Kristen Stewart: "I mean if you're a fan of the books obviously I don't need to give you any clues or reasons why you should go see the movie, but for someone who isn't I do feel that these movies do stand alone. There's a lot of back story in each one of them and so you don't need to see the other ones to understand this one."
"In this case I think it's just kind of a more mature look at the same dynamic. The love triangle is definitely at its height and it comes to a conclusion as well. It ends here, and that's been building up over the whole series. Also it has been more action than the other movies just because of the story. We have different vampires and everyone is trying to kill Bella again, but it's more people and they all battle and stuff. For non Twilight fans it definitely is a more dynamic movie, I think."
Are you at the point now with Rob Pattinson where when you're doing a very passionate or dramatic scene that all of a sudden you just start laughing?
Kristen Stewart: "That really happens all the time, definitely. More so with me and Taylor because we have so much fun with this stuff because our intimate moments are so few and far between and weird, the way they happen in the book. We have a little bit more of that. Me and Rob are always so serious because we have those scenes."
So who is the better kisser, Rob, Dakota Fanning or Taylor?
Kristen Stewart: "Dakota. I'm just going to have to say that because it's easier."
Some of the nicest scenes in all these films are the scenes between Bella and her father. What's that like, working with Billy Burke?
Kristen Stewart: "I love working with Billy. He's just very no BS and obviously as an actor that's what you need. He's really good at knowing if the scene works or doesn't work. I think he really understands the dynamic, the Charlie/Bella thing. It's not a normal father/daughter dynamic. They haven't known each other very long. She just moved to Forks and literally has a few memories of him as a little kid. But I love the gradual trust thing that happens. He's really good at that because he doesn't force it and it's never creepy, and a lot of times it gets weird when some guy is playing your dad. It feels weird to you. It feels like they're forcing sentiment. It's disgusting, and I never feel that with him. I think he's great and I love him."
We see Bella really mature in this film, especially choosing to be a vampire not just for Edward but for other reasons. Can you talk about Bella and how she's maturing as a woman?
Kristen Stewart: "She's definitely making decisions for herself and not just going along with what Edward is saying to do, which is something that people instantly latch onto, that she's this weak and codependent girl that's just in need all the time with this guy. That's so not the case. I think if it were to be told from his perspective that he would be just as vulnerable and as needy as her. It's told from her mind though, so obviously those things are going to be more inherent."
"I think she's definitely, like I say over and over, owning up to things that have gone down. They've been both good and bad. She can reap the benefits from the things that she's dealt with in a good way, and also make the relationships in her life stronger based on the mistakes that she's made. As soon as you sort of screw someone over and go back and say, 'I admit that. Can we still be really cool? I've been really selfish.' Everyone now in the family is looking at her differently, like, 'Oh, maybe she does know what she wants. Maybe she's not acting so immature and crazy.' I'm glad that you felt that."
You're in the middle of this journey with Bella Swan. Do you worry that it's taking over your persona? The Runaways was a great film but it wasn't a hit like the Twilight movies. How do you feel about your life and career versus Bella?
Kristen Stewart: "This is a really unique situation. I get to play her for a really long time and that's also a serious indulgence and something that's really lucky because I feel really sad when I lose a character at the end of a short shoot, which is typically six weeks on a small movie which is what I'm used to. I don't see her as being this, or it's definitely, obviously the one role that's put me in this sort of epic position. But it's just another movie, and I think it doesn't matter if you're doing a studio movie or you're doing an independent movie, when you get to set and you're doing a scene it's always going to be the same job. I really don't think about my career in terms of planning it out and what this does for me. This was a part that I just really wanted to play and luckily I got to do it for a really long time."
What drives you to succeed?
Kristen Stewart: "Well, I think that success is always something completely different to people. I feel like I succeeded if I'm doing something that makes me happy and I'm not lying to anybody. I'm not doing that now so I feel really good about myself. I don't know. That's a tough one, what drives me to succeed. I really specifically love acting and I think it's a really cool thing to be really indulgent and follow that. I have a lot of ambitions in life, but for the next few years I just want to be an actor. That's a lucky opportunity and that drives me to want to be good at that."
