"New Moon" Director Chris Weitz Spills the Beans!

ON THE LOOK OF NEW MOON, AND EDWARD'S NEW "SPARKLING" EFFECT

Weitz is still developing New Moon's computer-generated effects -- including a new take on Edward Cullen's "sparkling" effect, which drew criticism in the first film -- and is just weeks away from delivering a first cut.

"I am about two weeks away from showing my director's cut to the studio," Weitz told us. "I've got some wolves with fur, and some wolves are still invisible, basically. And some wolves are kind of like...what look like Claymation versions. We are still in the late R&D phases of what Edward looks like when he's hit by sunlight, what the vampires look like when they're hit with sunlight, the diamond effect, and also the hallucinatory effect that Bella has when she hears Edward's voice and she imagines him there."

Upon Stephenie Meyer's insistence, New Moon's werewolves and vampires will be grounded in reality -- the Wolf Pack's transformations will pop, and the Volturi will remain true to Meyer's descriptions.

"Our aim was to make them look like what it says they look like in the book, and not to be too fancy about it," Weitz explained. "You know, it was very important to Stephenie that, for instance, the werewolves transform very quickly and that they look like wolves, that we not have this kind of magical, Lon Chaney-esque long transformations, and I think the reason behind that is to give a sense of their reality."

"I think that was important for the Volturi as well; they're not levitating above the ground, they're not surrounded by mystical auras, they are creatures who actually exist and they're very specific, they're very stylish, they're very elegant, they're very dangerous. Essentially, it's really faithful to the book.

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN, TWILIGHTERS

Once his initial cut of New Moon is submitted, Weitz will have about three months to fine-tune his film. His due date to complete a final cut will come just weeks before New Moon is set to premiere:

"Ironically, I think it's the day before Halloween. I believe October 30 is our drop dead date when it's time to start striking the print, or we're in big trouble."

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THE MUSIC OF NEW MOON: ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, BELLA'S LULLABY, AND...THOM YORKE?

Weitz has brought aboard familiar collaborators to work on New Moon, including Oscar-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat (who scored Weitz's The Golden Compass). But will Desplat carry over the fan-favorite "Bella's Lullaby" theme composed by Twilight scorer Carter Burwell, played famously by Edward in the first film?

"Alexandre Desplat has just started working on his music for the film, and we are just starting to put together what bands are on the soundtrack, so it's kind of like keeping ten plates spinning at once," Weitz said. "But it's all good, because we've got Alexandre Desplat, who I think is one of the greatest film composers living, and because of the strength of the franchise that I inherited, a lot of bands are really interested in working on the soundtrack."

When asked about "Bella's Lullaby," Weitz confirmed that it would reappear -- at least, in some form. "I think yes, because like any franchise, there are certain themes that become familiar. I suspect he's going to transpose it in some manner, and most of the music will be entirely new to the franchise because his style is somewhat different from Carter Burwell's. But I think that there is some value to having some kind of familiar leitmotifs running through the entire series."

Speaking about the music in New Moon, Weitz revealed that requests have flooded in from bands who want to contribute to the soundtrack; after all, the first Twilight film helped launch alt-rock band Paramore into the pop culture stratosphere. In talks to appear on the soundtrack are none other than Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Kings of Leon.

"Fortunately, I'm not at the stage where I have to turn anybody down yet, because everything is still kind of up in the air," Weitz shared, "but I am surprised at some of the bands that have said they're interested. It's kind of great. The criterion will still always be what's right for the movie at that given moment, but Thom Yorke is interested; we might, if we're very lucky, get Kings of Leon to do something... it's exciting to be able to have access to this kind of talent."