The allure of the vampire is as eternal as its lifespan. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to cheat death, to survive the centuries, observing the turning of the Earth indefinitely?
The fact that you’d have to be denied the shining of the sun and be forced to feed off the blood of the living is only a mild annoyance.
It’s that fantastical headspace that Stephenie Meyer has capitalized on, anyway.
Meyer’s Twilight series — which tells of the adventures of the undead Cullen clan and the young mortal girl who becomes entwined in their lives — was a runaway success whose parlay into film last year only increased its cult of obsessive admirers.
Now, with the impending release of the Twilight sequel New Moon (opening across North America on Nov. 20), the young cast who make up its motley crew of bloodsuckers, werewolves and victims both willing and unwilling are preparing for even more international exposure.
But, as co-star Jackson Rathbone tells Metro, sometimes the spotlight can be scary.
“During the filming of New Moon, I decided to go across the street from my hotel and get a coffee,” says Rathbone, who reprises his role as the gentle, adoptive undead brother of actor Robert Pattinon’s lead vamp Edward Cullen.
“Suddenly I was cornered by a half dozen paparazzi, then a massive wave of fans came over and demanded autographs. Then, out of nowhere, without saying a word, a woman hands me her two-year-old kid and starts snapping pictures. Here I am looking at this kid and he’s looking at me and neither of us know what’s going on. I felt like chum at a feeding frenzy.”
Taking over directing reigns for New Moon from Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke is filmmaker Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass). As actress Nikki Reed states, Weitz’s vision is much different and more appropriate for New Moon’s darker tone and expansive narrative.
“There are way more special effects in this one, “ says Reed, who’s beautiful, blond and unapologetically vampiric character Rosalie still sneers at her brother Edward’s affections for the human Bella (Kristen Stewart).
“I think because of his experience handling huge amounts of FX in The Golden Compass he found a fantastic balance between the drama and the visuals. He came to the project with answers and solutions and that’s what we needed.”
