Billy Joel-Elton John Oklahoma City concert rescheduled for Feb. 25
Elton John and Billy Joel
The Billy Joel and Elton John Face 2 Face concert originally scheduled for Nov. 25 at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.
All tickets currently held for the originally scheduled Face 2 Face concert on Nov. 25 at the Ford Center will be valid for the rescheduled Feb. 25 concert. If necessary, refunds are available at point of purchase.
For more information, go to www.okfordcenter.com.
- BAM
Video: Twinprov’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” rap
Twinprov, AKA Oklahoma City comedians Buck and Clint Vrazel returned to the NewsOK studios this week with another of their humorous film-related raps. Since the hotly anticipated sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” opens today, the Brothers Vrazel could only be paying hilarious tribute to Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-romance epic.
Admire both the fast-talking fun and the amusing choreography in Buck and Clint’s latest rhyming comic masterpiece.
As a bonus, Twinprov manager Eric Webb and the guys put together a behind-the-scenes preview video to go along with their big NewsOK debut performance:
The guys also performed their rap at five midnight “New Moon” screenings today/last night at Harkins Bricktown Cinema 16.
Thanks to Twinprov for again paying us a visit. It’s always a fun time.
-BAM
Kristen Stewart finds breaking up hard to do in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Kristen Stewart plays Bella Swan in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Kristen Stewart grows with ‘Twilight’ series, role in ‘New Moon’
LOS ANGELES — Breaking up is always hard to do, but Kristen Stewart learned on the set of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” that acting out an “iconic” split from a book adored by millions of fervent fans presents a special set of challenges.
“I know what’s it like to get broken up with, but I don’t know what it’s like to get broken up with by a vampire who I’ve now been physically and chemically altered by. Suddenly you take an addict, you take whatever they’re addicted to away from them and there’s withdrawal. So that was the most intimidating scene in the entire movie,” Stewart said in a press conference from the classy Four Seasons Hotel.
In “New Moon,” the sequel to last year’s blockbuster “Twilight,” human Bella Swan (Stewart) is heartbroken when her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) ends their romance over concerns for her safety. The depressed Bella finds a new chance for love through her burgeoning friendship with Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), only to discover he is a werewolf.
While she called the actual break-up an “iconic” moment in the books, Stewart was even more anxious about the moment Edward leaves, in which the painful reality sets in for Bella.
“I was like, ‘How am I going to, by myself in the woods with a hundred guys standing around me, filming me, die?’ Basically, literally having the equivalent of like a death scene but stay alive and get up and keep walking. It was hard,” she said.
“I really like the movie but I don’t know if anyone ever really would’ve been able to bring that to life the way that Stephenie (Meyer) writes it.”
Based on Meyer’s best-selling four-book series, the “Twilight” franchise has made movie stars out of its young cast. But Stewart’s film career started at age 8, when an agent spotted her performing in a holiday play at her California elementary school. After a few non-speaking roles, she broke out at 11, when she played Jodie Foster’s daughter in David Fincher’s 2002 thriller “Panic Room.”
But the success of the “Twilight” series has catapulted the Stewart, 19, into A-list fame, and all the tabloid gossip, particularly about a rumored romance between her and Pattinson, and paparazzi photography that goes with it. She likened the tabloid situation to a “ridiculous show,” like an obviously false soap opera with her name in it.
“I totally understand why people have a hard time separating ourselves from our characters,” she said. “It’s also just sort of the way our world is going. People are obsessed. There’s an incredibly large group of people that spend most of their time considering other people’s lives. It’s strange to me.”
But the nonstop media circus surrounding the franchise has helped the teen actress become more self-assured in some ways. At last year’s “Twilight” press day, she came across as shy, awkward and a little moody.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with talking about myself and knowing that what you say people are really going to take into consideration. And that always intimidated me so much that I minced every word that came out of my mouth. I couldn’t finish a sentence because I was so concerned about how it was going to sound,” said Stewart, dressed in her trademark grungy-cool style with a black T-shirt and jacket, dark eyeliner and her black hair casually pulled back.
In between playing Bella in “New Moon” and the third installment, “Eclipse,” which wrapped filming in October, Stewart portrayed Joan Jett in “The Runaways,” the upcoming biopic of the seminal all-girl rock band. She got to know Jett personally and studied footage of the ’70 band.
“I can only play characters that I feel like are real people and in a complete way and in such a whole way that if I fake any aspect of it I will have failed them,” she said. “I really wanted to do a good impersonation, but I also didn’t want it to be imitation. I wanted it to be natural.”
