'Twilight' Author Hopes Aliens Lure Vampire Fans to 'The Host'

Author Stephanie Meyer is hoping her vampire fans will be willing to step into a new world and embrace aliens as the first film of her new book series, "The Host", hits the big screens.

Fans of the successful "Twilight Saga" box office franchise have been eagerly anticipating Meyer's next offering on the big screen with "The Host" out in U.S. theaters on March 29.

But Meyer, speaking at the film's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles, said the new film may not be what fans of the popular vampire series expect from her.

"If (fans) go into it wanting a repeat of "Twilight" they probably will not be thrilled, because it is not. It is a very different kind of story," Meyer told Reuters TV.

"I think if they are willing to go on a new ride with me and try out something a little different than I think they will really like it."

The five "Twilight" films, based on Meyer's best-selling novels, focus on a love story between a vampire and a human and grossed more than $3.3 billion at the global box office, according to movie sales tracking website BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The films, which attracted a devoted teenage following, launched lead stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner into A-list fame.

"The Host," adapted from Meyer's novel of the same name, explores a post-apocalyptic world where alien beings called Souls invade Earth and take over human bodies and minds, causing conflicting emotions between the two beings in the same body.

Meyer has already said that she has plots in mind for follow-on books and hoped this would become a trilogy, which would open the way for sequel films.

In "The Host," Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan, 18, plays human Melanie Stryder who is taken over by a Soul called Wanda.

Ronan, who starred in "The Lovely Bones" and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscars for "Atonement," said she enjoyed the challenge of switching between two personalities.

"I really enjoyed playing Melanie because the majority of the film I am playing Wanda, who is quite a pure, serene and understanding character," said Ronan on the red carpet.

British actor Max Irons, 27, the son of Irish actress Sinead Cusack and English actor Jeremy Irons, plays Melanie's love interest Jared Howe.

He said the film's complex story touched many different genres, appealing to more than just "Twilight" fans.

"It is a science fiction movie at heart, it is a story of human survival. Yes, it has the romance, but I think it has a lot more for a lot of different people," said Irons.

Diane Kruger, Jake Abel and William Hurt also star in "The Host," directed by Andrew Niccol. The film is distributed in the United States by Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc.. 

Pussy Riot Member: 'What Happened to Us Is Unacceptable'

A member of Pussy Riot freed on appeal last year says she has no regrets about the "punk-prayer" protest that prompted Russian authorities to arrest her and two bandmates, who are currently serving time in labor camps. 

Yekaterina Samutsevich told 60 Minutes last night that Pussy Riot's February 2012 demonstration against Russian President Vladimir Putin on the altar of Moscow's main cathedral helped bring attention to a repressive political system controlled by leaders unwilling to tolerate dissent.  

Q&A: Pussy Riot's Yekaterina Samutsevich on Their Fight for Freedom

"We want the government to leave power, because we consider it illegitimate," Samutsevich told Lesley Stahl. "But we're advocating for a peaceful overthrow."

Samutsevich said Putin rigged the election that returned him to Russia's presidency last year. "The elections weren't legitimate," she said. "There was vote rigging. There was false counting. It was clear that the president put himself in power."

Since then, she said, "Putin has brought in a new level of repressive government measures in Russia."

Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were convicted last August after a trial that drew criticism from the likes of Madonna, Paul McCartney and other musicians.

Sergei Markov, a political spokesman for Putin, acknowledged that the government was hard-pressed to bring charges against Pussy Riot, finally settling on "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" to make an example of the women and discourage other protestors. Asked whether authorities intervened in favor of a harsher penalty than the women deserved, Markov answered, "Absolutely."

That, Samutsevich said, is why none of the three members of Pussy Riot considered begging for mercy in court. "The whole process was so unfair to us from the beginning," she said. "It's strange when you're innocent. Are you supposed to ask for forgiveness from the judge who's ready to put you away for several years? No, this wasn't even discussed."

