'Twilight' Actor Michael Welch Talks 'New Moon' Mini-Movie Details

Welch gives us some insight into the mini-movie shown during the 'three-way date' scene in 'New Moon.
It's a beloved moment in the "New Moon" novel, a rare moment of comic relief as Bella Swan attempts to get over her Edward Cullen-induced heartbreak by going on what becomes a three-way date with the love-struck Jacob Black and Mike Newton. Recently, actor Michael Welch made big news by assuring Twilighters that the scene would be in November's "Twilight" sequel — and now, we've got the scoop on the key tweak masterminded by director Chris Weitz.

"I really should've checked with someone if this is information I can give away or not," grinned Welch, the fan favorite who plays puppy dog-like Mike Newton in the blockbuster series. "But, whatever — here we are."

Welch stopped by the MTV studios to discuss such far-ranging topics as his concern for Robert Pattinson's safety and the "three-way date," a scene that has Bella, Mike and Jacob at a movie theater, watching a horror film. But, in the grand tradition of such films as "The Player," "Bowfinger" and "The Purple Rose of Cairo," director Weitz is inserting his own mini "movie within a movie" into the mix.

"The film is called 'Face Punch,' " revealed Welch, telling us about the tongue-in-cheek movie that Bella, Mike and Taylor will be seen watching on the big screen. "It's an action film."

When the cast of "New Moon" began planning out the pivotal date scene, they got a laugh out of some of the silly, fictional action-movie names that Weitz and his crew had assembled. But in the end, "Face Punch" was the winner.

"We started out with a few other comical names, but it turned out those were actual films so we couldn't use those titles," Welch laughed. "I forget the first few titles, but it was like 'Crazy Explosion' — and it turns out, there actually was a 'Crazy Explosion.' "

"Chris came up with the title," he continued. "And apparently there is no 'Face Punch' that we know of."

And although Welch and the other "New Moon" stars weren't able to watch "Face Punch" while they shot their scenes inside the movie theater (they were repeatedly shown the trailer for "Defiance" while Weitz's camera caught the flicker on their faces), he hopes that the filmmaker will shoot some silly action footage for his "Face Punch" mini-movie.

"That'd be interesting — maybe for the DVD, if there's a 'Face Punch' trailer," he grinned. "That's actually not a bad idea." It's a beloved moment in the "New Moon" novel, a rare moment of comic relief as Bella Swan attempts to get over her Edward Cullen-induced heartbreak by going on what becomes a three-way date with the love-struck Jacob Black and Mike Newton. Recently, actor Michael Welch made big news by assuring Twilighters that the scene would be in November's "Twilight" sequel — and now, we've got the scoop on the key tweak masterminded by director Chris Weitz.

"I really should've checked with someone if this is information I can give away or not," grinned Welch, the fan favorite who plays puppy dog-like Mike Newton in the blockbuster series. "But, whatever — here we are."

Welch stopped by the MTV studios to discuss such far-ranging topics as his concern for Robert Pattinson's safety and the "three-way date," a scene that has Bella, Mike and Jacob at a movie theater, watching a horror film. But, in the grand tradition of such films as "The Player," "Bowfinger" and "The Purple Rose of Cairo," director Weitz is inserting his own mini "movie within a movie" into the mix.

"The film is called 'Face Punch,' " revealed Welch, telling us about the tongue-in-cheek movie that Bella, Mike and Taylor will be seen watching on the big screen. "It's an action film."

When the cast of "New Moon" began planning out the pivotal date scene, they got a laugh out of some of the silly, fictional action-movie names that Weitz and his crew had assembled. But in the end, "Face Punch" was the winner.

"We started out with a few other comical names, but it turned out those were actual films so we couldn't use those titles," Welch laughed. "I forget the first few titles, but it was like 'Crazy Explosion' — and it turns out, there actually was a 'Crazy Explosion.' "

"Chris came up with the title," he continued. "And apparently there is no 'Face Punch' that we know of."

And although Welch and the other "New Moon" stars weren't able to watch "Face Punch" while they shot their scenes inside the movie theater (they were repeatedly shown the trailer for "Defiance" while Weitz's camera caught the flicker on their faces), he hopes that the filmmaker will shoot some silly action footage for his "Face Punch" mini-movie.

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"That'd be interesting — maybe for the DVD, if there's a 'Face Punch' trailer," he grinned. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Michael Welch on the Set of New Moon

Up until about six months ago, you probably knew Michael Welch, vaguely, from...somewhere. "Joan of Arcadia," maybe, or "The Riches?" "CSI?" "Star Trek?" "Law & Order?" The actor has, after all, been acting for a full ten of his 21 years, and he's worked on everything from happy-family fare to edgy premium cable series to big-budget blockbusters. And yet, until recently Welch had enjoyed that fuzzy ubiquity that comes with years' worth of small roles in film and on television.

But then came Twilight. On November 17, 2008, The Greatest Love Story of Our Time opened in theaters everywhere, and Michael Welch instantly forsook "Where do I know him from?"—level fame for the kind of face recognition one gets when one is in a record-breaking, heartthrob-making, teen-obsession-for-the-ages kind of movie. True, Welch doesn't get to engage in any Edward Cullen-style smoldering eye-gazing sessions—his character, Mike Newton, is known for his overly-friendly demeanor, pleasantly-popular social status, and hopelessly-enduring crush on Bella Swan (Need we say it? Kristen Stewart.)—but then, he's also not getting hit by cars. We spoke with the young actor while he was on a brief hiatus between filming New Moon and the saga's third installment, Eclipse, and he filled us in on a little behind-the-scenes gossip.


LUCY MADISON: How's it going? Where are you? Are you guys done filming New Moon?

MICHAEL WELCH: I'm great! Right now I am in Silverlake, California. I'm outside and it's a beautiful day. New Moon is, is all wrapped up, and we're going to be doing Eclipse in August or September, I think, so we're knocking them out pretty fast.

LM: What are you doing in the meantime?

MW: I'm actually leaving Los Angeles in two days to go to Lexington, Kentucky to work on a film called Unrequited. It's a very intense little independent project, sort of a modern-day teen version of Misery. R-rated, though, so not for all of the Twilight fandom.

