Welcome everyone to Michael-Welch.com, your online source for all things relating to the talented actor, Michael Welch. Michael’s career has been exploding for quite some time now, and we’re very proud to be a part of it. At Michael-Welch.com, we have photos and videos dating back to the very beginning of Michael’s career, including his very first role as young Niles Crane on the hit sitcom, Frasier. We invite you to come in and explore the wonderful world of Welch.

Attention all Twi-lighters, Twi-hards, and Welch Fans

As you all know, the release of Twilight on November 21 coincides with what many perceive to be the official kick start to the holiday season. This time of year has always inspired a spirit of giving and charity, and 2008 will be no exception. We here at Michael-Welch.com would like to invite you, the fans, to help us give a little something back. That is why we are pleased to announce our first ever Ticket Stub Drive to benefit Kids With a Cause. Michael has been involved with this wonderful organization since 1999.

Here’s how the Ticket Stub Drive Works:

• Go see Twilight anytime during the first two weeks of its theatrical run.
• Scan or photograph your ticket stub. (Bonus points if you’d like to take a photo of yourself with your stub.)
• Send your stub to Shadow (shadowcrawler05@yahoo.com), who has created a special section in our gallery.
• If we receive 50 ticket stubs, a donation of $100 USD will be made to Kids With a Cause.

So when you see Twilight this month, don’t toss your ticket stub in the nearest trash receptacle. Put it in your pocket, digitize it, and send it in to help out a wonderful charity.

Thanks for all that you do,
The Staff of Michael-Welch.com

Twilight fansite HisGoldenEyes.Com (more specifically, the great NoMoreMarbles) has posted Part I their recent interview with Michael. You can view it on their site here, or here:

(Much love for the t-shirt.)

Thanks to HisGoldenEyes.Com for being so awesome.

It’s no surprise to anyone at this point that Twilight is going to be all over the news for the next few days. Here is what’s new out there today.

MercuryNews.Com has a great story on Brittney Stone, a young woman who got a cameo as prom queen in the film through the Make-A-Wish foundation. It’s not really Michael related news, but I thought it was a great story, so I’m sharing anyway.

She made small talk and had photos taken with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who play the lead roles. And actor Mike Welch was particularly friendly and talkative, Brittney said.

Sounds like our guy. Read the full article here.

Also on the internets, a review from TwoGaysAndAMovie.Com. Nothing worth quoting here, but the reviewer did seem to enjoy the movie quite a bit, so that’s good news.

There’s also a nice piece on Rough Hustle from the Mesquite Local News. This is my favorite part:

In addition to Estevez, “Rough Hustle” features actors Bushell and heartthrob Michael Welch, who both recently completed work on “Twilight,” the movie based on the best-selling vampire novel by Stephenie Meyer.

About time somebody got that right. Read the full article here, or click on the photograph.

Only five hours to go until the midnight showings for Twilight begin on the east coast! Don’t forget to send your ticket stubs for our Kids With a Cause charity drive.

TwilightNovelNovice.Com (how novel) has posted a good review of Twilight. Once again, Michael gets singled out for his good performance:

Of Tyler, Eric and Mike — my favorite was Michael Welch as Mike Newton. He had that quasi-popular, nerdy-yet-cool attitude down pat. He was actually rather adorable, in a non-supernatural hunk kind of way.

You can read the full review here.

Only 19 hours until the East Coast midnight showings begin! I advise all theater employees to prepair for madness and mehem. Mostly madness, but probably a little mehem.

Greetings all! Thanks to Larry Richman for providing the link, you can now download the TwilightLive Borders podcast from Sunday, November 16 right here. Click the link to stream, or right click/save as to download directly to your computer.

Also, StarPulse has their review of Twilight up. It certainly doesn’t sparkle (see what I did there, book readers?), but at least Michael gets a fairly positive reference:

…Michael Welch and Justin Chon liven things up as a couple of classmates competing for Bella’s attention.

You can read the entire review at StarPulse.

In the midst of all the Twilight hubub, it’s easy to forget that Mike has other things going on. Namely that he just finished up “Speech and Debate” Saturday night and also that he’s been filming Rough Hustle. Must be exhausting. Speaking of Rough Hustle (which looks like it will be awesome, by the way), I’ve added a few photos of Mike on the set in our gallery:

The photos come from RoughHustle.Com, where you can also find a ton more. There’s also a blog from executive producer Brendan Davis keeping us all up to date on the film’s progress. I, for one, am hoping it gets a release wide enough for me to see somehow.

Michael has been quoted in a couple of articles regarding the premiere of Twilight.

