They've been sitting in a room together for the better part of two hours, but the cast members of New Moon continue to howl with laughter - and conjure some truly deep thoughts - as they talk about the unique challenges involved in bringing a teen literature phenomenon to life.
In this session of interviews, the members of the Cullen vampire clan - and its extended family of adopted sons and daughters - talk about their creative process.
For Kellan Lutz, a former Abercrombie & Fitch model who paid his dues on soaps and various TV roles before landing the part of Emmett Cullen, the Twilight phenomenon revolves around the rebirth of a Romeo and Juliet story.
For Nikki Reed, the wunderkind who penned the screenplay for Thirteen, as well as acted in the feature starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Ward, bringing Stephenie Meyer's tomes to the big screen have presented several challenges - both professionally, as well as intellectually.
For Jackson Rathbone, a former musical player, saying little said the most.
In the hopes of ensuring their ideas get all the breadth they deserve - without editorializing - here is a transcript of the conversation.
Canwest: Has anything surprised you along the way? Were you ready for the craziness from day one?
Kellan Lutz: You hit the nail on the head there darling. (Laughs from the others). Craziness and surprise. From day one, I didn't know it was a book even, until my good friend Ashley Greene came knocking on my door and gave me the books to read. And I did all this reading
Jackson Rathbone: That was surprise number one he reads.
Kellan: Yeah. That was surprise number two: The Reading. And surprise number three was that I really fell in love with these books and understand why the fans enjoy it so much. They're captivating.
CW: Why are they captivating, do you think?
Kellan: It's about forbidden love. It's the Romeo and Juliet of our age and the forbidden love of a cool being, a vampire, who we've all seen as this mystical creature. It's just really cool.
Nikki Reed: I think the biggest surprise for me is first acknowledging the separation between generations. I'm young and I never really acknowledged there was a generation below me but this whole Twitter, MySpace, Facebook like instantly being able to feel connected to people you idolize, it's like participatory fandom. It's like being able to contribute to why someone is successful or not. This has all been very shocking to me because it's something I don't really understand or relate to because when I was young, I liked the Spice Girls but the closest I could get to them was a poster on the wall. You know, we went to Borders and picked one up. It's not like going on their board or Twitterchat with them, whatever that means You know, I think there's a reason why movie stars used to be put on a pedestal and idolized: There were layers between you and that person. It was a respected art. There was a disconnect that no longer exists.
CW: How and what do you think about that current lack of a disconnect? What are we losing as the line between fantasy and reality begins to erode?
Nikki: I think it's a shame now because we are just as dependent on that as they are on us allowing them to do that. Unfortunately, people like Lauren Conrad and Paris Hilton, I feel the definition of what an actor is has been completely lost to my generation. And at certain times, I feel embarrassed.
CW: I think you're right. I think people have no idea what real acting is anymore. Celebrity seems to be sufficient. And people see no distinction between the two. And quite sadly, what you guys are doing in these movies isn't all that easy. You guys are animating these impossible characters and making them feel real, which is the result of craft, but few people even take the acting into consideration when they talk about the Twilight series. Is that frustrating?
Nikki: They will see it when they go to see New Moon and they see Mr. Taylor Lautner because that kid will blow you away. The amount of I mean who cares that he put on forty pounds and spent countless hours at the gym to make his body look good. You're not even aware of that when you're watching the scene. You're watching his eyes. I mean, that is someone who really respected what he was doing and brought an honesty and integrity and an innocence and a warmth to a character that was somewhat intimidating to play initially because of the amount of attention that Edward Cullen, um, was getting - I'm not talking about Rob, I `m talking about the character of Edward - I think that will bring it all back to the reality of hard work being put into the performance.
CW: And for you, Nikki, given your experience already, were there any specific challenges for you as an actor?
Nikki: At the risk of sounding completely lame, I'm going to say not in New Moon. Not because I didn't care, but because I wasn't in it, really. Um. We stay true to the books and the Cullens aren't really in New Moon that much, but definitely throughout the series it's challenging. It's challenging to not get caught up in the hundreds of millions of opinions that are being tossed to you right and left all the time. It's hard to stay focused on the set when you've made friends with everyone you're working with but your relationship with them onscreen is not necessarily the relationship you have with them off-screen. You know, it's all challenging. And also in Eclipse, I'm doing a lot of flashback scenes, and I'm really getting into my character. So hopefully in our next round of interviews we can talk a little bit more about that.
CW: What do you think the message behind this franchise is, if there is one?
Nikki: I think it represents, especially in the case of Bella and Edward, a rather codependent, obsessive kind of love. And literally, Bella is willing to give up her life, her soul, her family - everything in her life - because nothing is more important than this man. And I think that's unrealistic. I mean, that's living in a fantasy bubble. That's not how life is. That's not what love is. That's why Edward is so unattainable, and it's also what makes him so appealing. And that's what - to me - makes it so unhealthy.
CW: Unhealthy?
Nikki: Whereas the Jacob character I've always had time for because I think that's real. And not just because he's a human being, but because he's not asking her to sacrifice anything.
CW: It's unfortunate when there's a creative disconnect between your own feelings for the character and what's on the page. Did you ever want to recreate the characters in your own mind? And can you even do that? How much leeway was there in terms of bringing your self, and your intellect into the role?
Nikki: It's a different approach when you start a film and it's all laid out before you and you don't get to develop them on your own. And contrary to what other people might say, I don't feel like I've contributed to Rosalie (Hale, adopted sister to Edward). I had a large bag of questions for Stephenie when we started because I wanted to understand her, and I stick with that, but this is still a very unfamiliar process I'm sorry, but this suddenly turned into a you and me interview. I'm now alone here.
CW: The boys deserted you? I won't get to ask Jackson a question?
Jackson: No, we're here. We're just amazed at everything Nikki is saying.
Nikki: I can ramble quite a bit.
CW: Okay then. Given this is a story of vampires and werewolves, how do you make sure this doesn't come off as entirely cheesy. The genre is really old, and some might even say long in the tooth How did you steer clear of the camp factor?
Nikki: That's a really great question, because it's something we all struggle with daily when we are working, just because it can go one of two ways and we feel a responsibility to Stephenie to make sure we're true to the series that is so beloved by so many people. But even just touching on what you and I just touched on for five seconds everything can be picked apart. Everything can be represented differently depending on perspectives. You can make sense out of anything, and you can relate to anything.
Kellan: It's cool how Stephenie did decide to portray us as vampires, because we're vampires trying to portray humans who live in a civilized reality. You know, we go to high school. And she depicts us with our pale skin and our golden eyes - so a lot of the description has to do with the fact that we're not human, but we're trying to access humanity.
CW: So no fangs. But you know what I mean? The last movie really rode the edge of camp.
Kellan: It's true. And that's why it was so challenging for us as actors to find the right line.
CW: How do you do it?
Kellan: You see the beauty of what she's created and you pull back.
Source: Canada.com
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