No, Twilight fans -- it's ok! This is good news and it isn't going to result in a delay of the movie. Summit wouldn't break your hearts like that. Even though the clock is ticking, the studio is taking a bit of time to smooth out the movie's kinks. According to MTV, they're going back and filming some extra scenes, months after principle photography wrapped -- a move planned long before Twilight snagged the vacant Harry Potter date.

It isn't because anyone's dissatisfied with the film -- the cast insists the opposite is true. "They liked it so much, they are bringing us back for some encore time - to beef it up," says Peter Facinelli, who you all know better as the vampire Carlisle Cullen. "A little salt and pepper." Taylor Lautner, the head of this whole "Team Jacob" thing, says that rehearsals for the new scenes were "a ton of fun" and that they're just to clarify a few plot points. "I know they've been showing it to some people, and some people go, 'I want to see a little more of this,' or, 'I don't quite understand this,' " he explained.

None of the cast members could reveal what the new scenes were, but you Twilight fans can probably guess from the hints, such as Facinelli's being a flashback. "It gives us a little bit of history of the Cullen family. They are just shooting a couple of different added scenes, and the scene I'm in, I can tell you it's me and Robert Pattinson ... Rosalie and Emmett are in that scene."

The ending is also being tweaked to include Lautner. "I am going to be in the prom scene now, at the very end of the film," he said. "At first we didn't film that, and now some people are saying they want to see a bit more of Jacob, and they want him in the prom scene at the end."

It drives me nuts not to know what any of this means, which means it's time to borrow the book from someone. In the meantime, Twilight fans, discuss these developments among yourselves.

When Warner Bros. announced last Thursday that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been pushed back from Nov. 21 to next July, hardcore fans immediately entered the five stages of nerd grief. So far we've worked our way through denial, anger, semi-literate Internet ranting, and conspiracy-theorizing. All that's left is acceptance, where we go ahead and watch the movie when it comes out next summer and forget any of this ever happened.

In the meantime, several myths about the date change have popped up, and we'd like to help separate fact from fiction.

MYTH #1: Half-Blood Prince was moved because WB was scared of Twilight.
According to some people who are fans of the Twilight novel and pre-fans of the Twilight movie, WB got nervous about Harry Potter coming out just three weeks before the teen-vampire chick flick, fearing it would siphon off too much of Harry's audience.

Most observers believe Twilight will indeed be a hit, but come on. The Harry Potter franchise the most lucrative in film history, with a total worldwide box-office gross so far of $4.5 billion. There's no reason for WB to fear any competition, no matter how formidable. Also, most of Harry Potter's income is from overseas, where Twilight, still largely a U.S. phenomenon, cannot hope to compete.

Plus, if Half-Blood Prince came out Nov. 21 and followed the usual pattern, it would have already made most of its projected income by the time Twilight showed up on Dec. 12 anyway. Three weeks is a huge gap in our modern, front-loaded, it's-all-about-opening-weekend movie culture. If there had only been one week between them, then maybe you'd have something.

For all you Harry Potter fans who are also devoted to a certain series of teen-vampire romance novels, here's something that should help you deal with Thursday's devastating news about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince being pushed back to next summer. Summit Entertainment announced today that with Harry having vacated the November 21 spot, they're going to fill it with Twilight, bumping it up a full three weeks from its original date of December 12.

While some fans wondered, irrationally, if the Harry Potter move was to get away from Twilight, Summit's CEO says Twilight never had any delusions of being more powerful than the boy wizard at the box office. "With a giant franchise like Harry Potter in the market, we had to stay clear of it," Rob Friedman told Variety -- hence the original date well away from Half-Blood Prince. "Their move created an opportunity to bring the movie to fans three weeks earlier."

Once November 21 opened up, the move was really a no-brainer. As a press release from Summit points out, movie theaters get very crowded around the holidays, and Twilight will be able to open on far more screens on November 21 than it could have on December 12. Now it'll be opening the Friday before Thanksgiving, too, which is nearly always a plus. Its only competition will be Disney's animated Bolt. The only loser here is Entertainment Weekly, whose Fall Movie Preview is now wrong again, before most readers have even seen it. (Or, from another point of view, now that issue is even more of a collector's item.)

