The CW: Looking In the Mirror for an Identity (Analysis)

Cliff Lipson/CBS There's really no getting around this. It sure looks odd to see 50-something Mark Pedowitz as the face of The CW, this country's fifth broadcast network best known for catering to all things young and female. And yet there he was on stage at the Television Critics Association press tour, being asked how in the hell he was going to find a way to think like a female in the 18-34 demo. Pedowitz -- who always seems to have "well-liked executive" before his name in any story -- said he's got a 26 year old niece who might be able to tap for advice. Beyond that? "I have an excellent development team that's stayed in place that's headed by Thom Sherman, who has actually done a lot of the development and production of all these pilots that you see this year and in prior years," Pedowitz said. "So I am very comfortable with that.I am in my fifties, and I do have my feminine side at this point. So I am perfectly comfortable with this. I'm perfectly comfortable with my staff handling it and Thom and his team doing it." He might be the only one. They both have their work cut out for them. It's not like The CW is printing money, most of its shows get beat by cable channels that have done a better job of attracting that core audience (hello MTV, hello ABC Family) and, institutionally, there has to be some belief that the young girl demo might be a tad bit limiting. Oh, and that "we don't make comedies at the CW" needs to be addressed (and abandoned, which Pedowitz seemed to agree with). Nevermind the fact that for years the relevancy issue has been in play. Translation: Does the country need a fifth network -- and more specifically, does the CW need to exist at all? What Pedowitz seems to be tasked with, even if nobody is saying it out loud, is using his varied industry experience and acumen to make a go of The CW in some last-ditch effort to make it viable. The CBS Corporation brought CBS, Showtime and CW (of which it owns half; Warner Bros. owns the other) to the television critics press tour and the first entities had a lot of success to talk about. CBS even gave a series it passed on, Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, to The CW, making the little sister channel instantly more interesting. At least for a bit. The trouble with the blueprint for The CW is that it appears to everybody involved like a brilliant idea. Cater to the highly-coveted young women and give them "TV to talk about " with their social networks and such. With the initial success of Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model, the dropping of comedy and the focus on really pretty young people, The CW kept talking about all the buzz and success it was having. Trouble is, that demo may have be talking about the network but they're not necessarily watching it, at least not in a timely manner. Vampire Diaries draws viewers and Ringer might as well (plus, at the very least, Nikita is fun escapism). Beyond that, One Tree Hill is entering its final season (that makes, what, 17 seasons?) and Supernatural did not exactly get a ringing endorsement from Pedowitz when asked if this, too, was its final season: "It is not intended to be the last season. We will see where the ratings go." Yeah, ratings. You can market gloss all you want and tout all the buzz you want, but guess what advertisers want? Ratings. Said Pedowitz: "That is a great frustration to us because The CW shows are so popular," he said. "You see them in all of your articles. You see them on the cover of magazines. You see them on the social networking sites. So the way we view our success sometimes, as much as we have to live with the Nielsen ratings, is along with other measurement, what's being devoured in DVRs. For example, 90210's live women numbers doubled with live-plus-7. Unfortunately, we do not monetize live-plus-7. So we do know we are being viewed. We are frustrated about the measurement of the Nielsen situation, but, on the other hand, we found that our convergence strategy, which is our digital plan, has actually worked. We are getting monetizing (with) that. So we are getting our viewers to come in, and they are watching a full commercial load." And yet, still not the answer. You can't resuscitate a network with the slogan "Unfortunately We Do Not Monetize Live Plus 7." It has no ring to it. Look, everybody wants the young female demo. Even CBS. When you can't get it in numbers large enough to pay the bills, perhaps a broader strategy is at hand. The CW has toyed with this niche idea since 2006 but hasn't really landed a blockbuster scripted series or even something like Jersey Shore on the reality side. Close? Sure, some years. But not with any volume or consistency, which is precisely why a man with gray hair just took charge of a network that needs to be more mature about its viability. Email: Tim.Goodman@THR.com Twitter: @BastardMachine TCA The CW Ringer TCA Summer Press Tour 2011

Inside the Making of 'Terra Nova'

