"Good morning! I'm the editor in chief of IGN Movies. Welcome to the Breaking Dawn panel!" (applause)
"There was a nice surprise this morning for the fans who waited. Did it get you all pumped up? I can't follow that surprise.. let's give you an exclusive first look at the film! Before I do that, please welcome director Bill Condon!"
Eric: So Bill, you're new to the project. Talk how you got involved.
Bill: The very nice folks at Summit.. they sent me the novel. I loved it. It's such a lucky thing for the director because amazing things happen. I started off in horror movies.
Eric: Did you immerse yourself in this world?
Bill: Totally. I quickly imprinted on the material.
Eric: How about we bring out the others? (applause) A few people you might be familiar with. Please welcome Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner!
All three coming out.. huge applause, photos.
No one in the back of the hall is applauding really.
Eric: What was it like to shoot the wedding?
Kristen: I'd been ramping up to shoot that scene for four years. They also put it at the end of the entire filming.. so had to wait so long for it to happen. When I got to set I was just as nervous and terrfiied as I expected myself to be. When I got to set.. it was just so beautiful. I had to go get locked away in a room for the rest of the day because I was locked into my dress and had to protect it. It was secret service style security. I ended up being much more relaxed than I thought I was going to be.
Eric: Rob.. (applause) Edward and Bella go on a honey moon. The scene was shot in Brazil. Talk about filming there.
Rob: Brazil was amazing. It was really amazing the day we got there. Beautiful, warm, everything you'd expect. It was beautiful the first day.. then suddenly the remainder of the shoot it was raining.. hurricane storms. It was kind of like a honeymoon in England. We stayed in side, played chess. Bill fixed it.
Eric: Taylor, I have a question for you as well. But first Bill has a surprise.
Bill: We're gonna show a couple of clips. They're actually pretty long. Two big scenes from the movie. This first one is Jacob.. he's pulled away from his family, tribe, pack, and he's joined the Cullens to protect them against Sam. This comes deep into the movie where Bella needs more blood to survive. These are scenes that don't appear in the books so it'll be a new experience.
*SCENE: Jacob, Carlisle, Esme talking about saving Bella.
Jacob: You've risked our lives.
Esme: Of course we would
Jacob: I know what I have to do. Cut to Jacob in the forest looking around, runs into wolf pack members. Waiting for other wolf pack members who split off from him.
Had to shut laptop off during the scene when they saw what I was up to. But it was a great scene.*
Eric: From the clip we just saw it's clear Jacob has a large roll. Breaks off from the old pack. Can you talk about your character's new found freedom?
Taylor: Yeah. It's difficult because Jacob at the beginning of the film is the Jacob you've always seen before. He's immature, in love with Bella. Then he gets his heart crushed. He doesn't handle it well. He handles it how Jacob would usually handle it. He becomes an entirely different person. He's forced to mature and become his own man. If that means separating from his own pack, brothers, he's willing to do that and he does.
*Bill setting up a second clip. First glimpse of Edward and Bella on honeymoon.
SCENE: Edward and Bella head into Isle esme. Rob picks her up. Brings her into house. Bella looks beautiful and not pale. Looking aroudnd the home.
Edward: want to take a look around?
Bella walks into another area of the house. BEdroom. Stares at the bed, touches the curtains around the bed. Can see ocean in background. Edward looks at the bed. Tension between them s they consider going into the bed. Continue putting suitcases down. Edward and Bella hold each other's hands. Still lot of tension.
Edward: Want to go for a swim?
Bella: yeah that sounds nice (it's night time).
Bella: I could use just a few minutes.
Edward kisses her.
Edward: Don't take too long.
Edward walks outside. Takes off shirt to get into water. Bella goes to bathroom. Looks at herself in mirror. Fast paced scene. Brushes teeth, cleans mouth. Very nervous obviously. Fast paced scene with a song we don't know. Washing hands. Takes off wedding ring. Dries hands. Wipes water on forehead. Shaves legs. Picks out a bra to wear. Pulls out lingerie.. unsure about wearing it. Sits on ground in nervousness. Bella: Don't be worried.Cut to going out into the water. Bella walks up to Edward in the moonlight. Bella is naked and walking towards the water. Edward already in.
THAT's it! Big scene. That's sure to make fans go nuts in theaters.*
Question for Rob: Did you have more fun playing Cedric Diggory or Edward?
