[Revue de presse] Visite sur le tournage de New Moon (part. 1 & 2) - Rotten Tomatoes

New Moon Set Visit, Day One: Twilight's Volturi Unveiled

Get a detailed first look at the new villains of Twilight: New Moon in Part One of RT's New Moon set report.
by Jen Yamato

Rotten Tomatoes visited the Vancouver set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, where we observed filming on crucial scenes of the romantic fantasy sequel, including the very first appearance of the Volturi, the franchise's Italian vampire coven. We gathered tons of interview material and detailed observations during our time on set, including chats with New Moon love interest Taylor Lautner (Jacob), Volturi leader Michael Sheen (Aro), flame-haired villainess Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria), series screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, producer Wyck Godfrey, stunt coordinator JJ Makaro, and members of the new Volturi guard. Read our full interview with director Chris Weitz.

Our full set interviews will come later (look for these features in our weekly Twilight Corner installments, beginning next Monday), because for now, I'm going to go in depth -- using my extensive (and borderline obsessive) knowledge of the books -- to answer a few important questions:

- With a new director, omnipresent fans, and the enormous success of Twilight, what's the on-set atmosphere like?

- Just what do the Volturi look like?

- How faithful will New Moon be to Stephenie Meyer's novel?

On Day 2 of our set visit, we ask more questions: Has director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, About a Boy) solved the nagging problems that arose in the first Twilight film? (Vampire makeup and stunts, we're looking at you.) Just how will Weitz ever put enough Edward into New Moon? (And, the inevitable question: Is Robert Pattinson really that hot in person?) Finally, how good can New Moon be?

Day One: Production had just passed the halfway point when we arrived on set at the Vancouver Film Studios in May, where The Twilight Saga: New Moon -- or rather, the Untitled Sports Movie, its secret working title -- was weeks away from completion. Scenes featuring Jacob Black and the Wolf Pack had for the most part been filmed. Production was packing up the next week to do the last leg of shooting in Montepulciano, Italy, where Bella would make her fateful run across the town square to stop Edward from committing the ultimate sacrifice. Finicky weather had forced last-minute changes to the shooting schedule, but we'd be given a glimpse that few outsiders had yet seen: the unveiling of New Moon's Volturi.

Inside, a large stage was dressed in meticulous detail as the inner chamber of the Volturi, the ancient Italian vampires who rule the vampire world who appear in the second, third, and fourth Twilight books. The gold-accented central room in this "underground" lair, hidden, according to the book, in tunnels under the town of Volterra, Italy, is an ornate and refined circular room with 30 foot-high ceilings that give it a stark airiness, punctuated by beautiful marble tiled floors and Latin inscriptions.

A sample passage, commemorating the "history" of the vampire race in Latin, reads, "liberte te ex inferis" -- translated, "Save yourself from Hell." (Coincidentally, the same phrase is also inscribed on the blast door in Lost.) Details like these lent a believable sense that history -- even the fictional, vampire kind --is written into the very architecture of the Volturi headquarters.

The centerpiece of the chamber held three throne-like chairs, belonging to the Volturi leaders Aro (Michael Sheen), Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), and Caius (Jamie Campbell-Bower). Standing at attention were all of the Volturi guards, all dressed in vaguely European-style finery -- dark hues, sharp lines, and in a range of period styles.

In the midst of it all, cast newcomers Cameron Bright (who plays the psychically-powered Alec), and Dakota Fanning (portraying Alec's sadistic twin, Jane), were playing out reaction shots (to scenes that hadn't yet been shot!) before their days ended early, ostensibly due to child labor laws.

Focus fell particularly on Fanning, dressed in a soft, vintage-style white dress, a dark velvet cape, and Mary Janes. Her blonde hair swept into a bun, with pale skin and scarlet lips and dark eye makeup, she had the look of a textbook Little Red Riding Hood -- albeit one with blood-red eyes and a steely eeriness about her. "She's immune to all of us," Michael Sheen as Aro mused, directing his warrior to turn her pain-inducing powers on Bella. "Shall we, Jane?"

With nary a peep, Fanning's eyes lit up. She turned her head towards Bella/Kristen Stewart, and gave a slight, cruel smile. Well, the hint of a smile, really. The tension was palpable; in that miniscule movement I was sold on Fanning -- at 15 years of age, one of New Moon's seasoned veterans -- and her ability to convey unadulterated malice. On film, you'll see her bring poor Robert Pattinson to his knees, and you might even enjoy it.

That Fanning made such an impression with so little was, well, impressive. In contrast, Cameron Bright, another seasoned child actor whose credits include X-Men 3, Thank You for Smoking, and the creepy-kid flicks Godsend and Birth, had next to nothing to do as Jane's twin and fellow Volturi guard, Alec. (Sadly, this probably comes from Alec's presence, or lack thereof, in the book.) But Bright is already growing out of his kid roles, so by the time a Breaking Dawn film becomes reality, we hope his part gets juicier.

