Anna Kendrick plays high school student Jessica, a classmate of Bella and Edward's, in the Twilight film series. Jessica's not a vampire or werewolf, just a regular girl with an attitude, but Kendrick's a scene-stealer in New Moon nonetheless. She's also a stand-out in Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney and Vera Farmiga. The box office figures had just come out for New Moon when Kendrick was in LA doing press for Up in the Air (hitting theaters on December 4th), and she joked with reporters about Jessica being responsible for the film's tremendous take. "Wholly. Wholly responsible," laughed Kendrick. "Yeah, yeah. I am expecting a massive bonus check."Kendrick's only in two or three scenes in New Moon, yet she makes quite an impact. "It's great. Listen, obviously I don't actually pretend to be instrumental in the box office success in any way, but I try to provide my piece of silliness."
With two Twilight films released, and one in the final stages of preparation for a June 2010 release, Kendrick still can't explain why the series is so popular. "It's confusing. Bewildering, I suppose, is the better word. I remember whatever it was, two Christmases ago when I was like telling my friends, 'Oh, I think after Christmas I'm going to do this movie. It's called Twilight. I don't know much about it but I guess it's about vampires. I hope we break even. I hope people see it.' Now all of a sudden, well however long ago it was, sort of overnight realizing how big it was and that it wasn't going to go away. Fortunately for me, it hasn't really interfered with my daily life. I know it has for a lot of the actors and I recognize that I'm sort of on the periphery of the phenomenon and I'm grateful for that."
So, with all the werewolf and vampire goings-on in the third Twilight film, Eclipse, what happens to Jessica? Kendrick says what happens to her character even caught her by surprise. "I'm inexplicably valedictorian in Eclipse. I'm like the dumbest girl on the friggin' planet and I'm valedictorian. I think just an excuse to give me a silly speech."
As for the fourth Twilight book, rumor has it Breaking Dawn will be split into two movies. But Kendrick's as in the dark as the rest of us are as to what's happening with the final Twilight book. "You know, they tell me nothing," said Kendrick. "I literally pumped [writer] Melissa Rosenberg and [producer] Wyck Godfrey for information and they're giving me the, like, 'There's not even a script yet. We couldn't possibly know.' So I was trying to find out, but I'm moving forward. I'm assuming I'm not in it because I'm really not in the book."
(Photo © Richard Chavez)
Follow Me on Twitter
Comments