LM: Speaking of which... When you went into Twilight, did you have any idea what a huge success it would become?

MW: No, none of us had any clue that it would turn into—well, what it has. I originally went in auditioning for Edward, because that's sort of how it works: Your representatives always send you out for the lead first, and then you work backwards from there. So then I auditioned for Eric, and then finally with Mike. I went in probably four or five times, but the last time we all read together it just clicked. It just felt right.

LM: Had you read the books before you went in there?

MW: No, I hadn't. Frankly, I had never heard of the series—but I certainly did afterwards! I'm reading one book one at a time.

LM: But don't you want to know what happens?

MW: I don't like to get too ahead of the story. So far I've only read the first two. Although we're going to be shooting the third one pretty soon, so I need to get on that.

LM: But the third one is where the story starts to get really crazy.

MW: Right! Apparently there's a vampire war, and the director that they're getting for this one, David Slade, he did Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, which are pretty dark movies. They're going dark, which I think is smart. Maybe trying to appeal to the boys a little more—‘cause they seem to have the young girl demographic locked down. [LAUGHS]

LM: Tell me about the new movie. I haven't read the second book, but I assume there will be equally swoon-worthy material in this one?

MW: The girls are going to melt for this second film. Edward recites Shakespeare; and obviously Jacob has totally transformed himself. He's been working out like crazy. People are going to go nuts.

LM: Was it very different filming the second film, in comparison to that first one, when none of you had any idea how big Twilight would become?

MW: A lot had changed. By the time the second film rolled around, we all pretty much knew what we were getting ourselves into. There was a lot more money to put in to the film, and a lot more prep time, and, you know, there were a lot more fans. In Vancouver, where we shot the film, we tried really hard to keep it a secret where our locations were, but, you just couldn't—all it took was one person to see, you know, Taylor or Kristen on the street and then that person would text message one of her friends and then, you know, ten minutes later there would be hundreds of people on set. It was crazy.

LM: What about the paparazzi? Did you guys have to deal with that a lot?

MW: [LAUGHS] It's funny you ask; we did, actually. It was my first experience with the paparazzi. They even got us when we were coming off the plane. I learned that they can just take a situation and put it into any context. There was one point when Taylor was talking to some people and the paparazzi took a picture and then I saw it online with a caption underneath that was like, "Taylor Lautner takes the time to talk to his fans, while Michael Welch is a jerk and just sits in his trailer ..." It was just so weird. It's a fascinating process to be a part of something this big, and this popular, ‘cause it's sort of a double-edged sword. But I mean, I certainly have nothing to complain about; I'm very grateful to be involved.

LM: What's happening with your character this time around?

MW: Well, you know, Mike Newton doesn't go through too much of a journey, I'll be honest. He sort of has his role to play in Bella's life. In the movie it's pretty much all about Bella, and how he relates with her, and him just being hopelessly in love—the character that is just really empathetic, and a little bit tragic in a lot of ways.

LM: There's so many of you guys. Are you all good friends? Do you spend a lot of time together off-set as well?

MW: Yeah, absolutely. We try and hang out, get dinner, you know, see movies or whatever. I love my little group of high school kids, I think they're just so fantastic and talented and great. You know, in most films you get to know people, you become really close, and then, after a month or so, chances are you will probably never see each other again. So I'm happy that I get to work with this particular group over the course of four films. This has been a journey for all of us; we've all been on this train together.

Adam Lambert Talks New Moon and Glee Rumors, Bowie Medley and New CD

The rumor mill is relentless when it comes to American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert.

First, there was the whole gay thing. Mystery solved: He's gay. Shocker! And before you say "no duh" to that, we are happy to report that even Adam himself felt like the story was a huge "no duh" event. Agreeing with us how obvious his sexual preference has been all year, Adam tells us with a laugh, "I know. Hello! Cher?! Hollywood Week. Bingo!"

We caught up with Glambert yesterday at rehearsals for the American Idols Live Tour 2009 in Burbank, Calif., and that's not all he dished on...

Rumor of the week: Adam will appear on Fox's new musical show Glee. "That's the first I'm hearing of it," he tells us. "I love rumors. They're really good these days, and they're getting better."

Next rumor to address is that that he's going to contribute a song to the next movie in the Twilight franchise, New Moon. "That's just another rumor. That would be really cool. I should [do it]." Hmmm. Hello New Moon music supervisor, are you reading this?

One tidbit that has proved true is that the theatrical rocker is performing a David Bowie medley on the upcoming Idol tour, which kicks off July 5 in Portland, Ore. "The show's set list is in order of elimination. So I'm the second to last person in lineup, and we each have our own set. I'm closing with a Bowie medley that goes from 'Life on Mars" into 'Fame' into 'Let's Dance.' It's doing major justice to the original Bowie intention behind them, but we're adding synthy, dancey electronic elements to it. I'm wearing a custom-made blue metallic silver bomber jacket with tails and spikes and studs by Skin Graft. They've hooked me up with some really sick fashion."

As for Adam's new CD on 19 Recordings/RCA, he's working not only with Red One (Lady Gaga, Akon) but also with Linda Perry (Christina Aguilera, Pink, Gwen Stefani), Greg Wells (Mika, Katy Perry, OneRepublic) and OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder (Beyoncé's "Halo," Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love").

"They are all so amazing. We don't have any song titles yet," says Adam. "It's still in development, but it's sick, sick, sick, sick stuff. It'll be under my name, but I want a band present for the live thing. I don't want to hide them in the back like some pop stars do."

As for his recent shout-out to Lady Gaga, he says he is indeed inspired by her. "But she does her thing and she's genius. I'm a huge fan," he explains. "I'm not trying to be a male version of her; we have our own sounds. But I love her theatrical ability. She's fearless and over-the-top and inspiring for sure."

Check back here as we'll have interviews with the rest of the American Idol top 10 in the coming days.

How's Adam's CD shaping up to you? Think he should appear on Glee or write for New Moon? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Bella's birthday cake in New Moon

The pinnacle of the birthday party scene in New Moon, aside from the paper cut Bella receives and subsequent attack is the beautiful birthday cake that Alice has so graciously provided for the party, despite the fact that Bella is the only one who would partake.

