FROM MTV.COM: Late last month, during MTV's "Ulalume: Howling at New Moon" special, we debuted the catalyzing scene in the upcoming "Twilight" sequel, that traumatic moment that drives all the action in the film: when Bella Swan's 18th birthday party with the Cullen family turns from joyous occasion to violent game-changer.

As committed Twilighters know, Kristen Stewart's Bella nicks her finger while opening up a present, and the sight of fresh blood triggers the need for Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) to do a little vampire feeding. In steps Robert Pattinson's Edward to smack down Jasper and make sure not a hair on his beloved's head is touched. Their relationship is forever altered.

Continue reading Robert Pattinson Takes Us Inside The 'New Moon' Birthday Scene

So this Friday -- Devil's Night! -- the MTV network will celebrate a first: the channel's premiere Halloween special. "Ulalume: Howling at New Moon" is a one-hour special celebrating both the annual horror holiday and the upcoming November release of the highly anticipated "New Moon." In addition to performances by Paramore, AFI, Dead By Sunrise and Kid Cudi, you'll get to see a bevy of "New Moon" cast members, including stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, who will introduce a brand new exclusive clip from the movie.

To get you hyped, we have this very special interview clip prepared for you. Cast members Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser and Twilight" merchandise. What they own, or don't own. What they've taken from the set. What they'd like to have. Think of it as a short preview for the main event to come tomorrow night, when "Ulalume" airs on MTV at 9pm ET/PT.

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: When we had the chance to interview Jackson Rathbone last week on the set of his new film, "Girlfriend," we couldn't resist asking him some heavy questions, including (but not limited to) whether "Breaking Dawn" will be released as one film or two.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, isn't "Breaking Dawn" set to be released in 2011? Haven't the two movies that come before it not even be released yet? Shouldn't you be asking questions about, say, "New Moon," which comes out in less than a month?

If you've been keeping track of our Jackson covering on Hollywood Crush and MTV.com over the past week, you'd know we already addressed those questions, but still couldn't resist trying to get a little inside scoop on what could possibly be happening (since we know Melissa Rosenberg is going to be penning the screenplay, so at least the ball is rolling).

Continue reading 'New Moon' Star Jackson Rathbone May (Or May Not) Have Leaked Some Juicy 'Breaking Dawn' Details!

FROM MTV.COM: If "New Moon" is the low point of Jasper Hale's presence in the "Twilight" saga, then "Eclipse" is the high. When MTV News caught up with Jackson Rathbone last week on the set of his indie flick "Girlfriend," he still had two weeks of "Eclipse" filming left. Much of his shooting had been completed, and he shared some of the big scenes he had already finished.

"I got to go back into my old roots, got to ride some horses again, which was nice. Got to put these riding boots to use, which is good," Rathbone said, motioning to his boots. "I actually can ride a horse."

Continue reading Jackson Rathbone Discusses Jasper's 'Eclipse' Flashbacks

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: Jackson Rathbone has been working his butt off this year, though most of what he's been working on wont be seen by the public until 2010. He finished filming M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" and "New Moon" earlier this year, is completing his final two weeks of filming for "Eclipse" right now, and when we caught up with him last week, was working the dual roles of producer and actor on his indie flick, "Girlfriend." Oh yeah, and hes in the process for gearing up for a 100 city tour with his band, 100 Monkeys.

"I just want to work. I don't sleep," Jackson admitted with a laugh.

That was literally the case when we met up with him last week. Both he and bandmate/co-"Girlfriend" star and producer Jerad Anderson had hopped a plane from Vancouver the night before and started working when they landed. He said when he wrapped filming on "Girlfriend," he would jump on a plane back to Vancouver and pick up filming on "Eclipse" again.

Continue reading Jackson Rathbone On Jumping From 'Airbender' To 'Eclipse' To 'Girlfriend': 'It Gets Confusing!'

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: In previous interviews with the director and cast of “Girlfriend,” the creators of the film were hesitant about revealing too many plot points. What was known was the plot involved a romance between "New Moon" star Jackson Rathbone and Shannon Woodward as ex-high school sweethearts, but a love triangle was also mentioned with the third angle not disclosed.

Earlier this week, on a visit to the set of “Girlfriend,” director Justin Lerner and his crew decided to share exclusively with MTV the large portion of plot they have been hiding secret: the film’s main character, Evan Grey.

Evan Grey (played by Evan Sneider, pictured, also inspired the character) is a man in his twenties with down syndrome who wants to find love from a woman, and the film (appropriately titled) is about his journey to find a girlfriend. During the course of the tale, Evan comes into some sort of means — which we assume to be money — that he uses to help the girl he's loved since high school (Woodward), who is currently a single mom.

Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Major Plot Details For Jackson Rathbone's 'Girlfriend' Movie Revealed!

Jasper's backstory just got a little bit easier to envision. The news broke last week that "Kyle XY" player Kirsten Prout joined the cast of "Eclipse," third movie in the "Twilight" series. She'll play Lucy, a vampire from Jasper Hale's (Jackson Rathbone) past who factors prominently into his coming to terms with joining the ranks of the undead. For those readers out there who aren't as familiar with "Twilight" (all two of you), you can see Jasper being thrown into a grand piano in the "New Moon" trailer below.

Prout is currently in Vancouver shooting for Lifetime miniseries "Seven Deadly Sins," Bloody Disgusting reports. She'll presumably join director David Slade and the "Twilight" team soon, as the "Eclipse" shoot is currently on in Vancouver. Read more...

Say what you will about the “Twilight” explosion of the last year – and everybody seems to have an opinion on whether the phenomenon is awesome or annoying – but even the haters should have a hard time complaining about how many of the franchise’s stars are using their newfound power to help young filmmakers. Jackson Rathbone has been hard at work on flicks like “Girlfriend,” Robert Pattinson has been able to bring a wider audience to quirky indies like “Little Ashes” and "How to Be,” and now comes the latest boost from Justin Chon.

“Check out this short film i did with a friend from USC,” Justin Tweeted Wednesday night, posting a link to a vimeo page with an impressive 20-minute-long film called “Turbo.” Also on the page is the trailer, both of which were posted by the film’s director Jarrett Lee Conaway. Read more...

When I watched "Twilight" for the first time a couple weeks ago, one of the characters I immediately wanted to know more about was Jasper, played by Jackson Rathbone. As the youngest blood-drinker to join the Cullen clan, his barely restrained intensity is explained away by his inability to cope with the bloodlust he feels whenever he comes into close contact with humans.

The immediate question I had was "when did he join the family, and under what circumstances?" It's a backstory that gets explored in the series' subsequent entries, particularly "Eclipse." In a recent interview with MTV, Rathbone had plenty to say on what we can expect to see from him in the second and third movies, releasing this November and next June, respectively.

Read more...

Orlando Bloom did it a few years ago with “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Samuel L. Jackson sort of had it going on with the “Star Wars” and “xXx” films. And Ian McKellen might have been the king, as he balanced the “LOTR” and “X-Men” movies for years... in his 60s! Now, could Jackson Rathbone be the next actor to pull off the rare simultaneous-double-franchise trick?

“Aw, man I got to do a lot of fight scenes in ‘Airbender’,” the affable “Twilight” star explained to us when we asked about his recently-wrapped upcoming blockbuster based on the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” TV cartoon show. “It was fun for me, because I grew up a little bit in Texas, and did a little Texas football. So, that little contact is good every once in a while; it kind of lets the aggression out.” Read more...