As you turn onto the one-lane gravel road leading to the "Terra Nova" set, you pass a multicolored sign that reads "Danger" in four languages. Lower down, another line appears. This time, in plain English, "Dinosaurs."Installed in jest by the series' crew, it sets the mood for anyone entering the four-acre settlement of Terra Nova in Queensland, Australia. For it's here on the edge of the rainforest, a 20-minute drive from some of the country's best surf beaches off the region's Gold Coast, that this fantasy world becomes real.It's a balmy mid-July day, and "The Hollywood Reporter" is here on set for the second time since December for an exclusive sneak peek behind the curtain of one of fall's most eagerly awaited -- and pricey -- shows. In what many have dubbed Avatar meets Jurassic Park, the time-travel drama, set to debut Sept. 26 on Fox, whisks the Shannon family and fellow settlers back 85 million years in time, from the dystopian world of 2149 to a promising prehistoric Earth colony known as Terra Nova. The day of the visit, two rival factions are facing off over one of the series' many mysteries.All of this takes place against a backdrop of nine bamboo-infused homes for those settlers who have relocated to Terra Nova. A textile market shaded in solar panels features the kind of food selection no longer available in the future they've recently departed. A 24-foot-high fence with lookout towers armed with sonic dinosaur-repelling cannons surrounds the community. And a medieval portcullis-inspired gate opens upon command, providing safe passage for those refugees transported back through a fracture in time.Missing from the visual are the dinosaurs and Cretaceous-era insects that will be dropped in by the Burbank-based team of special effects wizards as the sci-fi drama inches closer to its premiere. The epic adventure, which counts Steven Spielberg and former News Corp. president and COO Peter Chernin among its many executive producers, was picked up straight to series with a 13-episode order, a product of both its scale and its budget. The two-hour debut alone has been pegged at a price tag between $10 million and $20 million, a fee Fox brass argues will be amortized over the course of the show's first season."'Terra Nova' is a big swing -- and the best of Fox tends to be big swings, in concept and/or tone," Fox Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly says of the series, whose buzz -- and scrutiny -- are almost unprecedented for the small screen. "We are in the big-bet business. So if you're looking to break through and garner a big share of a fractured audience, and it is going to be costly regardless, you take the most exciting shots you can for your audience."While "Terra Nova" runs the risk of being overshadowed by "The X Factor" on Fox's schedule, Reilly and his staff have spent the better part of two years banking on the fact that the series will fill a void of big-event genre programming left by the departure of such shows as "Lost" and "24." The media may have chronicled the show's litany of setbacks, including torrential rain and departing creatives, but advertisers and international buyers alike are largely optimistic about the series' broad, family-friendly potential.Thinking back, the grandiose offering of "Terra Nova," which in addition to dinosaurs boasts floating holograms and technology from a futuristic world, was almost too big to even conceive.When former WMA scripted television head Aaron Kaplan first laid eyes on what would become Terra Nova in spring 2009, it was titled "Gondawana Highway," a 12-page short story by British writer Kelly Marcel (whose experience included a musical adaptation of "Debbie Does Dallas"). He intercepted just as Marcel's U.K.-based agent was deep in discussions for a deal with Syfy U.K. "I begged her to put me on the phone with Kelly," Kaplan recalls, ultimately convincing Marcel that the only way to sell a project of this size was to do so in the U.S."I was hooked by the paradigm of the future and the past," Kaplan says, "the idea that 100 and some odd years from now, everything we're worried about will happen: The sun is burning out, our natural resources are depleted, global warming is real, and it's very difficult to breathe."Kaplan tapped a former client, TV writer Craig Silverstein ("Bones"), to help turn the elaborate world Marcel had crafted into a pitchable script for U.S. networks. Although the plan always was to incorporate dinosaurs, the trio hadn't envisioned having either the resources or the auspices to do any more than display them through sound, shadow and music.The team, with Marcel attached as a producer, shopped it to all four broadcast networks in summer 2009, with CBS and Fox interested in buying, a source says. In the end, they were struck by Fox's track record of betting big on out-of-the-box shows like "Prison Break," "24" and "Glee." "[Fox scripted execs] Matt [Cherniss] and Terence [Carter] immediately got it," Kaplan says of the then-Fox executives whom he pitched. The network, which looped in 20th Century Fox Television, picked it up in September 2009. (At