Why make one "Twilight" film when you can charge moviegoers to see two of them?

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn," the fourth movie in the vampire franchise, will be split in two, with the first half scheduled for release on November 18, 2011, distributor Summit Entertainment confirmed on Thursday.

The announcement, coming ahead of the June 30 release of the third film "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," was not a surprise. The closely held studio had signaled that author Stephenie Meyer's 900-page "Breaking Dawn" book was too complex to be adapted into a single movie.

But it had reportedly signed the cast for only four movies, and had to renegotiate costly deals with the newly minted A-list actors before it could officially announce the new plan.

The films will shoot back-to-back in the fall, with Bill Condon directing from a script being written by Melissa Rosenberg. A Summit spokesman said there was no release date scheduled yet for the fifth film.

And yes, all the same lovelorn characters -- including Bella (played by Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) -- will be on hand.

The fourth book centers on Bella's marriage to the vampire Edward, her subsequent pregnancy, and her fulfilled desire to be transformed into a vampire.

The first two films in the franchise, beloved worldwide by women of all ages, have grossed over $1.1 billion at the box office, Summit said.

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顶峰影业今天正式宣布《暮光之城》（Twilight）系列的第四集也是最后一部《破晓》（Breaking Dawn）将分成上下集，上集将于2011年11月18日上映。

　　最早传出《暮光之城：破晓》将分上下集是在去年12月，顶峰的用意很明显，就是尽量延长这一系列为该公司带来的可观效益。不过具体实施过程中他们却遭到了片中一些演员的阻挠，因为后者希望能提高自己的薪酬。顶峰一开始还不愿妥协，甚至打算把这些演员全给换掉，但最终他们没敢这么做，乖乖的和这些演员达成了协议。

　　《暮光之城》系列根据女作家史蒂芬·梅尔（Stephenie Meyer）同名畅销小说改编，共有4部，分别是《暮色》（Twilight）、《新月》（New Moon）、《月食》（Eclipse）、《破晓》（Breaking Dawn）。

　　《暮光之城4：破晓》上下集都将由《追梦女孩》（Dreamgirls）导演比尔·康顿（Bill Condon）执导，预计今年秋季开拍。主演罗伯特·帕廷森（Robert Pattinson）、克里斯汀·斯图尔特（Kristen Stewart）、泰勒·拉特纳（Taylor Lautner）以及演员比利·布克（Billy Burke）、彼得·费辛利（Peter Facinelli）、伊莉莎白·里瑟（Elizabeth Reaser）、杰克逊·拉斯波恩（Jackson Rathbone）、妮基·瑞德（Nikki Reed）、阿什丽·格林尼（Ashley Greene）、凯南·鲁兹（Kellan Lutz）都会继续扮演他们的角色。达科塔·范宁（Dakota Fanning）和迈克尔·辛（Michael Sheen）虽然还没签约，但回归希望也很大。

　　《暮光之城3：月食》（The Twilight Saga: Eclipse）本月30日即将上映。