Controversy has surrounded the film, as Breaking Dawn has a decidedly more mature tone than its predecessors. Kristen Stewart has said that the film's birth scene is much tamer than the novel's: "It could been shocking and grotesque, because that's how it was written in the book. I would have loved to have been puking up blood."
Seen those leaked images from the fourth installment of the Twilight franchise? Apparently lots of people have, including the makers of the film. Shots of stars Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson in bed (not the pic to the left) were tweeted to the world. Summit shut down the original source but the racy images are still bouncing around online, prompting the studio and creative team to reach out directly to fans.
This afternoon, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon, producer Wyck Godfrey and Summit released the following statement:
As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage.
The film and these images are not yet ready or in their proper context. They were illegally obtained and their early dissemination is deeply upsetting to the actors, the filmmakers and Summit who are working so hard to bring these movies to fruition to you in November 2011 and November 2012.
Please, for those who are posting, stop. And please, though the temptation is high, don’t view or pass on these images. Wait for the film in its beautiful, finished entirety to thrill you.
As we reported, intimate screenshots of the last Twilight film also leaked in advance of its release. Summit at the time sent cease and desist letters to some of the websites that posted the images but no lawsuits were filed (UPDATE: Commenters are correct; at least one suit was filed and settled).
This time around, Summit insiders tell us they are not pointing their finger at any particular website, and they currently don’t have any plans to sue. But that could change, especially if the studio identifies the invidividual responsible for the leak.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day