‘Twilight’ Director Rejected Taylor Swift’s Cameo Request Because It’d Be Too Distracting: ‘I Kick Myself For It, Too’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Neom, the Saudi Arabian region that is aiming to become a major film and TV production hub, has announced the opening of its Neom Media Village and Bajdah Desert Studios, comprising several sound stages and production support facilities. Situated along the kingdom’s Red Sea coast in Tabuk, in the northwest of the kingdom, Neom is a sprawling area roughly the size of Belgium. Besides coral reefs and heritage sites, it also comprises mountains and generally has a cooler temperature than most of the region. Aside from a futuristic megacity-in-the-making, the area now hosts what are being touted as the country’s largest sound stages.

Emily Longeretta Rodrigo Santoro will star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Paramount+’s upcoming original series “Wolf Pack,” Variety can exclusively announce. The series is currently in production in Atlanta, Georgia, and is set to premiere later this year. Previously announced cast members include Armani Jackson, Bella Shepard, Chloe Rose Robertson and Tyler Lawrence Gray. Joe Genier, Mike Elliott and Karen Gorodetzky serve as executive producers for Capital Arts, while Gellar, Jason Ensler and Christian Taylor serve also executive produce. Based on Edo Van Belkom’s book series and created by Jeff Davis, the show follows two teens whose lives are changed when a California wildfire awakens a supernatural creature.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Sony Pictures Classics has landed worldwide rights to “It Ain’t Over,” a documentary about baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. Sean Mullin directed the doc, which premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The specialty studio has yet to detail any release plans for the movie. Described as “an intimate portrait of a misunderstood American icon, “It Ain’t Over” illustrates the life and career of Berra, a sports legend whose accomplishments on the baseball diamond were often overshadowed by his off-the-field persona. Berra, considered one of the best catchers in baseball history, won 10 World Series championships during his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, 18 of which were with the New York Yankees. He also became known for Yogi-isms, like “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” and “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Angelique Jackson Amazon Studios and Macro Film Studios have partnered for a new endeavor — a multiyear first-look film deal. Under the new pact, Amazon Studios will have first rights to feature film projects Macro will develop, package and produce for Prime Video, which is available in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. News of the partnership was announced by Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, as well as Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King and Macro Film Studios president James F. Lopez. “With our ongoing goal to share MACRO Film Studios’ premium and acclaimed content to a global audience, there really is no better partner than Amazon Studios,” said King and Lopez in a joint statement. “Their reach extends to a national and international core and they are known the world over for a business acumen and long-horizon strategic thinking that is simply unmatched. We believe we will do great things together.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor By slashing prices, Mitch Lowe transformed MoviePass into a supernova.   The ticketing service, which had ambitions to become the Netflix of moviegoing, had languished for years until Lowe took the reins in 2017 as Helios and Matheson, an analytics firm, purchased a controlling stake. At the same time, Lowe announced that for a monthly fee of $9.95, users could now watch a movie-a-day in cinemas — less than the cost of a single ticket in major cities like New York and Los Angeles. It was an offer that was too good to refuse, pushing MoviePass to 2 million customers in roughly six months. But it was also a risky proposition, one that caused the company to burn through tens of millions of dollars and collapse in spectacular fashion just two years later.  

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. A new Bo Burnham-directed comedy special is hitting Hulu this Thursday, adding to the streamer’s small but mighty library of stand-up specials. “Kate Berlant: Cinnamon in the Wind” is the New York comedian’s second solo show directed by Bo Burnham for FX, and if it’s even close to as experimental and controversial as Berlant’s first outing, it will generate a lot of conversation. The special, which was filmed in 2019 before she began her off-Broadway show “Kate,” finally premieres on Hulu on Sept. 15, two years after it was recorded . Jerrod Carmichael and Chris Storer (“The Bear”) serve as executive producers on “Cinnamon in the Wind,” which features the “League of Their Own” star performing in an “absurdist set, in an intimate space, shared not only with the audience but the mirror reflection of herself,” according to FX. She plans to warp “audience expectations of her comedy, while also exploring her clairvoyant connection to the crowd and her inability to stop performing.”

JoJo Siwa seemingly shared some very happy relationship news!

The National‘s Aaron Dessner says he has “picked up a focus” in his songwriting and production since working with Taylor Swift.Dessner co-produced and wrote on Swift’s 2020 albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, and also worked on numerous “From the Vault” tracks that appear on Swift’s re-recorded versions of ‘Fearless’ and ‘Red’ that arrived last year.Last March, after ‘Folklore’ won a Grammy for Album of the Year, Dessner credited Swift with “restoring [his] faith in music,” and has opened up again on the influence she has had on him in a new interview.Speaking to The i, Dessner said: “Even just working with Taylor, she’s a brilliant musician and so experienced in terms of making records, so I was learning from her – I picked up a focus, and also just the joy that she has.”Of working in the pandemic, he added: “It was almost like I was in some crazy boot camp for making a tonne of music really fast and fully producing it and then it would be released quickly.”Though he has said in the past that “this story, this era, has concluded” with ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, Dessner has confirmed that he anticipates that he and Swift “will continue to be in each other’s artistic and personal lives. I don’t know exactly what the next form that will take, but certainly, it will continue.”After his work with Swift and a host of other artists including King Princess, Dessner is now working on a new album with The National.Ahead of their headline show at London’s All Points East next week (August 26), Aaron’s twin brother Bryce Dessner has spoken to NME about the new material, and whether Aaron’s work with Swift will have attracted new fans to the band.

