2010, Summit announced that Bill Condon, who directed Dreamgirls
, would direct Breaking Dawn; producing the film will be Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and author Stephenie Meyer
. "I'm very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book - and we're hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience," said Bill Condon. Condon spoke about Summit approaching him saying, "The very nice folks at Summit.. they sent me the novel. I loved it. I quickly imprinted on the material". Another reason Condon cited was the desire to collaborate with Stewart. Gus Van Sant later explained that Robert Pattinson
mentioning him as the ideal director for Breaking Dawn was what made him audition for the job and described the audition as "very nerve-wracking". However, after Condon was hired, Sant suggested that the reason behind not getting hired was his style and way of auditioning being different from what the executive producers were used to.
In June, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start filming in November. The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part's release date is set for November 16, 2012.
The Twilight Saga also helped motivate Rosenberg into launching a female-centric production company, Tall Girls Productions: "The charter of it, if there is one, would be to create some strong roles for women... the female Batman
, the female Tony Soprano
." She explained that, despite the fact of the many hours of hard work ahead of her, it is what she wants to do.
was released, fans and critics speculated whether Breaking Dawn would be adapted into a film considering the adult nature of the book. In March 2010, Rosenberg spoke about adapting the book saying, "It's the big one, it's gonna be a big challenge, and I guarantee you that not all of the fans will be happy, and I guarantee you some of them will be. You have to give up the ideal of making everybody happy, it's just not gonna happen, but you hope you make the majority happy. Again, for that last book it is about taking that specific character Bella on her journey. It's a big journey, it's a massive change for her, and you hope to realize that." One of the scenes that aroused the speculations that the film would be rated R is the infamous graphic birth scene in the novel. In August, Rosenberg addressed such speculations saying, "On the fan site, on Facebook
, all the comments are "It has to be R rated! You have to show the childbirth! Gore and guts and sex!" For me it's actually more interesting to not see it. You know, you can do childbirth without seeing childbirth ... it doesn't mean it's any less evocative of an experience." Producer Wyck Godfrey addressed those speculations further saying, "it would be a crime against our audience to go R-rated" as the core fans of the series are below 18 years old, but insisted that the film is based on a mature book, so more progress and sophistication are needed. To compromise the necessary sophistication in adapting such a mature book and the need for maintaining a PG-13 rating, Rosenberg stated that the scene would be shown from Bella's point of view. Godfrey described it saying, "She is looking through the haze, experiencing pain and everything rushing around her. We only see what she sees".
In June, Rosenberg stated in an interview that the decision on where to split the film had not been decided, as she was still in the drafting stage of the scripts. "I think it comes down to Bella as human and Bella as vampire," she said, hinting at a potential splitting point. She thought that Condon would probably disagree with the statement, explaining that the decision is ultimately up to him. Later in January 2011, Godfrey confirmed that the Part 1 will cover the wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy and birth and ends just before her transformation into a vampire as the filmmakers wanted to "take the audience through the emotional part of Bella's journey as she becomes a vampire". Part 2 will follow her transformation, the "first exhilarating moments" of her vampire life and the final confrontation with the Volturi. Godfrey also confirmed that Part 1 will follow the book's storyline as it breaks away from Bella and switches into Jacob
's perspective. "There is a sense that as Bella and the Cullens (Edward's makeshift vampire clan) deal with her pregnancy, the world is still turning outside with Jacob," he explains. However, in March 2011, Meyer said in interview with USA Today
that Part 1 will end when Bella opens her eyes as a vampire.
By August, Rosenberg said that the scripts for Part 1 and 2 were 75 to 85 percent completed. She found the greatest challenge in writing the scripts to be the final sequence of Part 2: "The final battle sequence is a big challenge because it lasts 25 pages," she said. "It's almost an entire three-act story in and of itself. You have to track [keep it all in one setting] hundreds of characters. It's an enormous challenge to choreograph on the page and for Bill [Condon] to choreograph on the stage." She had written various drafts of the scene but, at that, hadn't revised or discussed them with Condon yet. She said, "That's the next big hurdle to sit down with the stunt coordinator and create the ballet. It's a lot of work. I'm exhausted, but we're intent on making them the best scripts yet." Godfrey called Part 2 "an action film in terms of life-and-death stakes" and said that in Part 1 "there are the pangs of newlywed tension that occur that are relatable even in a fantasy film. Marriage is not quite the experience that they thought it was." Condon thought of Part 1 "as a real companion piece to Catherine Hardwicke's movie
". Condon explains, "Like, everything that got set up there gets resolved here. I think you'll find that there are stylistic and other nods to that film."
Godfrey considered releasing the second film in 3D
to differentiate between the time before and after Bella becomes a vampire, an idea originally proposed for Eclipse, but said that the decision is up to Condon. However, he said that if the second film was to be released in 3D, he would like to shoot it with the proper equipment in "real" 3D as was done with Avatar (2009), not convert it into 3D in post-production as was done with Clash of the Titans
(2010).
would find favorable. Summit announced in a press release on July 9, 2010, that filming was to take place in Baton Rouge and Vancouver
. Both parts will be shot back-to-back as one project. The film will attempt to keep its PG-13 rating, and it will not feature any of the gruesome scenes from the novel with Kristen Stewart
confirming that the birth scene wasn't as grotesque as described in the book and that she didn't "puke up blood", though director Bill Condon
said that they shot everything as "powerful and potent as they could".
Filming officially began on November 1, 2010 in Brazil
, with locations in Rio de Janeiro
and Paraty
, Rio de Janeiro. The first scenes were shot in the Lapa District in Rio de Janeiro
for one night. A long city block was rented for shooting, and Summit Entertainment
paid residents 50 to 500 reais (30 to 300 in American dollars) to not allow paparazzi or fans to overlook filming from their windows. Moreover, owners of bars and restaurants were paid 10,000 and 20,000 reais (6,000 to 12,000 in American dollars) to stay closed for the evening to eliminate noise and provide a clear street.
Shooting then moved to Paraty
, Rio de Janeiro where the honeymoon scenes were shot. According to Paraty's Tourism Office, filming took place in the Taquari area, near an unidentified waterfall and at Saco do Mamanguá beach where a mansion is located. It rained on every day of shooting. In late November, shooting moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where most of the indoor scenes were shot on a sound stage
and in a house. Stewart had to wear heavy make-up to look thin and ghastly to show Bella through a phase of pregnancy where the baby starts breaking her bones. The birth scene took two nights to shoot after the cast had a long conversation with Meyer, a midwife and a doctor to discuss the mechanics of the scene, particularly to decide the area where Edward should place his mouth to bite into Bella's placenta if this situation could ever occur in real life. An animatronic baby was used to film a few scenes of newborn Rensemee. The cast and crew spent two months of the filming process shooting in a green screen room on fake snow. Reportedly, a few scenes were also shot in Arsenal Park using green screens. It took about four to five weeks to shoot the ending sequence of Part 2, which comprises approximately twenty-seven minutes of the film. The sequence required 75 actors on set, a green screen, and fake snow as well. Stewart thought that the Louisania shooting was "kind of more emotional. More based in reality. Not that anything in the story isn't."
In late February and early March, filming of most of the exterior shots, along with Bella's vampire scenes, occurred in Canada
. The film's first shooting location in Canada was Vancouver
. However, the cast and crew were evacuated from the set due to the tsunami advisories resulting from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Toni Atterbury, a spokeswoman for the film, said that "the crew was moved to higher ground" as a safety precaution and "the shoot was delayed for a few hours, but the day’s work was accomplished". Therefore, filming relocated to Squamish
, British Columbia
, but a few scenes were shot in the Orpheum theater in Vancouver with the Vancouver police covering all the entrances of the theater.
The wedding scene in Part 1 was the last scene the cast and crew shot. It was also shot under tight security. A helicopter hovered above the set, off-duty police officers surrounded the location, and sheets and umbrellas were used to protect the set from aerial shots being taken. Stewart spoke about the wedding at Comic-Con, describing it as "insane". She went on to say that it was "secret service style. The crew was incredibly inconvenienced. No cell phone, etc. They wanted to keep the dress secret." Concerning the wedding dress, Stewart was locked in a room wearing a Volturi cloak to cover the dress.
Stewart further talked about filming the scene, saying "I wanted to run down the aisle. I was literally pulling away from Billy Burke. Now it's a trip to watch the wedding scenes. It was so volatile and emotional—I was being such a crazy person." Condon spoke about it saying, "The last scene we filmed was the dance scene between Jacob and Bella at the wedding. The last shot is Jacob leaving. I called "Cut!" and then Kristen yelled, "Jacob!" and hiked her dress up and started running after him into the woods, saying, "Come back! Don't leave!"
