MSN Talks With Cameron Bright

At the end of our second day on the “New Moon” set, having had our fill in the craft services tent and just waiting for our vans, we got an unexpected bonus: A chat with up-and-coming Canadian actor Cameron Bright.

You may have already seen Cameron in “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “Thank You For Smoking.” In “New Moon” he plays “Alec,” one of the specially-gifted Volturi whose powers the coven value highly.

He gives us a refreshing insight into his latest role.

Were you a “Twilight” fan beforehand? Have you read the books?

Never read the books but I did watch the movie. Because a lot of people were saying like, it was half and half— all the guys were saying it was bad, and all the girls were saying it was good. I actually liked it, I didn’t mind it at all. And now obviously, I have to be in it, so…yeah [Laughs.]

In the audition process, how did it work?

We actually got a call, because I just live on the island [Vancouver Island], so we got a call and we were going to come over here, and I can’t remember happened, but I couldn’t come over. And I missed the audition and I was so panicked about it, so I called my agent, and I was like, “Give me their phone number, I’m going to say sorry.” And he’s like, “You may not have to, I think they’re just going to give it to you.” [Laughs.] And so we ended up just going, going, going…and sure enough they ended up just giving it to me. And obviously I’m not going to turn this down. I’m really honored to be in it.”

Is there pressure to kind of come into a movie that’s so big, as a new person?

Well it’s definitely different. Like, I was in “X-Men 3,” right? So that was kind of the same, but that was the last one of it. So I was in the last one, but this one there’s still two more coming. So it’s kind of mixing in and you know, it might give me a chance to finally be recognized and get bigger. Because all my other movies didn’t really have anything going for them until they came out; that was when they got it. Whereas this one already has a huge fan base because of the books and everything.

Do you have any instant fame or crazy fan stories to share? Something with the “Twilight” moms or anything?

[Laughs.] No not yet! I don’t know, I’ve only been here for two days, we have yet to see! I know when I first got here two days ago, right away two people hopped out the car outside the hotel, and are, “Cameron!” Obviously autograph collectors I guess, and they told me, “It’s your choice to go over to them or not.” I did, obviously; I’m not going to be an idiot. Went over and gave a couple of autographs, that’s about it. I mean, we’ll see what happens when it actually comes out.

You won’t be able to walk down the street.

I still will—it’s not going to hold me back.

Do you get to go to Italy with the rest of the crew?

Nope, the whole Volturi family is going except for me!

Awwww!

Yeah, exactly! [Laughs.] Maybe now they’ll be like, “We’ll send him, out of pity!

Do you have a project between now and “Eclipse”?

We don’t have anything planned, but “Eclipse” is set to start filming pretty quick. Obviously because we can’t have people growing up and being too big. Because in a year I might have a full beard, you never know, right? [Laughs.] Obviously still trying to get jobs, you know…you never know.

You and Dakota are two of the youngest cast members, and yet two of the most veteran actors on the cast. Is that a strange thing to walk into?

Not really, it is weird because people ask me about acting and how it relates to my life. I’m 16 and I’ve been acting for 10 years, so it’s really all I know, and it is my life. Like obviously I have no life, so it’s just natural to me now, that’s all it is.

Your wardrobe, that pendant you’re wearing—do you know what those symbols are?

I don’t know, they just kind of slapped it on me. I know that’s a “V” for Volturi, I’m guessing? Because I’m a Volturi…I really have no idea what you’re asking. [Laughs.]

Does yours match Daniel’s?

The whole Volturi family has it because that’s their family seal. I don’t really know all of it.

Did you get to talk to Dakota before you started?

I actually met her a few years ago…[he confers with his Mom]…at the premiere of “Thank You for Smoking,” so I met her briefly. And I actually didn’t think she’d remember me at first, and then I got here, and she says, “I think we’ve met somewhere before,” so that was kind of cool. I haven’t talked to her before, other than that one time, and that was for like, five seconds. I’ve only been here for two days, so I haven’t really talked to anybody. There’s a dinner tonight for everybody in the cast, luckily I got here in time for that.

How many more days or weeks of shooting do you have?

On top of this, a week I think? Not too much, I’m only in the second book.

There’s a big fight scene, right?

In this scene, yes.

Do you get to participate or do you just stand back…

I’m just kind of the creep in the background… [Laughs.] That’s all I do, I guess. But it’ll be fun to watch people flip…and just kind of stand back and say, “Hey, that’s cool,” instead of me getting injured!