Then again, the real star of the Volturi is Aro. Michael Sheen, who ironically played the vampire-hating werewolf Lucien in the Underworld series (below right), is a terrific addition to the cast. Dressed in a fine Italian suit, circa 1980, Aro wears his hear in a slick ponytail and wears gold necklaces. His Aro is a sinister villain; welcoming on the surface, but clearly calculating, unpredictable, and off-putting.

"I love the thing in the books that Stephenie wrote about how these vampires are all really beautiful, and that's what lures people into their web," Sheen explained between scenes. "And yet, 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 lulls people in, or his sort of demeanor, rather than the way he looks -- because he looks quite weird and scary."

"I've tried to go down that route, make him very mesmerizing to people, that his voice is gentle and soft -- and yet, there's something kind of unhinged about him."

It was a single word that gave Sheen the inspiration for his take on Aro. "I read it over and over again, that particular bit in the book, because there are all kinds of things that she says -- like, she describes his voice as being quite feathery -- that's what gave me the idea of making it very soft, and light."

That deceptive lightness is what makes Sheen's Aro so effective. We watched New Moon's pivotal "meeting" scene unfold, as Edward and Alice are forced to bring Bella into the Volturi's nest to meet Aro and the others for the first time.

"What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all," Sheen exclaims, oblivious to the looks of trepidation on the faces of his new guests. He approaches the trio, arms open, reaching out to sniff Bella's "sweet" blood and to "read" Edward's thoughts. Sheen's eyes blink open with discovery.

"You can't read Bella's thoughts," he announces, abruptly. Sheen turns to Stewart, a gleam in his eye. "I'd like to see if you're an exception to my gifts as well. Would you do me the honor?"



Bella (Stewart) hesitates, looking nervously to Edward before offering her hand. After a moment, Sheen lets out an enormous cackle of amusement. Aro cannot "read" Bella, an anomaly that at once delights and perplexes him. "Interesting," he says. "I see nothing. I wonder...let's see if she's immune to all our powers, shall we Jane?"

Of course, "Jane" is not there. Fanning's already gone home for the day, her scenes shot out of sequence. Weitz plays out the "meeting" a few more times, before calling a wrap on the scene with a polite, "Cut. Thank you."

Behind the stage, huddled around a bank of playback screens, author Stephenie Meyer and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg have been watching dailies. They giggle at Sheen's maniacal Aro. They marvel at how gorgeous Fanning looks on the screen. Later, Rosenberg tells us what she thought of the footage.

"I've written a lot of hours of television," she began. "I'm almost always disappointed; not because I don't have great, great directors but because you get in your head what you see, you know? A director can't physically do what's in my head because it's not physically possible."

But when it came to the Volturi scenes we'd just observed, Rosenberg seemed almost surprised. "Oh my God, it's fantastic," she shouted. "The cast is phenomenal!" (Stay tuned for our full posting of our chat with Melissa Rosenberg.)

On set, I got the feeling that the New Moon production was moving along at a faster clip than normal. It made sense, given that Weitz had an unusually tight window in which to film and edit the film, after which the third adaptation, Eclipse, would itself rush into production under director David Slade. So accordingly, the shooting schedule jumped back and forth between entirely unrelated scenes, as we moved directly from the Volturi chamber to the darkened Port Angeles street, where Bella would see visions of Edward trying to save her from imminent danger.

Robert Pattinson stood patiently against a green screen as Weitz rehearsed camera movements to film Bella's hallucinations. A long camera track ran the length of the stage, perhaps to use film speed techniques to create Edward's disorienting "appearance." A remote-controlled camera set on a mini crane moved fluidly to capture Pattinson, murmuring lines of stern warning.

At a nearby computer station, techs called up a previously-filmed scene: Bella on a darkened street, hopping on the back of a motorcycle. The Edward apparition was transposed into the background of the shot; computer generated effects would be added later to enhance the scene. What exactly the effect will look like is still up in the air.

"We are still in the late R&D phases of what Edward looks like when he's hit by sunlight, what the vampires look like when they're hit with sunlight, the diamond effect," Weitz told us by phone. "And also the hallucinatory effect that Bella has when she hears Edward's voice and she imagines him there." (Read our full interview with Chris Weitz here.)

The Edward-as-hallucination is a particularly good solution to the severe (some might say, tragic) lack of Edward in Meyer's source novel. When a distraught Bella finds herself in jeopardy in the book, she merely hears Edward's voice. When it will happen in the film, we'll actually get to see Edward -- an almost necessary fix, considering how Pattinson-less New Moon might be otherwise.