In an exclusive interview, I learned more about the beautiful confection. Lisa Haas, wife of the creator, Thomas, fills in readers about how the cake came to be.

Blissfully unaware of the Twilight Saga, Haas was approached to concoct the confection after the set designer’s creation didn’t turn out as expected. Though he doesn’t know the significance to the green color palette, he was able to replicate the design perfectly in one day.


In Style Magazine asked Lisa for step by step instructions on recreating the cake:
1. Cover each cake tier with a "mask" of white fondant [a thick, malleable icing]. Stack tiers from largest to smallest.
2. Separate one package of fondant into 5 batches. Use food coloring to tint each batch a different shade of green.
3. Roll each batch of fondant into a thin sheet and cut into strips of varying width.
4. Attach the strips around each tier using stiff royal icing as glue.
5. Place red, yellow and green Gerbera daisies around the bottom of each tier.

The cake used in the movie is a show cake, meaning the inside is not an edible substance, but the outside is comprised of the sugared fondant. Haas says that, were it an actual cake, it would feed 50 to 55 people.

New Moon is not the first production to request the professional touch of Thomas Haas. He’s also made confections for License to Wed with Robin Williams and The L Word with Jennifer Beals. “We've also done chocolate showpieces and cakes for Stargate's 100th episode and Stargate Atlantis,” says Haas.

Thomas Haas Chocolates has a plethora of accolades. In fact, Thomas Haas was named one of the top ten pastry chefs in the country by his peers. But the award that they deem most important is the service excellence award provided by their local chamber of commerce. Lisa says, “We really care about good service being provided to our customers by our staff and this award helps us know we are on the right path.”

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Win a Meet and Greet with Ashley Greene!

Saturday Night magazine is having a contest and the lucky winner will be able to meet Ashley Greene on the set of her photoshoot on July 1, 2009.


For more details on how to enter the contest can be found Here.

Twilight star Mike Welch dishes on New Moon

Blast was fortunate enough to speak with Mike Welch, who plays the Twilight Saga’s lovable human Mike Newton, today about the hype around “Twilight” and it’s upcoming sequel “New Moon,” his work with charity, and… meth labs?

BLAST: So how was shooting in Vancouver different from Portland?

MW: Vancouver is one of my favorite cities, not only to film in but just to be in. I’ve shot a few different things over there over the past 10 years. I mean, Portland is great, there’s some great poetry and a great book store up there, but Vancouver, there’s just something about the way the city feels… That’s just the differences in the city, the differences in the films themselves, I mean, totally different. By the time “New Moon” rolled around, we tried to keep it as big a secret as we could [our locations], but it was impossible because all it took was one person to spot Rob or Taylor on the street and in 20 minutes there were hundreds of people there and there was paparazzi there and you know, it was just much more of an ordeal.

BLAST: Speaking of Portland, are you going to be at the Twilight Vampire Baseball Event?

MW: Over the July 4th weekend? Yeah yeah, it’s for charity, it’s a Make-A-Wish event.

BLAST: And you’ve done charity work before. You did environmental charity right?

MW: I won some sort of environmental award for some reason a couple years back… I guess since I drive a Prius or something. I mean a made a couple of environmental videos.

The main charity I’ve been with is Kids with a Cause, and we’re a multi-cause charity, but the ultimate goal is to help kids in need. We started out as a local charity, visiting like, orphanages, burn centers, etc. Now we’re trying to go international and help kids that need some of the basic fundamental things in life so they can pursue their own happiness. It’s been very rewarding

BLAST: So there’s Team Edward shirts, Team Jacob thongs, even Team Tyler’s Van merchandise -– any Team Mike stuff popping up?

MW: There has been a little bit of Team Mike that I’ve seen. I’ve seen a couple t-shirts, but it was mostly my friends making fun of me [laughs]. I do get people every now and then telling me they are on Team Mike.

BLAST: If you had to pick a side, would you really be Team Mike, or choose between Edward and Jacob? Or are you contractually obligated like I’m guessing Kristen is to be ambiguous?

MW: I actually… between Edward and Team Jacob, I’m actually Team Jacob. I like Edward, but I… and I think it’s more of a gender thing more than anything else. I think Jacob represents more of a practical relationship, so I’d go Jacob -– but if there is a legitimate Team Mike that emerges, I will be happy to join it.

BLAST: Bella does some crazy stuff in “New Moon.” Did you do anything so daring in high school?

MW: You know, [laughs] one thing that I used to do was go into the local high school with my car with my friend in the passenger seat and do really lame donuts and stuff and every now and then I’d get into little shenanigans like that. The most dangerous thing I did as a kid was, my grandma lived in the senior center, well not a senior center, more of a neighborhood. [Laughs] This is just so lame I can’t believe I’m telling you, anyway, and kids weren’t allowed to walk around unattended so my cousin and I would just walk around and avoid security.

BLAST: That’s pretty bad ass.

MW: Oh now that I think of it –- when I was a kid, I actually grew up in a mobile home and there was actually what I later discovered to be meth lab right across from me. My neighbor and I would play cops and bad guys and we would spy on them and follow them around and stuff because we knew they were bad, but we had no idea.

BLAST: So has that ass shaking dance [from outside of the diner in “Twilight”] always won you the girls?

MW: Oh sure, that thing has followed me around like you wouldn’t believe [laughs]. No, nothing like that ever seemed to work in real life. I was similar to Mike Newton in high school — I hope I wasn’t that annoying — but that was my angle: “I’m the quirky guy, love me please.” But that never quite worked.

BLAST: So you said at some point they almost didn’t include the movie scene in New Moon? What’s that about?

MW: You know it’s a tricky thing when you try and turn a book into a movie because a movie is only two hours and there’s only so much you can fit in, but yeah, what they originally did was they took that moment between Jacob and Bella and put it in a different scene of the movie. Luckily Taylor and Kristen lobbied that scene for me to Chris Weitz saying it absolutely had to be in, and it’s a good scene. They weren’t really lobbying for me, it’s just, how can you not have that scene in there? Yeah, so I was really happy to hear that, and it was great for me because I got to do Mike’s best scene in the book.