Samutsevich and Pussy Riot's drummer, who identified herself only as "Kot," said they're not through protesting. "I'm here to say you shouldn't give up," Kot said. "What happened to us is unacceptable."

"It's a fight, it's an ongoing fight," Samutsevich said. "Just because there was a court case doesn't mean that we're going to stop and shut our mouths. We have a lot of things to say. We're going to continue to work, continue to do what we do."

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Voter Turnout Shaping Up To Be Lower Than 2008

WASHINGTON -- A drop in voter turnout in Tuesday's election didn't keep President Barack Obama from winning a second term.

Preliminary figures suggest fewer people voted this year than four years ago, when voters shattered turnout records as they elected Obama to his first term.

In most states, the numbers are shaping up to be even lower than in 2004, said Curtis Gans, director of American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. Every state but Iowa is showing a smaller turnout than in 2008, Gans said. Still, the full picture may not be known for weeks because much of the counting takes place after Election Day.

"This was a major plunge in turnout nationally," Gans said.

In Maryland, where voters approved a ballot measure allowing gay marriage, turnout in the presidential race was running more than 7 percentage points behind 2008. Pennsylvania and South Carolina were seeing slightly smaller declines.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press' figures showed nearly 119 million people had voted in the White House race, but that number will increase as more votes are counted. In 2008, 131 million people cast ballots for president, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Experts calculate turnout in different ways based on who they consider eligible voters. A separate, preliminary estimate from George Mason University's Michael McDonald put the 2012 turnout rate at 60 percent of eligible voters. That figure was expected to be revised as more precincts reported and absentee votes were counted.

Large drops, according to the American University analysis, came in Eastern Seaboard states still reeling from the devastation from Superstorm Sandy, which wiped out power for millions and disrupted usual voting routines. Fifteen percent fewer ballots had been counted in New York than in 2008. In New Jersey, it was more than 10 percent. The gap in New Jersey could narrow in the coming days because elections officials have given displaced residents in some areas until Friday to cast special email ballots.

Best efforts be darned, making it to the polls in the wake of Sandy may have simply been too much for some affected voters. In Hoboken, N.J., Anthony Morrone said he's never missed a vote – until now.

"No time, no time to vote, too much to do," said Morrone, 76, as he surveyed the exterior of his home: a pile of junked refrigerators, a car destroyed by flooding and a curbside mountain of waterlogged debris.

In other areas not affected by the storm, a host of factors could have contributed to waning voter enthusiasm, Gans said. The 2012 race was one of the nastiest in recent memory, leaving many voters feeling turned off. With Democrats weary from a difficult four years and Republicans splintered by a divisive primary, neither party was particularly enthused about their own candidate. Stricter voting restrictions adopted by many states may also have kept some voters away from the polls.

"Beyond the people with passion, we have a disengaged electorate," Gans said. "This was a very tight race, there were serious things to be decided."

Decided they were – by the millions of voters who, in many cases, braved all kinds of inconveniences to make sure their voices were heard.

Some voters in South Carolina's Richland County waited more than four hours to vote, and leaders from both parties blamed the delays on broken voting machines. Officials in Virginia and New Hampshire reported many voters were still waiting to vote when polls closed in the evening. In major battleground states like Ohio and Florida, lines snaked back and forth as voters waited patiently to cast their ballots.

"I've been waiting for four years to cast this vote," said Robert Dan Perry, 64, as he did so for Romney in Zebulon, N.C.

Both Obama and Republican Mitt Romney made voter turnout a top priority in the waning days of an intensely close race. But for months leading up to Election Day, both candidates were obsessed with that tiny sliver of undecided voters.

It may be that those who were still undecided Tuesday decided just not to show up, said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

"Everyone was talking about how the Democrats are unenthusiastic and the Republicans are fired up," Kondik said. "It sounds like that was all talk."

One bright spot this year was the number of early and mail-in ballots cast. Before polls opened on Election Day, more than 32 million people had voted, either by mail or in person, in 34 states and the District of Columbia. In a number of states, including Iowa, Maryland and Montana, early voting appeared to far exceed totals from 2008.