New Moon

OK, I'll be the first to admit that the whole Twilight phenomenon is interesting. Here at Bitch we've written about the movies, the books, the parody videos, and tons of other sparkly vampire stuff over the past year. People are obsessed! It's compelling! However, lately it seems like every single teenage behavior is being connected to the franchise in some way, from negotiating gender identity to interacting with parents. Could it be that Twilight is the compass with which we can navigate the state of Young People Today? Do we never have to think about the nuances and complications of human existence again because Stephenie Meyer has done that dirty work for us? Well, Jonathan Zimmerman at the Chicago Tribune certainly thinks so.

According to Zimmerman's article "Hooking up's gender gap," the number of young women who saw Twilight Saga: New Moon (which was a lot) tells us that, "Girls want love, not just sex." And he got this from New Moon how, exactly?

Bitch Popaganda: It's like The View, except with less leg-crossing. Kelsey, Sara and Kjerstin saw a very special preview of New Moon this past Thursday night. Not only were we privy to the latest in the Twilight phenom, we got a chance to talk with fans of all ages before and after the movie to see what they thought before we put in our own two cents in our makeshift recording studio (aka Kelsey's car). Enjoy as we discuss Bella's new pastimes, dating the supernatural, and of course, if we're on Team Jacob or not. Plus very special commentary from Twilight fans! You can listen below, download the file, or subscribe on iTunes!

It's like The View, but with fewer hot flashes



Lend your ear to the first ever episode of Bitch Popaganda, Bitch Media's new bi-weekly pop culture podcast! Hear Annalee, Ashley, and Kelsey debate the merits of the trailer for New Moon and its subsequent reaction videos, Linda Holmes' open letter to Pixar about their lack of heroines, and Time's reaction to the porn-y Bud Light commercial. Plus, Bitch faves!



Listen here by clicking the audio player, or download it and listen on the go! And remember, we're just starting out, so be sure to give us your feedback in the comments section!

We've taken a slight break from covering Twilight news on the blog because we thought our vampire jokes might be sucking the life out of you (zing!), but the New Moon trailer aired earlier this week and posting it here became as irresistible as Bella's sweet-smelling heroin plasma. Warning: The following video contains clunky dialogue, paranormal teen angst, and more damsel-in-distress scenarios than you could shake a wooden stake at.



Some of the players may have changed, but it looks as though Bella's role as the defenseless female who is both abused and protected by males has remained the same. Also, the werewolf looks cheesy.

More (rumored) news on the Twilight sequel now that Catherine Hardwicke is no longer the director.  Nikki Finke's got an inside line that Summit has offered Chris Weitz the chance to direct New Moon - and potentially Eclipse, if both films could be made back-to-back.  Weitz is the writer and director of About a Boy, producer and uncredited director of American Pie, and the director for The Golden Compass adaptation.  According to Finke, sources claim that Summit liked the look of The Golden Compass, but the real reason this deal might be in the works is that Weitz is an old buddy of Summit's president of production.  

Do you ever get the feeling that the Hollywood old boy's club is just being replaced with a newer boy's club?

More after the jump... including irrational behavior from a male director!

Looks like I got a little too excited on Friday about the current state of affairs for female directors... By now you've probably heard that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has been fired from the blockbuster teen vamp franchise and will not be directing Twilight's sequel New Moon. There's also bad news for Lexi Alexander and Darnell Martin, who had lackluster opening weekends at the box office.

The breakdown after the jump, along with my call for more crappy female directors.