What do you say? Are you excited about getting Twilight sooner? To those of you who have been sending Warner Bros. wrathful messages about the Harry Potter move, does this quell your anger somewhat? Will you at least be able to live and function and carry on?

NOTE: This post discusses Twilight, the movie, and the Twilight book series (particularly the latest book, Breaking Dawn), and is SPOILER HEAVY. If you've not read the books and don't want to read spoilers, do NOT read this post until you've read them. It's also longer than my usual column, as I had a lot of ground to cover, so if you hate reading long pieces, skip it. Thanks.

You're probably aware, even if you're not into books about vampires and clumsy, average teenage girls falling in love with one, that there's a popular book series called the Twilight Saga, and the first book in the series, Twilight, is being adapted for the big screen by director Catherine Hardwicke. What you may not be aware of is the little undercurrent of female writers decrying the series as inherently anti-feminist.

The Twilight series grew in popularity, mostly off the radar of the feminist set, until it got so popular that the feminists started to take notice -- and offense. I first became aware of this anti-feminist backlash when Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries (among other girly books) responded on her blog to readers writing her to ask what she thought of the series, thusly: " I didn't take my husband's last NAME when we got married. Do you honestly think I'd like a story about a girl considering changing SPECIES for a guy? No offense to any of you, but as a feminist, I just can't go there... "

I found Cabot's take interesting because I'm a feminist myself, who also didn't take my husband's last name when we got married, but I don't happen to find the series inherently anti-feminist. Nonetheless, since the release of the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, on August 2, the feminist mutterings have started to escalate to a dull roar.

Devout fans of Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" might not appreciate the comparisons, but it's easy to see from the outside that the books are being treated by the entertainment industry like the second coming of Harry Potter. Only with vampires instead of wizards. Yet despite all the excitement surrounding tomorrow's release (or tonight's release, if you're a real fan) of Meyer's fourth and final installment, "Breaking Dawn," I don't see the series really being as successful. I can't imagine a whole new Twilight-themed music genre forming, for instance ("vampire rock" would just be goth rock, anyway). And even with all the screams heard in Hall H last week during the Twilight panel at Comic-Con, I don't believe the movie is going to be anywhere as big as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I see it maybe clearing half of Sorcerer Stone's $318 mill. domestic take).

If the first Twilight movie is big enough to warrant further adaptations of the Saga, the franchise could possibly see itself being compared to Harry Potter in another way, at least if Meyer has any say in the way "Breaking Dawn" makes it to the big screen. Similar to how the seventh and final Potter novel, "Deathly Hallows" is being split in half for two separate films (the first part will be released in December 2010, with the second part arriving six months later), Meyer tells MTV that there needs to be two separate movies made out of the final book in her series. And she knows exactly where the story should be split (see if you can figure out where while reading the book this week), which makes me wonder why she didn't just write five books rather than four.

To hear the suggestion straight from the author's mouth, check out MTV's interview with Meyer after the jump.

As both a cinephile and a candy freak, I get excited anytime there's a new movie-themed confection (as you can see from this Cinematical Seven from last Halloween). While some tie-ins are less tasty than others -- it's no wonder that the movie theater I worked at had trouble pushing Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans at the concession stand -- everything is worth sampling. And from time to time, some candies, such as the Star Wars prequel-inspired dark chocolate M&Ms and this summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-themed Snickers Adventures Bar, end up being far better than the movie they're helping to market.

Being apparently one of the few people who has no interest in Twilight whatsoever, I'm sure to feel the same way about a new tie-in from Godiva, which MTV Movies Blog excitedly spotlighted this morning. It's actually more related to the books, as its packaging features the cover of the first book in Stephanie Meyers' popular series. And Barnes and Noble will begin selling them tomorrow in connection with this weekend's release of the fourth book of the Twilight Saga, "Breaking Dawn." However, you could certainly stock up now (they're probably a limited edition item), so that you can sneak one into the cinema each of those hundreds of times you'll be sitting through Twilight the movie this December. Or maybe a smart theater chain will sell them at their concession stand, to avoid having fans smuggle in contraband candy (if you know me well, you know I don't like to encourage sneaking snacks). Keep in mind, though, that there's nothing entirely special about this bar, except that it has a special Twilight-themed sleeve. Otherwise it's just simply Godiva's boring (yet delicious) old milk chocolate bar.