BLAST: Any secrets from the “New Moon” set? Like maybe Justin Chon is really diva?

MW: Well I can tell you that Justin Chon actually has 3 nipples.

BLAST: You’re definitely making that up.

MW: Yeah. [Laughs] It’s funny, because that’s the thing everyone’s looking for, something to say, but these are pretty uncontroversial people.

BLAST: I guess that’s why pictures of the cast smoking cigarettes on set became some big scandal?

MW: Yeah, that’s about as scandalous as it gets.

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Peter Facinelli talks New Moon, Eclipse, Nurse Jackie, and Eclipse

Though recovering from a bit of a cold, this self-proclaimed Twilight fan and film enthusiast was earnest and open about his work.

After a couple of weeks of constant Twittering, and the widely known win in a bet with Rob DeFranco, Facinelli is still working out the details on how to handle the prize. He is still "just trying to figure out what to do for the day [June 30th] because I want to try and do some kind of charity event. I thought it might be a fun way to actually make it into something meaningful."

While the day might already include the very charitable donation of Facinelli's own actor's chair to one lucky Twilight fan/Twitter follower, Rob DeFranco's Hollywood Boulevard jig might not be all Twilight fans will see on June 30th, it seems.

I asked Facinelli if he was surprised at how much the bet took off after his initial few Twitters. Said he, "Yeah, I mean, Rob came over to my house and he saw the back of my chair and was like 'Can I have that?' And I said, 'No,' but he knows I like a good bet, so he said, 'I'll bet you for it.' We kind of came up with this bet. It's not like we sat around and planned some crazy thing, and then all of a sudden we threw it on the internet, and it kind of exploded. I know a lot of people had fun with it, and I was happy that people were. It was a very entertaining week."

Also fun this week was the third episode of Facinelli's newest show Nurse Jackie on Showtime - whose pilot broke Showtime's own records and led to an immediate announcement of a second season. Said Facinelli about this news, he's "pretty excited. I love working with Edie Falco. She's an amazing actress, and a really sweet person. I mean, whenever you get to do more of what you love to do, it's always great. When we did Twilight, I think our main goal was to hopefully be able to do more and we are."

Indeed, they are. Having just wrapped The Twilight Saga: New Moon with director Chris Weitz, Facinelli is to be back on the Twilight set once again - this time with David Slade for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. I asked Facinelli whether he was surprised at all that his work in Twilight has potentially led to a four-part film series.

"Well," he said, "when we first shot it, you know, I think no one really knew that it was going to be this big. I think we were just hoping to satisfy the fans of the books, and we knew there was this underground following. Again, no one really knew it was going to snowball into this huge thing... kind of like my Twitter bet... No one knew it was going to snowball into that huge thing either."

Facinelli also enjoyed his work on Nurse Jackie with director Steve Buscemi. "I've been a fan of Steve Buscemi's for the longest time, so to be able to be directed by him was a real treat. I almost worked on a movie with him ... and I was up for the lead role, and I ended up not being able to do it. And to work with him years later was pretty cool .. It was called Animal Factory." He didn't end up on the picture, he says, because "[Buscemi] went younger with the role. It was between me and Edward Furlong, and he went with Eddie ... So, I was kind of bummed, but later on I got to work with him on Nurse Jackie, and we were excited to work together."

Steve Buscemi and Edie Falco aren't the only long-timer HBO/Showtime series alums, and this fact might be one that intimidates some, but Facinelli has a different perspective. "I've worked with a lot of great actors, so I don't get intimidated by [them.] I get excited to work with great actors."

When asked if there were any particular actors that he'd like to work with, Facinelli admitted "that's a long list." "I always wished I worked with Paul," Facinelli said, "Paul Newman, but I never got the chance. Robert Redford would be my second. You know, I love Al Pacino and [Robert] DeNiro... they're great. I think my favorite would be ... if I had to pick ... Sean Penn. I'd love to work with Sean Penn. Either way. As a director (with him directing me) or acting alongside him. I'm a huge fan of his and the work he's done."

Nurse Jackie, since being pitted for a second season reprisal, will begin filming this fall. Also filming this fall is The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, but Peter Facinelli is confident that both can be done harmoniously. According to him, "They're starting in October some time, and I think we're starting Eclipse in August, so if everything stays according to plan it'll be close, but we'll be able to squeeze both. The good news is that I'm not in every scene in Eclipse and I'm not in every scene in Nurse Jackie, so I'm sure I'll be able to do both."

Speaking of Eclipse, I asked Facinelli if there was anything about director David Slade that he looked forward to working with him for. Said he, "I've heard he's very intense, and I heard he's a great actor's director, so I'm excited to work with him."

The changed directorial hands, too, seems to be exciting to Facinelli. "Whenever I've done television (Six Feet Under, or Damages, or Nurse Jackie) we worked with different directors each episode," Facinelli said, "so, it makes it interesting because they come in and it's the same material, but you get a different perspective on it. And that's how it's been on this one too. Chris Weitz has brought his vision; Catherine Hardwicke had hers. And, now, we get to see what David Slade's going to bring ... It's exciting."

Though only contracted for Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, Facinelli also intends to reprise his role as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, if it comes to fruition. Says he, "I'm a big fan of the series. I wish there were more!"

In our discussions here, I told him, we've bounced around the idea of a post-Breaking Dawn television series, and the witty Facinelli is on board for that as well, he says, "as long as it's called the Carlisle Chronicles." If only, huh?

Other projects in the works for Facinelli include, potentially, Thicker, which Facinelli tells us is based on a "short movie" of the same name. "I'm hoping they can get the money and shoot that because it's a fun little short ... Leslie Zemeckis (who is Robert Zemeckis' wife) co-stars and is producing it. And Christopher Lloyd."

Also in the works is one of Facinelli's own near and dear projects called Loosies. About the film, Facinelli says, "it's about a pick-pocket in New York, who lives this carefree lifestyle, kind of like the Steve McQueen type, and he ends up getting this girl pregnant, and his whole life gets thrown upside-down. He has to grow up and take some responsibility for his life, basically." The script, he says, was his own penmanship, and he "was supposed to try and squeeze [it] in this summer, but the window got too small between going back to work on Eclipse, so I'm going to have to push that 'til next year."