Rob: They were both really realy fun. I didn't know what I was doing when I was playing Cedric. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be an actor at the time. Twilight has really changed my life. It's allowed me to live in this world.. it's almost impossible to find another way of living in it.
Question for Taylor: You have roles that require martial arts. Do you want to be an action star?
Taylor: I've always been a fan of action movies. It's not all I want to do. What I like about acting is that I can challenge myself to many different things. I love Jacob and this franchise has given me an incredible opportunity to do what I want to do and that's challenge myself more. My next one.. I play Nathan in Abduction. He's completely different than Jacob which is a weird change because I've lived Jacob for so long now. But I'm really excited for you to see that as well.
Question: Nice hair Rob. What was your initial reaction to reading the Renesme birth scene?
*Everyone: uhm..*
Kristen: I thoguht it was so cool. I think we did try to go as hardcore as we could. It's not your typical birthing scene. It took two days to shoot. Two day labor is really hard (bill condon laughs). In the book, as you all know, she's literally joking on blood. It was always in my head that she's able to fight harder than any human would really be able to.. because it's in her.. literally (huge laughs). In Part 2 I get to play with the venom running through my veins. And that's after a moment of sheer exuberance. Having a calm breath after the birth.
Question: I was very pleasantly surprised by your back muscles in the trailer Rob. I can speak for all of us when I say "nom nom nom" (huge laughs). My question is actually for Kristen. After all these years you got to experience vampire make up. What was that like for you. Was Ron's whining justified or was he being a big baby?
Kristen: So, so justified. You feel locked in there all day. But it helps too because you're so much more aware of your movements. The contacts suck cause you cannot see anything. especially when we both have them in there, we can't see each other.
Question: Hi! Question for Rob.. if I could give you a CD? Gave you one two years ago and want to give you another one. And what was your favorite scene to film?
Rob: My favorite scene to film was the birth scene. It was different to anything I've done before. I never got to play Edward in a way.. literally he's so aware of his own helplessness. There's no one else around. He's tried to help Bella but there's nothing he can do. He's desperate. Normally when that happens in the other movie Bella comes in to save the dead. Every single time, Bella comes to save him. But this time Bella can't. It was nice to play someone who's totally annihilated by the entrie situation.
Bill: Someone asked before and there are so many big things that happen. They all.. I really dont' have one. They're all huge challenges.
Question for all: My mom would like to know what was the difference between filming in canada and louisiana?
Kristen: All the exterior stuff was shot in Canada. In Louisiana we were on a stage primarily. Mostly the stuff we had to do inside was kind of more emotional. More based in reality. Not that anything in the story isn't.. it's just personal intimate scenes. It was a different tone change between the two. I was a vampire more in Louisiana which was cool
Question: I'm so excited for Breaking Dawn. What scene are you excited to reveal to the fans in Part 2?
Taylor: I'm going to be boring and go back tot he birth scene. I want to give Bill some credit. When I read it in the book it was a lot to take in. It was so interesting, I had no idea how it was going to look visually. I gotta give bill some credit. It's really amazing. I dont' want to give too much away so I'll force myself to not talk. But the birth scene was phenomenal. The fans will eb really really pleased.
Kristen: You have to give Bella credit of having semi devine intution at times. She's said at time she's going to times. This time she's willing to
Question: My questions for Kristen. Being pregnant is such a life changing experience. What experiences did you pull from to have that moment?
Kristen: What experiences? Hah. I've been asked recently what it's like to play such a far fetched story. This story feels the most real in terms of what can happen to you in your life. At 18.. it's so very very ossible. It's hard to talk to you about this (the person who asked the question is pregnant). I didn't have any experiences drawn.. there ya go.
Question for Rob and Taylor: How's it like working with such a beautiful cast.
Rob: it's crazy (laughs).
Kristen: that's the first time it's been asked at one of these!
Rob: Not true! I've always been asked.
Taylor: And what do you say?
Rob: Any way to approach this answer is inappropriate or just plain wrong. So.. Taylor you answer!
Rob: it's great, it's nice to be surrounded by hot girls all the time. It's why I became an actor.
Taylor: You summed it up. There could be worse jobs. We have a lot of fun. It is weird. We're all so close.
Kristen: it's so weird that we're all so hot (laughs).
Question: I was wondering can you tell us what songs will be in the movie?
