Breaking Dawn - Plot Synopsis

Breaking Dawn is the 4th series of Stephanie Meyer's book which is a sequel of the first novel Twilight, in 2005. The title, Breaking Dawn, is a reference to the beginning of Bella's life as a newborn vampire. The cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire series; she began as the physically weakest player on the board, the pawn, but at the end she becomes the strongest, the queen.

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in the Twilight series by 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. Breaking Dawn was released on August 2, 2008 at midnight release parties in over 4,000 bookstores throughout the US. From its initial print run of 3.7 million copies, 1.3 million were sold in the first 24 hours of the book's release, setting a record in first-day sales performance for the Hachette Book Group USA.

Breaking Dawn is split into three separate parts. The first part details Bella's marriage and honeymoon with Edward, which they spend on a private island off the coast of Brazil. Two weeks into their honeymoon, Bella realizes that she is pregnant and that her condition is progressing at an unnaturally accelerated rate. After contacting Carlisle, who confirms her pregnancy, she and Edward immediately return home to Forks, Washington. Edward, concerned for Bella's life and convinced that the fetus is a monster as it continues to develop with unnatural rapidity, urges her to have an abortion. However, Bella feels a pull towards the child and refuses to go through with the procedure.

The second part of the novel is written from the perspective of werewolf Jacob Black, and lasts throughout Bella's pregnancy and childbirth. Jacob's Quileute werewolf pack, not knowing what danger the unborn child may pose, make plans to destroy it, even though they must kill Bella to do so. Jacob vehemently protests this decision and leaves, forming his own pack with Leah and Seth Clearwater. Bella soon gives birth, but the baby breaks many of her bones and she loses massive amounts of blood. In order to save her life, Edward changes her into a vampire by injecting his venom into her heart. Jacob, who was present for the birth, almost immediately "imprints"—an involuntary response in which a werewolf finds his soul mate—on Edward and Bella's newborn daughter, Renesmee.

The third section of Breaking Dawn shifts back to Bella's perspective, finding her changed into a vampire and enjoying her new life and abilities. However, the vampire Irina misidentifies Renesmee as an "immortal child", a child who has been turned into a vampire. Because "immortal children" are uncontrollable, creating them has been outlawed by the Volturi. After Irina presents her allegation to the Volturi, they plan to destroy Renesmee and the Cullens. In an attempt to survive, the Cullens gather other vampire clans from around the world to stand as witnesses and prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child. Upon confronting the gathered Cullen allies and witnesses, the Volturi discover that they have been misinformed and immediately execute Irina for her mistake. However, they remain undecided on whether Renesmee should be viewed as a threat to vampires' secret existence. At that time, Alice and Jasper, who had left prior to the confrontation, return with a Mapuche called Nahuel, a 150-year-old vampire-human crossbreed like Renesmee. He demonstrates that the crossbreeds pose no threat, and the Volturi surrender. Edward, Bella and Renesmee return to their home in peace.

Eclipse Debut

Twilight fans, fasten your seat belts because Summit Entertainment is fast-tracking the movie Eclipse, a.k.a. Twilight III. Finally, the dawn of Eclipse is upon us. Third installment of the Twilight Saga have only just begun. It’s been known in industry and extreme fan circles that Summit Entertainment is planning the debut in theaters of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” on June 30, 2010, exactly 222 days after New Moon.

If you think “New Moon” is going to do major box office, wait till you get a bite of “Twilight III,” also known as “Eclipse,” this coming summer.

Amidst all the fun that's kicking off with New Moon hitting the theaters, the Eclipse title treatment isn't necessarily the most exciting Twi-thing going down, but it's sure worth the tease.

“Eclipse” will also be a summit of vampire vs. werewolf action as Bella (Kristen Stewart) must choose between toothy Edward (Rob Pattinson) and furry Jacob (Taylor Lautner), as well as mortality vs. immortality. Bloodthirsty teenage fans will no doubt turn their attention and wallets to the  third installment of the vampire romance franchise sooner rather than later.
 