How are you playing your character’s special powers?

I don’t know, I haven’t been able to use it yet! So we don’t know, but…it’s kind of a weird power. I just kind of make people…I say, “Ha! You’re blind!” all of a sudden. I don’t know, we’ll see…it’s definitely a cool power. Especially Jane’s, right? She just kind of makes people feel pain all of a sudden? All I know is one of my friends is like, “You’re of the strongest, and you’re one of the meanest.” [Laughs.] I’m fine with that! Everybody likes the guy to hate!

Did you get to talk with Stephenie [Meyer] to get insight on your character?

Nope, I actually just met her yesterday. Pretty sure she’s going to be at the dinner tonight, so we’ll be able to talk and all that kind of stuff. So far it hasn’t been too much on the acting, because obviously I’ve only been here for a day, right? Still getting warmed up. It’s kind of sad that as soon as I get warmed up I have to leave and wait for the next one. But it is what it is…we’ll see what happens.

Where do you live?

I live in Nanaimo.

Where?

Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. An hour and a half ferry ride.

So is it a small town…

It’s actually not small at all. Have you ever heard of Victoria? It’s a two-hour drive south of Nanaimo. It’s a big island, but not very many people know…it’s a huge island, the size of England or something like that.

Did you know Daniel from before, from “X-Men”?

Yep, he’s the only person that I knew officially before this, it’s kind of cool. We were just walking, and I heard there was a big guy in it, and I was like, “Big guy…there aren’t too many…” and they said, “Daniel.” And I said, “Wait, Daniel…Daniel from from ‘X-Men 3’”? Walked outside and there he was, and I was like, “Hey it’s you!” That was kind of funny. Of course the first time I met him he was talking through a tin mask, and he was like, “Oh hi.” That was kind of funny, too.

If you could give your character an extra power, what would it be?

That’s a good one, I don’t know, I really don’t know. That’s a tough one to say, there’s too many. The power to have every power?

That’s a good one!

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RPattz Confirmed for Comic Con!

Thursday’s crazy madness will be the Twilight: New Moon panel. Heartthrob Rob Pattinson will appear (reminder: must pack earplugs) with co-stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner and director Chris Weitz, but lovelorn vampire Edward Cullen isn’t the main character in the movie, so Pattinson won’t participate in any backstage interviews. Summit is screening Twilight for the fans with cast members on hand. Summit is scheduled to film the third installment of theTwilight Saga, Eclipse, from August 17 through October 31 in Vancouver with David Slade (30 Days of Night) directing Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay.

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I am kinda sad that Rob wont be in NY, but at the same time I am soooo glad he’s not going to be in here anymore with all the craziness! It seems that he may have a little break before ‘Eclipse’ starts shooting.

Hollywood.com Interview with Charlie Bewley

2:07PM Supporting actor Charlie Bewley is terribly handsome, has a British accent that will charm your socks off and might just give Mr. Pattinson a run for his heartthrob money. He plays Demetri, a Volturri.Swooning British-Accented Banter With Charlie Bewley

 

New Moon is your first screen credit. Can you tell us how you got the role?
Charlie Bewley: How I got involved in Twilight is that I just auditioned. And you know what? I went on toTwilightersAnonymous.com, and I asked them about my character … for the first audition stage. They gave me some insight into who he was and everything, I read the book really quickly to find out about the character, and I just realized that a lot of him is about me.

He’s this tracker. He obviously does a lot of running, and I do loads of running, so I just worked out of it. It was very easy for me to play the character, as opposed to building the character from the bottom up … it’s a lot easier when you’re acting, to do that. So I just made the character myself, and when I got called back for the second audition, it was in front of Chris [Weitz] and it was in front of Wyck [Godfrey], and I was just myself.[Laughs] I was just, you know, charming and smiles and everything. I wasn’t typically vampiric, in that sense. And I think Chris liked it; he started laughing.

In Stephenie Meyer’s book, Demetri is described as polite …
CB: Very polite, yeah. And I’m just a nice English guy. I’ve had my trouble, and it’s gone. I’m just a nice guy who doesn’t want any trouble. [Laughs] I think Demetri is someone who … seeks out trouble and adventure. He’s getting very bored, having been alive for thousands of years. I think he’s interested in trouble — nonspecific — or adventure — nonspecific — or any kind of action. I think being a vampire, or being alive for 3000 years, just makes you very bored. Look at Marcus’ character; he’s very apathetic, and he just sat there … he just wants to die.

