“Twilight” cast members talk about working with Bill Condon on “Breaking Dawn”
Director Bill Condon poses for pictures with fans at the Nov. 14 premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" in Los Angeles (AP file)
Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning writer-director of “Gods and Monsters,” “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls,” took on doubly big task when he joined “The Twilight Saga.”
Condon helmed the two-movie finale based on the hefty fourth and last book on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book series. He filmed both “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which opened a week ago, and “Part 2,” which is due in theaters Nov. 16, 2012.
With last Friday’s theatrical debut of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” “Twi-hards” finally get the chance to see Bella and her courtly vampire fiancé Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) get married, take their romantic honeymoon and find their new life forever altered when Bella gets pregnant.
The impending birth not only threatens Bella’s life — an emergency vampire conversion will be her only hope for survival — it also endangers the Cullen clan’s pact with the local werewolves of the Quileute Tribe, including Bella’s best pal, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
“Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ notched a $139.5 million first weekend domestically and a worldwide launch of $283.5 million.
At the recent press day for the film in Los Angeles, my fellow journalists and I got a chance to ask some of the actors who have been with the franchise since it started about their experience working with Condon:
Taylor Lautner (AP file)
Taylor Lautner:
“Bill he just made us feel so comfortable to begin with. Because it could’ve been a challenge, playing the same character for five movies and you have a different director each time, and then when the new director comes on board sometimes it can take a second to adjust and get on the same page with him. But Bill was so amazing, and he really just made us feel comfortable and open,” Lautner said in a press conference.
“We would say, ‘I think he would do this’ or ‘I think he would say this’ or ‘I don’t think he would do that.’ And Bill was very open about everything, and then Bill would say the same stuff to us. I’ve respected Bill for a very long time, even before I’ve had the opportunity to work with him or found out I was going to work with him. So I was able to completely trust him. All of us were, which was very important as well.”
Peter Facinelli (AP file)
Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen):
“I loved Bill Condon. I thought he was a really interesting choice, an out-of-the-box choice. He was very much an actor’s director, and he really worked with the actors and cared. You could tell that he cared a lot about what we were doing as opposed to just camera angles. Very smart man. Very smart,” Facinelli said in an exclusive one-on-one interview.
Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen):
“I loved working with him. I think he’s just extremely vibrant, like he reminded me of Alice a bit I think in his demeanor. And you could tell he loved beingthere and he loves what he does,” Green said.
Ashley Greene (AP file)
“He was very passionate about this story and about the characters as well, and that’s just a really nice thing. I think he had a lot of respect for what we’d previously done, and he came in saying, ‘These are all the ideas I have’ and really I think kind of brought us to a whole new level and developed the series even more than it is and the characters even more than they are. I think he’s gonna do a really beautiful job. I have full in faith in him.”
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Video: Ashley Greene talks “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″
In this NewsOK video, Ashley Greene talks about helping to design the dress her vampire character, Alice Cullen, wears to the wedding of her adoptive brother Edward (Robert Pattinson) and his human bride, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), in the blockbuster sequel “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.”
During the recent Los Angeles press day for the film, I had the opportunity to sit down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Greene. She talked about the role her beloved character may has in “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” her fashionable jobs as the face of DKNY, DKNY Jeans and mark cosmetics and her future projects, including her lead part in Tulsa filmmaker Todd Lincoln’s new film “The Apparition.”
To read my feature on Greene, click here.
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Exclusive interview with a vampire: Ashley Greene looks beyond her “Twilight” days
Ashley Greene (AP file)
A version of this story appears on the cover of The Oklahoman’s MOOD section.
Exclusive interview with a vampire: Ashley Greene looks past her “Twilight” days
Best known for playing Alice Cullen in the supernaturally popular saga, which is nearing its end, she is moving forward with other acting roles and as the face of DKNY and mark cosmetics.
LOS ANGELES — Ashley Greene picked an odd time to cut back her java intake.