Although filming “New Moon” was an intense process, Stewart said she is at ease playing an ordinary teen who finds herself in paranormal circumstances. She is looking forward to taking Bella through to the series’ end with “Breaking Dawn.”
“I’m very protective of her. I feel a shared ownership. It’s weird. If you were talk about the character in a way that was not at all thought out or flippant I would be right there to say that you didn’t know what you were talking about. I’m so defensive of her,” she said.
-BAM
Robert Pattinson plays vision and vampire in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Robert Pattinson plays vampire Edward Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
‘New Moon’ rising for sexy vampire
Actor Robert Pattinson’s life changed by ‘Twilight’ series
LOS ANGELES — Robert Pattinson goes from vampire to vision in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
The British actor, 23, not only plays brooding vampire hunk Edward Cullen in the eagerly awaited sequel, opening today, he also appears as a flickering apparition to his human ex-girlfriend, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
“Those scenes were the hardest scenes,” Pattinson said in a press conference at the plush Four Seasons Hotel. “It’s not Edward. It’s a manifestation of Bella’s loneliness and desperation. … It was always very difficult. I asked Kristen, ‘How would you play it?’ It’s her opinion. So that was hard.”
Based on the second book in Stephenie Meyer’s popular saga, “New Moon” begins with the seeming fairytale romance between Edward and Bella. But when a minor accident puts Bella in mortal jeopardy, Edward breaks off their relationship and departs Forks, Wash. Bella is left reeling but soon learns she can hear Edward’s voice when she puts herself in danger.
Instead of just using Pattinson’s voice, the filmmakers opted to have Edward appear to Bella in adrenaline-induced visions. But the choice wasn’t just about film as a visual medium: Since starring in last year’s blockbuster “Twilight,” Pattinson has become an international heartthrob.
“It’s tricky. You don’t want too much Edward because then you lose the really important sense of missing him. On some level you don’t want too little because everyone loves Rob,” said “New Moon” director Chris Weitz.
Producer Wyck Godfrey said fighting the instinct to expand Pattinson’s role was vital to developing the saga’s supernatural love triangle. Edward has to be absent so that Bella’s friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), who is a werewolf, emerges as a viable love interest.
The filmmakers used green screen to model the ghostly visions on the dynamics of candlelight.
“The way that he moves and flitters in and out is the way that a candle’s flame would behave. So “It’s very subjective to Bella’s experience,” Weitz said. “And I think it’s fair to cheat in that because it’s one of the powers available to a moviemaker as opposed to a novelist.”
Pattinson actually lobbied Weitz to cut out some of his ethereal appearances in post-production, arguing the fewer the visions, the more interesting and eerie they would become.
“Even before we started shooting, people were asking questions and saying, ‘Oh, are you worried that people will think there’s not enough Edward in it?’ But he’s not in the book. I was so worried that it was just going to be random scenes. There was talk, at the beginning, of showing his back story in South America, going around moping. That would have been terrifying for me, and I think it would have been catastrophic for the film as well. I fought as far as I could to keep it as limited as possible, mainly because it just doesn’t happen in the book. But then, at the same time, it’s scary just to do a voice-over because it could end up being very cheesy,” he said.
Although his character appears in it the least, Pattinson said “New Moon” is the “Twilight” book he connected to the most.
“It’s the one … that humanized Edward for me the most, as well. In the first one, he still does remain, from beginning to end, an idealistic character. But, in the second one, he makes a mistake that’s acknowledged by everybody, including himself,” said Pattinson, who looked movie star handsome in a plaid shirt, black jeans and black leather jacket with carefully mussed hair.
Filming one of the sequel’s most dramatic sequences in Italy, when Edward starts to reveal himself in the sunlight, also let the actor connect to fans’ fervor for the vampire hero.
“It was one of the closest moments I really felt to people’s emotional attachment to the character because there were so many extras there who were just ‘Twilight’ fans,” he said. “It’s been the one moment, since the first Comic-Con, where I’ve felt the whole weight of anticipation and responsibility to all the people who are so obsessed with the stories. It was a good moment. It was very nerve-wracking, but I probably felt the most in character that I’ve ever felt, throughout the whole series.”
The rising star has yet to truly connect with how much “Twilight” has changed his life. He has worked on three movies this year: “New Moon,” the next sequel “Eclipse” and the romantic drama “Remember Me.” And he likely will spend most of 2010 on sets, with plans to appear in the sexy period piece “Bel Ami,” the Western “Unbound Captives” and the fourth “Twilight” movie, “Breaking Dawn,” which he said is tentatively set to shoot in fall.
“I don’t know what doing errands and things is really like ‘cause I haven’t had a sustained period of time where I’ve been off. I don’t know how it’s really changed. I still feel like I’m pretty much exactly the same, which is maybe not a good thing,” he said.