Summit Entertainment has unveiled the first official poster and logo of the movie Twilight III, a.k.a. Twilight Eclipse.

 

Official Poster

 

Official Logo

 

The Twilight III: Eclipse - Plot Synopsis

Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. It continues the story of 18-year-old Bella Swan and her vampire love, Edward Cullen. Eclipse is preceded by New Moon and followed by Breaking Dawn. The book was released on August 7, 2007 with an initial print run of 1 million copies, and sold more than 150,000 copies in the first 24 hours alone.

Eclipse was the fourth bestselling book of 2008, only behind Twilight, New Moon, and Breaking Dawn, and was also ranked #1 on Publishers Weekly's list of "Bestselling Hardcover Backlist Children's Books" in 2008 with over 4.5 million copies sold.

The story opens with the revelation that Seattle, Washington is being plagued by a string of unsolved murders, which Edward suspects is caused by a new vampire that is unable to control its thirst for human blood. As Edward and Bella apply to colleges, Bella explains to Edward her desire to see her werewolf friend, Jacob Black, again. Although Edward fears for her safety, Bella insists that neither Jacob nor his werewolf pack would ever harm her, and she begins visiting him occasionally. Meanwhile, Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, a vampire who is hunting Bella for revenge, has returned to Forks. A few days later, Edward proposes to Bella and, despite having an aversion to marriage, she accepts.

Bella and the Cullens realize that the murders in Seattle are being committed by an "army" of newborn vampires, controlled by Victoria. The Cullens join forces with the werewolf pack to combat this threat. As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward, Bella, and Jacob camp up in the mountains, hidden during the battle, where they are later joined by Seth Clearwater, a young member of the werewolf pack, to wait out the fight.

In the morning, Jacob becomes upset when he overhears Edward and Bella discussing their engagement and threatens to join the fight and get himself killed. To stop him, Bella kisses Jacob and comes to realize that she is in love with him too. During the battle, Victoria tracks Edward's scent to where Bella is hidden in the woods, and Edward is forced to fight. After Victoria and her army are successfully destroyed, Bella explains to Jacob that while she loves him, her love for Edward is greater. After receiving a wedding invitation from Edward, Jacob runs away in his wolf form to escape his pain, angry and heartbroken at Bella's decision to become a vampire.

New Moon Estimates – $140.7 Million Opening Weekend

The L.A. Times had the following to report about how much New Moon has made (third best weekend opening of all time):

Summit Entertainment’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sold an astounding $140.7 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, according to studio estimates, blowing away already huge expectations and giving the teen vampire saga the third-biggest domestic debut of all time.

In the 25 foreign countries where “New Moon” launched, it added an extra $118.1 million, giving it a mind-bending worldwide total of $258.8 million. That’s the seventh-biggest worldwide launch of all time and is particularly notable given that several international markets where the first “Twilight” performed very well, including Germany, South Korea and Russia, haven’t gotten the film yet. [Updated 9:21 a.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that the worldwide ticket sales total was $248.8 million.]

The domestic debut is the biggest, by a margin of $38 million, for a film opening outside of the summer movie season, between May and July, when the biggest tentpoles traditionally launch. The No. 1 opener of all time is “The Dark Knight,” which opened to $158.4 million in July 2008, followed by “Spider-Man 3,” which started with $151.1 million in May of 2007.

The first “Twilight” collected $385 million worldwide.

Volturi: The De Facto Royal Family of Vampires

The vampire coven known as the Volturi resides in Volterra, Italy. They are regarded as "royalty" by other vampires because they have lived for well over three thousand years and act as police, enforcing the rule that vampires' existence remain a secret from humans. They often send others to travel from Volterra to prevent overzealous covens and renegade vampires from exposing their kind. They are guarded by several powerful vampires who have been recruited for their powers and skills. Carlisle once stayed with the coven as a guest, but left due to his desire to avoid harming humans and established his own coven in the United States. At the end of New Moon, the Volturi discover that Bella, a human, has learned that vampires exist and demand that she become a vampire or else be killed. In Breaking Dawn, the vampire Irina goes to the Volturi and warns them that the Cullens have created an immortal child after seeing Edward and Bella's daughter, Renesmee, hunting close to the Cullens' house. The Volturi coven travel to Forks to destroy Renesmee, but leave once they realize that she poses no threat.

