Vampire

With the election a little over a week away, it's a good time to brush up on presidents and politics  at a few book signings this week,  starting with Pulitzer prize-winning journalist David Maraniss. He will discuss the current commander-in-chief and his book, "Barack Obama: The Story," today at 4:30 p.m. at  Occidental College.  Later this week, historian Walter Stahr will discuss one of President Lincoln's loyal Cabinet members, Secretary of State William Seward, in his new biography, "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man. " Seward initiated the acquisition of Alaska and survived a brutal attack by conspirators the same day as Lincoln's assassination.

In "The Twilight Saga," Robert Pattinson is required to move at superhuman speed, feast on woodland creatures and rip the limbs off fellow vampires. But the biggest challenge were his love scenes. Promoting the final film in the blockbuster franchise, Pattinson hit Australia for a photo call (the country's southern region is also a location for his next project "The Rover") and stopped by a local chat show to talk on-screen lovin' with co-star Kristen Stewart. "The sex scene in this one is pretty ridiculous," he said on the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

The Twelve Justin Cronin Ballantine Books: 592 pp., $28 No one expected Justin Cronin to sink his teeth into a post-apocalyptic vampire novel. He was an award-winning author of quiet literary fiction when he drafted a story so compelling and frightening that he landed a $3.75-million, three-book deal. The trilogy began in 2010 with "The Passage," a 784-page runaway bestseller, one of the few books that could boast of billboards on Sunset Boulevard. "The Twelve" is second in the series, but even the most devoted fans may notice a bit of a sophomore slump.

Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer best known for giving voice to Count von Count, the silly but instructional vampire mathematician on television's "Sesame Street," died Thursday at his home in Cape Cod, Mass., the Sesame Workshop announced. He was 78. Nelson had suffered from emphysema for several years. "Every description of his characters described Jerry, as well. Silly, funny, vulnerable, passionate and musical, for sure," said Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of "Sesame Street.

Hollywood was awash in surfboards Monday as the Teen Choice Awards doled out wave-riding trophies Sunday evening to young things like Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and the cast of "The Vampire Diaries. " At Universal City's Gibson Amphitheatre, fans gathered to toast their favorites in film, television and music, and managed to land a significant act for the show: the first live performance from No Doubt in 10 years. Promoting their new single, "Settle Down," Gwen Stefani and her gang of boys rocked their trademark SoCal punk threads and looked as if they hadn't aged a day during their decade-long break (useful at a teen show, no?

Kristen Stewart has come a long way since her "Panic Room" days. Just ask her former costar Jodie Foster, a newcomer to last weekend's Comic-Con International in San Diego. "[Kristen] really should've given me some tips" on dealing with screaming fans, the actress told "Access Hollywood. " Foster was there to promote her own flick, "Elysium," costarring Matt Damon. Foster said Stewart was "absolutely brilliant" in "Snow White and the Huntsman" and was happy to reflect on her former costar, who was only 12 years old when she played Foster's daughter in the 2001 thriller.

It was a highly animated weekend at the box office, as moviegoers spent more than $85 million to see "Brave" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" —  each family-oriented, non-live action films. "Brave" is the 13th film from Pixar Animation to open in the No. 1 position at the multiplex, as the 3-D movie debuted with a strong $66.7 million this past weekend, according to an estimate from distributor Walt Disney Studios. Meanwhile, the 3-D animated "Madagascar 3" continued to do strong business even on its third weekend in theaters, grossing an additional $20 million.

It was a highly animated weekend at the box office, as moviegoers spent more than $85 million to see both "Brave" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. " "Brave" is the 13th film from Pixar Animation to open in the No. 1 position at the multiplex, as the 3-D film debuted with a strong $66.7 million this weekend, according to an estimate from distributor Walt Disney Studios. Meanwhile, the 3-D animated "Madagascar 3" continued to do strong business even on its third weekend in theaters, grossing an additional $20 million.

The competition will cower in the face of "Brave" at the box office this weekend, as the 3-D animated picture is expected to dominate at the multiplex. The movie, from Walt Disney Studios' Pixar animation unit, probably will open with a strong sum of around $65 million in ticket sales, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That's far more than either of the other two new films hitting theaters this weekend are expected to make. The supernatural 3-D action movie "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" will probably start off with a so-so $20 million, though distributor 20th Century Fox is predicting a weaker opening of around $16 million.

How can a studio to interest young moviegoers in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a supernatural thriller in which the 16th president tackles slavery as well as the undead? YouTube is a good place to start. Twentieth Century Fox commissioned two YouTube filmmakers -- Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch -- to create a promotion for the film that would grab the attention of Wong and Laatsch's YouTube channel's 3.3 million viewers. The result was " 8-Bitham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a video that blends the film's premise with a classic, side-scrolling video game setup.  The clip -- which is broken into game-like "levels," depicts a villainous, vampiric John Wilkes Booth kidnapping Mary Lincoln.