Based on the incredibly popular series of books by Stephenie Meyer, the “Twilight” movie saga continues in “Eclipse,” the third installment in the story of a brooding love triangle that pits vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) against wolfman Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) for the affections of mortal Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
As a result of the success of 2008’s “Twilight” and 2009’s “New Moon,” 18-year-old Lautner—whose only significant previous role was in “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl” (2005)—has become a proverbial overnight sensation as the frequently half-dressed hunk of the piece. He talked about his newfound fame during a recent interview in Los Angeles.
You’re really the breakout star of this series. How have you been dealing with your celebrity?
It’s pretty amazing. This franchise has been such an incredible platform and I’m grateful for all the opportunities it’s provided. I’ve had the time of my life the last two years and I’m just so thankful to be in this position now. I’m having a lot of fun making these movies. It’s great.
What about your newfound fame, though, and all the attention you’ve been getting? Is it hard trying to keep your balance and stay quote-unquote “normal”?
It’s definitely important to surround myself with my family and friends. It’s like living in two different, completely opposite worlds. This is my job. I go to work and live in this business world, and then I go back to my regular world, doing all the same things I did before—sitting at home, watching “American Idol,” spending time with the people I really care about. It’s not that exciting, but maintaining that balance is extremely important.
What’s the downside to this whirlwind you’re on?
It’s hard to choose one, because there are a million times more pros than cons. It’s not exactly “normal,” quote-unquote. For sure, the sudden lack of privacy is an obvious thing. I’m not used to waking up and having 12 paparazzi cars waiting outside to follow me to Starbucks in the morning. That’s a little different, but I’m willing to put up with the cons because there are so many more pros. Sometimes it becomes aggravating, but I have to keep telling myself it comes with the job. What I’m getting out of it on the other end is definitely worth it. I just can’t let it affect me that much or it would drive me insane.
What the weirdest fan encounter you’ve had recently?
I wouldn’t say the fans are weird, but they’re definitely passionate. We were just in Australia for this big event. We were walking down the red carpet, with something like 4,000 fans, and a lot of them were holding out their hands or arms for us to autograph. One girl already had a massive wolfpack tattoo on her arm that was pretty cool, and she asked me to sign underneath it. The next day, somebody told me the girl got my signature tattooed. I’m not sure whether to feel good or bad about that, but there’s definitely some passion there.
How would you sell people—fans or not—on the idea of seeing “Eclipse”?
Wow, where do I begin? It’s by far my favorite of the three. If you liked the first and second movies, you’re definitely going to like this one. If you haven’t seen the first two, you’re still going to like it. It basically takes everything from the first two movies—the romance, the action, the suspense, the danger—and then times it by five.
Is there anything about “Eclipse” that challenged you more than the first two movies?
There’s a lot more action in this picture, but I was actually kind of bummed, because I’m a wolf, a special effect, during most of the action scenes, so I wasn’t very personally involved. I guess getting to kiss Bella for the first time was probably the most exciting new thing.
You got to work more closely with Robert Pattinson in this episode, as your two characters vie for Bella’s affection. What was that like?
It was awesome. I liked how our characters are sworn enemies, but they’re forced to team up together to protect Bella. The hardest thing was that in most of our scenes we’re supposed to hate each other. We’re yelling and screaming and spitting in each other’s faces, but Rob’s such a nice guy, it’s difficult being mean to him. We’d shoot those scenes, and then as soon as they called “cut,” we’d bust out laughing. My friendship with Rob and Kristen over the years means everything. I can’t imagine what it would be like to film these movies if we weren’t such close friends. It’s definitely something we’ll maintain beyond the end of the franchise.
You spend a lot of the movie without your shirt. Do you like being a sex symbol?
It can be a little awkward when it’s raining, or when everybody else in the scene is fully clothed, and I’m the only one there who’s just kind of standing around posing and flexing. Keeping a straight face is pretty tough.
What can you tell us about “Breaking Dawn,” the final installment in the series?
I think the idea of breaking it into two parts was the right thing to do. It’s hard enough to condense a 500-page book into a 120-page script, but this one is an 800-page book. There’s so much stuff going on, it probably would’ve been impossible to fit everything into one movie. I’m really excited and looking forward to it. Bill Condon [“Gods and Monsters,” “Dreamgirls”] is such an extremely talented director, I’m sure whatever approach he ends up taking is going to turn out amazing. I definitely trust him as a filmmaker, and I hope the fans will, too.
sundaypaper via ToR
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