Bill: We're just figuring that out now. We have 15. I don't know if we should say it yet because we haven't made deals with everyone but I think you'll be happy
Question: Hey taylor! what's it like to rehearse the fight scenes?
Taylor: My fight scenes.. I'm usually a wolf. So... I.. it's a bummer. I wish I could actually be doing that. I'm super jealous of my CGI wolf. Although he is pretty cute and fluffy. But I actually got beat up a little bit in both movies. In Part 1 edward gives me a nice punch after he finds out I imprinted on his daughter.
Rob: There was a stunt where Taylor jumps out of the house. It's a really cool stunt. He jumped down ten stairs. And then Taylor was like "ehh I don't really need a wire" and then goes and sprints and makes a huge jump. It was one of the most impressive things
Eric: We have surprise guests.. please welcome Julia Jones, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene
Not a surprise to those who were watching our live coverage earlier ;)
Question from little girl who gets a lot of "awws": Rob.. do you like having the baby with Bella? (awwws)
Rob: The look on your face makes me think you're asking something else (laughs). No i do. I really like babies. I like doing scenes with them too. It was really fun.. especially with this series as well. You're playing this statue-esque guy most of the time. Can't be hard.. but he has the baby and it makes everything more human. And babies.. in terms of acting with it.. they just do their own thing. It's more fun. You're basically improvising.
Question for Taylor: Did you like playing the character in Abduction more than the character in the Twilight saga?
Taylor: Why is that so funny? (audience laughing). Honestly I wouldn't be able to choose. Like I was saying earlier they are such different characters. I was able to go from playing Jacob, who I really love, to playing another character who I could really explore. But i would not be able to choose. That's a good question! You put me on a tough spot here.
Eric (moderator): Question for those who just joined us at the table. Talk about the growth of your characters through the course of the film.
Ashley Greene: It's always been fun playing Alice. Super perky, super happy all the time. But the nice part was there was opportunities to really see her defending her family. A dangerous side of her that you didn't see in some films. You get to see her at her peak as she defends her family. She goes to darker places you haven't seen her go to before.
Nikki Reed: Rosalie is not super happy and perky (laughs). It was nice to not play that for 5 minutes. It was nice to smile. I think this journey, watching Rosalie unfold, and working with Bill really closely to find the comedy in this and the humor and the lighter moments was nights. I experienced in Eclipse that the audience was laughing most of the time which was amazing. In this one Rosalie and Bella get to connect over the baby and it becomes greater than all the petty issues.
Elizabeth Reaser: Working with the international vampires was a lot of fun. We had a full house at one point. What I really enjoyed about Breaking Dawn was seeing her become a stronger version of the character than I think we've seen. I found that to be a more honest version of the character because every mother I've ever know.. they're the fiercest person in the family.
Julia Jones: I think that Leah in Eclipse was always angry - to say the least - and in Breaking Dawn she makes a decision. Growing up for her is deciding to do something tha tmakes her happy. Makes her care. Jacob gives her that opportunity and it opens her heart, and she now feels passion. To me that was such a relief. And I'm glad I could leave her in that state.
Question: Did you have a chance to watch Brazilian cinema while you were there?
Bill: First of all we had a tight schedule, but we were right there during a festival in Rio. We had some really great people on our crew. We managed to pick them up for 6 weeks. So I get a chance to experience that film scene down there.
Question: Thanks for talking to all of us. My question is for the director. What tool did you use to make the movie more like the books. What did you use and what were your inspirations?
Bill: Having Stephenie Meyer there. And also Kristen. She's the biggest fan you'll ever meet. We had a week long process where we talked through the script. We put things backed based on suggestions from Kristen. Then on the day of shooting.. we both spent the night before going through it again. The films are from Bella's point of view so we wanted to get inside her head. That was our mission, right?
Kristen: Yeah. Ultimately you should let moments live. Bill makes it pretty easy. As do all these folks.
Question: For Taylor.. first off, i love you. I was just wondering, what's it like to be such a main focus in the movie and being so in your mind?
Taylor: It's a lot of pressure because there's some great stuff going on down in Brazil. It's interesting to see moments, tidbits from Jacob's point of view to see what he's dealing with. He matures so much. It's interesting to see how he handles situations and how he handles them in the end.
Kristen: Also, to step out of Bella's point of view is quite perfect because she's really withdrawn from everyone. It's good.. she says "everyone go away".. so it's cool to not know what's going on with her. You wonder what's going on with Edward. They're definitely at odds.