"New Moon is very internal," Rosenberg explained. "There's been a lot of talk about how Edward and the Cullens are not a part of the middle of New Moon, but actually they really are. Certainly, Edward's very much alive in Bella's mind throughout New Moon. As a reader, you feel his presence; he's helping drive that story."

She continued: "It's harder to do on film; you have to somehow find his presence and bring it there without having thought bubbles, constantly. And I think the solution that we found is going to satisfy fans. It's very much in keeping with the tone of the book, so it will be interesting...I think fans will feel pretty satisfied with what we're doing. One, because it's true to the book, and two, because we'll see more Edward! Can't be bad."

As with the first film, certain changes are necessary to fit the medium of film. Rosenberg's philosophy is that as long as the viewer's experience is the same, Meyer's book has been faithfully adapted.

"Things have to move out of an internal place and into an external, visual reality," she began, "so there are many things I changed. But as long as we hit the emotional experience, I think, it will resonate the same way. Twilight was that same thing. There were a lot of things that were in the book that weren't in the movie, but because we hit the emotional stepping stone all the way throughout, you took the same journey that you took with the characters in the book, and that's what's really most important about an adaptation; you have to take your audience on the same emotional journey, take your characters on the same emotional journey, as they do in the book and then everyone will have the same experience."


Check back Monday as we launch our regular "New Moon Mondays" series with Part 2 of our New Moon set visit, in which we spot Robert Pattinson's bare chest, see Edward get beat up, get kicked off set during a difficult scene, and speak with more cast and crew.

TRADUCTION LIBRE (car certains détails ont déjà été évoqués dans d'autres interviews)

Visite du plateau (part. 1) : le voile est levé sur les Volturi

Nos interviews seront diffusées plus tard (épisodes hebdomadaires sur Twilight à partir de Lundi)

Le 2ème jour de notre visite, nous nous sommes demandés si Chris Weitz avait résolu les problèmes du 1er film (maquillage, cascade) et quelle était la place Edward ?

Jour 1 : La production est à mi chemin et nous voici à Vancouver sur le plateau de New Moon (ou plutôt "Untitled Sport Movie" qui est son nom de code). Les scènes avec les loups ont été presque toutes tournées. Il ne restera plus que les scènes en Italie. A cause de problèmes météorologiques, nous voici dans le repaire des Volturi.

La pièce centrale est ornée d'or dans ce repère souterrain, caché, dans les tunnels de la ville de Volterra. C'est un pièce circulaire avec de hauts plafonds qui donne cette impression aérienne et le sol est en marbre et contient des inscription en Latin.

Un passage en Latin est inscrit dans les quartiers généraux des Volturi, commémorant l'histoire des vampires dit : "liberte te ex inferis" : "Sauvez vous de l'enfer". (on retrouve cette phrase dans Lost). Des détails comme cela rendent crédible l'histoire - même si c'est de la fiction.

Les gardes des Volturi sont tous habillées dans un style Européen raffiné – des teintes sombres, des lignes nettes et un échantillon de différentes époques.

Au milieu de tout cela les nouveaux venus Cameron Bright et Dakota Fanning tournaient leur scènes avant la fin des horaires légaux (puisqu'ils sont mineurs).

Fanning, vêtue d'une robe blanche dans un style vintage avec une cape noire en velours est Jane. Ses cheveux blonds sont sous un chignon, le visage pâle et les lèvres violettes et du fard à paupières sombres. Elle a l'allure du petit chaperon rouge – mais avec des yeux rouges et un aspect féérique. "Nos pouvoirs n'ont pas d'impact sur elle," dit Michael Sheen, demandant à son petit soldat de tester ses pouvoirs sur Bella. "Essayons, Jane ?"

Les yeux de Fanning s'illuminent. Elle se tourne vers Bella/Kristen Stewart et lui lance un sourire cruel. La tension était palpable. Dans cet imperceptible mouvement de Fanning - 15 ans mais une vétérante dans New Moon – et elle sait montrer sa malice enfantine. Dans le film vous la verrez mettre Robert Pattinson à genoux.

Cette Fanning est vraiment impressionnante. A côté de ça il y aussi Cameron Bright (malheureusement peu présent comme dans le livre) mais Bright aura le temps d'évoluer jusqu'à Breaking Dawn et nous espérons que son rôle sera plus conséquent.

De nouveau la vraie star c'est Aro. Michael Sheen, qui ajoute de la terreur au casting. Vêtu d'un beau costume italien, datant de 1980, Aro a une queue de cheval et porte des colliers en or. Son personnage n'est pas un méchant, accueillant en apparence, mais aussi calculateur et imprévisible.

"Quelle bonne surprise ! Bella est vivante" dit Sheen. Il s'approche du trio , les bras ouverts, reniflant le sang de Bella et lisant les pensées d'Edward. Sheen cligne des yeux à cause de la découverte qu'il fait.