Do you actually know Demetri’s backstory, based on what’s in the book?
CB: I made it up.

Tell us!
CB: Demetri was obviously Italian. And at a young age, he was orphaned. He was living in the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius — the big, volcanic mountain — and in 900 A.D., it erupts. Lava starts pouring down, and his parents get caught in it. Their house gets taken apart. I outrun the lava, into the foothills, where I found a place where I was safe, essentially. But I couldn’t provide for myself, so I was thrown into slavery. I went through various masters but they couldn’t pin me down, because I was so nonchalant and arrogant and just ran away from everyone; it was really frustrating. I kept getting sold on to the next guy — the next master, for the best price they could get — and I was too nice for someone just to kill me.

So eventually I got sold to a merchant trader in Rome, who dealt specifically in fighters, and I found myself in front of the Coliseum with these baying, bloodthirsty Romans, desperate for gladiatorial combat. I didn’t have any fighting skills, so I just ran around for three hours and no one could catch me — until somebody shot me with an arrow. I was lying on the floor, I was about to die, I was waiting for Commodus’ verdict of thumbs up or thumbs down, and he’s about to give it a down when Aro comes in and whispers in his ear and says, “Don’t kill him, I’ll take him.” Aro converts me in the depths of the Coliseum himself, and I’ve been working loyally for him ever since.

Did you think of sharing this with Stephenie?
CB: [Glances at Stephenie nearby] Oh, yes, Stephenie’s there! I actually asked Stephenie …

Are you going with the crew to Italy?
CB: Yeah, we leave on the 24th. I can’t wait.

How many weeks will you be there?
CB: Just five days, I think.

For those who haven’t read the books, does your character come back?
CB: He does. I recur until right at the end, when I get killed off.

What power would you give Demetri if you could give him another power?
CB: That’s a good question. [Pauses to think] I think he’s a little bit pissed off that Jane has taken over the head of the Volturi; he hates that. Ergo, I think he would take a psychological power …

2:15PM Charlie has to go back to set, but he promises me that he’ll figure out the power he’d give Demetri and report back when he decides.

2:30PM Mr. Bewley motions me over as we watch filming. Seems he really has been pondering the question. Love it.

In an English-accented whisper, Charlie reveals that he’d give Demetri: “the power to change people’s minds.”

“For example,” he says, “in the scene where Demetri is first introduced to the fray, Edward refuses to come with Bella. He says, “Bella, you go off and enjoy the festival. I’ll go with Demetri and Felix.” If Demetri had the power to switch Edward’s mind and change his mind, he wouldn’t need Jane to come in and clear up the air, how slow they’re being. Jane’s brutally efficient because she’s so dangerous. This is why she’s head guard, and I hate that, as Demetri, because I used to be God. So that’s what I’d do.”

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I love how half of the cast is British!!

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Hollywood.com Interview with Michael Sheen

A Feathery Chat With Michael Sheen

You arrived on set three days ago. What is it like to come in so late in shooting?
Michael Sheen: It’s been great shooting at the deep end of it. The first day filming, we did the 18th century stuff and then some of the modern stuff. It was a lot to deal with — you know with the wig and contact lenses all day and the makeup — but it was fantastic. And these sets are amazing and the look of everyone is so strong. So it was great. Just kind of to get right into it.

Is there an irony for you, playing a vampire after playing a Lycan in Underworld?
MS: I feel a bit like a traitor now that I’ve swapped sides. The vampires get to wear much cooler clothes in Underworld and in this. So now I get a nice bit of tailoring instead of raggedy leather.

The nice thing about playing a werewolf is that you don’t have to worry about getting dirty on set. At lunch time, I can have a lie down, and it doesn’t matter because I’m supposed to look rough, versus this where I have to look perfectly tailored and groomed and clean all the time. So I can’t sit down or do anything because I’ve got all this white makeup on, and I’m wearing black clothes. I’ve got to be really careful that I don’t get covered in stuff.

How did you approach playing Aro?
MS: I loved the thing in the books where Stephenie wrote about how the Cullen family is all really beautiful, and that’s what kind of lures people into their web. And Aro is not like that. She describes Aro as being not the same sort of thing.

I like the idea that it’s his voice that lures people in — and his sort of demeanor rather than the way he looks — because he looks very weird and kind of scary. So I’ve tried to sort of go down that route to make him very mesmerizing. That his voice is quite gentle and soft, and yet there’s something kind of unhinged about him. They’re great scenes.