Filming wrapped—for most of the cast—on April 15, 2011, ending the franchise's three years of production since March 2008. However, on April 22, what is believed to be additional scenes that will fit into the honeymoon sequence were filmed on St. Thomas Island
in the Caribbean
, which was officially the last day of shooting. The crew, Stewart and Pattinson were shooting in the sea all day long, then went out for cocktails on the beach and watched the sunrise. On the subject of the final day and her final moment as Bella, Stewart stated, "After that scene, my true final scene, I felt like I could shoot up into the night sky and every pore of my body would shoot light. I felt lighter than I've ever felt in my life." Pattinson thought the day was "amazing" and commented, "I then asked myself why we didn't do this in those four years. Every difficult moment just vanished."
was rumored to be the designer of Bella's wedding dress; however, these rumors proved false when Posen tweeted
: "Heard the Bella/Twilight rumor and it's just that. I design for real women like Kristen Stewart and Anna Kendrick". In April 2011, Summit announced that Carolina Herrera
is the designer of the dress. Stewart described the dress as very tight, but still liked it and thought that "it was very pretty". Meyer told USA Today
that the dress was "an interesting mix" and has a "vintage feel, but at the same time, there's an edge to it".
Concerning Alice's bridesmaid dress, its designer remains unknown, however it was presumably designed by Wilkinson. Ashley Greene described the dress as "magical and beautiful" and spoke about the design process, saying, "We wanted to have all the bridesmaids fit together and also have their own identity. So, we took a little bit of Alice's past and put it into her dress." Corsets were added to all the cast's wedding dresses, but were removed during filming because the cast felt uncomfortable wearing them while dancing.
Alfred Angelo
has been named the exclusive and official licensed manufacturer of Bella's bridal gown. The gown will be a replica of Bella's wedding dress and marketed under the brand Twilight Bridal by Alfred Angelo. It will be revealed in late November 2011, following the release of Part 1, and will be available in Alfred Angelo Signature Stores and independent retailers worldwide.
. Condon revealed that Mackenzie Foy's face and expressions will be placed digitally on the bodies of the other actresses playing the same character through her various stages of life. Condon spoke about the process saying, "Sometimes it was hard because the other actresses were actually just there. It was always going to be just Mackenzie’s expressions and things like that, so it was a very specific technical thing that even I was learning as we did it. But I have to say, they were real troopers these girls." Furthermore, special effects are going to be used to illustrate the invisible powers and forces between the vampires in the final battle sequence of Part 2.
Montreal
-based Modus FX
created subtle CG
effects for Part 1. It created stylized effects to emphasize the supernatural capabilities of the main characters without making them too obvious or noticeable. A team of 12 artists spent six weeks working on the film. Shots included creating the belly of a pregnant Bella, removing a wrist brace Stewart was wearing in the wedding scene due to an injury, and a variety of subtle cosmetic refinements. Bella's pregnancy was a challenge for Modus; the production team wanted the baby to kick and move around inside her belly, so the artists and cinematographer had to match the camera moves, the lighting, even the film grain
, along with the subtleties of Stewart's skin. On the subject, CG supervisor Martin Pelletier said,
During the wedding scene, the camera pans around Pattinson and Stewart. Due to a minor wrist injury Stewart had, she was wearing a brace on the day of the shoot. Therefore, Modus was required to create a CG model of the hand and then carefully craft a rig to create natural motions. Once that was finished, every minute movement of the hand had to be matched exactly. The rotational panning shot totals 300 frames and called for elaborate camera and object tracking. Modus used subsurface scattering to accurately capture the partial translucence of her skin to make it look more authentic. Pelletier explained that “tracking was particularly challenging, because when they were shooting it, they weren’t thinking about it as an effects shot. There was no camera metadata for the sequence.” The solution was to do a series of careful manual adjustments until the light sources were correctly replicated on the set.
In July, Condon said that the first cut
of Part 1 would be finished in a few weeks, but the visual effects were still in development. Godfrey later stated that they were "very close to locking picture on part one", and that its running time is equal to Twilight
, New Moon and Eclipse, therefore approximately two hours. A few weeks later, Godfrey announced that he had seen numerous cuts of the film and called it "incredibly powerful already. ...It definitely captures what the book captures." Concerning the subject of the MPAA rating, Godfrey said that the studio does not "have any word yet on the rating", but insisted that it is going to be rated PG-13. Condon discussed the matter further saying, "I think it’s a good challenge because the thing that makes something R is literally showing it and if you give yourself that rule: I’m not gonna show, it’s not going to be frontal nudity, no one wants that," and added, "we’re not going to, again, show splattering blood against the walls but it’s gonna be very visceral. It actually becomes a fun challenge to make sure you feel like you have the same experience without having to watch something clinical. I think it makes it better." Post-production for Part 2 is scheduled to start in December.
, composer of the first film
in the series, will be returning to score both parts of the final installment. The score of Part 1 was recorded in Abbey Road Studios
, London
in early September. Alexandre Desplat
and Howard Shore
, the composers of New Moon and Eclipse respectively, happened to be in London at the time of the recording session and stopped by to visit Burwell.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
was released on November 8, 2011. In July, Condon said that they are still under negotiations for the soundtrack and have 15 songs to choose from, but no deals have been signed with any artists. He also hinted that there's a good chance that the cast's musically-inclined members would feature on the soundtrack, which leaves chance to Robert Pattinson
, Jackson Rathbone
, Booboo Stewart and Jamie Campbell Bower
. American rock
band Evanescence
expressed interest in landing a song on the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Will Hunt
, the drummer of the band, said, "I've been screaming for [new song] 'My Heart Is Broken' to land in that, because I think it would fit the story so well." The lead singer of the band, Amy Lee
, agreed, adding, "I think that would be awesome, actually." Also notable is the fact that the band had attempted to land songs on the soundtrack of Twilight
, but Summit did not approve of the songs they presented. This is the first soundtrack not to feature a song from the band Muse
.
On September 22, it was confirmed that the lead single of the soundtrack is a song called "It Will Rain", by Filipino American
pop
singer Bruno Mars
, to be released exclusively on iTunes
on September 27.
. It was released online shortly before the awards show began and then made its television debut during the broadcast.
On July 21, Summit held a sold-out Comic-Con
panel in Hall H, which held 6,500 fans, promoting Part 1. Condon, Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner attended the panel and answered the fans' questions along with showing them exclusive clips from the film. Cast members arrived early in the morning and signed autographs and posters for the midnight-camping fans and Summit booths offered them Breaking Dawn: Part 1 character trading cards.
Breaking Dawn: Part 1 footage was screened in Empire Movie Con in the UK on August 13. In addition, Alfred Angelo
will host a private screening of Part 1 for 49 selected fans on November 15 and another screening for 20 friends two days later via sweepstakes.
On September 8, Yahoo! Movies
released two teaser posters for the film and premiered the theatrical trailer on September 13, which coincides with Bella's birthday. Access Hollywood
released a 15-second preview of the trailer on September 9. Also, theaters across the world have held "Twilight Tuesdays", where each of the films in the Twilight Saga are screened on Tuesdays up until the film's release date of November 18. On the Facebook page, a trailer for each of the films was released.
, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaked set photos and footage videos surfaced online. Summit Entertainment
responded to the leaks by removing the photos and videos from YouTube
, fansites and gossip websites. On January 13, 2011, scans of a still of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in one of their honeymoon scenes in an Entertainment Weekly
article ran online, prior to the magazine's official release of the still. On March 31 and April 1, 2011, a mass leak of a 14-second video and numerous low-quality stills hit the Internet
resulting to enthusiastic fan reaction and speculations that the film wouldn't be able to maintain a PG-13 rating. Summit Entertainment
released an official statement in response to the leaks saying:
Additionally, the first teaser trailer leaked online hours before its debut at the MTV Movie Awards
.
, South America
, Europe
and Australia
, to find the other people behind the leak.