"Tu ne peux lire les pensées de Bella," annonce t il brutalement. Sheen se tourne vers Stewart, le regard lumineux. "Je voudrais voir si moi aussi je ne peux pas. Me feriez vous l'honneur ?"

Bella (Stewart) hésite, regardant nerveusement Edward avant de lui offrir sa main. Après un moment, Sheen éclate de rire. Aro ne peut pas lire les pensées de Bella, une anomalie qui le fait rire et qui le rend aussi perplexe. "Intéressant" dit il. "Je ne vois rien... .Je me demande si... Voyons si elle résiste à tous nos pouvoirs, Allons y ! Jane ?"

Bien sûr "Jane" n'est pas là. Fanning est déjà rentrée à la maison. Weitz refait la rencontre plusieurs fois avant de mettre fin au tournage en disant poliment "Coupez. Merci ". Derrière la scène il y a Stephenie Meyer et Melissa Rosenberg qui se moquent du maniaque Aro et s'émerveille sur la sublime Fanning. Plus tard Rosenberg nous livre ses pensées sur le tournage du jour.

"J'ai beaucoup écrit pour la télévision," dit elle. "Je suis toujours assez déçue. Pas parce que je n'ai pas de bons réalisateurs mais parce que vous avez en tête ce que vous voyez. Un réalisateur ne peut pas faire ce que j'ai visualisé dans mon esprit."

Concernant les scènes des Volturi "Oh mon dieu c'est fantastique," crie t elle . "les acteurs sont phénoménaux !"

Nous passons ensuite des Volturi à une rue de Port Angeles où Bella a ses visions d'Edward tentant de la sauver d'un danger imminent.

Robert Pattinson attend patiemment. Une caméra le filme. Une autre caméra sur une mini grue bouge avec fluidité pour capturer l'image de Pattinson murmurant son avertissement.

Dans une autre pièce, des gens travaillent sur une scène précédemment tournée : Bella dans une rue sombre sur une moto. L'apparition d'Edward sera rajoutée dans le fond par le biais d'un ordinateur. Quel effet cela va t il donner ? Mystère : nous ne le savons pas .

Comparé au 1er film, certains changements sont nécessaires pour coller au film. La philosophie de Rosenberg : être fidèle aux livres.

"Certaines choses sont internes, d'autres externes pour donner une réalité visuelles" dit elle, "donc j'ai changé beaucoup de choses. Mais quand il s'agit de l'expérience émotionnelle, je pense que ce sera pareil que le 1er. Twilight c'était la même chose. Il y avait plein de choses qui étaient dans le livre mais pas dans le film mais ce qui est vraiment important dans les adaptations ce sont les personnages ; il faut emmener votre public dans le même voyage émotionnel, il en est de même pour les personnages, il faut que ce soit fidèle au livre."

Lundi, nous lancerons notre "New moon Monday" avec la 2ème partie de notre visite du plateau de New Moon dans laquelle nous avons vu Robert Pattinson torse nu, Edward se faire battre et se faire éjecté du plateau pendant une scène difficile et nous avons parlé avec d'autres acteurs.

New Moon Set Visit, Day Two: Pattinson’s Pain, Lautner’s Secret Wish
More observations from the Vancouver set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon!

by Jen Yamato

In Part One of our New Moon set report, RT was among the first reporters to see the Volturi vampires who will be introduced in this November's The Twilight Saga: New Moon. We brought you a detailed description of the Volturi's underground chambers, told you what Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen look like in character as Jane and Aro, respectively, and described screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg's positive reaction to watching Bella meet the Volturi for the first time.

Today, we're thrilled to launch our ongoing "New Moon Mondays" with Part Two of our New Moon set report! Read on for the details (including our on-set observations of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, director Chris Weitz, and our chat with Jacob Black himself, Taylor Lautner) and check back every week for new Twilight columns, news, and interviews!

When Rotten Tomatoes arrived on the set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon for a second day of observation on the Volturi stage, filming was already underway on a pivotal scene. We'd been promised we'd see wire work, so I immediately guessed that a fight scene was on the docket. Would we see Edward (Robert Pattinson) thrown about by the hulking Volturi guard, Felix? After all, actor Daniel Cudmore (X-Men 3's Colossus) had been spotted on set the previous day, leafing through magazines between scenes.

Perhaps an Edward-Felix fight had been filmed, but it was not while we were on set. In the middle of the Volturi chamber, the scenario was similar to the previous day: Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Pattinson), and Alice (Ashley Greene) stood facing off against their Volturi hosts, Aro (Michael Sheen), Jane (Dakota Fanning), and Alec (Cameron Bright). In the scene, Edward rushes forward to stop Aro from "testing" vampire powers on Bella, only to suffer the crippling pain of Jane's power. It was a tough scene; the set was eerily quiet, save for the sound of Pattinson's body hitting the ground with every take.

