Kristen Stewart and Kate Winslet to Help Oversee New 'Twilight' Short Films

And you thought The Twilight Saga was over with Breaking Dawn? The franchise has spawned a seemingly endless stream of fan-fics and shorts from its obsessed devoted base, and now five of them will get a chance to continue the romance between Bella and Edward as part of a new project put together by author Stephenie Meyer and Lionsgate.

Five aspiring female filmmakers will be chosen to direct short films based on the Twilight characters as part of a project called 'The Storytellers -- New Creative Voices of 'The Twilight Saga,'. The movies will debut on Facebook, with the winners selected by a panel that includes Meyer, Kristen Stewart, Octavia Spencer, Julie Bowen, Kate Winslet, Frozen director Jennifer Lee, producer Cathy Schulman, and Catherine Hardwicke. They'll also help oversee the films and mentor the budding directors, but sadly don't expect to see K-Stew starring returning as Bella. None of the original cast is expected to reprise their roles, but does that mean somebody like Winslet COULD appear? Probably not, but you never know.

Twilight aside, this is a pretty good way to help build the next generation of female directors, and don't be surprised if some of the winners go on to some pretty big things. Check out the full press release below:

VANCOUVER, BC, and SANTA MONICA, CA -- September 30, 2014 -- As part of its ongoing effort to enhance its diverse portfolio of premium content, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, is teaming with Facebook, the prestigious Women In Film organization, the crowdsourcing platform Tongal and best-sellingTwilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer to create and manage a social media campaign to develop and produce a series of short films directed by aspiring female filmmakers. The campaign, called “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga,” will include films based on a broad spectrum of characters from the Twilight universe, with guidance provided by Meyer’s encyclopedic The Twilight Saga: Official Illustrated Guide.

The campaign will center on a multiphase contest culminating in the selection of at least five aspiring female filmmakers to direct short films based on characters from the Twilight universe. The films will be produced and directed with the mentorship of a blue chip panel of advisors, which will ultimately select the winning shorts that will premiere exclusively on the Facebook platform next year. The star-studded group of female panelists will include Stephenie Meyer, actress Kristen Stewart, Academy Award winners Kate Winslet and Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Lee, the award-winning writer and one of the directors of Disney’s global blockbuster Frozen, Twilightdirector Catherine Hardwicke, Emmy Award-winning actress Julie Bowen, and Women In Film President Cathy Schulman.

Five winning shorts will be financed through production advances, and fans will help select a grand prize winning filmmaker who will receive a cash prize and career opportunities. The short film development and production process will involve extensive fan engagement on the Facebook and Tongal platforms.

“More people than ever before are creating, discovering and engaging with videos on Facebook,” said Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose. “This collaboration with Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Women In Film is a great opportunity to engage Twilight’s massive global audience on Facebook through an innovative premium video program.”

“We’re delighted to expand our longstanding relationship with Stephenie and confident that her participation in theTwilight short films campaign will add an exciting new dimension to the incredible world she has created as an author and producer,” said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns. “Our partnership with Facebook and Women In Film underscores the opportunities for growing our franchises in exciting new directions, and we’re pleased to introduce fresh creative talent to the Twilight universe as part of our commitment to female empowerment in front of and behind the camera.”

“Accessing Hollywood is a momentous challenge, especially for aspiring female filmmakers, so I‘m thrilled that Women In Film has been invited to join Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Facebook to empower new storytellers with diverse voices,” said WIF President Cathy Schulman. “Women In Film is proud to help recruit and mentor female filmmakers as part of a project that illustrates the power of a beloved book and movie franchise to lessen the gender gap in our film community and provide a platform for women’s perspectives to be seen and heard.”

"The female voice is something that has become more and more important to me as I've worked in the film industry,” said Meyer. “I’m honored to be working with Women In Film, Lionsgate, and Facebook on a project dedicated to giving more women a chance to be heard creatively.”