Question for Nikki Reed (Rosalie): What will you miss most about being on set with each other? How do you plan on staying in touch?
Nikki: I'll miss.. we had some really special moments, all of us. Individually. We had some really great moments together. I'll miss being a part of the community. one thing I've noticed with this series is, no matter who's dealing with what issue or where, ther'es always someone to be with. In terms of being in touch, I don't know what will happen. I'd like to say it'll be a fairy tale ending and we'll have dinners once a week. There will be things that live on forever. It's been a really great thing for all of us.
Ashley: Nikki summed it up. It was nice being able to personally - as an actor - learn and grow as an actor. For the next two years we should be okay because we'll have premieres and conventions. But eventually it will all sadly come to an end.
Elizabeth: I'll miss the weird normalcy of getting up at 4 AM every day. It sounds crazy because we weren't loving it in the moment but I do love the moments of going to set, going to kraft services. I'm going to miss the make up artist, the director of photography, bill condon of course. we got to work with such amazing people. The more you go about in this industry, the more you realize you're so lucky to have THESE kinds of experiences.
Julia Jones: I'm going to miss the simplicity of being away from home with a group of people who wind up sustaining you in many different ways. You spend so much time with each other. I really appreciated the people that were there. And the way to keep in touch is to try and prioritize it. And to say in LA (laughs)
Rob: Everyone's really cool.. and there eventually comes a point where I say "no more!" "After the large premiere that is IT!"
Question: I just want to say congratulations to everyone on your success. This is for the panel. Which movie is your favorite in the saga?
Bill: Breaking Dawn.
Rob: Part 1 or 2?
Bill: Part 1.
Rob: What's it going to be next year?
Bill: Part 2. (laughs)
Taylor: I'll be completely honest. The third book I loved. But.. this movie (Part 1) is my favorite. I just.. it's a testament to Bill. And everybody else. We had an incredible time. This movie.. you're able to see all of the characters in a different light that you've never seen before. We're dealing with things we never have before. I think that's why it was my favorite. It was a challenge but we had a lot of fun is my favorite by far.
Kristen: My favorite book was always New Moon, but I really like Twilight a lot. Catherine did a spectacular job that made it different from the rest of them. I like this one (Part 1) a lot. I just saw it. Seeing them at points that are nostalgic for anyone.. seeing them at weddings, Bella pregnant.. it's weird. It's incredibly connected to it.
Question: For Taylor.. does your character relate to your real personality?
Taylor: I would hope so. I don't know if I would be the best judge of that. I loved Jacob. He has amazing qualities. He's loyal, persistent, I think he's an incredible guy. I would be honored if people around would say I'm similar to Jacob.
Question: Are we going to see some of the back stories?
Ashley Greene: Most of the fans know more about Alice that I do. A lot of people already know about her background. It's not in the film. I'm okay with that.
Question: I love the audiobooks. Will any of you ever do voiceover acting?
Elizabeth Reaser: I would love to because you can wear sweatpants.
Kristen: Everyone probably would right? I would.
Question: Do you guys use music to get pumped up for the emotional scenes while filming?
Kristen: I definitely use music. I have a perfect story for you actually. On the day we shot the wedding ceremony. There was a perfect song. It'd be great if it was in the mvoie. Band of Horses has this song Annabelle (spelling?) that should be in the movie. That was one of the most moving experiences. They played it loud and it helped me out.
Eric (Moderator): Before we call it quits here, let's thank everyone for coming. We're now doing a giveaway. The winners will receive an exclusive meet and greet for you and one guest as they walk the red carpet at the Summit party tonight.
The primary story line seems to be about Radnor’s character, a 35-year-old now working in admissions at a different college, and Zibby, a 19-year-old student played by Elizabeth Olsen who tries to seduce the main character. John Magaro, Michael Weston and Elizabeth Reaser have also signed on for roles, with Reaser in the potentially awkward position of also playing a love interest for Radnor’s character. Magaro is playing another college kid, while Weston plays another friend living back in New York City. Shooting starts in June thanks to Radnor’s hiatus from How I Met Your Mother, but it’s unclear if they’ll actually be shooting in Ohio– Radnor’s an alum of Ohio’s Kenyon College, so you can imagine he might want to fight for some local realism.