While the first Twilight film used plenty of wire work to achieve the look of vampires running/climbing with effortless ease (an effect criticized for a lack of weightiness and realism), wires here were being used in quite a different way. Stunt coordinator JJ Makaro, who paused for a moment to chat, said that the crew was making deliberate pains to make New Moon's action look more realistic.

"We have wire work, but we're really trying to not do a lot of it," he explained. "We don't want to get into the Hong Kong - floaty stuff that you see all the time, vampires hanging in the air and all of that. It's a tough call, because wires are wires, and the inherent problem with them is exactly that. They get floaty on you. So we're having a heck of a time trying to find the balance that gives us enough to make it supernatural without it being over the top."

Pattinson wore a dark burgundy hooded robe, his chest exposed. And yes, it was impeccably hairless and like alabaster, just as Meyer wrote it. Girls will swoon. Greene stood next to him, wearing a white and gray striped robe and red gloves. Stewart stood between them in black jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and sneakers.

As Pattinson rushed forward, wires attached to his clothing were rigged to jerk him back the moment that Jane's attack -- an invisible psychosomatic blast of pain -- hit him. He grimaced in pain as the camera closed in, neck muscles straining with effort. Finally, he fell to his knees before collapsing on the ground with a loud thud.

Behind the stage, Meyer and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg sat together, nodding in agreement. It looked good on the monitors.

One problem: the wires were tugging Pattinson's robe too much, and would be visible in the film. The crew reset and shot it again. Thud. We began to appreciate Pattinson's commitment.

Next: We get kicked off the set, Stewart turns it on for the cameras, and Pattinson plays up the pain

The crew immediately moved on to rehearsals for the next shot, in which Bella was to plead for Jane to stop attacking Edward. As she does, Alice runs to Edward's side to check on him. Here, things got interesting.

While she stayed quiet during rehearsals (some might even interpret her readings as sounding bored, a fact that elicited giggles from those offstage), Stewart really turned it on for the cameras. After giving almost sarcastically flat readings beforehand, she unleashed a fiery stream of emotion once they were rolling:

"Stop it! Please, stop hurting him! Try it on me!"

During this particular shot, for an unknown reason, an assistant director approached us. "All guests clear the set," he shouted, directing his command to our press group. We cleared the set. What exactly happened in those ten minutes, only Weitz's cast and crew know, but soon enough we were back inside, and the same scene was still being filmed.

Stewart was mesmerizing in take after take. The repetition of it was fascinating to listen to; the 19-year-old actress seemed to open a vein with every take, then fall silent. Or she'd ask Weitz for direction, or cut herself short with an expletive or burst of laughter. The tension of the scene always brightened once Weitz called "Cut!" -- a Volturi actor would give Pattinson a hand up, or Stewart might wander off, snapping out of the moment. (After one take, Pattinson turned to Greene and playfully asked, "Does it look like I'm in pain?")

Watching the monitors revealed even deeper layers in Stewart's performance. Stewart, who by now has nearly 20 film credits under her belt, is a uniquely emotional performer; anguish is practically written on her face. Maverick or no during rehearsals, Stewart packs an almost unrivaled intensity into her acting. Yet in interviews, she and her Twilight cast mates are hounded by gossipy questions; why not ask her about her actual craft? We would have, given the chance. Sadly, Stewart and Pattinson were unavailable for interviews, and we had to make do with watching them from (not so) afar.

However, we did get to speak directly with one of New Moon's wolfalicious lead actors...

Next: Taylor Lautner talks Jacob Black, pumping iron, and why he would choose to have one of Edward's powers.

While Stewart and Pattinson were filming their heavy scenes deep within the Volturi headquarters, we caught up with co-star Taylor Lautner. In an act of grace, he had come to set on his day off just to speak with us! Dressed casually and wearing a pair of Reebok Reverse Jams (this cast loves their sneakers), Lautner began describing the physical work-out regimen he had to adopt in order to keep the part of Quileute teen, Jacob Black.

"Well, I had to put on some weight," Lautner explained with a laugh. "While filming Twilight, I knew that Jacob's character transforms, not only emotionally and mentally, but also physically. So immediately, the day after filming Twilight, I hit the gym, and started eating a lot -- good food -- trying to pack on pounds. And here I am, thirty pounds heavier!"

Lautner understood that Jacob's transformation in New Moon doesn't just occur while he's "phased" into a wolf, but is also reflected in the way he carries himself. Look for a much more confident Jacob Black with a stronger, bigger physical presence.

"The biggest thing with Jacob's physicality is, pre-transformation he's described as clumsy," Lautner said. "He trips over his own feet; he's a little kid. Then, as soon as he transforms, he all of a sudden becomes very agile. So... all of my movements together, even as simple as walking, had to have more of a presence."

