Intoxicating Scent

MTV News has a straight-up ridiculous amount of original “Twilight” franchise content — on-set interviews, intimate sit-downs with cast and crew, exclusive clips and photos and more.

As we reach Friday’s (November 20) opening of “New Moon,” we had to reach back into our archives and pull out some of the very best stuff — both for the hard-core fans who can’t get enough of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, and for those casual observers who are trying to get up to speed before hitting the theater this weekend. Without further ado, check out MTV News’ “New Moon” cheat sheet.

Would Taylor Return?
Following the $380 million success of “Twilight” — with its story of forbidden romance between Pattinson’s vampire Edward Cullen and Stewart’s high school girl Bella Swan — there were two big questions: Would Taylor Lautner reprise his role as werewolf Jacob Black for “New Moon,” and who would direct the sequel?

After the departure of “Twilight” helmer Catherine Hardwicke, the choice for a director was up in the air, and Chris Weitz got the call. His task? Take the story about Bella’s heartbreak after Edward leaves her and she begins to develop an attachment to Jacob and fashion it into another blockbuster hit. The other question was answered when Lautner hit the gym, packed on 30 pounds of muscle and re-secured his role.

The First Visions Arrive
As the cast headed to Vancouver to begin filming, the first peeks at “New Moon” began to trickle out. MTV News debuted the first official logo, a photo of the vaunted wolf pack appeared and set pics leaked out. Finally, the first footage arrived in May — at the MTV Movie Awards, of course.

Meet the Volturi
After the trailers and the photos, we finally got a look at the Volturi, those powerful bloodsuckers who have become a royal governing authority in the vampire world, delivering violent justice to anyone who threatens their way of life: Jane (Dakota Fanning), Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower), Alec (Cameron Bright), Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Aro (Michael Sheen).

More of Everything Twilighters Crave
As we got closer to the film’s release, studio Summit Entertainment continued to pump out content that all the fans desired. The cast and crew gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to create the wolf pack and the Volturi; clips of Lautner, Stewart and Pattinson popped up on the Web; and then, at September’s MTV Video Music Awards, we debuted yet another trailer.

The Stars Speak
By November, the opening of “New Moon” was just weeks away and the cast sat down with MTV to talk all things “Twilight.” Pattinson spoke about his relationship with Stewart, his performance in the film and what’s next in his career. Stewart discussed the changes in her character from the first to the second movie, how she’s watched Pattinson become a more confident person and what audiences will find truly shocking in “New Moon.” Lautner chatted about the dark times when he was almost replaced, what he’s most proud of in the film and the qualities he shares with his character.

The Future
What, you haven’t heard about “Eclipse”? And “Breaking Dawn”? “New Moon” is just the second film in what could eventually become a five-picture saga, if “Dawn,” as rumored, is split up into two separate movies. The “Twilight” franchise will be around for years to come. And we promise: MTV News will be covering it from every angle.

Anyone who knows anything about “Twilight” scribe Stephenie Meyer knows that the vampire-spawning writer has eclectic taste in music. Earlier this year, she blogged about what she did all summer, which included listening to bands you may or may not know like Meese and White Rabbits, as well as some you might, like Muse, Animal Collective and Silversun Pickups.

She’s posted suggested playlists for fans of her book series that includes everything from Placebo, Blue October and Armor for Sleep to Elbow, Coldplay, Patrick Wolf, Simon and Garfunkel, Korn, Incubus, Nine Inch Nails and Right Said Fred.

On Monday, the track listing for the upcoming soundtrack to “New Moon” was revealed and it has the same mix of the popular and somewhat-obscure that fans have come to expect from Meyer. The 15 all-new or exclusive tracks feature some of the names that have been kicking around for a while, such as Muse, who refashioned the baroque “I Belong To You” from their new album, The Resistance at director Chris Weitz’s behest and Death Cab for Cutie, whose “Meet Me On The Equinox” debuted on MTV.com recently.

	The ‘New Moon’ Soundtrack Bands And Artists

Other big names include the Killers (“A White Demon Love Song”), Radiohead’s Thom Yorke (“Hearing Damage”) and viral video sensations OK Go (“Shooting the Moon”). But there are also a number of acts whose names you might not recognize, so here’s a quick primer:

Band of Skulls (“Friends”) – this White Stripes-by-way-of-Radiohead English trio formed in 2008 and released the blues-rocking Baby Darling Doll Face Honey in March. They played at this summer’s Lollapalooza festival and feature the alternating vocals of bassist Emma Richardson and guitarist Russell Mardsen.

Lykke Li (“Possibility”) – Another veteran of Lollapalooza 2009, the Swedish answer to Lady Gaga has gained a legion of fans (among them MTV’s own Kurt Loder) for the intensely rhythmic and hypnotic dance music on her debut, Youth Novels.

Anya Marina (“Satellite Heart”) – The San Diego-based singer/songwriter, sometime actress (“100 Girls”) and radio DJ released her second album of playfully sexy pop tunes, Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II in January. Her songs have been featured “The Real World,” “Gossip Girl,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How I Met Your Mother.”

Bon Iver & St. Vincent (“Rosyln”) – He’s sensitive folkie Justin Vernon, whose For Emma, Forever Ago was recorded under the name Bon Iver in a remote cabin in Wisconsin in 2007 and became a blog sensation in 2008. She’s Annie Clark, a member of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ touring band who performs as the St. Vincent. Her second album, Actor, was released in May and featured orchestrated pop songs she said were potential fodder for film scores.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (“Done All Wrong”) – This L.A.-based psychedelic garage rock act — named after Marlon Brando’s motorcycle gang in 1953’s “The Wild One” — have been thrashing around since 1998 and have released five albums of twisty, heady rock.

Hurricane Bells (“Monsters”) – A side project from Longwave singer/guitarist Steve Schiltz, this unsigned band will release its debut next year. The mellow, country-tinged songs on the Bells’ MySpace page promise some seriously introspective, rainy-day pop gems.

Sea Wolf (“The Violet Hour”) – The now-main project from former Irving member Alex Church, this California act got its start when Church’s tunes didn’t fit into Irving’s more 1960s inspired psychedelic pop sound. As a result, Church broke off and pursued an Americana-inspired orchestral country-pop sound on albums such as this year’s White Water, White Bloom.

Grizzly Bear (“Slow Life”) – The beloved Brooklyn indie-rock band known for mixing folk with electronic instruments released one of this year’s most acclaimed albums in May, Veckatimest. Their mix of acoustic guitars, chamber pop, electronic bloops and gorgeous melodies have earned them major blog props.

Editors (“No Sound But the Wind”) – England’s Editors emerged out of the dark rock sound of bands like Interpol and their inspiration, Joy Division, earning a string of overseas hits with alluring tunes like “Bullets” and “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors.”

Alexandre Desplat (“New Moon (The Meadow)”) – The French composer has scored more than 100 films and TV shows since 1985. He’s best known for his Golden Globe-nominated score to “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” as well as contemplative soundtracks to “Hostage,” “Syriana,” “The Painted Veil” and “The Queen,” which earned his first Oscar nomination.

The “New Moon” soundtrack is available on October 20 on Atlantic Records, exactly one month before “New Moon” opens in theaters on November 20.