While another project may also be in the works for Facinelli, he says that if not, he will plan to attend Comic Con this year. Says he, "it sounds like fun. I didn't go last year..."

Jackson Rathbone talks women, cheating, and how to seal the deal for a second date with him!

Jackson Rathbone is a triple threat. An amazing actor, singer, and writer. Women can only imagine what Jackson might be looking for in a woman. Some might think that any woman he might take a second look at would have to be drop dead gorgeous. Wrong. Jackson opens up about his favorite features about women, dating advice, and how to seal the deal for a second date with him!

Gabrielle: What are qualities you look for in women?

Jackson: I look for a woman with a sincere smile and a love of the arts. I love being able to go out on crazy dates, like breaking into zoos after hours, so a woman who has a sense of adventure... but I also love a calm night of jamming on a beach at midnight with a bonfire, whiskey, and friends... so a woman who can hang in any situation and not get too clingy if I'm playing some music and spending time with my friends and family.

GC: In your opinion, what do men really notice about women?

JR: The way she carries herself. Many times, my friends and I will notice a girl who is beautiful, but just looks miserable in her demeanor. It's a turn-off. Life's too short.

GC: What is your ideal first date?

JR: Well, I live with the band I'm in, 100 Monkeys (100monkeysmusic.com), so I like to take a girl out to dinner alone, go for a walk and chat, and then come back to our "Monkey House" to see if she can hang with my friends/bandmates. If she's cool to jam some tunes with us, shoot nerf guns at my bandmates' heads, or at least not get offended when I pick up a guitar... then I know there'll be a second date.

GC: What is a total deal-breaker?

JR: If a girl is involved with another guy. I don't believe in the ideology of "if it's a different area code, it's not cheating," I think that's more of an "idiot-ology."
Too many times I've been hit on by a woman with a ring (engagement and/or wedding), and it disgusts me, to be frank. Even if a woman has a boyfriend she is about to break up with... to me, it's wrong. I won't even consider flirting with a woman unless she is completely single.

GC: What is your favorite feature about women?

JR: Everything. I am a lover, not a fighter. I don't fuss over the fine points, I just love it all.

GC: How important is personality versus looks?

JR: I find the way that a woman walks, talks, and carries herself is more important to me than the way she dresses or make herself up. I don't care how gorgeous she is if she knows it and shows it off too much; that woman is far too ostentatious and superficial for me. One of our band's first singles is
called "Ugly Girl" (available on iTunes) and it's about a woman who sacrifices her personality for
looks. To me, that makes any woman ugly.

GC: What's sexier: A woman in a little black dress and heels, or a woman in sweat pants and a tank top?

JR: Depends what time of day. And where.

GC: In your opinion, what is the most important part of a relationship?

JR: Selflessness, honesty, and a healthy sexual attraction. I believe a sort of feral instinct takes place in any relationship that works... a sort of "pheromone cupid" strikes, if you will. From there, it's all about keeping it honest and selfless. It takes two to tango, right?

GC: What is the worst dating advice you have ever taken?

JR: "Say whatever she wants to hear." I forgot who told me that, but it's complete bull-shenanigans. Trying to be what she wants is a terrible idea. I try to find a woman who I can be myself around, and who can be herself around me. I hate when relationships change people, but it happens... sometimes for good and sometimes for bad, but when two people fall in love and are still the same people, that's true love. In my humble opinion.

GC: What first grabs your attention about a woman?

JR: Her eyes and her smile.

GC: Do you have any kind of hygiene regimen in the morning? Anything special you use on your skin, hair, etc?

JR: Haha! Nope. Just soap and water... I also brush my teeth with toothpaste, use deodorant, and I, occasionally, will shave.

GC: Do you prefer women with makeup or natural?

JR: Natural, mostly, but I've been known to be extremely attracted to the punk rock look. Though sometimes, it's a little too much and you can't tell how a woman will look when she wakes up; it's really about whatever makeup makes her feel more like herself and more comfortable with who she is, not the other way around. In other words, a woman who defines her makeup and doesn't let the makeup define her.

Blonde or Brunette? ---You forgot redhead.
Tall or Petite? ---In the words of Goldilocks, "just right."
Favorite eye color? ---I'm color deficient... I like eyes that smile.
Short hair or long hair? --- I don't have a preference, I guess... I've dated women with haircuts much shorter than my own and women with hair long enough to lasso the moon.

GC: Thank you Jackson!

JR: Thank you, Gabrielle!

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New Moon Calendar 2010 Reveals First Cullen Family Image

A new image of the 2010 Twilight Saga: New Moon wall calendar has given fans a glimpse of how the Cullen family are looking in their second outing on the silver screen.

Twilight continuity looks like it's gone out of the window, with Elizabeth Reaser (Esme), Ashley Greene (Alice), and even Robert Pattinson (Edward) sporting new hairstyles and colours. It's good to know the production crew have completely ignored the undead-don't-change aspect of the books ̶ though it's not likely to escape fans' notice. No doubt there'll be a logical explanation for Edward's locks mysteriously getting shorter, and it won't just be blamed on Pattinson getting bored of his now iconic head of hair.

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Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of 'Twilight,' 'New Moon,' 'Eclipse,' describes adaptation process

Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, gave an interview recently on MakingOf.com where she talked about her creative process in adapting the scripts from the popular series of novels by Stephenie Meyer. Starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the second film has just wrapped and the third is in pre-production.

The films have kept Ms. Rosenberg busy. She describes her week as writing five days on the television series, Dexter, and two days on the Twilight scripts, and she's been working without a vacation for many months now. Not that she's complaining. Working for 17 years in the movie and television industry, she knows she has an opportunity that does not come around very often.

In the beginning, writing Twilight, she was protective of her creative process and consulted with Meyer only as needed. As Meyer likewise saw what Rosenberg did with Twilight, the collaboration between the two writers opened up more, until by the third novel, Eclipse, Rosenberg was showing Meyer her outline even as she began the adaptation.