Asked how much of New Moon he spends shirtless, Lautner played coy. "I'd say the same as the books. I'm not going to give you a specific percent, but the great things about this series and the movies is, we stay true to the books. So if you read the books, you know what the movie's going to look like."

Then again, he did admit to having had his body scanned for CGI purposes, although as the films progress, Lautner plans on growing physically to reflect Jacob's continual growth in the books. "I'm going to shoot for another ten [pounds]. We'll see what I can do, but I'll be working hard."

Team Jacob fans should also get used to seeing Lautner without Jacob's trademark long hair from the first film. "The long hair is definitely a wig," he said with a laugh. "I just wrapped the wig a couple of days ago; that was amazing. The whole crew gave applause. I was so happy. They're like, 'So, do you want to keep it?' I said, 'If you give it to me, I will probably burn it.'"

The success of the first Twilight film came as much as a surprise to Lautner and his cast mates as it did to the general public. This time around, they have a slightly different attitude. "For the first film, we really had no idea we were making a big film, we just knew that we were all in love with the series and wanted to make a great movie," Lautner said. "But we didn't know that all the people were going to fall in love with the movie and it was going to be as big as it was. Now, we're coming into New Moon, you know, with a little bit more pressure, but we're trying to push that behind us and not think about that, and stay focused on what we need to do."

Twilight's cast got along great with director Catherine Hardwicke, but Lautner is quick to praise his new director, Chris Weitz. "What I love about Chris is, the set is very calm and we're just having a lot of fun making the movie," he explained. "And then you sit back and you look at the results that are happening, and it looks amazing so far. I'm so excited to see it. You're like, 'How are we having such an easygoing, relaxed time making this movie, and it's turning out the way it is?' At the same time, the conversations with Catherine, she just related to us so well. So does Chris. They're both talented directors, and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to work with both of them."

Pre-production is already underway for the third Twilight film, Eclipse. Director David Slade visited the New Moon set in Vancouver to meet with Weitz, which is when Lautner accidentally got introduced to his future director. He explained:

"I was in the middle of a stunt rehearsal and he showed up with Wyck [Godfrey], one of our producers, and Wyck was like, 'Hey, this is David.' And at that point he wasn't signed on to the film and I had no idea who he was. Then all of a sudden he started putting up these 'camera hands' in my face; 'I think this would be a good angle right here.' And I'm just sitting there going, 'What is he doing?' Then finally, as he's doing it, Wyck says, 'I probably should tell you who this is. This is David Slade. He's probably going to be doing Eclipse.'"

Lautner mulled over what power he would take for Jacob in addition to his power to transform into a wolf. His answer was appropriately conflicted, but ultimately the right one for any Bella-Jacob hopeful.

"I want to steal one of Edward's powers," he mused. "But then I'd feel like I'm betraying Jacob if I said that... well, I'd like to read Bella's [mind]."

As we wrapped up, someone remarked to Lautner that plenty of fans are eagerly anticipating the scene of Jacob and Bella's first kiss.

"Yes. So am I."

Visite du plateau de New Moon , 2ème journée : la douleur de Pattinson , le souhait secret de Lautner

Dans la 1ère partie de notre reportage, RT fut l'un des 1er à voir les Volturi qui nous seront présentés en Novembre à la sortie de New Moon. Nous vous avons donné une description détaillée du repère souterrain des Volturi, nous vous avons décrit Dakota Fanning et Michael Sheen en Jane et Aro et donné la réaction positive de Melissa Rosenberg quand elle avait vu la rencontre de Bella et des Volturi.

Aujourd'hui nous lançons notre "New Moon Mondays" avec la 2ème partie de notre visite ! Voici les détails (incluant notre observation de Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Chris Weitz, et notre discussion avec Jacob Black alias Taylor Lautner) et chaque semaine vous aurez des nouveautés sur Twilight !

Quand Rotten Tomatoes est arrivé sur le plateau de New Moon le 2ème jour pour observer les Volturi, le tournage d'une scène clé était déjà sur les rails. On nous avait promis des câbles, on en a eus et j'ai donc immédiatement deviné que c'était pour une scène de combat. Verrions nous Edward (Robert Pattinson) lancé dans les airs par le membre de la garde rapprochée des Volturi, Felix ? Après tout, l'acteur Daniel Cudmore (Colossus dans X-Men 3) avait été repéré sur le plateau la veille, lisant des magazines entre les prises.