On the other hand, Santia hosted a press conference in her town and denied Summit's claims. She claimed that she only saw the images "while surfing the Internet
" and didn't send them to anyone. She also stated that she didn't log in anywhere to see them and denies having the technical knowledge of hacking, specifically saying that she "in no way be considered a "hacker" because [she] has no computer skills other than simple user level". Her attorney confirmed that Santia and her family are considering a counterclaim against Summit due to defamation of character and continual harassment by the film's producers who kept requesting that she would let them check her computer to see if she still has the images on her hard disk
, although she refused more than once claiming that she is innocent and her computer contains personal items. Her attorney called the situation "a harm to privacy and personal right".
Summit's official response to the press conference said, "First and most important this is NOT about greed or the Studio wanting to bully a woman from a small town in Argentina – rather, it is about stolen material that is private and sensitive which was obtained by illegally accessing private/secure servers as well as personal email accounts." Summit gave details about the case stating that the studio has been in contact with Santia since May 2011, but "with no resolution or further good faith efforts on their part, thus the only alternative left was to pursue legal action to ascertain that Ms. Santia no longer holds the images and video in any shape or form".
In the response, Summit announced the following claims:
, which is owned by Amazon.com
states the DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
will be available to rent on March 12, 2012. This is also very likely the date that the DVD and Blu-ray will be available to purchase.
reports that 27% of critics (of the 172 counted reviews) gave the film a positive review, and the site's consensus reads, "Slow, joyless, and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments, Breaking Dawn Part 1 may satisfy the Twilight faithful, but it's strictly for fans of the franchise." Part 1 has thus far achieved rating parity with New Moon, which also received a 28% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Justin Chang of Variety gave the film a negative review, calling the film "disappointing". Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter
also gave the film a negative review, calling Part 1 "bloated". Brent Simon of Screen International called the film "soapy and melodramatic". Peter Bradshaw
of The Guardian
gave the film one star out of a possible five, and referred to it as the next stage of an "emo-operetta" that "sweeps us away on a new riptide of mawkish euphoria". Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film two and a half stars, saying that it is filled with a lot of unanswered questions, but calling Stewart's portrayal of Bella "pretty good". The television show Film 2011
's Claudia Winkleman
gave the film a negative review, calling it "hilarious". The film is currently the second-lowest rated film in the series, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Conversely, Gabriel Chong of "Movie Exclusive" gave the film four stars out of a possible five, praising the dialogue, wedding and action scenes, and particularly Condon's direction, stating, "In the hands of a lesser director, the turn of events could very well descend into farce- thankfully then, this movie has found a masterful helmsman in Condon." He went on to praise Stewart's performance, calling it "mesmerising" and saying that she "makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy, trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute determination." Mark Adams of Daily Mirror also gave the film four stars out of five and said, "The Twilight films manage to cleverly blend melodrama with supernatural thrills, and while the film is not without its silly moments and cringeworthy dialogue it does deliver the drama and emotional highs we have come to expect". He also praised the wedding, describing it as "beautifully staged", and Stewart's performance. Other positive reviewers from New York Daily News, The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Salon.com said the dialogue was improving and the whole movie played out with style, while being faithful to the book and servicing hardcore fans. MSN Entertainment critic Alaina O'Connor gave Condon some praise for bringing "a certain visual elegance that helps with some of the more-absurd elements of the story." O'Connor also felt that the film did a good job of "examining the relationship between Edward and Bella", but felt that the narrative was weak otherwise.
The film also drew both criticism and praise for having what was seen as a pro-life
theme. Natalie Wilson, writing for the Ms. magazine blog, described what she saw as the book's "latent anti-abortion message" as "problematic from a feminist perspective" and found this element "heightened, not diminished, in the film", citing scenes in which Rosalie scolds Alice for using the word "fetus". Richard Lawson of The Atlantic said that Bella's pregnancy "serves as the narrative dais from which Meyer, and in complicity Condon and the screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, delivers a startlingly direct and uncovered anti-abortion sermon", adding "it seems there was no escaping the firmly anti-choice themes of this leg of the story, and so we must sit and grumble while sickly Bella is scored by plaintive strings as she chooses the one true moral path". Neil Morris of Independent Weekly
said that the film "takes up a radically pro-life mantle when Bella refuses to abort her baby, even though her life may depend on it". Sandie Angulo Chen of Moviefone
described the "bulk" of the film as "one long pro-life debate", in which "Bella says it's her body, her choice (terms usually used in the pro-choice movement), but her decision is pro-life to the extreme, because the baby can and will kill her". In contrast, John Mulderig of the Catholic News Service
praised the "strongly pro-life message being conveyed via Bella's unusual plight", saying it "presents a welcome counterpoint to the all-too-frequent motif in popular entertainment whereby pregnancy is presented as a form of disease or an almost unbearable curse".
In an interview with Screen Rant, screenwriter Rosenberg addressed the perception of a pro-life message in the film, stating, "If I could not find my way into it that didn't violate my beliefs (because I am extremely pro-choice very outspoken about it, very much a feminist) I would not have written this move . They could have offered me the bank and I still wouldn't have. In order to embrace it I had to find a way to deal with it. I also had no interest in violating Stephenie's belief system or anyone on the other side".
Breaking Dawn - Part 1 opened on November 18, 2011, in 4,061 theaters, and was projected to reap at least $140 million in its opening weekend. It opened internationally with $8.9 million from five markets. The film earned $30.3 million in midnight showings, which was the second highest midnight gross of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
($43.5 million), and was also the highest midnight gross of the franchise
, topping The Twilight Saga: Eclipses gross of just over $30 million. On its opening day, the movie grossed $71.6 million, which was the third highest opening day gross of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($91.1 million) and The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($72.7 million). For its opening weekend, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 made $138.1 million, which was the second highest opening weekend of the film series behind New Moon ($142.8 million), as well as the second highest November opening ever behind New Moon. It was also the fifth highest opening weekend of all-time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, The Dark Knight
, Spider-Man 3
, and New Moon. The movie also had the second best opening weekend of 2011 in the United States and Canada behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($169.2 million). It remained as the #1 film in the U.S. and Canada for two weeks, grossing $61.9 million over the five-day 2011 Thanksgiving
weekend, bringing its total in these regions to $220.8 million.
In the UK
the film topped the box office grossing £13,910,877, thus making it the highest opening for any American film within the UK. The film is also the second biggest opening of 2011 in the UK behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
s in moviegoers. The visual effects during the scene involves several red, white, and black flashing lights. Reports of such photosensitive seizures have been reported in Sacramento, CA and Salt Lake City, Utah. The incidents have become more widespread as news of the incidents began to flood several news sites, making people aware that health issues that attendees were experiencing might've been caused by the scene. Famed comic book artist Jim Lee
tweeted
that he and his family had to leave a screening of the film after "our 11 year old son literally threw up during the birthing scene."
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fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
directed by Bill Condon
Bill Condon
William "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director. Condon is best known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed films Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, and Dreamgirls. In 1998, Condon debuted as a screenwriter in Gods and Monsters, which won him his first Academy Award....
and based on the novel Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in the The Twilight Saga by American author Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections are written from Bella Swan's perspective and the second is written from the perspective of Jacob Black...
by Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
. The two parts form the fourth and final installment in the The Twilight Saga
The Twilight Saga (film series)
The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
series. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
, Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
, 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 November 30, the film has grossed $511,000,702 worldwide. The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics, while response from fans and other viewers has been more positive.
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
Melissa Rosenberg
Melissa Anne Rosenberg is an American screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of America Awards. She won a Peabody Award...
, the screenwriter of the first three entries.
Part 1
On the night of her wedding to Edward CullenEdward Cullen
Edward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
, Bella Swan
Bella Swan
Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan is the fictional protagonist of the Twilight series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series, consisting of the novels Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, is primarily narrated from Bella's point of view...
is visited by her friend Jacob Black
Jacob Black
Jacob "Jake" Black is a fictional character in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe in La Push, near Forks, Washington. In the second book of the series, he undergoes a transformation that allows him to morph into a wolf. For the...
. When Bella accidentally indicates to him that she and Edward plan to consummate their marriage during their honeymoon, Jacob tries to attack Edward but members of his wolf pack hold him back. He then runs off into the woods, and Edward takes an upset Bella back to the reception.
The couple spends their honeymoon on a private island in Brazil. 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 says that he will never have sex 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, and they rush back to Forks. Bella refuses to heed the urging from most of the Cullens for her to have an abortion, and enlists Rosalie to protect her wishes.
Opposed to Sam Uley's plans to kill Bella and her child, Jacob leaves the pack in protest and arrives at the Cullen house to protect Bella; Seth and Leah Clearwater join him. As the pregnancy progresses, Bella's health severely detoriates. 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 very painful labor and gives birth to her daughter, Renesmee. To save her life by turning her into a vampire, Edward injects Bella's heart with his venom, 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.