Meyer has shared more of her notes with Rosenberg as well about the mythology of the world she created. This has been helpful, Rosenberg says, because of the books so far, Eclipse has proven to be the most challenging to adapt. Filmmakers plan to open the perspective a bit from the novel so that audiences do not always see the scenes purely from Bella's point-of-view. Having more details about the fantasy world Meyer created that are not even in the books gives filmmakers more authentic material to use in their adaptation.

Ms. Rosenberg says, "Working on the Twilight Saga has been one of the great experiences of my career."

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'New Moon' movie tie-in book cover revealed: An EW Exclusive

Attention Team Jacob: Little, Brown has revealed their cover for the movie tie-in edition of New Moon, which features an exclusive image from the Twilight franchise's second film. Taylor Lautner fans should certainly pick up more than a few copies (Those arms! That smoldering stare! Remember, he's only 17!). As for Team Edward...well, at least the image proves that the moon is not, in fact, made of green cheese.

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Robert Pattinson Gets Cab-Avoiding Advice From Ashley Greene

'Don't run in the streets, Rob!' says 'Twilight' co-star after taxi incident.

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After Robert Pattinson was grazed by a taxi cab while filming his romantic drama "Remember Me" on Thursday, his "Twilight" co-star Ashley Greene sent out a message of support to her fellow actor — and a bit of advice.

"Don't run in the streets, Rob!" Greene told MTV News while on the red carpet at the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA championship celebration, which took place at Club Nokia.

Pattinson was reportedly clipped by the cab as he fled frenzied fans. The incident took place in front of the Strand Book Store on Broadway and 12th Street in Manhattan, where "Remember Me" was filming. Onlookers were said to react with shock as a bewildered Pattinson stood in the street and the driver slammed the brakes. According to a report by Radar Online, one of the actor's bodyguards yelled at the fans, "You see what you did, you almost killed him!"

On the red carpet in L.A., Greene told us she'd just heard news of the accident "a second ago." "I'm glad you're OK," she said to RPattz. "I'm so glad he's OK."

The taxi incident caps a dramatic few days on the set of "Remember Me." Earlier in the week, Pattinson had been mobbed by aggressive "Twilight" devotees, who tried to hug the 23-year-old as his security team attempted to protect him.

The movie will be filming in Manhattan for the next four weeks. Co-starring "Lost" actress Emilie de Ravin, the film tells the story of a young couple whose budding relationship is complicated by a succession of family tragedies.

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Daniel Cudmore Interviw as Felix in New Moon

We recently had the opportunity to interview Daniel Cudmore who plays Felix in The Twilight Saga; New Moon. Dan has appeared in a number of films, but is probably most widely recognized for his portrayal of Colossus in the X-Men movies.

How would you characterize the New Moon audition process?
It was very unexpected for me. I had auditioned for one character and was called about a call-back for another character which somehow I had no idea about. Fortunately, I couldn’t make the call-back and had a chance to get it right and put it on tape. A week later I got the good news.

How would you characterize the make-up and costuming process? Some of the actors have had difficulty with the contacts. Did you find them difficult to use? Did the costume help you find the character?
I found the whole process a lot of fun, I wear contacts normally so it wasn’t uncomfortable. The whole costumes when put together were so cool, and really helped with getting right into that character. It also helped that my skin was pretty much the same color as a vampire’s after a nice Vancouver winter.

How did you and the other Volturi and Guard cast members build your character relationships?
Charlie Bewley and I met at a costume fitting and got together a few days later for a coffee to chat about New Moon We both have a very similar background and outlook on life so we got along right away, which helped with our characters since they’ve had quite a long working relationship and haven’t gotten sick of each other yet.

How did you prepare for the role of Felix? Did you focus on a specific trait or idea as you prepared? You have talked about building back story for Felix. Can you give us some insight into that process and how you translated that to your scenes?
I definitely worked on this character for a while, I really liked his animalistic side and how good he is at what he does. I also worked out that his rage comes from jealousy, not having a power like the rest in the coven and Aro’s fascination with Edward fuels it even more. It was a fun character to play.

When we interviewed Charlie Bewley, he spoke about how your characters have a tag-team type of relationship in the movie. How would you describe Felix and Demetri?
Haha, very much bad cop good cop, except I really never interrogate, just rip vampires apart. It’s a great system they have and it’s worked for a while now.

We understand that you have done a lot of stunt work in the past. What is the coolest/most challenging stunt you have ever done, and did you enjoy your stunt work in New Moon?
I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of stunt work which has been a lot of fun and helped a lot with the fight scene on New Moon. I think the coolest stunt so far is this fight scene. It’s great to be the actor and getting to do all the fight choreography helps with the performance and really makes me feel a part of this character. I can’t wait for people to see it, JJ Makaro and his team put together a really cool fight and Simon Burnett (Rob Pattinson’s double) did such a great job.

What parts of filming did you find challenging (i.e. filming in front of a green screen, the makeup)? What was most enjoyable?
I think the shoot went really smoothly, the only thing would have to be the costume being really warm, so the long days of action work were a little sweaty. But it was all worth it once we got to film in Italy, it was gorgeous over there.

You had, no doubt, seen footage of the Twilight fan mania at some time. You started out filming in relatively low-key Vancouver, and went on to film in Italy. Did you expect so many fans? How would you characterize the experience of filming in Italy?
Haha, I’ve never seen anything like that. I thought they would have no idea who I was, but wow I was wrong. Filming there was such a great experience, I’m very fortunate to get to do things like that, with a great cast and crew.

Many of your roles have been in fantasy-based films. Do you prefer that genre? What is your dream role? What are some of your upcoming projects? Are you looking forward to the other Twilight Saga films?
I think it’s a very cool genre since all the characters are so imaginative. I’ve always wanted to be in a Bond film, I’m a huge fan of 007 and one of these days I’d like to get in one. I’m not locked into anything yet, there are some things in the works but the next film starts so soon, I might not have time for anything else.

Do you have anything more that you’d like to share with Twilight fans?
Just that it’s so great to be attached to this project because the fans are so passionate about it which is great to see, and I hope everyone enjoys New Moon as much as I did to film it.