“I’m trying not to drink coffee right now, which it was probably the worst decision as far as timing goes, during a press tour … but I always end up drinking so much, and it’s just not good. And then I don’t feel good,” said “The Twilight Star” as she relaxed on a pale, plush couch during a recent one-on-one interview at the Four Seasons Hotel. “But really thinking about it, though, it’s like what time is a good time?”
The fashionista of the “Twilight” franchise didn’t sound like she needed caffeine as she energetically chatted about “Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” the fourth and penultimate film in the paranormally popular series, as well as her future, non-vampire roles, including an upcoming thriller directed by an Oklahoma filmmaker.
In “The Twilight Saga,” Greene, 24, plays perky Alice Cullen, a vampire who can see the future of humans and other immortals. A fashion enthusiast who loves to throw lavish parties, Alice is thrilled when her adopted brother Edward (Robert Pattinson) weds his human fiancée Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) in “Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”
“She’s planning this wedding and she has full control of everything, and everything’s a fairy tale. … Her brother is finally happy, and she gets this sister that she has wanted Bella to be since she met her. It was fun going to set every day, you know, because you just have to be extremely happy. A little ball of joy,” said Greene, who looked chic in a pair of dark jeans, a flowing, low-cut red blouse and towering beige heels.
The happily ever after reaches to an abrupt end when Bella becomes pregnant on the honeymoon. The impending birth not only threatens Bella’s life — an emergency vampire conversion will be her only hope for survival — it also endangers the Cullen clan’s pact with the local werewolves of the Quileute Tribe, including Bella’s best pal, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
“In this one you get to see both extremes: Her having this fairy tale and then her world kind of crashing down, and seeing her conflicted and seeing this inner turmoil that I don’t think you’ve seen Alice go through before,” said Greene, adding her character is torn between wanting to support Bella’s decision to have the super-strong baby and fearing for her sister-in-law’s safety.
“That was something that wasn’t necessarily the most fun playing, but I was thankful to have that because I think I’ve been really lucky as far as being able to develop this character over the saga. … That’s an exciting thing as an actor.”
Director Bill Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg divided Meyer’s hefty fourth and final novel into two halves, and both movies were shot at the same time. In “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” due in theaters next November, circumstances force Alice to leave the Cullen coven on a quest.
From left, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli appear in a scene from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
“I was like, ‘Am I gonna have a job?’” Greene said. “I think we do try and stick as close as possible to the books, but I think there are a few things that you do maybe alter a bit for cinema and for characters. I know what we filmed, but you never know what makes the cut. So I’m not exactly sure how much Alice is in the second movie, but I will tell you I did have fun filming it. I was there. I am present, definitely.”
Much like her character, the actress has become known as the fashionista of “Twilight” family. Although she didn’t get to plan a wedding, she did collaborate on the feather-adorned lavender dress Alice wears to the nuptials.
Last year, Greene became the face of Avon’s mark line of cosmetics, and last month she was named the new ambassador for fashion designer Donna Karan’s DKNY and DKNY Jeans.
“It’s a really very organic fit … because mark is all about empowerment for women. They actually have an empowerment program and (are) very just female-driven and strong, and I feel like Donna Karan kind of embodies that whole thing. They’re very complementary of one another, so that’s kind of exciting for me to be able to move forward with both of them.”
Greene also is moving ahead with her post-“Twilight” acting career, starting Dec. 4 with a three-episode arc on ABC’s 1960s-set aviation drama “Pan Am.” She will star in the comedic films “Butter” with Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman and “LOL” with Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore, and she recently signed on for “Olivia Twisted,” an ultramodern female version of “Oliver Twist.”
“I think ‘Twilight’ has given us a really good jumping off point, and one of the things I’m most thankful for — other than the fan base that we’ve developed — is that it gave me the ability to say no and to really sit back and wait for something that was inspiring to me and that was different and that I was passionate about,” she said.
“I think that’s one of most tragic things is when you have to take a (role). You know, it’s hard to say no to a job if you can’t pay your rent, and sometimes that kind of tarnishes someone’s career a little bit.”
Among the projects she found inspiring: “The Apparition,” the feature film debut from Tulsa writer-director Todd Lincoln, who created the hit deadCenter Film Festival documentary “Biker Fox.”