Stephenie was saying that she loved writing this scene that we’re doing now. I read it over and over and over again, that particular bit in the book. There’s a part where she describes his voice as being quite feathery. That’s what gave me sort of the idea of making him very soft and light. I think she describes it as being like a sigh, his voice. And that he’s a bit like a concerned grandfather at times with Edward. Even though he’s this deadly, really dangerous character, there’s something quite sentimental about him, something soft.

4:58PM Sheen is whisked back off to set before he can answer the next question. An ancient vampire lord’s work is never done.

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Hollywood.com Interview with Rachelle Lefevre

6:15PM Rachelle Lefevre, the villainess vampire Victoria, comes over to talk. On screen, she’s a stone-cold killer. In person, she’s beautiful, ebullient and ultra-friendly.

A Stunt-Heavy Interview With Rachelle Lefevre

Will New Moon’s action look the same as Twilight’s?
Rachelle Lefevre: It’s so much wirework. It’s so much actual doing-it. In terms of the look of it … I think Chris has approached things as it should be, a little rawer and a little more literally grounded.

I think it was very flighty in the first one, so when we were running fast it was almost like you weren’t touching the ground … I think he’s factored gravity in a little more than they did in the first film, so that might have a different look as a result.

On New Moon‘s underwater action:
RL: I spent six hours in a pool doing the underwater stuff. They did a really interesting thing where they did this amazing stunt with the bit where Bella gets caught in the tidal wave … I think it must have been 2,000 gallons of water in massive — they looked like huge, rectangular cargo containers you put on the back of trains.

First, they did it with a stunt double, and then they did it with Kristen’s photo double, and then they literally, on action, pulled the hatch and she got pummeled with a massive tidal wave and you could watch underwater, which I did because I was in the pool, or you could watch in the monitor. You could literally see her spinning, they created a tidal wave, and they literally filmed until she got spit out. And when it spit her out, the cut was over.

It the stunt work scary?
RL: It’s scary for me because I don’t like heights, but there’s a really interesting thing that happens which is that I’m absolutely terrified when I’m up there, and then they go, “OK, rolling!” … It’s just one of those things that happens to you. So, as me, I’m afraid, and as Victoria I just do what they tell me to do. It’s this bizarre thing where you don’t want to get all the way up there and not do it. Failure’s just not an option, so you just do it.

How close do you come to Bella?
RL: I don’t know that I’m going to say. [Laughs] Let’s just put it this way — she lives — so not close enough.

Does Victoria still wear her “Kiss Me I’m Irish” T-shirt?
RL: No, I got a different outfit. Thank God, ’cause you’re wearing the same thing over and over and over again, and you’re like, I don’t ever want to see that again.

Is Victoria still barefoot?
RL: No. Stephenie gave us permission for Victoria to be wearing shoes in this one because there was so much stunt work that that would have just really jeopardized our safety.

Stephenie always has to have a reason for everything, so there was a whole conversation about why and if I should be allowed to wear shoes, and the idea was that the barefoot thing was something they all did together, the three of them — Laurent, Victoria and James. Now it’s Victoria on her own, and she’s a hunter and she’s out for Bella, and it’s a mission. So I insisted that if I wear shoes, they be military of some kind to symbolize that I was on a mission, so I’m wearing combat boots.

On working with directors Chris Weitz and Catherine Hardwicke:
RL: The fundamental difference between Catherine and Chris is — for Catherine, it was all establishing everything; it was literally bringing the world to life. So I think that, first of all, she’s just different as a director.

She’s very raw; she’s very high energy; everything is really, really high energy, and she really gets in there with you and sometimes, when they’re trying to quiet people on set, you look over and it’s Catherine having a conversation with one of her actors. She’s super-amazingly energized and animated. And at the same time, I think there was so much going on with having to create every little detail that you got the sense that every second of her energy was accounted for, and she laid the foundation for.

Chris is just much quieter and calmer anyways, but also I think he’s come into a world that somebody went through all that to bring to life. So I think that part of the reason he came in just a little more quiet was to sort of respect the fact that he didn’t just show up like, “OK, guys! It’s Chris Weitz’s Twilight now!” He didn’t do that at all. He respected that somebody else had laid the foundation … He’s executing beautifully, because we both feel both directed and respected in terms of what we’ve already done. We love him.