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‘Twilight’ Star Jackson Rathbone: Could His Band Appear On The ‘New Moon’ Soundtrack?

Watch out Robert Pattinson — there’s another musical talent in the “Twilight” family. Jackson Rathbone—a.k.a vampire Jasper Cullen — is making a name for himself on the music scene with his band 100 Monkeys, and there’s a chance they might make an appearance on the “New Moon” soundtrack.

“We’d love it,” Rathbone told MTV News. “[But] we’re not really pushing for it,” he said. “It’s one of those things where if they want to put our song on the album, I’m not going to complain.” The 24-year-old describes his band’s sound as “old school rock and roll,” that is heavily influenced by blues and funk. “It’s not whiney music,” he added.

After the jump, the actor talks about his now-famous scene in the “New Moon” trailer and working with director Chris Weitz.

Rathbone doesn’t let his music get in the way of his acting, though. “Whenever I’m working on the ‘Twilight’ movies, I work all day on the film and then I go and rehearse with my band at night,” said the Singapore-born actor.

Speaking of “Twilight,” Rathbone said that if fans were excited by the recently unveiled “New Moon” trailer, they will be blown away by the full-length film.

“That’s only the beginning of it,” he said of the quick scene in the trailer in which Robert Pattinson’s Edward hurls him across a room and onto a piano. “I got to do some stunts on that. It’s going to be a really action-packed movie.”

He also said that despite their new found fame, the bond between the cast members is as strong as ever. “The first day I was back [on set], all the cast was hanging out in Peter Facinelli’s [Dr. Cullen] room and it was just like a family reunion. It was kind of like we’d been away for a month. It didn’t seem like a year.”

Rathbone also said that new director, Chris Weitz, brought new energy to the set. “In terms of having a new director, nothing really changed too much,” Rathbone said. “It was just a different subtle, vibe because the director really manages the energy on set, and it was great.”

Regarding the storyline in “Moon,” Rathbone declared that he likes the fact that the sequel delves deeper into Stephenie Meyer’s fantasy.

“As you progress [into the series], you get deeper into the lore of the mythical world that we’re establishing with the werewolves, kind of getting more into what the vampire society and legacy is. … [Plus] you get the other side of that love story.

“A lot of elements that I think fans having been waiting to sink their teeth into,” Rathbone said with a smile. “Sorry, I had to use that pun!”

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Taylor Lautner Talks about ‘New Moon'

Access Hollywood got an interview with “Twilight Saga” star Taylor Lautner at the 2009 CFDA Fashion Awards and he excitedly talked about the twilight second sequel " New Moon movie. " Taylor Lautner gave a little bit start filming the third twilight sequel " Eclipse. " Plus, what does a girl have to do to get Taylor’s attention?

ET: ‘New Moon’ Extended Cut

New Moon: Behind The Scenes

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New Moon's Kristen Stewart gets inside Bella's head

It is the role that catapulted her to stardom, and Kristen Stewart is about to reprise her part as Bella in the hotly anticipated sequel to Twilight — New Moon

Q:What is it like to be back on set doing another Twilight film?

A:It’s a little bit surreal to be back doing a second one, just because it’s something that I thought about for an entire year and now it’s happening. But it’s sort of like I couldn’t wait any longer.

It’s hard. Usually you finish a movie and there’s a very long grieving process. You have to lose the character. You have to drop it from your mind or else it just continues to bug you. In this case, I couldn’t drop her completely and I worked in between, which is a strange sensation. It’s weird how easy it was to slip right back into it. I don’t know if it’s because I have such a reference, like the book, or because I knew that I just had to do it. I don’t know, but it feels good. It feels like I can finally release the pressure.

Q:Isn’t that pressure kind of self-inflicted?

A:Yeah, I have that feeling on every movie that I do. It’s just that this one, I had to wait a year. Unless there’s something about the story or that character I’m playing that literally needs to be fulfilled -- like, consummated -- unless it’s actually lived through and physically manifested, it’s just a story and it’s not done. So until you actually bring it to life, you basically have the capability of murdering the character on the page. If you don’t do it justice, then nobody else is ever going to see those things and you’re never going to learn from those experiences because you didn’t do it right.

So yeah, the thought of having to live through something that I find so worthwhile, and then subsequently have people learn from that through your own experience, I would do anything. I would jump off a cliff for it. Oh! There’s cliff-jumping in our movie. Perfect! (Laughs)

Q:What are the changes in this second installment? Your character Bella takes risks again…

A:Well, she loses what basically gives her the drive to do anything in her whole life. She loses the man she’s in love with, but she also loses her entire life plan, and she’s so young to have to be forced into a decision like that. It’s just a glorified, elaborate version of the worst breakup you’ve ever been through. All of a sudden you question everything. All of a sudden you know nothing and you’re dropped in the middle of a freezing cold ocean.

Oddly, we have a character that’s warm enough and bright enough to bring her out of that, and it’s truly gut-ripping. Because as perfect as Jacob is for her, she holds on to an ideal, the ultimate fiery love that she has for Edward even though it’s not comfortable, it’s not practical and it’s not a good idea. So it’s really a very strong thing to do. It takes someone who really trusts themselves.

So basically the movie starts out and everything’s great, and then it gets absolutely terrible, and then it gets maybe OK again, and then it’s" no, no, no, no – life is hard." It’s going to get hard again because he comes back again.

Q:Is she introverted or just seeking an ideal?

A:It’s not that she’s incredibly introverted. She’s just yet to have found a connection that is truthful. She’s a seeker of the truth. She’s not one to get wrapped up in something that is a fantasy. She doesn’t set herself up for disappointment. So that’s what makes the story with her and Edward so compelling, in that this is a girl that normally wouldn’t do something this crazy.

Q:So what does Kristen prefer, the werewolf or the vampire?

A:Kristen shouldn’t open her mouth (Laughs). Kristen is entirely torn. Kristen should stop using her name in the third person.

Q:You were virtually unknown when you shot Twilight. How has your life changed since its phenomenal success?