“It was really fun working with him, and … you could just tell that this was his baby and he was so passionate about it. And Todd actually fought for me on that movie. I met with him, and he was kind of one of the driving forces that got me that role, so (I’m) very thankful for that,” she said.
In Lincoln’s thriller, she and Sebastian Stan play a couple terrorized by a supernatural force that feeds on their fears.
“He really wanted to make it a heightened film. He didn’t want it to be a horror movie, and I think he did a really beautiful job … so it was really cool for me to be a part of. I’m proud of it. I’m excited,” she said.
“There’s nothing I’ve done post-‘Twilight’ that I think has been extremely comfortable. Everything I start off I’m like ‘Oh my God, I hope I can pull this off.’ And then I end up having fun. But I think that’s kind of the thrill of it all is that you can constantly learn and grow in this industry, and I feel like every experience is part of your craft. So it’s been interesting.”
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Julia Jones: “It’s very exciting for us to have a contemporary Native American culture be portrayed in ‘Twilight’”
Julia Jones arrives at the world premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" Nov. 14 in Los Angeles. (AP file)
LOS ANGELES – Julia Jones plays the lone female in a pack of werewolves in “The Twilight Saga” movies.
In portraying Leah Clearwater in the film versions of Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book series, Jones, 30, also plays a modern-day member of the Quileute Tribe.
“I’m very proud to play a Quileute; the tribe is incredible. I’ve been there to the reservation,” she said during the recent press day for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ at the tony Four Seasons Hotel.
“I think it’s very exciting for us to have a contemporary Native American culture be portrayed in the ‘Twilight’ movies. I think it’s done amazing things.”
Jones joined the film saga with the 2010 installment, “Eclipse.” In “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” the fourth and penultimate movie in the series, Leah and her younger brother Seth (Booboo Stewart) get caught up in a possible war between the Quileute werewolves and the vampires of the Cullen clan when Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) gets his human bride Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) pregnant with a mysterious, super-strong baby.
Jones’ other acting credits include a recurring role on TV’s “ER,” along with the films “Black Cloud” and “Jonah Hex.”
“I’m part Chickasaw and Choctaw, but I’m a multi-ethic person. That’s just a part of my identity. I’ve been playing Native roles for a long time, a very long time. And it (‘Twilight’) has been a really rewarding experience in a lot of ways, because there’s a lot to show. It’s an opportunity to portray a group of people who are not portrayed very frequently and very accurately at all in the media. And I cherish that. I think that there should be more roles for Native actors in contemporary pieces, and it’s an important part of who I am,” she said.
“That’s the beauty of these characters who happen to be Native American. These characters are so multi-layered and multi-dimensional, it’s about their struggle and it’s about who they are as people and their essence, as opposed to primarily falling into these stereotypes of what people think Native Americans are. And that really hasn’t been done very much.”
She doesn’t think it’s fair to say that mainstream movie-goers are only interested in American Indian characters if they are supernatural heroes.
“They haven’t had enough exposure to Native American characters to say ‘I’m only interested if they change into wolves,’ and I think that’s too bad,” she said. “I think there are wonderful stories, and it’s an incredibly important part of our history as a country. And they’re just not told because there’s so little presence in mainstream America.”
My coverage of “The Twilight Saga” – I was calling it “Twilight” Week, but we’re now well into Week 3 – continues through Friday here at BAM’s Blog.
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Video: Peter Facinelli talks “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″
In this NewsOK video, Peter Facinelli talks about taking about playing benevolent vampire coven leader Dr. Carlisle Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”
The fourth and penultimate film in the blockbuster film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book series opened last Friday. It made $139.5 million in its first weekend domestically, with a worldwide launch of $283.5 million.
To read my exclusive one-on-one interview with Facinelli from the recent Los Angeles press day, click here. To read my “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ review, click here.
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Exclusive interview with a vampire: Peter Facinelli reflects on his “Twilight Saga” years
Peter Facinelli arrives at the world premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)
A version of this story appears in Tuesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Exclusive interview with a vampire: Peter Facinelli reflects on his “Twilight Saga” years and “Breaking Dawn”
Now known for playing altruistic coven leader Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the actor is busily branching out into screenwriting and producing with his own production company.
