New Moon Whips Comic-Con Audience into a Fantastic Frenzy

After the "Twilight" movie took Comic-Con by storm last year and became a box office blitz despite being cheaply made by an independent company, Summit Entertainment, it was no shock that the highlight of this year's Con was the sequel, "New Moon."MTV.com reports that stars Kristen Stewart (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward), Taylor Lautner (Jacob) and Ashley Greene (Alice), along with Director Chris Weitz, formed this year's panel and took the stage to answer the questions of fans who had been lined up outside Hall H for hours.

According to EW.com, two scenes were revealed to eager fans: The first time Bella rides her motorcycle and the climactic race through Italy to save Edward. At this time last year, "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke was unveiling the climactic fight scene at the end of the first film to Comic-Con audiences. The cast made it no secret that working with Weitz has been a different – and better – experience.

MTV.com reports that Stewart explained the different approaches taken by the respective directors to the audience.

"Chris is sort of the perfect guy to have done this. In the first one . . . everything was impulsive and natural and fast," she said. "And in this case, we had more time to think . . . it was a little more cerebral. And considering what I had to go through in the movie, he's one of the most compassionate, considerate people I've ever met. He made it so easy."

Talking to Hollywood.com, Weitz made it clear that he fully understood the phenomenon into which he was walking.

"I inherit a huge fanbase, which is incredible for a director, because you know people are going to go see your movie. That's the whole thing you worry about when you're making a film in the first place," Weitz said. "It's so expensive to make a film. You work so hard; you make other people work so hard. Knowing that people are going to go see it is tremendously refreshing."

"New Moon" features yet another star-on-the-rise. While Lautner was in the first film, he was a minor character and overshadowed by the two leads. However, after bulking up and getting fit to accurately portray his character, Jacob Black, who goes through quite a transformation in this installment of the saga, Lautner is set to steal the show.

MTV.com reports that Lautner told the fans in attendance at the convention, "The most challenging for me was physically, so I had a lot of hard work cut out for me after filming 'Twilight.' I worked really hard to transform Jacob's body so I could portray him correctly for all you guys. And I hope you guys are pleased when you see the results."

The fangirls in the audience were clearly pleased – Lautner's ab-baring shots in the newly-revealed scenes elicited screams from the audience that rivaled those earned by the established star, Pattinson.

Weitz also revealed that Lautner did every stunt he possibly could – the only exception being those stunts the insurance company deemed too dangerous.

Anticipation is mounting and "ew Moon" is still four months away – by the November 20 release date, the frenzy will have reached a fever pitch.