Notes from the Twilight Director, Catherine Hardwicke

I stumbled across this interview of Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight, while flipping through some fan pages. In the interview Catherine talks about the same old “director talking about their big-time movie” kinda stuff such as music, her tight budget, blah blah blah. What I actually found most interesting about the interview was the questions the interviewer asked. While Catherine seemed to give the same old responses, it was the questions from the fans that really got me thinking. They touched on just about everything that we all think of when we read the books or watch the movie. These are some of my favorite excerpts from the interview, from The Twilight Saga,

“Twilightforest : If you had the opportunity to go back to the production of Twilight (aware of the story lines left out of the movie that the fans loved in the book) what major part of the book would you add or expand on?

CH: I think the film was about the right length. What did you miss?

Leanne: What was the most frustrating scene to bring to life from the script?

CH: Working in the extreme weather conditions last winter made the outdoor scenes difficult — especially the baseball scene and the scene at La Push beach. We were FREEZING!!!

What overall scene were you most proud of when you were finished shooting the movie?

CH: I love the “how long have you been seventeen?” scene. I like the intoxicating camera moves and the actor’s performances. I also love the kissing scene.

Lynn: When dealing with your actors, were there any special exercises you would have them do to help them get into character?

CH: We sometimes did improvs of scenes that weren’t in the film — like we rehearsed Bella’s phone call to her father, asking if she could come live with him. We also had a choreographer come teach a “cat class” — showing us how predators move when stalking their prey and fighting. Nikki and Rachelle especially got into it — we almost had a delicious CAT FIGHT.

Salomé: I would like to know… if you were a character of the movie/saga, who would you be?

CH: I’d want to be Bella!

Ashley: What is one thing you learned from directing Twilight that you will bring with you into future films?

CH: The relationship between the characters is the most important element. The chemistry between Bella and Edward had to be powerful to make us care.

CarleneLove: Quickly, I wanted to say how much I loved the comedy that you brought to the story in the movie. My question is, what were your thinking and ideas as far as adding in the lighter moments?

CH: Laughter provides relief from the serious moments — it breaks the tension. We all want variety in our lifes — friends that make us laugh, make us cry, make us feel. I saw Bella’s human friends and her father as great places to inject comedy. I also wanted to feel the absurdity of Edward bringing his girlfriend home to meet his “family — a “housefull of vampires”! …. And — I like to LAUGH!”

I have to say, that whole “How long have you been seventeen?” scene gets me every time too. But I think my favorite line from that movie is later on in that scene when Bella and Edward dart to some far corner of the woods and talk about being the stupid lamb and the sick, masochistic lion, respectively. And as for my funniest moment, I like it when Bella and Edward are in the greenhouse on a school trip and Bella stumbles so that Edward can catch her. Rolling his eyes at her, he says, “Can you at least try to be careful?” But I must say, that whole scene where Bella goes to meet his family is pretty fabulous too. Oh, I could go on and on!

What character from the books would you like to be? What are your favorite lines?

5 comments

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  2. I reckon one of the funniest bits is in the greenhouse where the teacher gets all excited over ‘ Compost Tea!’ (aka, bits of plants and poo mixed together) and one the boys (don’t remember who it was) tries to drink it. Gets me every time!

  3. I am a gal of 20 years old living in Africa Tanzania,i rilly love the movie,especially when Edward asked Bella if he try something that was kissing her.i love how they kissed and touched………Bella impressed me there,she was fast and hot…i luved that.also when they were in the wood,i luved how Edward was acting around Bella.Edwrd is so hot………i like him so much.when i watch that movie i feel like being close to ma boyfriend all the time.am looking forward for part two of it.All in all the movie is graet,i must always watch it before i go to bed.

  4. The whole greenhouse part was cool, and I loved that baseball scene. My favorite parts were, one, when Edward comes speeding to Bella’s rescue in that sexy sleek silver Volvo, and two, when she’s researching vampires, and she looking at all the words and connecting the dots in her head, and the expression on her face gets me laughing every time. Its like, lightbulb! If I was a Twilight character I’d be Heidi, because she gets to work with the cool bad guys, or Esme, because Carlisle’s hot!!

  5. my absoloutly favourite scene from the Twilight movie is the baseball scene. when i first saw it in theatres i was, literally, sitting on the edge of my seat because it was so good! everytime i watch the movie i just cannt wait for the baseball scene. they move so fast and it seems really funny if you think about it. i mean when do vampires get together to play a nice friendly game of good old fashion american baseball? also when edward and emmett both try to catch the ball and smash into each other it is hilarious! i could watch that scene over and over again! as for the twilight character i want to be, i dont really know. i would deffiantly go for one with a gift, be a ‘freak among freaks’ as edward puts it, so maybe jane or aro and possibly edward too. but i think i would really have to go for bella as a vampire. having the ability to keep everyone out of my head, you have to admit that is pretty sweet.

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