least two international markets, France and the U.K., have since acquired rights to the series.) Four months later, Kaplan got a call from Fox chiefs Reilly and Peter Rice. Not only would the series bypass the standard pilot process, but Spielberg and Chernin would come aboard as producers.Spielberg had been approached over lunch by Rice, who was eager to get him aboard a program that fit so squarely in his wheelhouse. The network and studio then collectively agreed that Chernin, who launched a Fox-based production company upon his News Corp. departure, would also be a valuable addition. "When he was at News Corp., Peter really talked a lot about this type of event programming and about taking risks and being bold," says 20th TV chairman Dana Walden. "It just felt that this would be something that he would be incredibly responsive to and helpful with as we moved forward with production."A complicated game of musical chairs followed, with Silverstein and Marcel dropping out as day-to-day producers to fulfill other commitments, he at the CW (for "Nikita"), she at Showtime (a passed-over development project, "Westbridge," with Thomas Schlamme attached to direct). The remaining execs met with a host of potential producers, ultimately deciding on former "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "24" producer Brannon Braga, who had an overall deal at 20th TV. "Brannon shared our view that at the core, it was a family adventure show and not a dinosaur-of-the-week show," says Kaplan, adding that Braga also was in agreement about the show's scale."I was frankly a little daunted by the premise; it sounded like an awfully vast canvas," Braga acknowledges. "A show that takes place in the distant past and the distant future, I was a little skeptical about how that was going to be possible."After meeting with the coterie of producers, Braga went about flushing it into a series. Then, just 10 days before production was set to begin, he was able to convince his fellow "Trek" producer Rene Echevarria, who most recently worked on ABC's "Castle," to come aboard as showrunner so Braga could focus on writing. (Responsibility for the series remains very much split down the middle, sources say.)Among the early decisions that needed to be made was where they would shoot. Although such destinations as Florida and Louisiana were tossed out as options, the plush landscapes of Hawaii seemed a more suitable choice. But it was Spielberg who vetoed the latter, fearing that the comparisons inevitably drawn to his Jurassic Park would become that much greater if the two projects were to shoot in the same locale. They settled on an area near Australia's Gold Coast, where the region's otherworldly topography worked best as a site to create a sprawling frontier-town settlement.Of course, with that came that headache of having a staff that straddles two sides of the world. Physical production is done in Queensland, a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles; writers, producers and postproduction are based in L.A. "When it's nighttime here, it's morning there, so we have a lot of late nights," Braga says of the 17-hour time difference. "The teleconferencing system has a one-second delay, so sometimes it can be like the cone of silence from 'Get Smart.'"Spielberg's commitment to the series has remained strong, say multiple producers, who tick off his various touches, including the casting of such stars as "Avatar's" Stephen Lang and the need for dinosaurs that audiences have not yet seen. Spielberg brought in paleontologist Jack Horner, with whom he'd worked on "Jurassic Park," with a mandate that the dinosaurs be realistic for the period and different from those of the '90s film franchise.Visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank notes that having the series set 85 million years in the past -- in the Cretaceous period where, producers say, only 10 percent of the dinosaurs that existed in that era have been accounted for in the fossil record -- allows Horner and Co. to take more of a creative latitude when it comes to creating dinosaurs. Horner admits many of the dinosaurs featured on the series had to be "made up" but are nonetheless true to the time period. The Tyrannosaurus rex, for instance, won't appear because it hadn't yet evolved at that point in history, though he suggests viewers could see a Tyrannosaur of some sort. The pilot will feature a Brachiosaurus and a Carnotaurus. (While there is no dictum of one dinosaur per episode, most if not all will offer at least one.)"It's an ambitious idea, but the small screen is no longer such a small screen," Justin Falvey, a co-head of DreamWorks TV and one of the series' nine executive producers, says of advancements in HD and visual effects technology. "Audiences want a filmgoing experience, and the budgets available for TV are letting us do that now. Five years ago, dinosaurs like this weren't possible."It was so ambitious that it was peddled before it was ready. Having wrapped filming in Australia on the premiere in November, the cast and crew met the media in January at the Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena, where a three-minute sizzle reel offering the first footage of the time-travel series was met with strong, if slightly confused, reactions to the show's dual universe. Weeks later, an extended trailer would air during the Super Bowl, giving viewers a taste of what's to come. At that time, "Terra Nova" was slated to air its two-hour, two-night preview in May in the plum post-"American Idol" time slot, a tactic the network had used to build excitement for "Glee" in 2009.But by mid-March, the network announced the series wouldn't be ready. Reilly issued a statement: "'Terra Nova' is one of the most ambitious television series ever produced. The cutting-edge visual effects used to create the world of Terra Nova, which is of massive scope and scale, require more time to be realized." Braga acknowledges that they were also short on material, a fact "The Hollywood Reporter" first reported in April. It was the latest in a string of challenges that had included record flooding in Queensland and a series of executive departures, which sources attribute to internal conflict. Although current producers refute this claim, one source says there were a couple of times where Terra Nova was on the brink of falling apart."It's never fun to publicly change an announcement, and it leads down the line to questions like we're having now," admits Echevarria, recalling discussions at one point about airing only the first hour in May. (The network ultimately decided that a single hour wasn't a good idea.) Adds Braga, "We went to Australia with the hope of hitting a home run, and we hit a triple."Not surprisingly, producers now call the delay a blessing. The team returned to Australia in late May, determined to add what was missing from the original iteration: an emotional hook to ensure the series would appeal to the family audience that its 8 p.m. slot necessitates. The plot now revolves more centrally around the Shannon family -- matriarch Elisabeth (Shelley Conn), a doctor who helps her inmate husband Jim (Jason O'Mara) escape prison and, with their three children (Landon Liboiron, Naomi Scott and Alana Mansour), head for a new life free of 22nd century population laws put in place to combat the planet's overcrowding in "Terra Nova.""I felt it was a mistake to ask the audience to follow these characters who you don't know," Echevarria says, adding that they incorporated a prologue into the first episode that they hope will pull the audience into the Shannon family's backstory. "You can throw endless amounts of money at the screen, but if it doesn't have a heart, people just don't care."Fast-forward to the series' first real test when a handful of producers and Lang turned up at Comic-Con 2011. Until then, "Terra Nova" was little more than an untested concept with boldfaced auspices and the promise of dinosaurs. The studio screened the series' first hour for some 4,000 members of its core audience in Ballroom 20.Recognizing the significance of the appearance, Braga admits to waiting with bated breath until the audience reacted to the opening credits at the end of Act 1. While the freshman effort, to be expected, didn't quite draw the same fervor as established genre hits such as the CW's "The Vampire Diaries" or AMC's "The Walking Dead," the audience was audibly impressed with the dinosaurs.The most fervent response during the hourlong session came when executive producer Jose Molina vowed that audiences would see "dino-on-human action," capitalizing on the crowd's enthusiastic response to a battle in which a dinosaur came out on top. Critics were impressed by the cinematic nature of the project; some, however, expressed frustration with plot holes and the similarity of Lang's "Avatar" character to that for which he is best known.Now the cast, crew and execs will attempt to convince viewers that the wait has been worth it. "We're an expensive show, and you will see the money on the screen," Molina told the Comic-Con fans. "It's going to look badass."Whether the series is ultimately too big for TV is a question that won't be answered until the fall. Is there an appetite for dinosaurs? For another multi-universe drama? For a family adventure? "The one thing I know for certain," Kaplan says, "is that there's nothing like it on television."-- Pip Bulbeck contributed to this report.TERRA NOVA BY THE NUMBERS4,000: Potential fans who turned up to see the series' first hour at Comic-Con.250: Crewmembers -- on the set and off -- including construction workers, the art department and production office staffers.150: Castmembers -- including stars O'Mara and Lang -- and extras on the Australian set each day.111: Million Super Bowl viewers who watched the splashy promo for "Terra Nova's" since-delayed preview.85: Million years between the two worlds featured on the series.9: Executive producers now involved, including Spielberg and Chernin.4: Acres of land where Terra Nova resides in Queensland.1: Minimum number of dinosaurs -- or Cretaceous-era creatures -- that viewers will see in every episode of the Fox action-adventure series. The Hollywood Reporter