-BAM
Taylor Lautner talks transformations for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Taylor Lautner plays Jacob Black in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
‘New Moon’ cast talks transformations
Taylor Lautner transformed for sequel
LOS ANGELES — Dangling from wires 10 feet above the ground, “Twilight” actor Taylor Lautner had time this spring to ponder his transformation.
“The famous trailer shot when I’m running through the field and I jump up and try and fly in midair, I’m attached to wires and … I let the wires pull me up in the air and jerk me to a stop and I just have to freeze there and let them convert my body into a CGI wolf. The whole time I’m like, ‘I hope I look cool,’” Lautner said during a recent press conference at the swank Four Seasons Hotel ballroom.
For the anticipated sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening in theaters today, Lautner, 17, metamorphosed in more ways than one. In the second film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series, heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated when her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves her. Bella’s growing friendship childhood pal Jacob Black (Lautner) raises her spirits, but her life again gets supernaturally strange when Jacob turns into a werewolf.
“Jacob transforms a lot in ‘New Moon,’ not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. So it was a matter of getting to the gym and eating the right food and a lot of it. But also reading and studying the book and the character over and over and over again so I could have his character down,” he said.
“Basically my job was to continue what I started in ‘Twilight,’ which was this extremely happy, friendly, outgoing guy, best friends with Bella. I had to continue that for the first half of the film, but as soon as I transform, I snap and I become a completely different person.”
Jacob plays a small part in the first film, but his role expands as the Quileute Indian teen takes his place in the series’ paranormal love triangle. While Stewart and Pattinson were already set for “New Moon,” Lautner had to earn his role in the sequel.
In the book, Jacob rapidly grows tall and muscular as he becomes a werewolf. So Lautner packed on 30 pounds of muscle to secure the part. Before that, recasting was a real possibility, said director Chris Weitz.
“But I was always convinced that he was going to be able to do it,” Weitz said. “The doubts came up because he had very few scenes in the first movie. Also because he’s described as being 6-foot-5 in the second book, (there were) some reasonable facts that we had to come to grips with. But I like the sort of sweetness of this character in the first movie, and I knew that it was easier to take an actor in the direction of anger and rage than it was to find someone who is kind of a hunk or 6-foot-5 Native American and somehow turn him into that very sweet-natured persona that Taylor brings out so well.”
To bulk up, Lautner spent five days a week in the gym. But the hard part was consuming more than 3,200 calories a day. which meant “putting something in your mouth every two hours.”
“I’m busy, I’m downtown L.A., I’m (going) from meeting to meeting. There’s not time for me to be eating,” he said. “So I literally would have to carry a little Baggie of beef patties, raw almonds, sweet potatoes.” So it’s not like every two hours I’m eating ice cream.”
Pattinson first saw Lautner’s new look when filming started in spring in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“I had the same reaction as everybody else. “I was like, ‘Now I have to go to the gym,’” he said.
The time spent shaping his physique paid off. when filming started. Despite the Canadian cold, Lautner spent most of the sequel shirtless.
“There’s a reason that he’s not wearing clothes all the time. One, when he transforms (into a werewolf), all his clothes get shredded. He can’t help it. And when he goes into the woods to get something to put on so he’s not naked, it’s just a ripped pair of jean shorts. He’s also hot. He’s 108 degrees,” said Lautner, who wore dark slacks, a white button-down shirt and gray jacket.
“The thing is, “I love this character, I love this story, and putting on the weight and not wearing much clothing was required by the role. A year from now, if I love a story and I love a character that requires me to lose 40 pounds, I’m ready to do it.”
“The Twilight Saga” also has transformed Lautner into a tabloid star. In between filming “New Moon” and making the next sequel, “Eclipse,” this fall, he starred opposite country music star Taylor Swift in the upcoming movie “Valentine’s Day.” He declined to address the rumored romance between them, but said she was great to work with on the film.
“I’d have to say the biggest transformation would be my schedule. I’m really, really busy, but it’s a lot of fun,” Lautner said. “It’s been a great experience. I’m really excited to be part of this.”
-BAM
Movie review: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) comes to Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) aid after she is injured in an accident in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars.
‘New Moon’ not as biting as book
‘Twilight’ fans will enjoy second installment in movie saga, but too much potential is left on novel’s pages
A bigger budget and a pack of charismatic werewolves work wonders for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the second film in the supernatural romance saga.
The sequel can’t avoid moments of awkward teen melodrama, made more painful by a few bad performances and an overbearing score from composer Alexandre Desplat. But fans of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book, especially those who align themselves with Team Jacob, will likely find the film a satisfying cinematic experience.
