Directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night) and based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse is darker in tone than the first two movies, with not only the love story but the action taking center stage. At the press conference in Los Angeles to promote the Summit Entertainment film, Stewart talked about Bella's journey and working David Slade as director.
Kristen Stewart The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Press Conference
In this film Bella has to make a decision. Do you feel like that's one of the biggest challenges in the movies so far?Kristen Stewart: "Yeah. There's definitely the conflict in that she's pushed to the point where the decision needs to made in this one. She does that in each movie, and what's cool is that things change and as certain as she is sometimes and as absolutely gung-ho and young and courageous and brave as she is, she's also willing to take a step back and go, 'Okay, I'm going to reconsider my options and reconsider how I'm treating everybody.' She acknowledges that she's being a little bit selfish."
"She makes the choice. I feel like the choice has been made. As soon she sees him in the first one it's done, but it's hard for her to get to point where everyone is going to accept that. And this is the one that it sort of happens in."
Was there one scene that was really challenging for you? Maybe the action?
Kristen Stewart: "The action is absolutely everybody else's responsibility. I just stand behind the people who are stronger than me. I didn't get to run around as much as I did in the second movie, so the action wasn't difficult. I guess one of the most challenging scenes would probably be kissing Jacob for real, finally for the first time and seeing that there was a different road to go down that was desirable as well. She's got such tunnel vision, that Edward is the only thing for her - that's a strange perspective. Then I have to go in and talk to Edward about it and it's such a different dynamic than we've ever had. It was a different Bella. I had never had to play somebody who would've done stuff like that, so that was hard. And I was nervous as hell."
Because of the kiss?
Kristen Stewart: "Just because of that moment and how different that kiss is to all of the rest of them in that movie, and how different they have to be. It is the most unique moment. It's also a mistake, and I always say that Bella makes a lot of mistakes and she's willing to own them. I think it's cool to see her a little bit ashamed and at the same time scared. I think it's a cool."
Some suggest that the success of these movies has to do with forbidden love, loving a vampire and it's mix with traditional family values. What do you think?
Kristen Stewart: "Right. I think that if you took all the mythical aspects of the story, that it would still stand as a really strong and interesting thing to be a part of. I think the whole vampire and the whole werewolf thing are really good sort of plot devices. All of the aspects of the vampire and all the aspects of a werewolf are fully encompassed by the humans, by Jacob and Edward. If all of that was gone, they would still be the same people. I don't think it's a big phenomenon because of the vampire mythical aspect. It definitely takes a good story and it raises the stakes and it makes it a little bit more interesting, but I think it's just about who the characters are and how easy it is to have faith in them and be sort of addicted to them. They let you down a lot and then pick themselves back up. I don't think it has anything to do with the vampire thing. I think that just makes it a little cooler."
Can you talk about working with David Slade? He shot a lot of close-ups. Was there anything you had to adjust in your style of acting to compliment his filmmaking?
Kristen Stewart: "No. We've worked with the same DP now for New Moon and Eclipse and I always ask him, 'Hey, how close are you?' That's something that David does intentionally, not tell you stuff like that which I completely understand because most actors are crazy and neurotic and don't want to know the camera is up their nose. I didn't do anything differently though."
"You have to change a little bit every time that you work with a new director, but it's cool working with someone different on each one of those. As long as someone has the same passion for it, as long as they're into it, you have to do all this work. You have to reconsider all the ideas that had you been working with the same person you might just say, 'Oh, we've covered that. We don't need to go over that.' But in this case I have to introduce my character to David. He meets Bella through me. We've done something already and it's cool to let a new person into the fold. It's fun."
Now that you've done three of these are there things you wish had made it into the movie from the book that didn't?
Kristen Stewart: "Yeah, totally. There are a million things. I mean every single time we watch one of the movies, especially when the cast watches it together, it's always an incredibly frustrating experience. That's why I'm glad that Breaking Dawn is going to be two movies, which I can finally say. So there's going to be less of that, less of having to lose stuff. I know you want specific things, but I'm trying to think of one now but I can't."
