Casting Call For ‘Twilight’ Sequel ‘New Moon’ Leads to Drama

CHICAGO – Fans who dreams of getting a role in the new “Twilight [16]” movie traveled hundreds of miles to get to Canada this past weekend for an opening casting call for the highly anticipated “New Moon [12]” but it was a dead end for most of the anxious teenagers.

The Chris Weitz [5]-directed sequel will star Robert Pattinson [13], Kristen Stewart [9], Taylor Lautner [15], Ashley Greene [2], and perhaps Lucy Hale [11], AnnaLynne McCord [18] and Dakota Fanning [6], all of whom were the subject of casting rumors recently.

The Vancouver Sun [19] reports that hundreds of teenagers were turned away from the “New Moon” casting call, including some people who had flown from as far away as Florida and lined up outside the Second Avenue Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

At around 12:30pm, casting assistants told the people lined up outside the studios that there would be no more people allowed in the building. Apparently, the relatively happy crowd turned ugly quickly with tears, tantrums, and accusations of cutting in line.

The crowd grew because of postings on Craigslist for “any first nations/aboriginal actors and actresses between the ages of 15 and 25” and stories like this one [20]. A casting assistant for Vancouver’s Aikins/Cossey Casting was very satisfied with the turnout, telling the Sun, “This is more than we expected. It’s definitely a good turnout.”

17-year-old Jenny Gustafson woke up at 4:30 a.m. to catch a 6:30 a.m. ferry and had no previous acting experience but had to see if she might be lucky enough to make the cut. Like most people there, it was her love for the Stephenie Meyer series that pushed her. As she said, “I like any romance novel, and this one was kind of unique because of the forbidden love thing.”

Gustafson’s mother Mary Long had the right attitude, telling the Sun, “It’s an experience. I told these guys around me who are getting discouraged and worried that, either they’re going to be in it or they’ll say, ‘Hey, I was standing beside that guy!’ So that’s gotta mean something, right?”

The Twilight ensemble.
Photo credit: Summit Publicity

“Twilight,” which stars Kristen Stewart [9], Robert Pattinson [13], Ashley Greene [2] and Taylor Lautner from director Catherine Hardwicke, has grossed $178 million domestically. This has put the “New Moon” sequel into production immediately and has spawned a series of casting rumors. Other books in the Stephenie Meyer series include “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”.