The Volturi leaders include Aro, who can read every thought a person has ever had once he has made physical contact, Marcus, who senses relationships, and Caius, who has no known power. Aro's wife, Sulpicia, Caius' wife, Athenodora, and formerly Marcus' wife, Didyme, who had the power to make others happy, also act as leaders. The Volturi guard consists of 32 members, including Jane, who creates illusions of pain; Alec, who is able to block the others' senses; Demetri, who can track anyone once he has the tenor of their mind; Chelsea, who can change emotional bondings; and Renata, who can make anyone feel distracted and wandering when they are near her (classified as a "shield"). The majority of the Volturi remain nameless throughout the series. There is also a human secretary named Gianna who appears in New Moon. Despite her hopes to become a vampire, she is killed by the Volturi by the events of Breaking Dawn. The Volturi have invited Carlisle, Edward, Alice, Kate, Benjamin, Zafrina, and Bella to join them, though all have refused.

In the New Moon film, the cast of the Volturi includes Michael Sheen as Aro; Jamie Campbell Bower as Caius; Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus; Dakota Fanning as Jane; Cameron Bright as Alec; Charlie Bewley as Demetri; Daniel Cudmore as Felix; and Noot Seear as Heidi. Fanning, Bright, Charlie Bewley, and Cudmore will reprise their roles in the 2010 film Eclipse.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

On Isabella "Bella" Swan's 18th birthday, Edward Cullen, the vampire she loves, and his family throw her a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, she gets a paper cut, which causes Edward's adopted brother, Jasper, to be overwhelmed by her blood's scent and attempt to kill Bella. To protect her, Edward decides to end their relationship, and the Cullens move away from Forks. This leaves Bella heart-broken and depressed.

In the months that follow, Bella learns that thrill-seeking activities, such as motorcycle riding, allow her to "hear" Edward's voice in her head. She also seeks comfort in her deepening friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases her pain over losing Edward. Bella later discovers that Jacob is a werewolf. He and his fellow werewolves protect Bella from the vampires Laurent and Victoria, the latter of whom seeks revenge for her dead mate, James, whom the Cullens killed in Twilight.

Meanwhile, a series of miscommunications leads Edward to believe that Bella has killed herself. Distraught over her supposed suicide, Edward flees to Italy to provoke the Volturi, vampire royalty who are capable of killing him. Alice and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward, arriving just in time to stop him. Before leaving Italy, the Volturi tell Edward that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire. When they return to Forks, Edward tells Bella that he has always loved her and only left Forks to protect her. She forgives him, and the Cullens vote in favor of Bella being transformed into a vampire, to Edward's dismay. However, Edward gives Bella a choice: either she lets Carlisle change her after her graduation, or, if Bella agrees to marry him, he will change her himself.

Twilight: The First Series

Twilight is a series of four vampire-based fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Forks, Washington and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and Part II of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black, a werewolf. The unpublished Midnight Sun is a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from Edward Cullen's point of view.

Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father in Forks, Washington to allow her mother to travel with her new husband, a minor league baseball player. After moving to Forks, Bella finds herself involuntarily drawn to a mysterious, handsome boy, Edward Cullen. She eventually learns that he is a member of a vampire family who drinks animal blood rather than human. Edward and Bella fall in love, but James, a sadistic vampire from another coven, is drawn to hunt down Bella. Edward and the other Cullens defend Bella. She escapes to Phoenix, Arizona, where she is tricked into confronting James, who tries to kill her. She is seriously wounded, but Edward rescues her and they return to Forks, having killed James.

Check the movie trailer for the worldwide box office phenomenon Twilight-Final Trailer.