LOS ANGELES — Peter Facinelli looks forward to emerging from the shadows of “Twilight.”
“I spent so much time trying to stay out of the sun because the more color you have, the more makeup you had to wear. You had to put more coats of paint on your face to look paler. So I remember going to like my daughter’s soccer game – I looked like the Unabomber because I’d have a hood and glasses. And then literally like the sun would come out and I’d feel myself slinking into the shade. So it was kind of nice when I went the Maldives this summer and I didn’t have to worry about that, just baked in the sun,” he said with a smile during a recent press conference promoting “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”
The fourth and penultimate film in the blockbuster franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s paranormally popular book series, “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” opened in theaters Friday, sending hordes of fervent fans known as “Twi-hards” flocking to cinemas for midnight screenings.
From left, Ashley Green, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli appear in a scene from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
Since 2008, Facinelli, who turns 38 on Saturday, has played the part of Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the compassionate vampire patriarch and creator of “Twilight” hero Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who complicates the coven’s lives when he falls in love with a human, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
Despite the inconvenience of concealing his Italian-American coloring under layers of vampire-pale makeup, Facinelli said in a one-on-one interview that “The Twilight Saga” has changed his life for the busier — and “busy’s good.”
“It’s really been a whirlwind. I mean, we’ve shot five movies in three years, and I can’t believe how fast we’ve done it all. I haven’t really taken it all in that it’s over ‘cause it feels like it’s not; we still have this movie and the next movie. I think after the next movie it’ll feel, like, complete. But it feels like part of it is over — I mean the filming process — but I’ll still see these cast members for another year or so before they never return my calls again,” he said with a laugh, sitting with his feet casually propped up in a swanky room at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Director Bill Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg split Meyer’s weighty fourth and final novel into two movies that filmed concurrently. While fans won’t get to see “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” for another year, the cast already has filmed their final scenes as the beloved book characters they have been embodying since 2008. Even before they started shooting two films at the same time, Facinelli said the scale of “Twilight” grew with the fan furor surrounding it.
“The first movie we were doing a little indie. You know, that’s how it felt. We were on the run, and it felt a little more intimate. By the second movie, it definitely felt like we were studio-ized, and by that I don’t mean anything bad, it just meant they had more money to do the project. So there was a lot more crew members; it was a bigger production. And then it’s just grown from there,” he said.
“The first movie I’ll always remember as the one where we kind of hung out the most because it was all new relationships and we were all kind of bonding. And there was no fans hanging outside our doors of our hotel rooms,” he said.
“You know, I remember going to see Rob Pattinson play guitar at some little bar. That stopped quickly after the first movie came out, and it got harder as each movie came along to actually go out.” So by the third movie, we became kind of shut-ins, and we’d kind of just hang out in each other’s rooms and play games.”
By the time they got to “Breaking Dawn,” security was so tight that sometimes he couldn’t even get in touch with his fellow vampire actors.
“I didn’t know what room Kellan Lutz was staying in, so I went to the front desk and I said, ‘Hey, what room is Kellan in?’ And they were like, ‘Oh, well, we’re not allowed to say.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but you know who I am; I like play his father.’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, but we’re under strict orders.’ And we were all under fictitious names, and I didn’t know his fictitious name,” he said with a grin. “So he was staying in the same hotel, and I couldn’t even get ahold of him.”
Although “The Twilight Saga” has been a big part of his life for the past few years, the native New Yorker has stayed busy with other projects, including playing another doctor on Showtime’s acclaimed dark comedy series “Nurse Jackie.” Last year, he started his own production company, Facinelli Films, which has several projects in development.
He wrote, produced and starred in his company’s first feature, “Loosies,” about a freewheeling pickpocket who reevaluates his life after a one-night stand leads to an unplanned pregnancy. Co-starring Michael Madsen, Jaimie Alexander and Joe Pantoliano, the dramatic comedy will open in theaters in January but is now available for rent through SundanceNOW and iTunes.