When the werewolves learn of Bella's death, they attack the Cullen house to try to kill the baby. They stop when they learn of Jacob's imprinting of Renesmee, which, under werewolf law, means Renesmee cannot be harmed. Bella's wounds heal and she wakes up with red eyes as a new-born vampire.
In a post-credits scene, the Volturi learn of Bella's conversion; Aro notes that this is not the end of their dispute with the Cullens, as the Cullens "have something he wants."
Cast
Main cast- Kristen StewartKristen StewartKristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
as Bella SwanBella SwanIsabella Marie "Bella" Swan is the fictional protagonist of the Twilight series, written by Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series, consisting of the novels Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, is primarily narrated from Bella's point of view... - Robert PattinsonRobert PattinsonRobert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
as Edward CullenEdward CullenEdward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate... - Taylor Lautner as Jacob BlackJacob BlackJacob "Jake" Black is a fictional character in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe in La Push, near Forks, Washington. In the second book of the series, he undergoes a transformation that allows him to morph into a wolf. For the...
Supporting characters
Part 1
- Nikki ReedNikki ReedNicole Houston "Nikki" Reed is an American film and television actress, and screenwriter. She became known in 2003, after the release of the film Thirteen, for which she co-wrote the screenplay. Reed has since appeared in several films, including Lords of Dogtown and Mini's First Time...
as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family who helps Bella through her pregnancy - Peter FacinelliPeter FacinelliPeter Facinelli is an American actor. He became known as the star of Fox's 2002 television series Fastlane. He plays Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight series. He is also well known for his role as Mike Dexter in the film Can't Hardly Wait...
as Carlisle Cullen, a compassionate doctor who acts as a father figure to the Cullen coven - Elizabeth ReaserElizabeth ReaserElizabeth Ann Reaser is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films Stay, The Family Stone, and The Twilight Saga and the TV series Saved, Grey's Anatomy and The Ex-List....
as Esme Cullen, the most loving member who acts as the mother of the Cullen family - Ashley GreeneAshley GreeneAshley Michele Greene is an American actress and model, best known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.- Personal life :...
as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who is close friends with Bella - Kellan LutzKellan LutzKellan Christopher Lutz is an American fashion model, and film and television actor, who is best known for playing Emmett Cullen in the Twilight series.-Early life:...
as Emmett Cullen, the strongest member of the Cullen family, and provides the comic relief - Jackson RathboneJackson RathboneMonroe Jackson Rathbone, V , better known as Jackson Rathbone, is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga and for playing Sokka in The Last Airbender....
as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen coven can feel/control/manipulate emotions - Julia JonesJulia JonesJulia Jones is an American actress best known for playing Leah Clearwater in the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film based on the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.-Personal life:...
as Leah Clearwater, a member of Jacob's pack who is constantly bitter and pained - Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater, a carefree member of Jacob's pack
- Billy BurkeBilly Burke (actor)William Albert "Billy" Burke is an American actor. He is known for his role as Charlie Swan in Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. He is also known for his role as Gary Matheson in the second season of 24.-Life and career:Burke was born in...
as Charlie Swan, Bella's father and Forks' Chief of Police - Sarah ClarkeSarah ClarkeSarah Clarke is an American actress, best known for her role as Nina Myers on 24, and also for her roles as Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in the 2008 film Twilight as well as Erin McGuire on the short-lived TV show, Trust Me.-Early life:Clarke was born in St...
as Renée Dwyer, Bella's mother who lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Phil - MyAnna BuringMyAnna BuringMyAnna Buring is a Swedish actress best known for appearing in the 2005 horror film The Descent.- Early life :Buring was born in Sweden but grew up in the Middle East...
as Tanya, the leader of the Denali coven - Maggie GraceMaggie GraceMargaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
as Irina, a member of the Denali coven whose lover (Laurent) was killed by the werewolves - Casey LaBow as Kate, a member of the Denali coven who has the ability to run an electric current on her skin
- Michael SheenMichael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
as Aro, the leader of the Volturi - Jamie Campbell BowerJamie Campbell BowerJames "Jamie" Campbell M. Bower is an English actor, singer and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role of Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and his role of King Arthur in the Starz original series...
as Caius, one of the three founders of the Volturi - Christopher HeyerdahlChristopher HeyerdahlChristopher Heyerdahl is a Canadian actor who has had roles in many prominent television shows and movies. He is tall.-Biography:Heyerdahl was born in the mountains of British Columbia and is of Norwegian and Scottish descent...
as Marcus, one of the three founders of the Volturi - Chaske SpencerChaske SpencerChaske Spencer is an American actor of Native American heritage.-Life and career:Spencer was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and grew up in Montana, Kooskia, Lapwai, and Lewiston, Idaho. His heritage includes Lakota, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Creek, French, and Dutch. He has two younger sisters...
as Sam Uley, the Alpha of the werewolves pack - Christian CamargoChristian CamargoChristian Camargo is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role of Brian Moser in the Showtime drama Dexter.-Early life:...
as Eleazar, a member of the Denali coven - Mia MaestroMía MaestroMía Maestro is an Argentine actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Nadia Santos in the television drama Alias, and as Christina Kahlo in Frida.-Life and acting career:...
as Carmen, a member of the Denali coven
Part 2
All actors listed for Part 1 will reprise their roles in Part 2.- Mackenzie FoyMackenzie FoyMackenzie Christine Foy is an American model and actress. She has been cast in the role of Renesmee Carlie Cullen, the daughter of Edward Cullen & Bella Cullen , in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2.-Career:Foy started modeling in 2004, working for Garnet Hill,Polo Ralph Lauren, and Guess...
as Renesmee Cullen, Edward and Bella's daughter who is half-human half-vampire, imprinted on Jacob Black (werewolf/shape-shifter). She can transmit her thoughts into one's mind through words and/or pictures. - Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
as Jane, a loyal servant to the Volturi - Cameron BrightCameron BrightCameron Bright is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films Godsend, Birth, Running Scared, Ultraviolet, X-Men: The Last Stand, Thank You for Smoking and three installments of The Twilight Saga.-Life and career:Bright was born in Victoria, British Columbia; he was given his middle name,...
as Alec, a loyal servant to the Volturi - Charlie BewleyCharlie BewleyCharles Martin M. "Charlie" Bewley is an English actor known for his role as the vampire Demetri in the film adaptations of The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Eclipse. He will also appear in the upcoming movies Ecstasy and Soldiers of Fortune.Bewley was raised on a farm in the middle of England...
as Demetri, a loyal servant to the Volturi - Daniel CudmoreDaniel CudmoreDaniel Cudmore is a Canadian actor perhaps best known for his role as the mutant Colossus in the X-Men movies.He was born and raised in Squamish, British Columbia, to English parents Sue Bailey, who works for the British Columbia Film Commission, and Richard Cudmore, a doctor...
as Felix, a loyal servant to the Volturi - Noel Fisher as Vladimir, one of the twelve founders of the ancient, but deceased, Romanian coven
- Guri Weinberg as Stefan, one of the twelve founders of the Romanian coven
- Lee PaceLee PaceLee Grinner Pace is an American actor. Pace has been featured in film, stage and television. He is known best for his starring role as Ned in the ABC series Pushing Daisies for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2008.-...
as Garrett, an adventurous nomad - Joe Anderson as Alistair, a solitary nomad
- Judi ShekoniJudi Shekoni-Television and film:Shekoni is most well known for playing the role of Precious Hudson in the British soap EastEnders in 2002. She has also appeared in films including Garfield 2, Jekyll and Hyde, and Ali G Indahouse....
as Zafrina, a member of the Amazon coven - Tracey Huggins as Senna, a member of the Amazon coven
- J.D. PardoJ.D. PardoJuan Diego "J.D." Pardo is an American actor born in Panorama City, California, best known for his role as Edward Araujo, Jr./Gwen Amber Rose Araujo in the Lifetime Network Movie called A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story....
as Nahuel, a vampire hybrid - Rami MalekRami MalekRami Said Malek is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the gay teenage next-door-neighbor, "Kenny" on the FOX comedy series The War at Home; for his role as Merriell "Snafu" Shelton in the HBO miniseries The Pacific; and for his role as the pharaoh Ahkmenrah in the feature films...