Peut être une bagarre entre Edward-Felix avait été filmée, mais pas pendant notre visite. Au milieu du repère des Volturi, le scénario était le même que la veille : Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Pattinson) et Alice (Ashley Greene) faisaient face à leurs hôtes : Aro (Michael Sheen), Jane (Dakota Fanning) et Alec (Cameron Bright). Dans la scène, Edward se précipite pour empêcher Aro de tester ses pouvoirs sur Bella et subit à la place les tortures infligées par Jane. C'était une scène difficile. Le plateau était silencieux, à part le bruit du corps de Pattinson touchant le sol à chaque prise.

Alors que Twilight avait beaucoup recours aux câbles pour donner l'impression que les vampires couraient et grimpaient sans aucun effort (un effet critiqué pour son manque de réalisme et de légèreté), les câbles étaient ici utilisés différemment. Le coordinateur des cascades JJ Makaro, qui s'est interrompu 2 minutes pour nous parler, a dit que l'équipe causait des douleurs nécessaires au réalisme des scènes d'action de New Moon.

"Nous travaillons avec des câbles, mais on essaie de limiter leurs utilisations au maximum,"a t il expliqué. "On ne veut pas donner l'impression qu'on est à Hong Kong – l'espèce de flottement qu'on voit tout le temps, les vampires qui flottent dans les airs et tout le reste. C'est difficile mais les câbles sont ce qu'ils sont et c'est le problème. Ils vous font flotter. Donc on se prend la tête pour trouver le bon équilibre pour qu'il y ait l'effet surnaturel mais pas trop". Pattinson porte une cape bordeaux et on voit sa poitrine. Et oui on ne voit pas un seul poil et il est semblable à une statue d'albâtre comme l'a écrit Meyer. Les filles vont s'évanouir. Greene est à ses côtés, portant une robe à rayures noires et blanches et des gants rouges. Stewart est entre les deux avec un jean noir, une chemise à manches courtes et des baskets.

Alors que Pattinson se précipite en avant, les câbles attachés à ses vêtements pour le faire reculer au moment où Jane l'attaque – une invisible torture infligée par ses dons psychiques - et elle le frappe. Il se tord de douleur tandis que la caméra fait un gros plan, montrant les muscles de son cou. Finalement, il tombe à genoux avant de s'effondrer sur le sol avec un grand bruit sourd.

Derrière le plateau, Meyer et Rosenberg hochent la tête pour signifier qu'elles sont d'accord. Ce qu'elles voient sur les écrans de contrôle les ravie.

Un seul problème : les câbles tiraient trop la cape de Pattinson et cela risquait d'être visible dans le film. L'équipe se remet un place et une nouvelle prise s'impose. Nous commençons à apprécier l'implication de Pattinson.

Ensuite : on nous a exclu du plateau, Stewart se tourne vers les caméras et Pattinson se tord à nouveau de douleur.

L'équipe se prépare immédiatement pour les répétitions de la prochaine scène, dans laquelle Bella implore Jane d'arrêter de blesser Edward. Ce faisant, Alice court aux côtés de Edward et vérifie s'il va bien. Ici les choses deviennent intéressantes.

Alors que nous étions silencieux pendant les répétitions (certains pourraient considérer son interprétation comme étant ennuyeuse, ce qui a engendré des fous rires des personnes qui n'étaient pas sur le plateau), Stewart y met vraiment l'intention quand elle est devant la caméra. Après avoir fait ses répliques de manière creuse et plate, elle laisse cours à un florilège d'émotions une fois le tournage commencé :

"Arrêtez ça ! S'il vous plaît ! Arrêtez de le torturer ! Essayez sur moi!"

Durant cette scène, pour une raison inexpliquée, l'assistant de la production s'est approché de nous et a dit "Tous les invités quittent le plateau". Nous nous sommes donc exécutés. Ce qui s'est passé pendant ces 10 minutes seuls les acteurs et les techniciens le savent mais rapidement on nous fait entrer et ils tournent à nouveau la scène.

Stewart est incroyable prise après prise. C'était fascinant de voir cette séquence se répéter, l'actrice de 19 ans semble avoir ouvert les vannes de ses émotions à chaque prise, puis elle est à nouveau silencieuse. Ou elle demandait des indications à Weitz ou après la prise elle éclatait de rire. La tension de la scène était intensifiée après chaque "Coupez" de Weitz – un acteur (un Volturi) tendait la main à Pattinson pour le relever ou Stewart déambulait (après une prise, Pattinson s'est tourné vers Ashley Greene et lui a demandé sur le ton de la plaisanterie "est ce que j'ai l'air de souffrir ?")

Regarder les écrans de contrôle nous montre encore plus l'étendue du talent de Stewart Elle qui n'a que 20 ans sait faire passer ses émotions. L'angoisse se lit sur son visage. Peu orthodoxe ou pas pendant les répétitions, une fois qu'elle tourne, elle révèle une intensité inégalée. Pourtant pendant les interviews, elle et ses collègues sont pourchassés par les potins, pourquoi ne pas lui poser des questions sur son art ? On l'aurait fait si nous en avions eu l'opportunité. Malheureusement, Stewart et Pattinson n'étaient pas disponible pour des interviews.