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Review: Planes: Fire & Rescue starring Dane Cook, Ed Harris and Julie Bowen

You know what the Planes franchise reminds me of? It reminds me of Disney in the 90s when they’d make something really successful, then would make a direct to home video sequel followed by a whole syndicated animated series spinning out of that. So that gives us Planes the spinoff from Cars with no Cars characters in it. Much like those 90s things this feels like a way to extend a brand, but unlike say the two extra Aladdin movies or the many Liloand Stitch ones, Planes and even more so Planes: Fire & Rescue lacks the heart.  There is an attempt in this one to seriously  honor real-life wildfire fighters but what we get is a seriously weak offering.

Planes: Fire and Rescue is a pretty lacking movie in many regards. It’s not like it’s lazy but I do question if it was so smart to continue with how they wrote the story. Taking place after last summer's film, Dusty (Dane Cook) now a world famous racing plane and is on top of the world. A major event is coming to his hometown but right then Dusty finds out he can’t race anymore or he’ll crash. In a state of rejection he flies off and ends up starting a fire that alerts the town fire engine, Mayday. Due to his age, Mayday doesn't have the ability to cover the town by himself, so Dusty decides to make up for his error by becoming a fire and rescue plane and saving the town in time for the big event. 

Many of the same problems that affected the first film have been amplified in the sequel.  A ton of the setup felt rushed even for a kid’s movie, and many of the sight gags overpower the story and the characters. For a lot of the movie Dusty has what is in effect a major health issue but he doesn’t tell any of the new folks he is working with. He’s essentially endangering his co-workers for more than half the movie. Now a lot of the sight gags are pretty good, there is this one joke based on a pretty classic television show that had everyone over 30 dying from laughter.

The main thing that is undeniably great about this movie is the care in which they take in flying scenes. Those are breathtaking and also the flying sequences in which the characters are fighting fires are really phenomenal. The textures and rendering were also really good and improved from the first one. DisneyToon studios also seems to have a handle on the Cars world and character style now. They seemed more willing to exaggerate certain traits than in earlier films. I truly wish a lot of the care that went into all those scenes and visuals were spent on the script.

I hope that if they continue with Planes as a theatrical franchise they at least improve their stories and characters along with how they look. I know a lot of people worked really hard on this but it never stopped feeling like a direct to video movie. Both movies didn't, actually.  It would be nice if Planes could feel a bit like it had some more of the Disney magic and not just an extended excuse to sell more little toys and Legos.

 Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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Thunder and Lightning in New 'Planes: Fire & Rescue' Trailer

Disney doesn't just force Pixar to churn out more sequels than many would like; occasionally they crank out a spinoff or two. One of those was Planes, a naked attempt to cash-in on the wildly marketable Cars franchise. And it worked, with the Disney film raking in more than $200M when it was initially going to go straight-to-DVD. Envisioned as a trilogy, this summer sees the release of Planes: Fire & Rescue, and a new trailer for it has taken off.

Dane Cook is back to voice Dusty, the crop duster that became an air racer in the last movie. But forget all of that if you haven't already, because now he's joined an elite rescue vehicle squad to fight forest fires and become a hero.

Featuring the voices of Julie Bowen, Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook, and Curtis Armstrong (Booger!!!!), Planes: Fire & Rescue opens July 18th.


Thunder - Planes: Fire & Rescue Trailer on Disney Video

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New Trailer for Disney's 'Planes: Fire & Rescue'

Originally set to be a direct-to-DVD release, Disney opted for a theatrical run for Planes, and it turned out to be a wise decision. The Cars spinoff hauled in over $200M and pretty much guaranteed we'd see all three legs of the planned trilogy. And now with the sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue expected to hit theaters this summer, a new trailer has been released.

Dane Cook is back as the voice of Dusty Crophopper, who has overcome his fear of heights to become a famous air racer. However when his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he takes off into the competitive world of aerial firefighting.

Directed by Bobs Gannaway with Julie Bowen (Modern Family) voicing an all-new character, Planes: Fire & Rescue opens in 3D July 18th.

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