‘New Moon’ Is a Manly Movie, Chris Weitz Promises

Not few are those who consider “Twilight,” the first film in “The Twilight Saga,” an essentially chick flick, and they have all the right to do so, given the numbers. However, a change will occur when the second installment, “New Moon,” drops in theaters in November this year, as it will include more action and more things men can also relate to, which makes it a “manly” movie, as Chris Weitz says for Empire Online.

Speaking with the movie-oriented magazine, the director has had to address a very hot topic, namely of what changes the film aims to operate. Not only will “New Moon” be darker and with a much more twisted story, given that audiences are now familiar with all the characters, but it will also include more action than the first film in the franchise, the director assures fans. In other words, it will try to appeal to a much wider demographic.

“You’ve got the werewolves coming in and the effects are going to be great on that part of the movie. Also, there’s more fighting and that should appeal to the boys. There is also a male character, Jacob, who is inherently a more viable character for most boys because he’s like an ordinary guy. He works on cars, whereas Edward is a perfect man, and maybe he only appeals to perfect men. That makes the demographic rather small! So there’s more of a way into this one – we do hope to up the male demographic!” Weitz tells Empire of “New Moon.”

Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob, the character to which male audiences will relate more easily, can also vouch that “New Moon” will be so different from “Twilight,” that they will almost seem like two separate films, despite the story that binds them together. As all fans must know, Lautner packed some serious muscle to play the wolf (about 30 pounds of it, to be more precise), which makes it so that it’s like as if he’s playing two different characters: one that will appeal to girls (Jacob pre-transformation) and one to the guys (Jacob the wolf).

“In ‘Twilight,’ Jacob is this happy-go-lucky kid, but in ‘New Moon’ when he shapeshifts into his wolf self, he becomes a totally different person. It was almost a split personality in the same movie and sometimes even in the same day.” Lautner says in the same Empire interview.