By Celebuzz on Mar. 26, 2009 01:30 PM

Last week’s widely anticipated announcement of the New Moon wolf pack marked the official new beginning for the five Native American actors chosen for the part.

They are already the subject of feverish fan-site activity by Twilight nation. And this is just the beginning.

“These kids are kids whose life is going to change,” casting director Rene Haynes tells Celebuzz in an exclusive interview. “They are now stars.”

“And right now they are just getting the tip of the iceberg.”

Welcome to Twilight-mania, wolf pack.

Haynes handled the Native American casting for the Twilight sequel. Her final wolf pack choices include Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz, Bronson Pelletier, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman.

“They are all good kids,” says Rene. “They have good heads on their shoulders. I think they’ll navigate these waters the best they can.”

“I’ve told them, make wise choices from here on out. This is what you’ve been working for. Don’t mess it up.”

Just to give you an idea of the fan intensity, IMDB’s star meter showed Meraz’s star ranking rose 25,566 percent in popularity this week (the shirtless picture at the top sure don’t hurt).

Haynes’ office set up an extensive nationwide search to find the actors. They searched their database of up-and-coming Native American actors. There was a call-out for video auditions, which brought in 600 tapes (”I watched them all,” she says). There was also open auditions, including one in Vancouver which brought out thousands of hopefuls. Houseman was the lucky attendee who not only auditioned on that day, but also earned a part.

“Every single aspect was successful,” says Haynes.

It was crucial to Haynes — who specializes in Native American casting − that each of the characters chosen was of Native American descent. “It was important to the filmmakers,” says Haynes. ‘That is why they hired me. And that was my job.”

Future stars

Perhaps the hardest choice was that of casting Spencer. While Haynes declines to say what part the actor was cast for, fan sites have speculated Spencer is set for the part of Sam – a pivotal wolf pack leader who plays a prominent role in future installments.

“He’s someone I feel is going to be a star,” says Haynes. “I have cast him before. He’s always done lovely work. It’s awesome to know that it’s time for this young actor to have a great breakout role like this.”

It wasn’t a sure thing when Spencer auditioned, even after meeting casting director Joseph Middleton in NY for a powerful reading.

“It was a very long process,” says Haynes, pointing out there were many strong candidates for the part. “It was up and down, up and down. But he floated to the top.”

She’s now sure she’s found her man. Spencer is an experienced veteran who has worked with Haynes on a number of projects. “He’s an emerging young actor who has paid his dues,” says Haynes. “This isn’t just someone we picked off the street. He’s studied and ready for this.”

Another choice receiving a lot of buzz in the Vancouver shooting is Meraz. Haynes can see the appeal. “Alex is a professional dancer,” she says. “He is definitely a rising star in the Native American community.”

While all the actors are studly, the big question is, are they as studly as the bulked-up leader Taylor Lautner? “All the roles require a lot of physicality,” Haynes assures us. “They’re all quite fit.”

Credits: Celebuzz

We were fortunate enough to get a chance to talk with Twilight mega-star Kristen Stewart (aka ‘Bella Swan’) at her press day for a sweet little indie she did for Mary Stuart Masterson called The Cake Eaters, and of course we made sure to get the Twilight scoop.

When asked what she thought about the bad press she’s been getting in the wake of her Nylon interview, Stewart is adamant that her words are being taken out of context—professing, believably might I add—to having nothing but the utmost respect and care for the Twilight story and situation as a whole. “I love the Twilight fans. I have literally never said anything remotely negative about them,” she told us.

So all the hullaballoo? She attributed that to learning the ropes about what is going to read in print and what isn’t. “You have to stay away from certain key words that can be twisted in a negative connotation. Like the word ‘psychotic’ apparently is really bad,” she said, provoking laughter around the table.

“I feel like it’s a really humble position to take that it’s not normal—you know what I mean?—to find yourself in a situation where there are 5,000 screaming girls. I feel like that’s not normal and it’s not something I should just say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s really cool, I love them,’” she continued. “I feel like everything I said in that Nylon interview, if you actually read the whole thing, was very honest and genuine and talking about something that I am so immersed in and I have absolutely no control over. And I’m just trying to stay honest and true to something that I care about.”

According to Stewart, cameras are set to start rolling on the next installment of the Twilight saga, New Moon, on March 23rd and she’s eager to dive back in. “It’s a completely different story. It’s like it completely undermines the first,” she explained. “Edward’s gone and for me that was the whole story. It’s hard for me to get past—I don’t know how Bella’s going to deal with that. She matures. A lot. And it’s a much more painful story than the first one. It’s actually quite devastating. It’s a smaller scale as well. She’s very solitary for quite a while, so that will be interesting. I’m excited about that.”

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When your soundtrack isn’t even completed much less released (not until November 4th), yet it’s already in the Top 5 Best-Selling Albums on Amazon based on pre-sales alone, you know you have a hit. When Borders makes an exclusive calendar and sells out the first printing in a matter of days, you know you have a hit. And when the new trailer to your movie surpasses 3.5 million views less than 48 hours after its online debut, you know you have a hit. Which is why Summit Entertainment’s CEO Rob Friedman is already readying a Twilight sequel — even though the vampire tween/tween movie isn’t set for release until November 21st which is the date vacated by Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and did I mention that Twilight has the fastest selling licensed merchandise since — you guessed it — Harry Potter?

But the comparison with Harry Potter ends at cost: Twilight came in at only a $37 million negative cost. This notion of a low-cost blockbuster for a start-up studio just doesn’t happen often in the film biz. So if the movie lives up to the advance hype, Summit will be sitting on a big new franchise. How big? Well, the new Twilight trailer played with Quarantine this weekend and as soon as the title came up, a chorus of high-pitched screams of joy emanated from the women in the audience in one Southern California theater. Only to be properly drowned out by a loud chorus of male boos. It’s conventional wisdom that boys won’t go because there’s not enough gory fang action. But Summit is also marketing to an online contingent called Twilight Moms because of the chaste love story set in the picturesque locale of Oregon and directed by thirteen’s Catherine Hardwicke. Still, I think Summit is lowballing by hoping for a $20M North American opening weekend from 3,500+ venues.

Like Potter, Twilight has a built-in audience of book fans with, a total 7.5 million domestic sales for all four Stephanie Meyer novels in the series which was a New York Times #1 bestseller for 59 weeks. Not to mention big sales overseas like Italy, Germany and the UK. That’s one reason Twilight is opening day and date in 10 territories, including the U.S.

Summit may spend in the high $30sM for P&A. That’s a bargain consider skyrocketing marketing costs in the movie biz. That’s because indies these days must spend more efficiently than studios by not just attracting long lines at Comic-Con but almost solely relying on My Space and other social networks instead of costly TV ads. Look, for example, at how Summit rolled out the new trailer. First, Nancy Kirkpatrick (one of the best in the biz) heightened fan anticipation by creating a countdown clock to the widget. Then came the trailer’s free debut on Entertainment Tonight. That night, Summit gave fans a special opportunity to see it online first as a way of thanking them for their support. The trailer was streamed through Twilight’s widget from 8 PM to 9 PM for fans, then debuted for the general audience in HD on MySpace Trailer Park at 9 PM. The result: 2 million views in the first 24 hours on MySpace alone and 3.5 million views in cyberspace within the first 48 hours.

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