AFM pics grab some of 'New Moon's' spotlight

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" 'Twilight' here! We got your red hot 'Twilight' angle heah!"

You can almost hear the refrain like there's a carnival barker stalking the halls of the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica. With "Twilight" fever regripping the nation -- Chapter 2, "New Moon," rises Nov. 20 -- many of the projects on display at AFM are spinning any "Twilight" connection they can find to hawk their wares.

London-based Protagonist Pictures is in the market with an erotic period drama, drawn from a Guy De Maupassant short story, titled "Bel Ami." It's a niche project with limited appeal from Redwave Films but for the fact that the lead character of a young Parisian playboy will be incarnated by Edward Cullen himself of "Twilight" fame, Robert Pattinson.

In other offerings, the content speaks for itself.

"Blood: A Butcher's Tale," from Horizon Motion Pictures, trots out vampires as the romantic and physical rivals of the forlorn butcher of the title.

Toothin Theatre's "The Death of Alice Blue" puts a comely intern in the hands of an advertising company run by -- yep -- bloodsuckers (no surprise there).

Amadeus Pictures is hawking "Vampiro," a Mexican-American/East L.A. take on vampire gangs and sexy vampiras.

"Dark Moon Rising" from New Films International pushes the werewolf angle (and a title echo) with the tale of a small-town girl falling in love with a drifter who has a hairy past.

On the hardcore end of the spectrum is "Stake Land," from Dark Sky Films, which includes a nun played by Kelly McGillis trying to survive in a world overrun by vampires.

And Eleven Arts has the enviable mission of selling "Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl," a Japanese offering about some sort of unfortunate contretemps between Vampire Girl and Frankenstein Girl.

In a non-AFM title, Pattinson's "Twilight" co-star Jackson Rathbone, who plays the veggie vampire Jasper Hale, is starring in and co-producing "Girlfriend," from Wayne/Lauren Film. In the film, which just wrapped, Rathbone plays the volatile ex-boyfriend of a small-town single mother pursued by a young man with Down Syndrome.

Bottom line: There's plenty for buyers to sink their teeth into.