US Magazine:

“The only thing I can compare it to is, I was in a Star Trek movie when I was like 11 and that was a big deal for a 11-year-old kid,” star Mike Welch told Us. “But this is unlike anything I’ve seen before or been apart of.”

MTV.Com:

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” added Michael Welch (Mike Newton). “I mean, I think we all had a thought or sense that this could be possible. But this is truly a dream come true, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Apparently, Robert Pattinson went completely deaf at the premiere. I have to say, I do feel very sorry for the Twilight actors at times. I know it’s been mentioned by all the cast in various interviews, but I really think they had no idea what they were getting into. I wouldn’t either, of course, since I had no idea what Twilight even was before Mike got cast.

Once again, thanks to Larry Richman for the alerts, and congradulations to Michael and the cast on what clearly seems to be a very successful premiere!

Also, BellaandEdward.com has a few nice shots of Michael from the premiere in their gallery. Once again, just click on the photo to enter their gallery:

ETA: I’ve just added a couple new premeire photos to our own gallery, which you can check out here!

I’m also working to get a few more red carpet videos, but technology is not being kind at the moment. Also, let me know if you’ve downloaded the other video and it isn’t working properly. I just tried playing it on my computer as a test, and it’s rather jumpy.

Live coverage of the Twilight World Premiere beings at 6:30PM PST, 9:30PM EST. NOW ON RE-PLAY

To download a clip of Michael’s red carpet interview, right click, save as here! I will add it to the media section later today. If the link doesn’t work right away, keep trying, as the video is still uploading as I make this update.

ETA: I managed to snag a few good captures of Mike on the red carpet. Click the thumbnail to enter the gallery! (Edit: Now that the replay is up and running much smoother than the live feed, I managed to get a couple more decent captures. Check them out.)

ETA Again: The photos from the arrivals are already coming in. Keep checking the gallery tonight and early in the AM for updates as they become available. For now, this:

Well everyone, the time is upon us. The World Premiere of Twilight is in just a few hours, and already fans are lining up. Tickets for Friday’s shows have already started selling out across the States. As has been pointed out previously, and mentioned above, we here at Michael-Welch.com have decided to put the feeding frenzy to good use, so to speak.

For the first two weeks following its release, we’re asking you to send in your Twilight ticket stubs. You can scan them or take a photo. Feel free to take a photo of yourself with your ticket if you’d like. (Bonus points for being insanely brave and wearing a Team Mike/Newton shirt! In fact, I will make you a special, personalized Michael-Welch.com Badge of Honor to stick on your website/blog/livejournal if you do so.) Then, send your scans or photos in to shadowcrawler05@yahoo.com. If we receive 50 stubs by December 7th, we will make a donation of $100 USD to Kids With a Cause.

There are a few formatting rules I’d like to ask you to follow, only so it will be easier for me to make sure I get every e-mail. Here we go:

• Please use something along the lines of [Michael-Welch.com] Ticket Stub Drive for your subject line.
• Include your name (screen name or real name), location, and website if you have one you would like linked. Mine, for example, would look like:Shadow
  West Virginia, USA
  www.michael-welch.com
• If you would like, you’re also welcome to include any message or shout-out. I will post them at the same time I post your ticket.
• Attach your scan or photo and send it on its merry way! Try to keep the file format as .jpg if you can.
• Please turn off your cell phone, place your trash in the proper receptical, and enjoy the show!

All ticket stubs will be posted to the Ticket Stub Drive Gallery as they are received.

Whew. I wonder if I’ll ever be finished updating today? ….Nah.

Greetings everyone. The lovely folks at bellaandedward.com have posted some great videos and photographs from yesterday’s TwilightLive podcast:

You can also click the photo to enter their gallery:

Loving the hair, Mike! And thanks again to the great people at bellaandedward.com!

There are also some great pictures at Twilight Series Theories. You can view the slideshow at their homepage, or view the entire collection of photos individually here.

I’ve also added some photos of the event to our gallery, thanks to monstersandcritics.com. Click the photo for more:

Just a reminder that the premiere of Twilight is being held tomorrow, November 17, at Mann Theaters in Westwood, CA. If you’re in the area, fans will be allowed to gather in designated areas and watch their favorite actors as they arrive for the show.

If you, like me, are not lucky enough to be anywhere near California, you can watch live coverage of the premiere here.

Thanks to Larry for new info on that.

Also in honor of Twilight’s premiere, I bring you a new wallpaper:

I also took the liberty of getting some screen captures from behind the scenes with Rough Hustle as well as Michael’s new interview with TeenFaze for those of you who may have trouble viewing the videos. Just click on the thumbnails to go to the appropriate gallery.