Forged

A Maya Entertainment release and presentation in colaboration with Revere Pictures, Stay Tune Vision of the Revere Pictures production. Created by Steve Holtzman, Josh Crook. Executive producers, Joe Van Wie, David Alcantara. Co-producer, Manny Perez. Directed, edited by William Wedig. Script, Wedig, Manny Perez.With: Manny Perez, David Castro, Jaime Tirelli, Kevin Breznahan, Margo Martindale.Working inside a really small canvas, tyro helmer William Wedig and co-scripter/star Manny Perez shape "Forged" being an intense but familiar story of the criminal, launched from prison after killing his wife, whose past returns to haunt him, as tenacious old gangmates along with a vengeful youthful boy. Shot against bleak Scranton, Pa., winterscapes and peopled solely with deadbeats and thugs, the characters' options prove as limited his or her worldview. Launched included in the Maya Entertainment series, pic could score on cable. Chuco's (Perez) hopes for going straight are scotched through the anticipation of his Machiavellian former boss (Jaime Tirelli) and also the boss' double-crossing henchman (Kevin Breznahan). Meanwhile, Chuco's teenage boy (David Castro), hustling as a living and over sleeping an abandoned railroad vehicle, is visited by nightmarish flashbacks of his mother's murder. Perez, frighteningly convincing like a guy ruled by desperation, dimly wrestles with the idea of fatherhood. The film's effective ending develops kinetically, but this 77-minute exercise ultimately feels cut down without any hint of the bigger context, "Forged" plays just like a single impressive chunk of the more complicated picture.Camera (color, HD, widescreen), Zeus Morand music, Evan Wilson production designer, Jaime Whitlock. Examined at Quad Cinema, New You are able to, This summer 31, 2011. Running time: 77 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

About The Download: Betty Goulding Reside In New You are able to City

By Kathy SuarezNEW You are able to, N.Y. -- The Royalty love her (she carried out at William and Kates wedding party), America loves her, and that i love her. Betty Goulding is really a rock star within the making and her performance at NYCS Terminal 5 resided as much as the hype and much more! This pretty blond factor, who commanded happens in her own Beatles-inspired jacket and short leather shorts, was an ideal mixture of sexy vocals and edgy instrumental performance. Im deeply in love with each and every song on her behalf album and also to be part of my concert experience, I required my closest friend, Betsy, who's a diehard Betty fan. Shes the sing-a-lengthy type and each time Betty screamed towards the crowd, sing beside me now, my pal obliged. After I requested her in the finish from the evening what she considered the most popular Brit princess performance she stated, Her voice was amazing It seemed like I had been hearing the album. I couldnt have agreed more. And knowning that note, this is a recap of my awe-inspiring evening with Ms. Goulding: The very first song of the artists set is definitely the main one I've found myself anticipating probably the most since it sets a dark tone for that relaxation from the performance. Then when Betty opened up with Underneath the Sheets, I had been pumped. The power from the crowd really elevated the concentration of her presentation and she or he hit every note without missing a beat. I dont usually love eletronic music, but Betty superbly mixes it with pop and folk beats to produce a really symphonic seem. A large highlight for me personally was when she carried out This Love. Its among individuals tunes that conjures each one of these fantastic reminiscences of friendship and summer time for me personally. The raspiness of her voice and honest brutality in her own words really drawn me in much more. Have I pointed out just how much I enjoy Betty Goulding? She also introduced newer and more effective music towards the crowd. Tunes like Human and need I Remained were a little more about the ballad-y side but nonetheless gave an optimistic preview of what is up next for Betty. She impressed the fans using the Elton John classic, Your Song, which inspired everyone else to participate in about the lyrics. It never will get old hearing her rendition of the hard-to-touch hit song. It had been breathtakingly beautiful and sincere. I had been most amazed by her performance about the drums when she performed Salt Skin. She wiped out it coupled with everyone else screaming and dancing since it was electrifying and sexy (she'd good quality moves too!) It provided goosebumps. It is also what sets her apart. Her talent stretches way beyond a great song along with a strong voice, placing her towards the top of her game in the youthful chronilogical age of 24! When she ended together with her small drum kit, she leaped directly into everyone else pleasing, Lights. It had been transcendent! Her perfect vocals and sincere expressions managed to get super easy for that audience to feel involved in the energy from the song. Betty closed the evening with Starry Eyed. And such as the song states, Betty hit this crowd like lightning together with her riveting performance- never once losing momentum! Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved.These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Manager sentenced for scam