As with its predecessor, the 2008 blockbuster “Twilight,” “New Moon” leaves too much potential of Meyer’s addictive novels on the page. That may be unavoidable since so much of the books are set inside the head and heart of heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
In “New Moon,” Bella remains blissfully in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire who abstains from human blood. But she is haunted by dreams of growing old while he stays eternally young.
Her nightmares are just beginning. At her 18th birthday party, a minor accident puts Bella in serious jeopardy. Fearing for her safety, Edward breaks up with Bella and the Cullen coven leaves the town of Forks, Wash.
Bella plunges into a numbing depression, but starts to recover when she discovers she can conjure visions of Edward by putting herself in danger. The revelation leads her to She takes a pair of junker motorcycles to her childhood pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a Quileute Indian teen and aspiring mechanic.
As her friendship with Jacob grows, Bella’s broken heart begins to heal. But her life gets supernaturally strange again when Jacob unintentionally taps into his tribe’s genetic ability to transform into werewolves and becomes part of the pack led by Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer).
Director Chris Weitz (“The Golden Compass”) takes the helm from “Twilight’s” Catherine Hardwicke, and his experience with computer-generated images proves invaluable. The lightning-fast werewolf transformations are impressive, and the hulking beasts are scary as they battle. The super-speed of the vampires remains problematic; “New Moon” uses more slow-mo than a 1980s rock video, which is still an improvement over the cheesy effects in “Twilight.”
Weitz greatly benefits from a less stingy budget, so the entire film, from the deathly white vampire makeup to the character’s clothes, looks much better. He and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg also make key plot changes to beef up the action, which may irritate “Twihard” purists but enhance the movie.
On the whole, the mostly young cast seems more at ease with their roles, particularly Lautner as Jacob, and the addition of gifted actors such as Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as the intimidating Volturi vampires boosts the talent level. But Jackson Rathbone’s horribly wooden performance as Jasper deflates one of the film’s most dramatic moments.
While the sequel should have fans squealing, “New Moon” probably won’t convert too many holdouts. Many of the teenage declarations of devotion are embarrassing, and the multitude of shirtless-young-men moments should induce cringes from anyone older than 16.
-BAM
Video: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sneak peek
Well, “Twihard” fans, we finally made it! “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Week continues here on BAM’s Blog, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that today is the big opening day for the hotly anticipated sequel.
I recently traveled to Los Angeles to take part in the huge press day for “New Moon,” participating in news conferences with Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and many of the other stars and filmmakers attached to the film. I’ve shared many of those interviews with you in the past few days, with more to come.
Talented NewsOK videographer Grayson Cook assembled this special sneak peek video of “New Moon,” which also features greetings from yours truly from L.A.
Happy watching, “Twihards!”
-BAM
DVD review: “Cheri”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cheri”
Director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Christopher Hampton and star Michelle Pfeiffer of 1988’s delicious “Dangerous Liaisons” reunite for “Cheri,” another worthwhile exploration of love, sex and conniving in period France that isn’t as well-honed as their previous Oscar-winning effort.
Set at the turn of the 20th century in France, “Cheri” journeys into a world of classy, high-power courtesans, AKA prostitutes, beautiful women who skillfully maneuver rich and influential men into funding their lavish lifestyles.
Clever courtesan Lea de Lonval (Pfeiffer), 49, is contemplating retirement, having become quite wealthy eschewing love and turning passion into profit. Still, she has certain duties in her limited circle of friends, which includes the shrewd already-retired Charlotte Peloux (Kathy Bates).
Charlotte asks for Lea’s help with her shiftless 19-year-old son Fred (Rupert Friend), whom Lea nicknamed Cheri as a boy. Cheri always has adored Lea, but when he charms her into a kiss, sparks ignite.
Their ardent affair goes on for six years, until Charlotte arranges for Cheri to wed Edmee (Felicity Jones), 18, the daughter of a fellow courtesan. Lea and Cheri intend to make a nonchalant end to their romance, but soon realize they’ve fallen desperately in love.
The still-lovely Pfeiffer puts in a potent performance, and she and Friend have strong chemistry. The exquisite cinematography, sets and costumes effectively transport the viewer into the period tale. But the story gets weighed down in too much melodrama.
Still, the film, based on French novelist Colette’s 1920s novels, boasts a relevance and resonance that lingers long after the memorable final shot.
DVD features: Short making-of featurette and two deleted scenes.