“I think that’s kind of the wave of the future. … VOD just reaches a broader audience because everyone has it in their homes,” he said. “I’m proud of that one ‘cause that was the second script I wrote, and it all takes place in New York. It was kind of my homage to New York.”
As his time with “Twilight” nears its end, Facinelli said he will take away at least one gem of wisdom from his vampire experience.
“Staying out of the sun makes you youthful,” he said with a grin.
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Box office report for Nov. 21, 2011: “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ lights up charts with huge debut
“The Twilight Saga” has taken another big bite out of the box office, with a $139.5 million first weekend domestically and a worldwide launch of $283.5 million.
The domestic total gives “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ the second-best debut weekend for the franchise, after the $142.8 million launch for 2009′s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” ”Breaking Dawn” did more than half of its business, $72 million, on opening day Friday, while the movie’s debut weekend was the fifth-best on record, according to the Associated Press.
Opening in 54 overseas markets, “Breaking Dawn” pulled in $144 million internationally, reports the AP.
In the fourth and penultimate film in the blockbuster franchised based on Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular book saga, human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her courtly vampire fiance Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) finally get married, take their romantic honeymoon and find their new life forever altered when Bella gets pregnant. The impending birth not only threatens Bella’s life — an emergency vampire conversion will be her only hope for survival — it also endangers the Cullen clan’s pact with the local werewolves of the Quileute Tribe, including Bella’s best pal, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
The movie’s big start points to even better business for next year’s “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” the finale in the five-film series.
In an industry whose main audience is young males, “Twilight” is a rare blockbuster franchise driven by female viewers. Distributor Summit Entertainment reported that women and girls made up 80 percent of the audience for “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” according to the AP.
The AP also reports that “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ was a windfall for the movie business in general, as domestic revenues continue to trail 2010′s despite rosy projections last spring of a record box-office year. Domestic business totaled $222 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ led with $125 million.
In contrast to “The Twilight Saga’s” continued success, Warner Bros. song-and-dance animated penguin sequel “Happy Feet Two” stumbled in its debut, tapping to a $22 million opening weekend. According to the AP, that’s barely half what the first film in the animated franchise earned in its 2006 opening, and the original did not have the sequel’s price advantage for 3-D screenings, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D shows.
Plus, the first “Happy Feet” won widespread critical acclaim and an Oscar for best animated feature, while the follow-up earned mixed to poor reviews.
The prospects for the “Happy Feet” penguins don’t seem to get any better with the coming holiday: Competition for family audiences turns intense in the next few days with the musical comedy comeback movie “The Muppets” (look for my gushing review Wednesday), Martin Scorsese’s youthful adventure “Hugo,” and the animated holiday tale “Arthur Christmas” all opening Wednesday for the busy Thanksgiving weekend.
Also opening in Oklahoma City theaters Wednesday: the romantic drama romantic drama “Like Crazy,” starring hot young stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, and the comedic drama “The Descendants,” a George Clooney starring vehicle from director Alexander Payne of “Sideways” fame. “The Descendants,” which is earned lots of Oscar buzz, broke into the top 10 over the weekend despite playing in just 29 theaters.
The newcomers, combined with “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” could lift Hollywood above the Thanksgiving record set in 2009, when “New Moon” paced the industry to a $273 million domestic haul from Wednesday to Sunday, according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies from the weekend, according to the AP:
1. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” $139.5 million ($144 million international)
2. “Happy Feet 2,” $22 million ($2.6 million international).
3. “Immortals,” $12.3 million ($11.9 million international).
4. “Jack and Jill,” $12 million ($1.6 million international).
5. “Puss in Boots,” $10.7 million ($2.4 million international).
6. “Tower Heist,” $7 million ($4.5 million international).
7. “J. Edgar,” $5.9 million.
8. “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” $2.9 million.
9. “In Time,” $1.7 million ($4.2 million international).
10. “The Descendants,” $1.2 million.