as Benjamin, a member of the Egyptian coven
After confirming one film, Summit had been keeping their eye on a fifth installment. In May 2010, Billy Burke
Billy Burke (actor)
William Albert "Billy" Burke is an American actor. He is known for his role as Charlie Swan in Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. He is also known for his role as Gary Matheson in the second season of 24.-Life and career:Burke was born in...
and Peter Facinelli
Peter Facinelli
Peter Facinelli is an American actor. He became known as the star of Fox's 2002 television series Fastlane. He plays Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight series. He is also well known for his role as Mike Dexter in the film Can't Hardly Wait...
were the only cast actors who were confirmed for both parts of Breaking Dawn, while other cast members such as Ashley Greene
Ashley Greene
Ashley Michele Greene is an American actress and model, best known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.- Personal life :...
and Kellan Lutz
Kellan Lutz
Kellan Christopher Lutz is an American fashion model, and film and television actor, who is best known for playing Emmett Cullen in the Twilight series.-Early life:...
were still in negotiations for a second part. If the actors holding Summit back from making an official announcement did not reach an agreement with them, the studio would not have minded recasting their roles, as was done in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
's character, Victoria. However, in June 2010, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start production and it was made clear that all major actors, including the three lead roles, the Cullen family, and Charlie Swan, would return for both parts. Actresses Christie Burke, Rachel St. Gelais, Sierra Pitkin, and Eliza Faria will play Renesmee at her various ages in Breaking Dawn.
Development
Talks for a Breaking Dawn film started after Summit EntertainmentSummit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
approved the second and third adaptations of the franchise, and scheduled the two films to be released six months apart. Wyck Godfrey, producer of the previous films in the series, stated in mid-2009 that they had every intention to make the film version of Breaking Dawn, but Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
, author of the series, explained on her website's Breaking Dawn FAQ that if an adaptation were to be created, it would have to be split into two movies because "The book is just so long!", saying that she would have made the book shorter if it were possible. She also believed it to be impossible to make a film due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby that has complete awareness, "The one thing that I've never seen is a CGI human being who truly looks real"; however, she did acknowledge the film might be possible due to the quickly-advancing technologies. Moreover, because of the mature and explicit nature of the Breaking Dawn book, fans and critics questioned if the studio would be able to keep a PG-13 rating, noting that the movie should not be rated R for the ever-growing fan base. In March 2010, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
was considering splitting the 754-page book into two films, along the same lines as Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since under contract for only four films, the status of Kristen Stewart's, Robert Pattinson's and Taylor Lautner's contracts were in question, making the possibility of a split unlikely. Producer Wyck Godfrey stated that all three main cast members were signed onto one Breaking Dawn film.
In March 2010, it was announced that Summit was searching for Academy-Award nominated directors to helm the project, with names like Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
, Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
and Bill Condon
Bill Condon
William "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director. Condon is best known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed films Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, and Dreamgirls. In 1998, Condon debuted as a screenwriter in Gods and Monsters, which won him his first Academy Award....
rumored to have been approached to direct. On April 28, 2010, Summit announced that Bill Condon, who directed Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls (film)
Dreamgirls is a 2006 musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006 before its nationwide release on December 25, 2006...
, would direct Breaking Dawn; producing the film will be Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and author Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
. "I'm very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book - and we're hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience," said Bill Condon. Condon spoke about Summit approaching him saying, "The very nice folks at Summit.. they sent me the novel. I loved it. I quickly imprinted on the material". Another reason Condon cited was the desire to collaborate with Stewart. Gus Van Sant later explained that Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
mentioning him as the ideal director for Breaking Dawn was what made him audition for the job and described the audition as "very nerve-wracking". However, after Condon was hired, Sant suggested that the reason behind not getting hired was his style and way of auditioning being different from what the executive producers were used to.
In June, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start filming in November. The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part's release date is set for November 16, 2012.
The Twilight Saga also helped motivate Rosenberg into launching a female-centric production company, Tall Girls Productions: "The charter of it, if there is one, would be to create some strong roles for women... the female Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, the female Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
." She explained that, despite the fact of the many hours of hard work ahead of her, it is what she wants to do.
Writing and pre-production
Since the first filmTwilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
was released, fans and critics speculated whether Breaking Dawn would be adapted into a film considering the adult nature of the book. In March 2010, Rosenberg spoke about adapting the book saying, "It's the big one, it's gonna be a big challenge, and I guarantee you that not all of the fans will be happy, and I guarantee you some of them will be. You have to give up the ideal of making everybody happy, it's just not gonna happen, but you hope you make the majority happy. Again, for that last book it is about taking that specific character Bella on her journey. It's a big journey, it's a massive change for her, and you hope to realize that." One of the scenes that aroused the speculations that the film would be rated R is the infamous graphic birth scene in the novel. In August, Rosenberg addressed such speculations saying, "On the fan site, on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, all the comments are "It has to be R rated! You have to show the childbirth! Gore and guts and sex!" For me it's actually more interesting to not see it. You know, you can do childbirth without seeing childbirth ... it doesn't mean it's any less evocative of an experience." Producer Wyck Godfrey addressed those speculations further saying, "it would be a crime against our audience to go R-rated" as the core fans of the series are below 18 years old, but insisted that the film is based on a mature book, so more progress and sophistication are needed. To compromise the necessary sophistication in adapting such a mature book and the need for maintaining a PG-13 rating, Rosenberg stated that the scene would be shown from Bella's point of view. Godfrey described it saying, "She is looking through the haze, experiencing pain and everything rushing around her. We only see what she sees".
In June, Rosenberg stated in an interview that the decision on where to split the film had not been decided, as she was still in the drafting stage of the scripts. "I think it comes down to Bella as human and Bella as vampire," she said, hinting at a potential splitting point. She thought that Condon would probably disagree with the statement, explaining that the decision is ultimately up to him. Later in January 2011, Godfrey confirmed that the Part 1 will cover the wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy and birth and ends just before her transformation into a vampire as the filmmakers wanted to "take the audience through the emotional part of Bella's journey as she becomes a vampire". Part 2 will follow her transformation, the "first exhilarating moments" of her vampire life and the final confrontation with the Volturi. Godfrey also confirmed that Part 1 will follow the book's storyline as it breaks away from Bella and switches into Jacob
Jacob Black
Jacob "Jake" Black is a fictional character in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe in La Push, near Forks, Washington. In the second book of the series, he undergoes a transformation that allows him to morph into a wolf. For the...
's perspective. "There is a sense that as Bella and the Cullens (Edward's makeshift vampire clan) deal with her pregnancy, the world is still turning outside with Jacob," he explains. However, in March 2011, Meyer said in interview with USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
that Part 1 will end when Bella opens her eyes as a vampire.
By August, Rosenberg said that the scripts for Part 1 and 2 were 75 to 85 percent completed. She found the greatest challenge in writing the scripts to be the final sequence of Part 2: "The final battle sequence is a big challenge because it lasts 25 pages," she said. "It's almost an entire three-act story in and of itself. You have to track [keep it all in one setting] hundreds of characters. It's an enormous challenge to choreograph on the page and for Bill [Condon] to choreograph on the stage." She had written various drafts of the scene but, at that, hadn't revised or discussed them with Condon yet. She said, "That's the next big hurdle to sit down with the stunt coordinator and create the ballet. It's a lot of work. I'm exhausted, but we're intent on making them the best scripts yet." Godfrey called Part 2 "an action film in terms of life-and-death stakes" and said that in Part 1 "there are the pangs of newlywed tension that occur that are relatable even in a fantasy film. Marriage is not quite the experience that they thought it was." Condon thought of Part 1 "as a real companion piece to Catherine Hardwicke's movie
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
". Condon explains, "Like, everything that got set up there gets resolved here. I think you'll find that there are stylistic and other nods to that film."
Godfrey considered releasing the second film in 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
to differentiate between the time before and after Bella becomes a vampire, an idea originally proposed for Eclipse, but said that the decision is up to Condon. However, he said that if the second film was to be released in 3D, he would like to shoot it with the proper equipment in "real" 3D as was done with Avatar (2009), not convert it into 3D in post-production as was done with Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (2010 film)
Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy and action remake of the 1981 film of the same name . The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010...
(2010).