I'm sure Scott and Elisabeth will chime in at some point within the next week with their favorite and not-so-favorite moments from this year's San Diego Comic Con, and so I thought I'd get the ball rolling with something a little different. Welcome to our first annual Comic Con awards! Pretty self-explanatory; we hand out awards in several different film-related categories, offer up an explanation for our choice and then attend a swanky, imaginary after party. Here goes ...

Most Buzzed-About Footage

Tron 2 -- Out of all the footage that screened during Comic Con, it was that damn Tron 2 teaser thrown in during the Escape to Witch Mountain panel that took everyone by surprise. However, after it screened, it was all anyone was talking about -- so much so that it was the first question three different complete strangers asked me whilst talking about The Con: "Did you see the Tron 2 footage? How awesome was that?" (Shhh ... leaked footage)

Biggest Surprise

Fanboys -- When it takes two years for a film to arrive in theaters, that's usually not a good sign of things to come. When, throughout those two years, the film's director is replaced by some hack, the script is re-written to wipe out a crucial plot element and thousands of fans stage a boycott of The Weinstein Co. (said film's distributor) ... well, that can't be a good thing either. So then it was definitely a big surprise to watch the final cut of Fanboys at Comic Con and walk away with giant smiles on our faces. From my mini-review: "I will say, though, that this is not just a film for Star Wars fans -- it's a film for any geeky dude or dudette who's ever horsed around with their friends, gone on a nutty adventure and inserted random movie quotes into every other line of dialogue." The film should hit theaters on September 19th (hopefully in a wide release). Read Scott's full review.

The first trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has just arrived online (watch it above or over on Moviefone in glorious HD), and, well, wow -- is it creepy or what? Not a ton of Harry, but we get our first look at Tom Riddle (as the young Voldemort) and it's clear we're heading in a very dark direction. It's a different trailer, I think, than we all expected -- and it doesn't come with all your usual montage-shots-as-the-music-builds kinda stuff. That's not to say we won't get all that in the next trailer ... and, truth me told, I definitely dig what they did here. Move over Twilight, our friend Harry Potter is back in theaters on November 21.

What did you think of the trailer?

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Boy, you miss a few weeks work to move 2,000 miles, and you fall behind on all kinds of things going on in the world of Twilight. All you Twilighters have, no doubt, been keeping up to speed with everything that's been going on out there -- you're making plans to attend Breaking Dawn parties, planning what you're going to wear, entering giveaway contests, and getting your Twilight-inspired costumes put together (who knew there were so many varieties of vampire fangs out there?).

I know, you have it much more together than I do on all the Twilight madness, but hey, I've been on the road with four kids, a dog and a cat all crammed into a 1998 Ford Windstar, moving back to Seattle, so I'm just now getting around to catching up. So here's a rundown of all-things Twilight for you -- in case you, like me, have been having a busy summer.

In less than 24 hours, myself, Scott Weinberg and Elisabeth Rappe will be in San Diego, overdosing on all things geek for the next five days. That's because the 2008 San Diego Comic Con is upon us, and there are literally hundreds of different things to do. We'll be sitting on panels (catch yours truly on the Masters of the Web panel), attending panels, interviewing stars, hanging with Storm Troopers, playing with cool toys, going to screenings (Fanboys, Tropic Thunder, Mutant Chronicles, etc ...) and, well, getting our dance on at some of the coolest parties this side of the galaxy. It's intense. We're excited. And if you're not able to attend, then you best be checking out Cinematical all day long later this week as we'll be shoveling out tons and tons of content.

And speaking of content, here's a taste of what you can expect from your pals at Cinematical:

Panel Coverage:

Masters of the Web
When: Thursday, July 24th -- 10am.
Who: Robert Sanchez (IESB.net), Garth Franklin (Darkhorizons.com), Mike Sampson (Joblo.com), Erik Davis (Cinematical.com), John Campea (TheMovieBlog.com), Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com), Eric "Quint" Vespe (Aintitcool.com), Devin Faraci (CHUD.com), Paul Christensen (Movieweb.com), and Kellvin Chavez (Latinoreview.com). Moderated by directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank 2, The Game). Room 32AB

Watchmen
When: Friday, July 25th -- 11:55am
Who: Zack Snyder, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

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Much, much more after the jump ...