— BAM
CD review: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Night Castle”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Rock
Trans-Siberian Orchestra “Night Castle” (Atlantic Records)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra makes its theatrical return to new music with the double-album “Night Castle,” a rock opera about hope and hate, love and war, redemption and forgiveness.
Since the symphonic-rock holiday harbingers have continued to tour often, especially around Christmastime, it may seem that TSO never left. But “Night Castle” is the orchestra’s first new album since its 2004 best-seller “The Lost Christmas Eve” and its first non-holiday offering since 2000’s “Beethoven’s Last Night.”
For diehard fans, the long-awaited “Night Castle” seems sure to thrill, since it practically pulses with all the drama, scope and sheer musicianship of the 60-piece orchestra, full rock band and stable of big-voiced singers. By the same token, the two-disc effort seems unlikely to win over detractors, since the 26-track album is given to bombastic excess, including several songs that run nearly five minutes or longer.
“Night Castle” offers a charming and sometimes gritty fantasy about love at first sight, mysterious castles, noble drug dealers and innocent children. Set in the 1970s, the engaging narrative follows Lt. William Crozier (voiced too harshly by former Journey singer Jeff Scott Soto) as he goes off to fight the Khmer Rouge in Killing Fields of Cambodia.
The album has its musical highlights, including Dina Fanai’s angelic vocals on “Night Enchanted,” the touching “Remnants of a Lullaby” and the low-key instrumental “Embers.” Other songs, such as the powerful but nearly 11-minute “Epiphany,” have potential but lack restraint.
The record features five bonus tracks, including a souped-up cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s holiday contribution “Nutrocker,” with Greg Lake on bass. Fans are sure to hear it live when TSO performs Dec. 20 at the Ford Center.
— BAM
Carrie Underwood donates sheet music to Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
Carrie Underwood performs at her induction into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in September. Underwood has donated original sheet music of her song “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore” to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and Museum. (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman Archives)
A version of this story also appears in Friday’s The Oklahoman.
Carrie Underwood’s gift hits write note with museum
Checotah native donates original sheet music of a song she co-wrote
MUSKOGEE — Country music superstar Carrie Underwood has donated original sheet music to her song “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore” to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The hall of fame unveiled the gift from the Checotah native Thursday evening at the Muskogee institution, where officials also talked about plans for a multi-million dollar expansion and statewide music trail.
Underwood, along with keyboardist Rocky Frisco and yodeler Ramona Reed, was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in September.
She said then, “This is where we all come from, this is where we all call home, so the fact that throughout all our lives and careers, the fact that we’ve had this amazing state behind us is a wonderful feeling.”
Underwood co-wrote “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore” for her 2005 debut album, released six months after she won “American Idol.” The sheet music, framed with her signed photo and dedication to the hall, will be displayed immediately at the museum’s home in the historic Frisco Depot.
“It’s astounding what Carrie Underwood has done for us,” said Andrea Chancellor, hall of fame board member. “She has remembered us by putting together a true piece of art that shows her tie to Oklahoma and her dedication to what we’re doing and her support of Oklahoma musicians.”
Board President Max Boydstun said the gift is the kind of artifact he can imagine going into a Carrie Underwood exhibit in the planned museum expansion.
Boydstun presented to the legislature in August a $16.5 million plan to build a new museum next to the depot and establish a music trail similar to the Mississippi Blues Trail. The proposed 30,000-square-foot building would give the museum, now housed in the 2,000-square-foot former railroad depot, space to pay tribute to hall of fame members, display their memorabilia, offer interactive exhibits, open a children’s area and have concerts and classes.
“We have to let the younger generation know that music doesn’t just come out of an iPod,” he said. “We want kids to have hands-on experience at how a guitar makes music.”
The planned Oklahoma Music Trail would include at least 100 historical markers to be posted around the state, from Underwood’s hometown to Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. The markers would honor important musical people, places and events in state history.
“We feel like that will become a tourist attraction in itself, but the real cool part is, it will not compete with any other attraction in the state. It will only help market the other music-related museums and events,” he said.
The hall of fame and museum will ask the legislature next session to appropriate $12.5 million over the next five years to help pay for the two projects, he said. The remaining $4 million will be sought from federal and local governments, as well as corporate and private donors. The mayor, city councilors, local legislators and other community leaders attended Thursday’s event.
“We as a state, I think, have a great opportunity at increasing the tourism business in Oklahoma … and I see the museum and trail as a part of that,” Boydstun said. “And strictly from a pride standpoint, we want kids in Oklahoma growing up to be able to look at a Carrie Underwood or a Gene Autry or a Charlie Christian and not only enjoy their music and what they’ve done but also have that sense … that ‘I can take my talents to world like these people did.’”
-BAM