Once upon a time, Summit Entertainment had a huge hit on their hands with the “Twilight” movies, focusing on a romance between a vampire and a teenage girl. That success helped push leads Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson into the world of fame alongside the tabloid media’s fevered obsession with their dating lives.

in TV shows like CSI and New Girl, as well as star-studded 2010 rom-com Valentine's Day, but the pop icon could have appeared onscreen a huge part of Noughties film culture: Twilight.Chris Weitz, director of *The Twilight Saga: New Moon—*starring and , and the second in five films devoted to the hit books—has confirmed that the film almost had a Taylor Swift cameo. In a recent interview on , a podcast hosted by actor and Twilight star , he opened up about his decision to ultimately turn Taylor down when her agent came calling.  "Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time, and he said, 'Taylor would like to be in this movie—not because of you, but she's a Twi-hard,'" Weitz said.It turns out Swift wasn't even going for screen time here, she just wanted to be part of the vampire universe that we were all, admittedly, obsessed with at that time.

Taylor Swift’s request to appear in The Twilight Saga: New Moon was turned down by director Chris Weitz. While speaking on The Twilight Effect podcast, Chris revealed he received a request from the songstress to cameo in his 2009 movie but he ultimately decided against it. “Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard, and Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time and he said, ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie - not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard,’” Chris explained, referencing the name for fans of Twilight.

supports HTML5 videoIntroducing Mrs and Mrs Taylor Lautner… literally.Taylor Lautner and his fiance Taylor Dome are set to tie the knot in the coming months as they prepare to spend the rest of their lives together.The actor got down on one knee in November last year when, after three years of dating, he asked his girlfriend Taylor to marry him.Having got engaged in a room full of rose petals, it’s clear the future husband and wife are fairly traditional – and this could cause some real fun.Twilight star Taylor appeared on the Kelly Clarkson show this week where he spoke about his engagement and upcoming marriage – and the fact he and his fiancée have the same name.He explained that he usually goes by Taylor and she goes by Tay – but ‘a lot of people just do boy Tay and girl Tay.’He revealed that ‘girl Tay’ will be taking his last name when they get married, joking: ‘We already share one name.

Twilight: New Moon director Chris Weitz has admitted he somewhat regrets his decision not to cast Taylor Swift in the series’ second film.In a new interview on The Twilight Effect, the podcast of Ashley Greene (who starred as Alice Cullen in the film franchise), Weitz revealed that while Swift had wanted to be an extra in 2009’s New Moon, he turned the opportunity down.“Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time, and he said, ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie – not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard,” Weitz said during the episode, as The Independent points out. Though it was made clear Swift only wanted to appear as “someone at the cafeteria, or the diner, or whatever,” Weitz nevertheless thought her presence in the film would be too distracting.“The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift walks onto the screen, for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything,” he said on the podcast.

Taylor Swift wanted to be a part of . On Ashley Greene's podcast, Chris Weitz, who directed the second film in the franchise, revealed that the pop star asked for a role in the film.hit theaters in 2009, the same year Swift was romantically linked to one of the franchise stars, Taylor Lautner.«Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard,» Weitz said. «Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time and he said, 'Taylor would like to be in this movie -- not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard.

Taylor Swift almost made an appearance in the beloved Twilight saga. The songstress, 32, was a Twilight fan and had her agent petition for a cameo in the second film - New Moon - but was turned down by director Chris Weitz, who didn't want her to be a distraction for viewers.However, years after the decision he says he regrets it: 'I kick myself for it too... I could have been hanging out with Taylor Swift, and maybe we could've been friends,' he said on Ashley Greene's The Twilight Effect podcast.

Taylor Swift sought an appearance in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, but her cameo was kiboshed by the film’s director, Chris Weitz.

Taylor Swift could have been in the Twilight franchise, but her request for a cameo appearance in one of the films was turned down!

“The Twilight Effect With Ashley Greene and Melanie Howe,” the filmmaker discussed how certain celebrities wanted to appear in the film because they were such huge lovers of the vampire romance films.“The craziest one of all those was to hear that Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard, and actually Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time,” the “About a Boy” director said.“[Our agent said] ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie — not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard. She would be someone at the cafeteria or the diner or whatever, but she just wants to be in this movie,'” he recalled being told.But Weitz was afraid the “Shake It Off” crooner’s fame would be too distracting in the film.“The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift walks onto the screen, for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything,” he noted.“I kick myself for it too, because I was like, ‘Wow, I could’ve been hanging out with Taylor Swift,'” he said of the “Bad Blood” singer.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Taylor Swift’s statement to a US court as part of the long-running song-theft legal battle over her 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’ in which she explains how she came up with the lyrics for her track, while also insisting there was no way she could have been exposed to the song she is accused of ripping off before creating ‘Shake It Off’, plus some interesting new stats comparing consumer spending in the UK on recorded music and live music – and the impact of COVID-19 on all that.SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Taylor Swift submits statement to court in ongoing Shake It Off song-theft legal battle• From Suffering to Recovering: The stats that explain why the UK music industry is set for a dramatic post-lockdown comeback (Music Business Worldwide)ALSO MENTIONED• UK label spend on A&R and marketing reach almost £500 million last yearMORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin• Listen to the full Setlist theme tune