SANTA MONICA, California — It's a beloved moment in the "New Moon" novel, a rare moment of comic relief as Bella Swan attempts to get over her Edward Cullen-induced heartbreak by going on what becomes a three-way date with the love-struck Jacob Black and Mike Newton. Recently, actor Michael Welch made big news by assuring Twilighters that the scene would be in November's "Twilight" sequel — and now, we've got the scoop on the key tweak masterminded by director Chris Weitz.
"I really should've checked with someone if this is information I can give away or not," grinned Welch, the fan favorite who plays puppy dog-like Mike Newton in the blockbuster series. "But, whatever — here we are."
Welch stopped by the MTV studios to discuss such far-ranging topics as his concern for Robert Pattinson's safety and the "three-way date," a scene that has Bella, Mike and Jacob at a movie theater, watching a horror film. But, in the grand tradition of such films as "The Player," "Bowfinger" and "The Purple Rose of Cairo," director Weitz is inserting his own mini "movie within a movie" into the mix.
"The film is called 'Face Punch,' " revealed Welch, telling us about the tongue-in-cheek movie that Bella, Mike and Taylor will be seen watching on the big screen. "It's an action film."
When the cast of "New Moon" began planning out the pivotal date scene, they got a laugh out of some of the silly, fictional action-movie names that Weitz and his crew had assembled. But in the end, "Face Punch" was the winner.
"We started out with a few other comical names, but it turned out those were actual films so we couldn't use those titles," Welch laughed. "I forget the first few titles, but it was like 'Crazy Explosion' — and it turns out, there actually was a 'Crazy Explosion.' "
"Chris came up with the title," he continued. "And apparently there is no 'Face Punch' that we know of."
And although Welch and the other "New Moon" stars weren't able to watch "Face Punch" while they shot their scenes inside the movie theater (they were repeatedly shown the trailer for "Defiance" while Weitz's camera caught the flicker on their faces), he hopes that the filmmaker will shoot some silly action footage for his "Face Punch" mini-movie.
"That'd be interesting — maybe for the DVD, if there's a 'Face Punch' trailer," he grinned. "That's actually not a bad idea."
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