“Twilight” stars cope with newfound fame
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Teen screams somewhat scary for ‘Twilight’s’ Robert Pattinson
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Surprisingly, Robert Pattinson still hasn’t adjusted to the screaming.
“I don’t know why it still shocks me. I mean, I’ve been… to different cities all around the world, just to get to these planned mobbings, where everybody just screams and screams and screams. But every single time, I get so nervous, and kind of cold sweats,” Pattinson said, often running his hands through his already tousled hair during recent interviews at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
The British actor, 22, was best known for his small role as doomed golden boy Cedric Diggory in the “Harry Potter” films – until he was cast as the unimaginably gorgeous vampire hero of Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally popular “Twilight” book series. The film adaptation of the first book opens Friday, a date the saga’s legions of fervent fans have been anticipating for months.
Since the “Twilight” cast attracted a shrieking crowd at July’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Calif., Pattinson has faced hordes of screaming, crying and swooning tween and teen girls at numerous appearances. An autograph session at a mall in San Francisco last week had to be canceled when the crowd grew so large that fans were being mashed against the windows.
The frenzied fan response will only intensify if the film becomes a blockbuster on par with the wild success of Meyer’s book, which has generated three sequels just waiting for their own film versions.
“Twilight” follows the star-crossed romance of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), the awkward new kid in the small town Forks, Wash., and Edward Cullen, a strong and immortal vampire. Edward and his coven are committed to drinking only the blood of animals, but he knows that close contact with Bella presents a strong temptation for him and a real danger to her.
The four novels have spent a total of 91 weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list, sold 17 million copies worldwide and spawned 350 fan sites. The fans are ardent – and opinionated – which Stewart, 18, attributes to the books’ power to connect with people.
“It’s such a first-hand account … that it’s like you’re doing it yourself, and at the same time it’s voyeuristic, like you’re reading somebody’s private thoughts. You’re not supposed to know what people are fixated on and in this, that’s the whole story.
“It’s a very epic, high stakes, ultimate love story and that is fundamentally what drives us to do everything in life,” Stewart, 18, said in an interview in which she never stopped fidgeting.
Director Catherine Hardwicke (”Thirteen”) said she scoured fan sites for casting ideas, and checked out the most popular prospects with no success. She tapped Stewart, who has been acting since she was 11, after seeing her in “Into the Wild.”
Finding Edward was much more difficult: After sifting through thousands of hopefuls, the director chose Pattinson after seeing the chemistry between him and Stewart during his audition, particularly during a love scene on the director’s bed.
Pattinson’s casting sparked criticism from some fans, and the actor said he actually agreed with complaints he wasn’t handsome enough for the role.
“I completely expected it. That’s the reason I didn’t want to go in for the part initially. Because it’s really putting yourself out there,” he said.
For Stewart, reading online comments criticizing her – including details like her walk – and getting looks of disdain from some fans at appearances has been weird.
“In terms of the pressure from the fans, I care about the book just as much as they do. … The whole being critiqued and criticized and put under a microscope is fine, I guess, because people are interested,” she said.
For Pattinson, who seems to have won over the majority of fans, adjusting to his new status as a heartthrob has been a challenge.
“I started crying in Italy, like completely involuntarily,” he admitted. “It was really embarrassing. I didn’t even know I was. … I started crying when people are screaming at me. I really didn’t think that would happen.”
-BAM
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