» Love bites
As the second part of teen phenomenon The Twilight Saga hits cinemas, Zara Baker meets the cast of this fang-tastic fantasy
Vampires have always been a big draw on screen. But Joss Whedon’s ’90s series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, launched a whole new fictional sub-genre – teen vampirism. Fast forward to 2005 and fantasy history was rewritten again. Stephenie Meyer’s book series, The Twilight Saga, which follows the love triangle between a human teen, a vampire and a werewolf, has now become a worldwide phenomenon with the first film, Twilight, grossing a staggering $35m on its opening day in 2008. With second installment New Moon arriving in cinemas this Friday, L7 caught up with stars Kristen Stewart (human Bella), Robert Pattinson (vampire Edward) and Taylor Lautner (werewolf Jacob).
Do you talk to Stephenie about your characters?
Kristen: I did on Eclipse [the third Twilight Saga installment,due in 2010] for the first time. When she was on set and watching all the scenes I really loved going and asking about details – that was really cool. I was always so intimidated by her before – she’s like the Queen Bee, y’know.
“If I stayed at my exact same mental capacity, then I wouldn’t like to be immortal!”
Robert Pattinson
Robert, having been part of two huge franchises [he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire] how do you compare the two, and does playing the male lead make it very different?
Robert: When I went into Harry Potter it was already on the fourth film and everybody already knew each other – people had married on the crew. Everything was so well oiled, and starting Twilight it was interesting to see so many different warrings. It was kind of a volatile set – the studio had different criteria to [Twilight director] Catherine Hardwicke. It’s weird dealing with a franchise on every level.
K: But it wasn’t a franchise yet. Harry Potter was.
R: Yeah, everyone’s going, ‘Oh, you must have known what you were getting into’, but it was hard to find someone who had heard of Twilight before the film came out. I remember looking for the book in London and it was difficult to find. Even though we did a multiple picture deal at the beginning, I had no idea…
How prepared were you for the excitement and hysteria that comes along with working on these films?
Taylor: After the first film, Twilight, we expect anything but I’m still always surprised by the fan reaction. Coming into New Moon, the feeling was a bit different. It’s great to know we have that kind of support behind us.
The picture the media has created of your life, Robert, is one trapped in hotel rooms. Is Taylor taking heat off of you this time?
R: I was kind of trapped in a hotel room when we were shooting Eclipse in Vancouver. If I’m still stuck in hotel rooms in 10 years then it probably would annoy me.
How do your family cope with your fame?
K: My family’s embarrassingly proud of me. My brothers get a little protective – I’ve had to make rules now, like they can’t go outside and scream at people.
R: My family live in London so I don’t think they fully realise what’s been going on in America.
Kristen and Robert, how easy was it to maintain the emotion and intensity of your relationship?
K: Well, I think to miss something it has to go away. Hypothetically, I don’t really know what it’s like to be in love with a vampire. But the descriptions in the book are so visceral and sensory. It’s first person narrative, so you know exactly what Bella is feeling all the time.
Kristen, how was it kissing Robert in the film?
K: It’s pretty cool.
R: It’s amazing.
There’s a lot of speculation about your relationship, because you work so closely…
K: Any good relationship that I’ve ever had with an actor has always been so emotional. If you don’t have that then you’re just lying. I have that with Taylor and everyone I’ve ever worked with. You need that. We are comfortable and thus able to give more honest performances.
Taylor, you’ve totally transformed physically for the film. How did you find that and the stunt work?
T: The stunt work was a lot of fun. I’d never ridden a dirt bike before so that was kinda scary at first, I had to go through some training so we could get a five-second shot of me on the dirt bike! Jacob’s transformation required a lot of hours in the gym but probably the most important part was the eating process, which was actually the most difficult. I had to double or triple my calorie intake per day, eating disgusting things like meat patties.
Robert, would being immortal be good or bad?
R: It depends. If I stayed at my exact same mental capacity as now, then I woudn’t want to be immortal! [laughs] I wouldn’t want to be considered young forever. I like the innate wisdom that comes with being old. I’d quite like to be able to choose however old I am whenever I want.
If you guys could go back and audition again for a different role, who would it be?
K: I would love to play Alice. She has my favourite back story of all the Cullens and I would love to have her power – the visions.
T: Is Bella an option? I would love to get in Bella’s… mind.
New Moon is in cinemas from Friday 20 November. Win New Moon merchandise goodie bags: http://thelatest.co.uk/7/win-new-moon-merch-goodie-bags
