The folks over at Open Road are helping us ring in the new year with 13 new images from The Host! The images are being hosted on 13 different fansites and we are one of the bunch! You can visit Twilight Moms for another images and see what other site they link to. Follow the chain of sites to see all 13 images. Then head over to twitter and use #TheHost2013 to tell us which image was your favorite and what you are looking forward to seeing in The Host! (you can get full side of the image here)

Here are links to all 13 participating sites:

The Host Trilogy

TwiFans

The Host Movie News

The Host Movie Fans

Fangirlish

Bellas Diary

Twilighters Anonymous

Strictly Robsten

Edwards Meadow

Twilight Series Theories

Twilight Moms (not yet posted)

Pages to Premiere 

 From Yahoo!Movies:  Here is the chance to discover even more of the blockbuster film when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Extended Edition, featuring eight minutes of never-before-seen footage, debuts only on Blu-ray Disc (plus Digital Copy and UV), DVD (plus Digital Copy and UV) and Digital Download on Saturday March 2^nd from Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company.   Now with eight minutes of new and extended scenes added back into the film by Director Bill Condon, along with his optional audio commentary, fans can delve deeper into the epic series they adore.Experience the timeless romance and drama in a whole new way when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Extended Edition, featuring the original theatrical version and the all-new extended edition with optional audio commentary from the director, arrives on Blu-ray Disc and DVD for the suggested retail price of $29.99 and $22.98, respectively.  

“As Twilight series devotees know, there was a lot of ground to cover in adapting Breaking Dawn to the screen,” said Condon.  “Between the wedding, the honeymoon, the birth, and everything in between, naturally there were things that didn’t make it into our final cut.  But I wanted to make sure that for all the Twihards out there, there was a chance to see some of these cut scenes – several of which are fan favorites from the book.”

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Extended Edition now featuring additional footage, presents the marriage, honeymoon and the birth of a child that brings unforeseen and shocking developments for Bella and Edward and those they love, including new complications with werewolf Jacob Black.

It’s the start of a new year and we’re making lists just like everyone else is doing!  Our last list caused quite a commotion by leaving off several romantic lovemaking scenes.  We’re wondering if this list will cause a similar stir! 

We have taken into consideration all five films in the saga for these lists.  We are also trying to include all five films on the lists!  So keep that in mind that not EVERYTHING great can come from Breaking Dawn Part 2!  And as much as we love the romantic scenes, we love other things about the films, too!

Whenever a book is made into a film, there are always great moments from the book left out of the film.  Likewise, there are also other moments added into the films that we wish had been in the book.  This is that list – those changes that were made to the films that worked!  As usual, this is just an opinion gathered from talking to a few friends and fans of the saga.  Let us know what you think of our list by leaving a comment below!

And I will warn that if you haven’t seen Breaking Dawn Part 2, there is a spoiler on this list! 

#10: Combining Jessica and Lauren into one character – Maybe it’s just the perfection of Anna Kendrick, but she nailed both Jessica and Lauren’s personality so that we don’t really miss having them BOTH.   We get the snark and the snobbery of them both all wrapped up in a perfectly delivered minor performance proving that there are no such things as small parts, only small actors.

#9:  Having Bella see Ghost!Edward in New Moon – One of the many challenges facing bringing New Moon to the screen was that the main heart throb from the first film would barely be in it.  So… how do you film a book where the main love interest is missing for more than half?  You bring in his “ghost” as frequently as you can. 

#8: Showing Edward’s past in BD1 – Fans always want more back story, and even though we know this was how Edward lived for a while, we never really get to “see” it in the books.  This was excellent for character development and to give audiences who might not be as well versed in the books to know Edward’s reasons behind not wanting to turn Bella.  It’s also a fun tip of the hat to other monster movies! 

#7: Riley and the Newborns getting more screen time – I think everyone felt creeped out when they watched Riley hovering over Charlie while he slept on the couch!  Even more creepy was the image of the newborns coming out of the water.  Showing the crazed newborns, conversations with Victoria, and the lead in of the Volturi added to the mounting fear for a final battle.

#6:  The fight between Edward and Felix in New Moon – Yes, this was a great action scene.  Yes, this helps us understand that Edward isn’t the strongest vampire and he can be hurt which adds to the fear and worry of the situation.  But this scene gives us a little more than that even.  It added to the mythology of the vampires and gave us new information about how their skin can crack and then heal. 

#5: The Wedding Toasts – We’re not sure if it was solely Melissa Rosenberg who thought this up or if Bill Condon asked for it or what.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s HILARIOUS to the nth degree!  We’re not sure which was the best one: the double entendre from Emmett, the jealousy of Jessica, or the threats from Charlie!  And speaking of Charlie…

#4:  Charlie’s sarcasm and humor – Charlie was an important character in the books, sure.  Important because he was Bella’s dad and she didn’t want him hurt.  But Movie!Charlie is a whole story!  Again, we’re not sure if it was the writing or Billy Burke’s performance that made Charlie such a fan favorite.  Either way, every moment with Charlie on screen is a delight.  He nearly steals every scene he is in. 