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Video: Stephenie Meyer talks “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″
In this NewsOK video, Stephenie Meyer, author of the supernaturally popular “Twilight” books, talks about the fourth and penultimate installment in the blockbuster film franchise, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which opened Friday in theaters.
Although she collaborated with filmmakers on the three previous films, Meyer, 37, signed on as a producer for the two-film finale, “Breaking Dawn.”
To read my feature with Meyer about the making of “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ and “Part 2,” click here.
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Stephenie Meyer reflects on life-changing experiences since penning “The Twilight Saga”
Stephenie Meyer arrives at the world premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoP
A version of this story appears in Monday’s Life section of The Oklahoman. To read more of what Stephenie Meyer had to say at the recent “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ press day, click here.
Author of “Twilight” series speaks about her experiences with books, films
Stephenie Meyer pays surprise visit to journalists in town for screening of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”
LOS ANGELES — In less than a decade, Stephenie Meyer has been transformed from a stay-at-home mom with a vivid dream-fueled idea for a novel to the creator of a full-fledged pop culture phenomenon.
Although her life has been drastically altered since she penned “The Twilight Saga,” Meyer, 37, remains the same storyteller who wrote the first novel in her vampire romance series in just three months after experiencing a particularly lucid dream about human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her benevolent vampire sweetheart Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)
“I don’t know that it has changed me as a storyteller, but it has given me fodder for it. It’s all just experiences that I’ve never had before, new things and different circumstances,” Meyer said at a recent press conference at the swanky Four Seasons Hotel.
“It’s hard to sum up something that doesn’t feel finished yet. I keep wondering when it will feel like the bow is there. It was a great growing experience. It wasn’t always a comfortable experience. I did learn a lot of it the hard way, but it was good for me in a lot of ways. When you are in your 30s you don’t think you’re going to learn (so much) because you’ve already jumped a lot of hurdles. I have a lot of new ones, but I’ve grown.”
Meyer surprised journalists earlier this month when she turned up at the press day for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.” It marked her first appearance on the press circuit for the film adaptations since the 2008 interviews for the first installment. In the meantime, the first three movies based on her series — “Twilight,” “New Moon” and “Eclipse” — have bitten off more than $1.8 billion in worldwide grosses.
“I’ve been kind of hiding out for a few years. It’s interesting to be done and not done. We had the final night of shooting, but it keeps going. So with the second part of the movie (‘Breaking Dawn’ still) coming out, it doesn’t feel like an ending yet. … I’m not quite sure how it will be once we get to the end. I know there are a lot of people that I’m just going to miss seeing,” said Meyer, who had just come from Hollywood’s famed Chinese Theatre, where she watched “Twilight” stars Stewart, Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have their hand and footprints immortalized in cement.
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” the first half of the two-film finale based on the fourth and last novel in her supernaturally successful book series, opened in theaters Friday, with hordes of fervent fans known as “Twi-hards” flocking to their local cinemas for midnight screenings.
While she collaborated with filmmakers, especially screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, on the first three movie adaptations, Meyer signed on as a producer for “Breaking Dawn,” which was split into two parts but filmed concurrently.
“To take on these beloved books was quite intimidating, and I knew going in, I was going to satisfy half the people and the other half, well, you know, look on any website, and they want me butchered. But my objective always is if Stephenie likes it, if Stephenie believes it and approves of it, that’s my job. Because we’re all just visitors in her universe,” Rosenberg said, sitting with the author during the presser.
“The other thing was really fantastic was to discover … that “Stephenie is really a great collaborator and not precious.” she added. “I would be outlining something and working on something and I would call her or email her and we’d start bouncing around ideas that were not in the book. She was a great, great sounding board for me.”
As a producer on “Breaking Dawn,” the author was frequently on set to hear ideas, field questions and look at footage.
“(Having) Stephenie around was incredible,” said Bill Condon, who directed both “Breaking Dawn” films. “Any question you had about behavior or certainly back story, which any good actor relies on, she was there to help us out.”