A Hollywood talent manager has pleaded no contest to one count of operating an advance-fee talent representation service and failing to file a $50,000 bond with the State Labor Commission. The Los Angeles City Attorney's office announced Thursday that Patrick W. O'Brien, 51, operator of Pat O'Brien Talent Management and Talent Marketing and Promotions Inc., was ordered to pay restitution for conducting a $3,000 bait-and-switch scam on aspiring actors and their parents. Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert prosecuted the case. Judge Yolanda Orozco sentenced defendant O'Brien to three years' probation and 90 days in jail or 45 days of community labor along with paying $6,000 restitution to three victims. He was also ordered to shut down the Talent Marketing and Promotions business, not to advertise any audition or employment opportunity and to have no involvement with any talent training service or talent listing service anywhere inside or outside the state of California, including any seminar, camp or educational facility. Orozco also ordered O'Brien not to be involved in any business that develops or produces motion pictures, television, the Internet or any other entertainment enterprise. The case involved an Arizona mother and her 15-year-old son. The mother replied last year to a casting notice for a teen sitcom project, after which the son was invited to audition at the Hollywood Center Studios and subsequently before O'Brien. During a second interview, O'Brien signed the son to a management contract. O'Brien also sold the victim a "photo shoot and acting classes" package for nearly $3,000, which led the family to relocate to California so the son could participate in the classes. The City Attorney's office said a full refund was requested but never provided and that after the case was filed, two more parents contacted the City Attorney's office and filed a complaint against O'Brien and his business. Another talent manager, Nicholas Roses, 21, pleaded no contest last week to two counts and was sentenced by Orozco to three years' probation and to pay $10,700 in total restitution to the three complaining witnesses as well as $2,000 in investigative costs. Moves come a year after the city warned casting workshops and talent services that it would enforce tightened state rules barring "pay to audition" scams, with city attorney Carmen Trutanich sending out about 200 letters to notify the operators that the Krekorian Act had gone into effect (Daily Variety, April 22, 2010). Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Chris Evans May Move To Motor City

For director Allen Hughes.... He's on screen right now being heroic in Captain America, and busy reprising the role for The Avengers, but Chris Evans has apparently been offered a very different movie from the Marvel hero with Motor City. Here's where it gets slightly confusing. According to Twitch, Book of Eli co-director Allen Hughes is attached to call the shots on the film, which will be based on Chad St John's Black List script. Except... Hughes was already attached to a script called Broken City, which had Mark Wahlberg interested and another Black List script driving it. Just yesterday, it was hinted that Wahlberg would be dropping out of David O Russell's Silver Linings Playbook for scheduling reasons and switching to work on Broken City. Now? This new information throws that into doubt. Apparently Warners is eager to have Hughes focus on Motor, with a January start date now being considered and producer Joel Silver pushing the idea of Evans as the star. Motor City follows a small time hood who is framed and chucked in prison. When he gets out, he swears revenge on those who put him away. The most intriguing thing about St John's screenplay? Reports have the hero only uttering one single line of dialogue. Which sounds like it could be great in concept, but likely a tough sell for a studio film. Still, there's no official confirmation yet on whether Evans will even take the movie, but it's definitely something different...

Twilight Stars Talk Breaking Dawn Sex Scene

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- "The Twilight Saga's" rabid fans had one thing on their mind as they lined up to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars - sex! _Access Hollywood_ caught with the cast, who dished on in "Breaking Dawn - Part 1's" highly anticipated love scene between Edward and Bella. "I hope it's pretty true to the book," Robert Pattinson told Access at Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego. "It's funny because things like the love scene aren't really in the book, I guess people will be kind of surprised or interested in what they end up like." Kristen Stewart hinted that fans will get even more in the movie than they did in pages of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling book. "All of the really iconic bits, like the first love scene [are in the movie]," Kristen told _Access_. "I've seen the movie... it's very, very close to the book. And we add a few things too, yeah, there's a few little surprises." The 21-year-old actress said she also had unprecedented access to the author while filming the movie's love scene. "It's actually the most Stephenie has been on set, every single day I was able to talk to her all the time, any time I wanted to," she explained. "She's always been incredibly involved, but not to that extent. So she's defiantly really infused into this one in sort of an amazing way." Ashley Greene - who plays Alice Cullen - told _Access_ she was thrilled to be back in the midst of all her dedicated Twi-hards. "The fans are just as passionate and very excited about these two films coming out," she said. "We had such a good time filming. Bill Condon was so amazing to work with." The first installment of "Breaking Dawn" hits theaters on November 18, 2011, and the second part on November 16, 2012.