Filming
In order to keep the budget on both parts of Breaking Dawn reasonable, even though it is substantially greater than the previous installments in the series, much of the film was shot in Louisiana. Shooting in Louisiana provided larger tax credits, which a small studio like Summit EntertainmentSummit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
would find favorable. Summit announced in a press release on July 9, 2010, that filming was to take place in Baton Rouge and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Both parts will be shot back-to-back as one project. The film will attempt to keep its PG-13 rating, and it will not feature any of the gruesome scenes from the novel with Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films including Panic Room , Zathura , In the Land of Women , The Messengers , Adventureland and The Runaways .- Early life :Stewart was born and raised in Los...
confirming that the birth scene wasn't as grotesque as described in the book and that she didn't "puke up blood", though director Bill Condon
Bill Condon
William "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director. Condon is best known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed films Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, and Dreamgirls. In 1998, Condon debuted as a screenwriter in Gods and Monsters, which won him his first Academy Award....
said that they shot everything as "powerful and potent as they could".
Filming officially began on November 1, 2010 in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, with locations in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Paraty
Paraty
Paraty [pronounced Par-a-CHEE] is a preserved Portuguese colonial and Brazilian Imperial town with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde , a lush, green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil...
, Rio de Janeiro. The first scenes were shot in the Lapa District in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
for one night. A long city block was rented for shooting, and Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
paid residents 50 to 500 reais (30 to 300 in American dollars) to not allow paparazzi or fans to overlook filming from their windows. Moreover, owners of bars and restaurants were paid 10,000 and 20,000 reais (6,000 to 12,000 in American dollars) to stay closed for the evening to eliminate noise and provide a clear street.
Shooting then moved to Paraty
Paraty
Paraty [pronounced Par-a-CHEE] is a preserved Portuguese colonial and Brazilian Imperial town with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde , a lush, green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil...
, Rio de Janeiro where the honeymoon scenes were shot. According to Paraty's Tourism Office, filming took place in the Taquari area, near an unidentified waterfall and at Saco do Mamanguá beach where a mansion is located. It rained on every day of shooting. In late November, shooting moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where most of the indoor scenes were shot on a sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
and in a house. Stewart had to wear heavy make-up to look thin and ghastly to show Bella through a phase of pregnancy where the baby starts breaking her bones. The birth scene took two nights to shoot after the cast had a long conversation with Meyer, a midwife and a doctor to discuss the mechanics of the scene, particularly to decide the area where Edward should place his mouth to bite into Bella's placenta if this situation could ever occur in real life. An animatronic baby was used to film a few scenes of newborn Rensemee. The cast and crew spent two months of the filming process shooting in a green screen room on fake snow. Reportedly, a few scenes were also shot in Arsenal Park using green screens. It took about four to five weeks to shoot the ending sequence of Part 2, which comprises approximately twenty-seven minutes of the film. The sequence required 75 actors on set, a green screen, and fake snow as well. Stewart thought that the Louisania shooting was "kind of more emotional. More based in reality. Not that anything in the story isn't."
In late February and early March, filming of most of the exterior shots, along with Bella's vampire scenes, occurred in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The film's first shooting location in Canada was Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. However, the cast and crew were evacuated from the set due to the tsunami advisories resulting from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Toni Atterbury, a spokeswoman for the film, said that "the crew was moved to higher ground" as a safety precaution and "the shoot was delayed for a few hours, but the day’s work was accomplished". Therefore, filming relocated to Squamish
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, but a few scenes were shot in the Orpheum theater in Vancouver with the Vancouver police covering all the entrances of the theater.
The wedding scene in Part 1 was the last scene the cast and crew shot. It was also shot under tight security. A helicopter hovered above the set, off-duty police officers surrounded the location, and sheets and umbrellas were used to protect the set from aerial shots being taken. Stewart spoke about the wedding at Comic-Con, describing it as "insane". She went on to say that it was "secret service style. The crew was incredibly inconvenienced. No cell phone, etc. They wanted to keep the dress secret." Concerning the wedding dress, Stewart was locked in a room wearing a Volturi cloak to cover the dress.
Stewart further talked about filming the scene, saying "I wanted to run down the aisle. I was literally pulling away from Billy Burke. Now it's a trip to watch the wedding scenes. It was so volatile and emotional—I was being such a crazy person." Condon spoke about it saying, "The last scene we filmed was the dance scene between Jacob and Bella at the wedding. The last shot is Jacob leaving. I called "Cut!" and then Kristen yelled, "Jacob!" and hiked her dress up and started running after him into the woods, saying, "Come back! Don't leave!"
Filming wrapped—for most of the cast—on April 15, 2011, ending the franchise's three years of production since March 2008. However, on April 22, what is believed to be additional scenes that will fit into the honeymoon sequence were filmed on St. Thomas Island
St. Thomas Island
St. Thomas Island or Snake Island is a Bulgarian island in the Black Sea, 15 km south of Sozopol. It has an area of 0,012 square kilometres and is the only place in Bulgaria where wild cacti grow, brought from Bratislava, Slovakia and planted on the orders of Tsar Boris III in 1933. They...
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, which was officially the last day of shooting. The crew, Stewart and Pattinson were shooting in the sea all day long, then went out for cocktails on the beach and watched the sunrise. On the subject of the final day and her final moment as Bella, Stewart stated, "After that scene, my true final scene, I felt like I could shoot up into the night sky and every pore of my body would shoot light. I felt lighter than I've ever felt in my life." Pattinson thought the day was "amazing" and commented, "I then asked myself why we didn't do this in those four years. Every difficult moment just vanished."
Costume design
In October 2010, it was announced that Michael Wilkinson would be the film's costume designer. However, Bella's wedding dress was designed by someone other than Wilkinson. Meyer's description of the dress was "a simpler style than the frillier Edwardian stuff. ...Elegant white satin, cut on the bias, with long sleeves.” At first, Zac PosenZac Posen
- Early life :Posen was raised in the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the son of artist Stephen Posen and corporate lawyer Susan Posen. His interest in fashion design started early, and as a child he would steal yarmulkes from his grandparents' synagogue to make ball dresses for dolls...
was rumored to be the designer of Bella's wedding dress; however, these rumors proved false when Posen tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
: "Heard the Bella/Twilight rumor and it's just that. I design for real women like Kristen Stewart and Anna Kendrick". In April 2011, Summit announced that Carolina Herrera
Carolina Herrera (fashion designer)
Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño (born January 8, 1939) is a Venezuelan and naturalized American fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded her eponymous company in 1980.-Early life:...
is the designer of the dress. Stewart described the dress as very tight, but still liked it and thought that "it was very pretty". Meyer told USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
that the dress was "an interesting mix" and has a "vintage feel, but at the same time, there's an edge to it".
Concerning Alice's bridesmaid dress, its designer remains unknown, however it was presumably designed by Wilkinson. Ashley Greene described the dress as "magical and beautiful" and spoke about the design process, saying, "We wanted to have all the bridesmaids fit together and also have their own identity. So, we took a little bit of Alice's past and put it into her dress." Corsets were added to all the cast's wedding dresses, but were removed during filming because the cast felt uncomfortable wearing them while dancing.
Alfred Angelo
Alfred Angelo
Alfred Angelo Bridal is a worldwide distributor and retailer of bridal gowns headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While the company is most recognized for their bridal gown fashions, the company also designs bridesmaid dresses, fashions for the mother of the bride, flower girl dresses, and...
has been named the exclusive and official licensed manufacturer of Bella's bridal gown. The gown will be a replica of Bella's wedding dress and marketed under the brand Twilight Bridal by Alfred Angelo. It will be revealed in late November 2011, following the release of Part 1, and will be available in Alfred Angelo Signature Stores and independent retailers worldwide.
Post-production and visual effects
In October 2010, Condon announced that Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Bruno, along with his team, would helm the visual effects for Breaking Dawn, including the effects necessary to show Renesmee in her various stages of life in Part 2. Later in February, Adam Howard was added to the Breaking Dawn visual effects team to help create the visual effects for Renesmee, due to his notable on work on a similar issue in The Social NetworkThe Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
. Condon revealed that Mackenzie Foy's face and expressions will be placed digitally on the bodies of the other actresses playing the same character through her various stages of life. Condon spoke about the process saying, "Sometimes it was hard because the other actresses were actually just there. It was always going to be just Mackenzie’s expressions and things like that, so it was a very specific technical thing that even I was learning as we did it. But I have to say, they were real troopers these girls." Furthermore, special effects are going to be used to illustrate the invisible powers and forces between the vampires in the final battle sequence of Part 2.
Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based Modus FX
Modus FX
-Description:Co-founded by Yanick Wilisky, Marc Bourbonnais and Vincent Toussaint in 2007, Modus FX is a visual effects company that offers digital production services for film, television and new media. Modus FX has worked on projects for clients and distributors such as Summit Entertainment,...
created subtle CG
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
effects for Part 1. It created stylized effects to emphasize the supernatural capabilities of the main characters without making them too obvious or noticeable. A team of 12 artists spent six weeks working on the film. Shots included creating the belly of a pregnant Bella, removing a wrist brace Stewart was wearing in the wedding scene due to an injury, and a variety of subtle cosmetic refinements. Bella's pregnancy was a challenge for Modus; the production team wanted the baby to kick and move around inside her belly, so the artists and cinematographer had to match the camera moves, the lighting, even the film grain
Film grain
Film grain or granularity is the random optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons. While film grain is a function of such particles it is not the same...
, along with the subtleties of Stewart's skin. On the subject, CG supervisor Martin Pelletier said,
During the wedding scene, the camera pans around Pattinson and Stewart. Due to a minor wrist injury Stewart had, she was wearing a brace on the day of the shoot. Therefore, Modus was required to create a CG model of the hand and then carefully craft a rig to create natural motions. Once that was finished, every minute movement of the hand had to be matched exactly. The rotational panning shot totals 300 frames and called for elaborate camera and object tracking. Modus used subsurface scattering to accurately capture the partial translucence of her skin to make it look more authentic. Pelletier explained that “tracking was particularly challenging, because when they were shooting it, they weren’t thinking about it as an effects shot. There was no camera metadata for the sequence.” The solution was to do a series of careful manual adjustments until the light sources were correctly replicated on the set.
In July, Condon said that the first cut
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
of Part 1 would be finished in a few weeks, but the visual effects were still in development. Godfrey later stated that they were "very close to locking picture on part one", and that its running time is equal to Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
, New Moon and Eclipse, therefore approximately two hours. A few weeks later, Godfrey announced that he had seen numerous cuts of the film and called it "incredibly powerful already. ...It definitely captures what the book captures." Concerning the subject of the MPAA rating, Godfrey said that the studio does not "have any word yet on the rating", but insisted that it is going to be rated PG-13. Condon discussed the matter further saying, "I think it’s a good challenge because the thing that makes something R is literally showing it and if you give yourself that rule: I’m not gonna show, it’s not going to be frontal nudity, no one wants that," and added, "we’re not going to, again, show splattering blood against the walls but it’s gonna be very visceral. It actually becomes a fun challenge to make sure you feel like you have the same experience without having to watch something clinical. I think it makes it better." Post-production for Part 2 is scheduled to start in December.
Part 1
On January 14, 2011 it was announced that Carter BurwellCarter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell is an American composer of film scores.-Life and career:Burwell was born in New York City, the son of Natalie , a math teacher, and Charles Burwell, who founded Thaibok Fabrics, Ltd...
, composer of the first film
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
in the series, will be returning to score both parts of the final installment. The score of Part 1 was recorded in Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in early September. Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
and Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
, the composers of New Moon and Eclipse respectively, happened to be in London at the time of the recording session and stopped by to visit Burwell.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (soundtrack)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. It is the fourth soundtrack in the saga's chronology, and was released on November 8, 2011. The soundtrack is once again produced by...
was released on November 8, 2011. In July, Condon said that they are still under negotiations for the soundtrack and have 15 songs to choose from, but no deals have been signed with any artists. He also hinted that there's a good chance that the cast's musically-inclined members would feature on the soundtrack, which leaves chance to Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
, Jackson Rathbone
Jackson Rathbone
Monroe Jackson Rathbone, V , better known as Jackson Rathbone, is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga and for playing Sokka in The Last Airbender....
, Booboo Stewart and Jamie Campbell Bower
Jamie Campbell Bower
James "Jamie" Campbell M. Bower is an English actor, singer and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role of Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and his role of King Arthur in the Starz original series...
. American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
expressed interest in landing a song on the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Will Hunt
Will Hunt
William Martin "Will" Hunt is an American musician who has served as drummer of the band Evanescence, Dark New Day, Skrape , ELI, Static-X and Black Label Society, just to name a few. Hunt was in Skrape until 2004 and Black Label Society until 2011. Both were signed to major record labels...
, the drummer of the band, said, "I've been screaming for [new song] 'My Heart Is Broken' to land in that, because I think it would fit the story so well." The lead singer of the band, Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
, agreed, adding, "I think that would be awesome, actually." Also notable is the fact that the band had attempted to land songs on the soundtrack of Twilight
Twilight (soundtrack)
The Twilight soundtrack is the official music for the 2008 film Twilight. The score was composed by Carter Burwell, with the rest of the soundtrack chosen by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. The album was released on November 4, 2008 by Patsavas' Chop Shop label in conjunction with Atlantic...
, but Summit did not approve of the songs they presented. This is the first soundtrack not to feature a song from the band Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
.
On September 22, it was confirmed that the lead single of the soundtrack is a song called "It Will Rain", by Filipino American
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, to be released exclusively on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on September 27.
Promotion
The teaser poster of Breaking Dawn was released on May 24. After giving fans a sneak peek on June 2, MTV released the first official teaser trailer on June 5, the night of the MTV Movie AwardsMTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
. It was released online shortly before the awards show began and then made its television debut during the broadcast.
On July 21, Summit held a sold-out Comic-Con
Comic-Con
Comic-Con, Comic Con or ComiCon may refer to any of the following Comic book conventions, none of them affiliated to any other:*San Diego Comic-Con International, annual fan convention in San Diego held since 1970, also known as Comic-Con or San Diego Comic-Con*Dallas Comic Con, annual fan...
panel in Hall H, which held 6,500 fans, promoting Part 1. Condon, Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner attended the panel and answered the fans' questions along with showing them exclusive clips from the film. Cast members arrived early in the morning and signed autographs and posters for the midnight-camping fans and Summit booths offered them Breaking Dawn: Part 1 character trading cards.
Breaking Dawn: Part 1 footage was screened in Empire Movie Con in the UK on August 13. In addition, Alfred Angelo
Alfred Angelo
Alfred Angelo Bridal is a worldwide distributor and retailer of bridal gowns headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While the company is most recognized for their bridal gown fashions, the company also designs bridesmaid dresses, fashions for the mother of the bride, flower girl dresses, and...
will host a private screening of Part 1 for 49 selected fans on November 15 and another screening for 20 friends two days later via sweepstakes.
On September 8, Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
released two teaser posters for the film and premiered the theatrical trailer on September 13, which coincides with Bella's birthday. Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
released a 15-second preview of the trailer on September 9. Also, theaters across the world have held "Twilight Tuesdays", where each of the films in the Twilight Saga are screened on Tuesdays up until the film's release date of November 18. On the Facebook page, a trailer for each of the films was released.
Leaks
When the filming started on November 7, 2010 in the Lapa District and ParatyParaty
Paraty [pronounced Par-a-CHEE] is a preserved Portuguese colonial and Brazilian Imperial town with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde , a lush, green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil...
, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaked set photos and footage videos surfaced online. Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
responded to the leaks by removing the photos and videos from YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, fansites and gossip websites. On January 13, 2011, scans of a still of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in one of their honeymoon scenes in an Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
article ran online, prior to the magazine's official release of the still. On March 31 and April 1, 2011, a mass leak of a 14-second video and numerous low-quality stills hit the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
resulting to enthusiastic fan reaction and speculations that the film wouldn't be able to maintain a PG-13 rating. Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
released an official statement in response to the leaks saying:
As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage. The film and these images are not yet ready or in their proper context. They were illegally obtained and their early dissemination is deeply upsetting to the actors, the filmmakers and Summit who are working so hard to bring these movies to fruition to you in November 2011 and November 2012.
Please, for those who are posting, stop. And please, though the temptation is high, don’t view or pass on these images. Wait for the film in its beautiful, finished entirety to thrill you.
Sincerely,
Stephenie Meyer, Bill Condon, Wyck Godfrey and Summit Entertainment.
Additionally, the first teaser trailer leaked online hours before its debut at the MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...
.
Lawsuit
On August 1, 2011, Summit released a press release announcing the identification of some of the alleged people responsible for the leak of images and video from Breaking Dawn on March 31 and April 1 and the decision to take legal action. Summit claimed that the leak came from Posadas, Argentina, but due to the possibility that other people might be involved in the leak, the investigation is still ongoing. The only person Summit named was a woman called Daiana Santia, resident in Posadas, allegedly being involved in the group that stole the images and footage. Civil action has been filed in the U.S. and Argentina, while criminal action has also been filed in Argentina. Summit hired law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP to search four continents, North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to find the other people behind the leak.