Pourtant nous avons eu la chance de parler avec le délicieux loup de New Moon...

A suivre : Taylor Lautner parle de Jacob Black, soulever des haltères et pourquoi il aimerait avoir les pouvoirs d'Edward.

Tandis que Stewart et Pattinson tournaient leurs scènes dans les quartiers généraux des Volturi, nous sommes tombés sur Taylor Lautner. Par miracle, il était venu sur le plateau alors qu'il était de repos juste pour parler avec nous ! Habillé de manière décontractée et portant ses Reebok Reverse Jams (ces acteurs aiment leurs baskets), Lautner a commencé à décrire son régime qu'il avait adopté afin de conserver son rôle.

"J'ai dû prendre du poids," a expliqué Lautner en souriant . "Comme je savais pendant Twilight que mon personnage se transformait, mentalement et émotionellement, mais aussi physiquement. Donc dès la fin de Twilight, je suis allé à la salle de sport et j'ai mangé beaucoup - de la nourriture équilibré - pour gagner du poids. Et me voici avec 14 kilos de plus !"

Lautner a compris que la transformation de Jacob dans New Moon n'a pas lieu uniquement lorsqu'il devient loup, mais se reflète aussi dans sa démarche. Il fallait avoir un Jacob Black qui avait plus confiance en lui et qui a une présence physique plus importante.

"Le plus important avec son aspect physique c'est qu'avant sa transformation, Jacob est maladroit," dit Lautner. "Il se prend les pieds les uns dans les autres, c'est un enfant. Puis après, il devient très agile. Donc tous mes mouvements devaient retranscrire cela."

On lui a demandé combien de temps on le verrait à l'écran torse nu , Lautner a répondu : "Comme dans le livre. Je ne vais pas vous donner un pourcentage mais ce qui est bien c'est que nous sommes fidèles aux livres. Donc si vous avez lu les livres, vous aurez la réponse."

Ensuite il a réaffirmé que son corps avait été scanné pour les effets spéciaux, bien que plus le film progresse, plus Lautner a l'intention de refléter cette croissance de Jacob que l'on voit dans les livres. "Je vais reprendre 5 kilos. On verra ce que je peux faire, mais je vais travailler dur ."

Les fans de la Team Jacob devraient aussi s'habituer à voir Lautner sans ses cheveux, qui sont la marque de fabrique de Jacob. "C'était une perruque," dit il en riant. "J'en ai terminé avec la perruque depuis quelques semaines ; c'était surprenant. Toute l'équipe m'a applaudi, j'étais content. Ils m'ont dit : 'Tu veux la garder ?' j'ai dit : 'Si vous me la donnez, je la brûle.'"

Le succès de Twilight fut une surprise pour Lautner et ses collègues tout comme pour le grand public. Cette fois ci c'est différent . "Nous savons ce que nous faisons. Pour le 1er nous ne savions pas que nous faisions un grand film. Nous savions juste que c'était une saga et qu'on voulait faire un bon film. Nous ne savions pas que les gens allaient tomber sous le charme et l'impact que ça aurait. Avec New Moon, il y a un peu la pression mais on essaie de ne pas y penser et de rester concentré.”

Les acteurs se sont très bien entendu avec Catherine Hardwicke, mais Lautner ne tarit pas d'éloges sur Chris Weitz. "Ce que j'adore chez Chris c'est que le plateau est très calme et on s'amuse à faire ce film," explique t il. "Et vous vous asseyez et vous voyez le résultat et jusqu'ici c'est génial. Je suis impatient de le voir fini. Vous vous dites : 'Vous avez passé de si bons moments de détente sur ce film et voici le résultat.' En même temps les conversations avec Catherine, elle nous racontait tellement bien les choses. Chris aussi . Ils sont tous les 2 talentueux et j'ai eu de la chance de travailler avec eux".

la Pré-production est déjà en route pour Eclipse. David Slade a rendu une petite visite au tournage de New mon à Vancouver pour rencontrer Weitz et c'est à ce moment là qu Lautner a été par hasard présenté eu futur réalisateur.

Lautner a ensuite parlé du pouvoir qu'il aimerait avoir et qui le rapprocherait sans aucun doute de Bella-Jacob .

"Je veux voler un des pouvoirs d' Edward" plaisante t il "Mais j'aurais le sentiment de trahir Jacob si je dis ça... bon j'aimerais lire dans les pensés de Bella."

Alors que notre visite s'achevait, quelqu'un a fait remarquer à Lautner que des tas de fans attendaient avec impatience le 1er baiser de Jacob et Bella .

"Oui moi aussi "

par Jen Yamato