Plus, Condon convinced the writer to make a cameo in one of the key scenes of “Breaking Dawn — Part 1”: When Bella and Edward get married, to the dismay of her werewolf best friend Jacob Black (Lautner). Filming the long-awaited nuptials was an emotional experience, but Meyer was prepared for the influx of feelings after becoming overwhelmed at Stewart’s dress fitting.
“Being at the wedding, it was cold, actually, and I did not want to be on camera. But Bill was like, ‘Oh come on, it’ll be great.’ He talked me into it and … it was fantastic to have the whole group there,” she said. “When Kristen actually came down the aisle the first time — and there were many times she came down the aisle that day — she looked at me for a minute and there was this look of, ‘It’s happening.’ It was like it was her wedding. It was very weird, but it was awesome.”
Academy Award-nominated writer-director Andrew Niccol is adapting Meyer’s lone non-“Twilight” title, “The Host,” into a movie starring Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan.
But the author is often asked if she plans to continue her “Twilight” saga, which will come to a close with the Nov. 16, 2012, theatrical debut of “Breaking Dawn — Part 2.”
“There was a time when I thought I would never stop writing about vampires. There are pieces of their stories written in my computer,” she said. “I’m not going to say no. Right now I don’t have much drive towards vampires; there is so much else going on. And sometimes you want to get to a new world. But the characters will always be alive for me, so who knows?”
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“Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer: “The politics I never think of when I’m writing”
Stephenie Meyer (AP file)
“Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer surprised journalists earlier this month when she turned up at the press day for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” at the swanky Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. It marked her first appearance on the press circuit for the film adaptations of her best-selling saga since the 2008 interviews for the first installment. In the meantime, the first three movies based on her series — “Twilight,” “New Moon” and “Eclipse” — have bitten off more than $1.8 billion in worldwide grosses.
“I’ve been kind of hiding out for a few years. It’s interesting to be done and not done. We had the final night of shooting, but it keeps going. So with the second part of the movie (‘Breaking Dawn’ still) coming out, it doesn’t feel like an ending yet. … I’m not quite sure how it will be once we get to the end. I know there are a lot of people that I’m just going to miss seeing,” said Meyer, who had just come from Hollywood’s famed Chinese Theatre, where she watched “Twilight” stars Stewart, Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have their hand and footprints immortalized in cement.
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” the first half of the two-film finale based on the fourth and last novel in her supernaturally successful book series, opened in theaters Friday, with hordes of fervent fans known as “Twi-hards” flocking to their local cinemas for midnight screenings. “Part 2″ is due in theaters Nov. 16, 2012.
During the press conference, Meyer, 37, was asked about the gender and sexual politics of “The Twilight Saga,” which have been criticized as retrograde or even twisted. After all, in “Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) marries her courtly vampire fiance Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), has her first sexual encounter on their honeymoon and basically dies from the experience.
But Meyer said the cause of Bella’s death – which is offset by her rising as a vampire at the close of “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ – was what was compelling to her. Bella dies while giving birth to her super-strong, fast-developing half-human, half-vampire baby, Reneesmee (Mackenzie Foy).
“The politics I never think of when I’m writing. It’s about a story that is interesting to me,” she said. “I’m not going to say that ‘Breaking Dawn’ doesn’t get weird, because it does. But these are things that as I was exploring what it means and meant to be a woman, particularly to be a mother because that is a big part of my life.
“For Bella, it is something that happened to her very young because she’d be a vampire and its not going to work out anymore (after she is converted). I’ve always been really fascinated with the idea that over a hundred years ago, if you were going to have a baby you might die. You’d be taking your life in your hands to do that and there is a courage that we don’t have to develop. I’m fascinated with that type of woman: The woman who makes the choice that she is going to risk her life. It’s like being a solider.
“I like to explore things that I didn’t have to do in writing. I never became a vampire either. It really was never about the politics but how as a person you would deal with these things as an individual story, not as a story that this is an example for how I think life should be lived, or this is an example of a perfect or correct life. This is an example of a flawed life with choices and mistakes and how they affect people. So for me it’s never about anything different than that.”
Read more of my feature on Meyer Monday here on BAM’s Blog, on NewsOK and in the Life section of The Oklahoman.
-BAM