#3:  Ending New Moon with the proposal – When we first saw New Moon and the moment when Edward should propose came and went without the proposal, we were worried.  He had to propose!  Eclipse doesn’t work without the back and forth about getting married.  But it worked so much better as a cliff hanger by putting it at the very end of the film!  It makes fans want that next movie so much more!

#2:  Jacob’s first werewolf transformation in front of Bella – Again, this is similar to the actual moment in the book, but the tension is pulled so much tighter by skipping the conversation between Bella and Jacob pre-transformation that the book gives us.  It’s probably the most imitated and referenced shots in the entire saga.  In fact, if you were around when the trailer came out, Summit was so certain fans would go crazy over this moment that they asked us to record our reaction to seeing it in the trailer.  And thus, reaction videos were born! 

#1:  The Breaking Dawn Part 2 Battle – We are aware that there are fans who didn’t like this.  But we believe that the majority of fans were shocked, stunned, and totally thrilled by the ending battle.  We don’t believe there was anything more shocking to ever see in the whole saga than Carlisle’s head in Aro’s hand.  Nor do we believe the gasps of relief or applause were ever so thunderous when it was revealed to be a vision of what would happen rather than what did happen.   

It’s the end of the year – or the start of a new one, depending on how you like to look at it! Everyone makes lists and we’re no different.  In thinking about all of our time here at the Lexicon watching this book series be made into five films, we thought about the pluses and minus of going from book to film.

For this list, we offer up our top ten moments in the books that were best translated into a visual for the films.  We asked a few different friends for advice, and a few of you chimed in on twitter.  This is the list we came up with after taking all the comments into consideration.  Let us know in the comments section if you felt we got it right, or if we left something off. 

#10: The first cafeteria scene in Twilight:                                                                                          

Ok, so in the book Edward is already sitting in the cafeteria as opposed to just walking by, but let’s face it, it still works.  It was our first glimpse of Edward… which changed everything.  It was also our first glimpse of Rob… and a star was born.  Add in Jessica’s banter and Bella’s claim of not being interested and you have a great movie moment.  

#9  The wedding scene:

Again, we have a change from the wedding being inside in the books to outside in the movie.  But did we mind?  Nope!  The dress was old fashioned, the decor was over the top amazing, and the mood was perfectly romantic.  

#8.  Rosalie and Jasper’s flashbacks:

Eclipse is a tough story with all the side stories going on and flashbacks, but we think both Jasper and Rosalie’s stories were done so well!  From costuming to characterization, the flashbacks were an integral to the film as much as they are to the book.

 #7.  The newborn battle:

We’d had some build up to battles with the dance studio scene, which was great.  But add in the wolves to the mix and you’ve got an amazing action sequence!  Top it off with Victoria and Riley taking on Edward and a bleeding Bella and it gets even better! 

#6.  The tent scene:

Given that Fire and Ice is one of the most popular chapters in Eclipse, the expectation for this scene was huge.  They reshot the scene to make it more tense and to get Bella and Jacob closer to each other.  The final product was well worth the trouble… and even gave us a great line that wasn’t in the books. 

#5.  The baseball scene:

Personally, the baseball scene wasn’t that monumental for us in the books.  But when we saw it on film, it was spectacular!  The baseball scene is possibly the most popular scene from the first film… and a popular choice at costume competitions!

#4.  The birth scene: 

It was a fear of our for how they would film the sequence and keep it PG-13 while maintaining the horror and gruesomeness of the description from the books.  The scene was graphic, but by having Bella fade in and out, the film makers managed to keep the rating down. 

 #3.  The “months”:

When you consider that the Melissa Rosenberg and Chris Weitz had nothing but blank pages to work with for this sequence, the moment becomes even more amazing.  How do you film blank pages?  Like this!

#2.  The clock tower scene:

From the yellow Porsche to the St. Marcus day celebration, from the mad dash through the village center to Edward taking off his shirt… the whole thing reads like the book! 

 #1.  Bella dropping her shield to show Edward her thoughts:

What was such a simple moment to read became the moment millions of fans started crying the tears of watching a saga come to its conclusion.   Even though it was the moment Edward finally understood Bella’s love for him, it was used as a chance to remind the fandom why we love these character as moment after moment flashed by.  If you are a diehard fan and you got past this moment with tears in your eyes, then you are a very strong person! 

Did your favorite book to screen moment make our list?  Let us know in the comments!

Today is Laura’s birthday!  If you consider that Laura was first asked to only work on the even numbered chaptered summaries for Twilight and ended up co-owner and expert blogger, then you’ll realize how much she means to this website.  So take a moment today to leave a note of thanks and birthday wishes to Laura!