'TWILIGHT' NEGOTIATION UPDATE: HOW MUCH ARE THE CULLEN KIDS WORTH?

We've got new details in that "Twilight" salary standoff.

As we first reported Monday, the actors who play the vampire Cullen kids (Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene) have rejected Summit Entertainment's offer to return for a fourth and fifth movie, thus holding up the studio's plan to send teenage girls into fits of euphoria by announcing that "Breaking Dawn" will be split into two installments.

Nicole Sperling at EW says they are demanding $4 million for each of the two "Breaking Dawns," but our sources close to the dealmaking say that number is high, and that reps for Lutz and Greene are asking for less than $2 million for each movie (for a total of about $4 million for both). The negotiation is just kicking into high gear, so these numbers could change; Sperling says co-star Nikki Reed has settled for a payday in the $750,000-$1 million range for each movie.

What are the secondary characters in a blockbuster franchise worth? That's always a tricky question, and especially here, where fans have such a close connection to the material and have come to associate the actors with their parts. On the other hand, "Eclipse" probably won't suffer at the boxoffice in June despite Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) being recast after playing hardball. 

A couple of interesting wrinkles in the negotiation: While lead actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner all re-did their deals for huge raises after the first "Twilight" hit big (and are said to be close to deals for No. 4 and 5), Summit did not offer to renegotiate with the Cullens. So their pay for the first three movies has been very low, which would explain them wanting to cash in on "Breaking Dawn."

Also, while the Cullen kids don't play a huge role in the second or third books, they're both in "Breaking Dawn" a lot more. That fact is said to be fueling the demands, though Summit won't lock the script for the final movies until it's a 100% done deal there will be two, so parts could still be minimized or beefed up.

Neither side expects a speedy resolution. Summit wants to move quickly but isn't afraid to recast. Reps for the actors want to make a deal but don't understand why the studio won't take care of the cast in a franchise that has generated more than $1 billion.

While fans might miss the secondary characters, we doubt Summit's boxoffice take would suffer if the Cullens are recast. Would it?

UPDATED: Earlier version of this post said Rachelle Lefevre was recast for "New Moon." Nope, she's in that one but was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for "Eclipse."

Critics Predict Natalie Portman Will Win Oscar For Venice Opener 'Black Swan'

The fest audience gave Darren Aronofsky’s latest a standing ovation as credits rolled. London newspaper critics are giving the psychosexual ballet thriller rave reviews. “Portman is astounding,” says the Times of London. “Awards are sure to follow.” TheIndependent agrees, calling Portman’s performance “searing” and the film “enthralling”. David Gritten in the Daily Telegraph says Portman’s performance as a ballet dancer losing her mind elevates her from leading actress to major star. “Every film festival benefits hugely from a strong opening film, and they don’t come much stronger than Black Swan,” he says.Of course, Aronofsky won the Golden Lion in Venice for his last film The Wrestler in 2008. The Telegraphthinks he could win again this year with Black Swan. Aronofsky told a packed press conference that the more he looked into ballet, the more he started to see similarities with the world of wrestling. “They both have these performers who use their bodies in extremely physical ways,” he said.

Fox Searchlight releases Black Swan in the US on December 1. Senior Fox Searchlight executives strolled up the red carpet into the Opening Night gala screening. Black Swan was the first of three opening films and is competing with 22 others for this year's Golden Lion. In total this year's festival will screen 79 full-length world premieres from 34 countries. The 67th Venice film festival runs from 1 to 11 September.

‘Public Enemies’ Writer Adapting True-Life Survival Tale ‘Skeletons On the Zahara’

EXCLUSIVE: Ronan Bennett is writing the screenplay for this adaptation of Dean King’s true-life bestseller about 12 American sailors forced into slavery in Africa when they were shipwrecked in 1815. The sailors endured a punishing trek across the Sahara before they were taken prisoner. Captain James Riley’s account of their ordeal caused a sensation when it was published two years later. Abraham Lincoln said it was one of the books that had most influenced him alongside the Bible. Independent, the London-based sales company, is developing and producing. The sales house, whose previous credits include Moon, wants to make two of its own features a year in addition to projects it’s selling for others such as We Need to Talk About Kevin for BBC Films. “Skeletons On the Zahara is going to be a really fantastic project for the right American star to play Captain Riley,” Independent CEO Luc Roeg tells me.

This is a busy time for Bennett. In November Channel 4 starts shooting Top Boy, the 5-part TV drama that he’s written about gangster life on a London housing project. Bennett’s Easter Partisan production company is co-producing with Cowboy Films. He’s also writing an untitled project for Neil Jordan. And he’s producing the feature My Granny Made Me An Anarchist, based on the true-life account of a young man’s mission to assassinate Spanish dictator General Franco, in partnership with Film4 and the UK Film Council. Bennett has been an outspoken critic of the UK government’s decision to abolish the UKFC, calling it “crass, narrow and bigoted”.

Bennett is repped by Charles Collier of Tavistock Wood in London and CAA in the States.

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Will Gwen Stefani keep performing with Akon on the Sweet Escape concert tour after his recent mishaps with the law and the loss of major sponsor Verizon?

Or will she stick to the 'say nothing, the show must go on' position?

Recalling Akon's first mishap, what is being referred to as a simulated sex act on stage in Trinidad with a pastor’s daughter. And the second, Akon allegedly throwing a boy off the stage in New York. Akon’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, released a statement yesterday saying,