How will New Moon be different from Twilight?
RL: A lot of times when I ask fans, “What’s your favorite book?” people say Twilight. The reason I hear a lot is, “Well, it was my first entry into this world,” and it’s sort of like that first bit that you can never really get back. Your first time. So New Moon is kind of like you know who the characters are, you have some idea of where it’s going, particularly if you’ve read the books, and now what you get to do is watch the real struggle.

Now, nevermind figuring out who everyone is, figuring out who the actors are with who you had in your imagination vs. who they cast. All that is gone, and now all that is set, you get to watch a really horrifically gut-wrenching love triangle. And a real struggle. It’s so character-driven. They haven’t lost any of the actions sequences … but at its heart, I do think it’s becoming a coming-of-age story, more than just a boy-meets-girl romance, which was beautiful, but not as complicated as it gets now that Jacob is really in the mix.

Are you still going to lose your head?
RL: I sort of feel like you can’t really change that. I would love to do a version of Romeo and Juliet where they live happily ever after, but that ain’t gonna happen.

6:35 PM We call it a day. Thank goodness. All this glamour is exhausting.

10:07PM Returning to my hotel post-dinner, I see Stephenie Meyer standing in the lobby. I contemplate whether to leave her alone or do my job. I say hello. She shakes my hand warmly. Her eyes are friendly. The two women constantly at her side eye me suspiciously. Their eyes, not so friendly. When I tell her I’m in Vancouver covering New Moon, the kind eyes get wide.

SM: “I’m not allowed to do any interviews.” [Awkward silence] “Are you enjoying your trip?”

“Yes. Sure am.”

SM: “Well, have a good night and enjoy the rest.”

With that, she walks out the door and vanishes into the night with the same efficiency as the characters she’s created.

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‘New Moon’ Soundtrack News

Speculation about who will appear on the New Moon soundtrack heated up this week after director Chris Weitz dropped a few big names to aRottenTomatoes.com interviewer: “The criterion will still always be what’s right for the movie at that given moment, but Thom Yorke is interested; we might, if we’re very lucky, get Kings of Leon to do something.” Well, well!

But don’t get too excited just yet. Yorke’s camp would neither confirm nor deny the Radiohead frontman’s reported involvement to EW at this time. The Kings of Leon connection, meanwhile, seems even more tenuous. “Not as of right now, no,” KoL lead singer Caleb Followill tells EW’s Whitney Pastorek when asked if his band will contribute to the Twilight sequel. “I haven’t had any time to write any music, we’ve been so busy… I would have to write a song in my hotel room, which I think we might could do, but I don’t know. As of right now I’m more focused on getting some rest and writing another album.”

Oh well. For now, at least, sounds like the New Moon soundtrack field is still very much wide open. It’d be a choice gig for any up-and-comer, considering how successful the first Twilightfilm’s soundtrack was. So whose tunes would you like to hear in the next teen-vampire flick this fall? Sink your fangs into some suggestions in the comments below.

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I am really excited for the soundtrack as well as the movie. I think the Twilight soundtrack was done perfectly but New Moon will be better and have lots more musicians jumping on board.

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Summit Entertainment News: Xavier Samuel is Riley

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Twilight movie ‘Eclipse’ has its first new casting

By Steven Zeitchik
July 16, 2009

Google might want to brace for a search onslaught: An unknown Australian actor named Xavier Samuel has landed the first new role in “Eclipse,” the third “Twilight” pic.

Summit has hired the actor to play the role of a “newborn vampire” named Riley, a good-looking college student who joins the plot of villain Victoria to murder protagonist Bella (Kristen Stewart). Riley is corrupted by Victoria, for whom he has an inexplicable weakness.

The movie’s larger plot centers on a choice Bella must make between the werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and the vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson).

Samuel, repped by Management 360, Gersh and Shanahan in Australia, has been in series of films down under, including “Newcastle,” in which he played a Goth teenager amidst a group of surfers (the movie played Tribeca last year — though you can bet Netflix will see just a small spike now), the Aussie period drama “September” and the upcoming sci-fi thriller “Road Train.” This marks his first U.S. role.

“Eclipse,” the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster series, is set
to begin shooting next month in Vancouver and be released on June 30. David Slade (“30 Days of Night”) is directing from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg.

The Twilight franchise will become the center of the fan universe at Comic-Con next week when the stars of the second pic — the Chris Weitz-directed “New Moon” — appear, new material is unveiled and the crowd goes wild. The Samuel family is probably about to see a little frenzy itself.

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