What are going to be the biggest surprises at this year's ComicCon? Can McG and Christian Bale make us care about Terminator: Salvation? Will the movie adaptation of Twilight please fans, or alienate them? What's behind the venom being directed at Batman's detractors on-line? And does Meryl Streep's Mamma Mia! have a chance against The Dark Knight this weekend? Joining James this week to talk all things ComicCon is Cinematical's Editor-In-Chief Erik Davis. ... Cinematical's podcast is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

It's absolute trailer madness today! Not long after the very awesome Watchmen trailer premiered, Yahoo Movies! has thrown up a brand new Twilight trailer for you folks to feast on. Twilight, of course, is based on the super popular series of books that have teenagers everywhere reaching levels of mass hysteria. Me? I'm just stoked that vampires are cool again. In the film, which is directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart stars as a teenage girl who moves to a small town, meets a boy and -- whoops -- discovers he's a vampire. I haven't read the book, but I imagine things then take a hairy (or is it toothy?) turn for the worse. Check out the trailer above and let us know what you think.

How well do you think Twilight will do when it arrives in theaters on December 12?

While we're still over a month away from what is perhaps the Super Bowl of geekdom, early info on what to expect from this year's San Diego Comic Con has started to leak out. First off, I've been receiving tons of emails over the past couple days as other websites begin to mention this Masters of the Web panel, which, in case you haven't seen, includes Cinematical. Yes, I'm very happy to announce that yours truly will join the dudes from IESB, JoBlo, Dark Horizons, Ain't It Cool News, CHUD, Latino Review, Movie Web, The Movie Blog and Bloody-Disgusting for an in-depth discussion on how to make your own pizza at home! Not quite, but when you get all these folks in the same room, you'll definitely want to watch what happens next.

Wait, there's more! The panel itself will be moderated by directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank, Pathology), and those in attendance will get to see the first footage from Crank 2 and that Gerard Butler flick, Game. There's also a ridiculous invite-only party being thrown featuring all kinds of celebs, "dancers" and hot internet movie writers, and if you show up to the panel, you'll have a chance to win a ticket to said party as well. Long story short: If you're going to Comic Con, you'll most definitely want to clear your schedule on Thursday, July 24th at 10am for the Masters of the Web panel. Yeah, it's early -- but we're not going to Comic Con to sleep in, we're going to get our geek on. Start early, party late -- that's always our motto.

In addition to the panel, IESB has listed an early and somewhat tentative rundown of what each studio has planned for The Con. I'm seeing names like Watchmen, Terminator: Salvation, The Spirit, Twilight, Underworld 3, Kevin Smith ... and much, much more. God, I feel like I'm seven and going to Disney World. So excited. Stay tuned ...

Cinematical is stoked to have received this exclusive Twilight e-card widget for all you Twilighters out there. I know that you, like me, are anxiously awaiting both the August 2 release date of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series, and the December 12 release of the hotly anticipated Twilight movie. This will give you a little something to do to kill the time while you're waiting.

Edward looks much more ... vampirish than in the earlier cast shots we saw, and you'll note that his eyes are most assuredly topaz here. What do you think of the pic? Check it out, send it to all your Twlight-mania friends, and enjoy! For more on Twilight, feel free to visit the film's official website.

One of my colleagues just IM'd me with the following: "Did you see there's a 1-minute clip of 'Twilight' online???? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG." While I suspect he was being just a teensy bit sarcastic with the "OMGs," there is indeed a nice little one-minute clip up over on MTV of part of the scene at the ballet studio with James going after Bella, and Edward coming to the rescue. It's a short clip, but it definitely gives you a feel for how director Catherine Hardwicke is handling the action of the vampire fights, and it's pretty intense.

It's just enough to whet your appetite a bit for the full scene up on a big screen ... and of course, by that point in the storyline, there will be plenty of dramatic tension from what's taken place before that to up the intensity level even more.