On the other hand, Santia hosted a press conference in her town and denied Summit's claims. She claimed that she only saw the images "while surfing the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
" and didn't send them to anyone. She also stated that she didn't log in anywhere to see them and denies having the technical knowledge of hacking, specifically saying that she "in no way be considered a "hacker" because [she] has no computer skills other than simple user level". Her attorney confirmed that Santia and her family are considering a counterclaim against Summit due to defamation of character and continual harassment by the film's producers who kept requesting that she would let them check her computer to see if she still has the images on her hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
, although she refused more than once claiming that she is innocent and her computer contains personal items. Her attorney called the situation "a harm to privacy and personal right".
Summit's official response to the press conference said, "First and most important this is NOT about greed or the Studio wanting to bully a woman from a small town in Argentina – rather, it is about stolen material that is private and sensitive which was obtained by illegally accessing private/secure servers as well as personal email accounts." Summit gave details about the case stating that the studio has been in contact with Santia since May 2011, but "with no resolution or further good faith efforts on their part, thus the only alternative left was to pursue legal action to ascertain that Ms. Santia no longer holds the images and video in any shape or form".
In the response, Summit announced the following claims:
Specifically on June 8, 2011 Ms. Santia confessed in the presence of her attorney that she accessed servers and email accounts via a systematic attack — stealing photographs, unfinished images and video footage over several months. Additionally there is indisputable evidence linking her directly to IP addresses that were used in the unauthorized access. Her actions appear to be premeditated and not done on a whim, but rather using technology and tactics that require thought as well as time and skill. Because Ms. Santia decided that she does not want to cooperate, Summit has been unable to settle this matter privately with Ms. Santia and her representatives in Argentina.
Home media
According to the UK rental site LoveFilmLoveFilm
LoveFilm is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia...
, which is owned by Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
states the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
will be available to rent on March 12, 2012. This is also very likely the date that the DVD and Blu-ray will be available to purchase.
Part 1
Part 1 received generally negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 27% of critics (of the 172 counted reviews) gave the film a positive review, and the site's consensus reads, "Slow, joyless, and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments, Breaking Dawn Part 1 may satisfy the Twilight faithful, but it's strictly for fans of the franchise." Part 1 has thus far achieved rating parity with New Moon, which also received a 28% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Justin Chang of Variety gave the film a negative review, calling the film "disappointing". Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
also gave the film a negative review, calling Part 1 "bloated". Brent Simon of Screen International called the film "soapy and melodramatic". Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the film one star out of a possible five, and referred to it as the next stage of an "emo-operetta" that "sweeps us away on a new riptide of mawkish euphoria". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave the film two and a half stars, saying that it is filled with a lot of unanswered questions, but calling Stewart's portrayal of Bella "pretty good". The television show Film 2011
The Film programme
The Film programme is a British film review television programme, broadcast weekly on BBC One, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh. The title of the show changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast, with the current series being Film 2011, but when referring to successive...
's Claudia Winkleman
Claudia Winkleman
Claudia Anne I. Winkleman is an English television presenter, film critic, radio personality and journalist.- Early life and family :...
gave the film a negative review, calling it "hilarious". The film is currently the second-lowest rated film in the series, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Conversely, Gabriel Chong of "Movie Exclusive" gave the film four stars out of a possible five, praising the dialogue, wedding and action scenes, and particularly Condon's direction, stating, "In the hands of a lesser director, the turn of events could very well descend into farce- thankfully then, this movie has found a masterful helmsman in Condon." He went on to praise Stewart's performance, calling it "mesmerising" and saying that she "makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy, trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute determination." Mark Adams of Daily Mirror also gave the film four stars out of five and said, "The Twilight films manage to cleverly blend melodrama with supernatural thrills, and while the film is not without its silly moments and cringeworthy dialogue it does deliver the drama and emotional highs we have come to expect". He also praised the wedding, describing it as "beautifully staged", and Stewart's performance. Other positive reviewers from New York Daily News, The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Salon.com said the dialogue was improving and the whole movie played out with style, while being faithful to the book and servicing hardcore fans. MSN Entertainment critic Alaina O'Connor gave Condon some praise for bringing "a certain visual elegance that helps with some of the more-absurd elements of the story." O'Connor also felt that the film did a good job of "examining the relationship between Edward and Bella", but felt that the narrative was weak otherwise.
The film also drew both criticism and praise for having what was seen as a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
theme. Natalie Wilson, writing for the Ms. magazine blog, described what she saw as the book's "latent anti-abortion message" as "problematic from a feminist perspective" and found this element "heightened, not diminished, in the film", citing scenes in which Rosalie scolds Alice for using the word "fetus". Richard Lawson of The Atlantic said that Bella's pregnancy "serves as the narrative dais from which Meyer, and in complicity Condon and the screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, delivers a startlingly direct and uncovered anti-abortion sermon", adding "it seems there was no escaping the firmly anti-choice themes of this leg of the story, and so we must sit and grumble while sickly Bella is scored by plaintive strings as she chooses the one true moral path". Neil Morris of Independent Weekly
Independent Weekly
The Independent Weekly is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States and distributed throughout the Research Triangle area and counties .The Independent is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and has a...
said that the film "takes up a radically pro-life mantle when Bella refuses to abort her baby, even though her life may depend on it". Sandie Angulo Chen of Moviefone
Moviefone
Moviefone is an American-based movie listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, theatre information, film reviews, or advance tickets...
described the "bulk" of the film as "one long pro-life debate", in which "Bella says it's her body, her choice (terms usually used in the pro-choice movement), but her decision is pro-life to the extreme, because the baby can and will kill her". In contrast, John Mulderig of the Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service is an American news agency covering the Roman Catholic Church. CNS was established in 1920 and is a leading source of news for Catholic print and broadcast media throughout the world....
praised the "strongly pro-life message being conveyed via Bella's unusual plight", saying it "presents a welcome counterpoint to the all-too-frequent motif in popular entertainment whereby pregnancy is presented as a form of disease or an almost unbearable curse".
In an interview with Screen Rant, screenwriter Rosenberg addressed the perception of a pro-life message in the film, stating, "If I could not find my way into it that didn't violate my beliefs (because I am extremely pro-choice very outspoken about it, very much a feminist) I would not have written this move . They could have offered me the bank and I still wouldn't have. In order to embrace it I had to find a way to deal with it. I also had no interest in violating Stephenie's belief system or anyone on the other side".
Part 1
As of November 27, 2011, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 has earned $220,832,009 in the United States and Canada as well as $268,000,000 internationally, bringing it worldwide total to $488,832,009.Breaking Dawn - Part 1 opened on November 18, 2011, in 4,061 theaters, and was projected to reap at least $140 million in its opening weekend. It opened internationally with $8.9 million from five markets. The film earned $30.3 million in midnight showings, which was the second highest midnight gross of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is a 2011 epic fantasy film directed by David Yates and the second of two films based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the eighth and final instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David...
($43.5 million), and was also the highest midnight gross of the franchise
The Twilight Saga (film series)
The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
, topping The Twilight Saga: Eclipses gross of just over $30 million. On its opening day, the movie grossed $71.6 million, which was the third highest opening day gross of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($91.1 million) and The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($72.7 million). For its opening weekend, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 made $138.1 million, which was the second highest opening weekend of the film series behind New Moon ($142.8 million), as well as the second highest November opening ever behind New Moon. It was also the fifth highest opening weekend of all-time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
, Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
, and New Moon. The movie also had the second best opening weekend of 2011 in the United States and Canada behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($169.2 million). It remained as the #1 film in the U.S. and Canada for two weeks, grossing $61.9 million over the five-day 2011 Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
weekend, bringing its total in these regions to $220.8 million.
In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the film topped the box office grossing £13,910,877, thus making it the highest opening for any American film within the UK. The film is also the second biggest opening of 2011 in the UK behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Epilepsy
A week after the release of the movie, incidents began occurring of the birthing scene having triggered epileptic seizureSeizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s in moviegoers. The visual effects during the scene involves several red, white, and black flashing lights. Reports of such photosensitive seizures have been reported in Sacramento, CA and Salt Lake City, Utah. The incidents have become more widespread as news of the incidents began to flood several news sites, making people aware that health issues that attendees were experiencing might've been caused by the scene. Famed comic book artist Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that he and his family had to leave a screening of the film after "our 11 year old son literally threw up during the birthing scene."