A:My life hasn’t changed. Most circumstances I find myself in are different than they were a year ago, but I myself haven’t changed...however a normal 18-year-old girl would change in a year. But it makes things so much easier. I would do it for free every day [even] if nobody saw it. I cannot describe how good it feels to actually have something that is truly into your heart and soul actually affecting people. And that’s amazing. So that’s the biggest change.

Q:Has success changed you?

A:It didn’t change me, it changed things around me a little bit...I’m so used to doing movies that nobody wants to see. To put your heart and soul into something for years of your life and have it actually affect people is probably the most satisfying, and that is a completely ineffective word to describe how satisfying it is.

Q:Do you feel a responsibility towards the author's fans and the movie fans?

Yeah, absolutely. It’s a strange thing. You start something and you know that it’s going to take on a life of its own, but its already something so whole -- there are so many people that you’re going to inevitably either make happy or not. Everyone’s understanding of the story and love for it is going to show, even though there are little issues that everyone’s going to have because everybody reads the book differently. So of course we have a massive responsibility. Because of them, we’re able to do what we like to do.

Q:What was it like coming back to a different director?

A:As an actor, you don’t work with the same director on every film. And this, it’s a continuation. It’s the same story but it is a different movie. I love Catherine (Hardwicke). She’s a dear friend of mine, but Chris (Weitz) – it just works out.

Besides all the technical, logistical reasons, Chris is so devoted and because he’s a man, there’s a common question. How is it having a man director? Is it a huge difference? You can’t make generalizations about people like that. He’s one of the most compassionate human beings I’ve ever met. Unfalteringly compassionate. He cares way too much for the story, and you need that. So he’s perfect.

Q:How would you describe it to someone who hasn’t read the books or seen Twilight?

A:Anybody who’s ever been broken up with will probably watch this movie, and their temperature will probably go up.

How do I describe this? It’s a movie about ultimate devotion being ripped from you and thinking that your entire world that you’ve established is wrong. And then trying to get it back and realizing that it’s all OK. (Laughs) And vampires, werewolves, too, so that makes it even more exciting. Robert Pattinson is just so cute. So is Taylor Lautner. That’s what I would tell someone who doesn’t know about the movie yet.

Q:You’re still quite young. Do you want to continue making movies or perhaps go to college?

A:I absolutely have no foresight. I used to think I had a lot when I was younger. I worked really hard in school to give myself options, and I’ve literally taken those options and thrown them down the toilet. Purposely – not to make that sound totally negative. It’s what I want. I want to keep doing what I’m doing.

It’s funny, people ask me all the time: “What do you do for fun? What do you do when you’re not acting?”

It’s a strange thing, acting. It’s a business, it’s a job, everything like that. All it is, is self-reflection. You just never stop caring about people and I’ve never stopped doing that, so I’m sure it’ll seep into other areas of my life. I want to write. I’m not going to school because I can’t take the structure of it, but I’m not going to stop learning.

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Chris Weitz takes the Twilight helm with New Moon

After the success of Twilight last year, New Moon — the latest film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s book series — is one of the most hotly anticipated movies to be released this year. Leading the production is director Chris Weitz, who is taking his first stab at the franchise.

Q. How does it feel to take over directorial duties of such a successful franchise?

A. On the one hand, it’s exciting to take over a successful franchise. On the other, it’s daunting. There are so many fans who have high expectations for this film, but it’s made easy by the fact that I inherited this amazing cast who are certainly very talented. So half of the time, I’m just overjoyed to be a part of this and the other half, I’m nervous that I’m going to be hunted down and killed by a pack of 14-year-old teenage girls in about a year’s time!

Q. What was your reaction when you were first offered the job?

A. I was surprised because it happened very suddenly, and I had a week and a half to decide whether I was gong to do it or not. Then I saw the first film, I saw the case and I thought, 'This is going to be great, actually. Kristen, Rob and Taylor were great' - that’s what convinced me to do it. And I read the book and I thought I saw my way of making a good version of the book. It’s really a question of whether I can do justice to the book and to please the readers. That’s my job. It’s not to run away with it and just do my version of things. It’s to be faithful to their experience of reading it.

Q. “Twilight”, the first installment of the series, received some criticism for not being 100 per cent true to the book. Are you addressing some of these issues?

A. It’s impossible to be completely faithful to every single page of a book because movies don’t have enough time. So you end up cutting things and combining things. But I would say that we’re definitely using the book as our bible. My take on this film is the film is the book and Stephanie Mayer is my main resource for everything in this. I’m constantly checking with her to see if it’s something a character would do or a detail is right. You can never absolutely please everybody but my main intention is to satisfy the fans of the book.

Q. You’re a very visual director. What’s your vision for New Moon?

A. We’ve got an amazing visual effects team. The whole idea is to use the full palette of colors, to have our shadows be very dark and to have our colours be very rich so that we can experience the full range of emotional texture. The idea is that this will look like a Victorian narrative painting in a way, with those medieval jewel-like colours as well as very glossy deep blacks, and for the composition of the frames to be classical. In some ways, this is going to be a rather old-fashioned film. There are elements that incorporate the latest technology and there are things that are very dynamic in the action scenes. But it’s more Dr. Zhivago than Iron Man.

Q. Dr. Zhivago was a romance, much like Twilight…

A. Well, these books are wonderful romances and appeal to people’s sense of their lives and loves. At the same time, they’re also very grand in scope.

Q. Is it a way of aiming at older audiences?

A. I think that would be nice, too. Actually, I think there’s an older audience for the books as well -- which is the hidden demographic that people don’t acknowledge, that people’s mom’s are reading this as well! I want to render a version that satisfies the fans of the book but also appeals to an older audience as well. Alexander Desplats is going to do the music, which is another great thing for me. He’s someone I worked with before. I think he’s immensely talented. So the idea is to make something beautiful.

Q. Is the music very important in this kind of film?

A. It is. The book itself is a very internalized narrative and music can be extraordinarily helpful in conveying those kinds of nuances of emotion which otherwise what you would rely on is voiceover or people flat out stating what they feel, which they never, ever do. So it helps you avoid exposition and it can make it intro a really gorgeous nuanced affair. Films enjoy more senses that almost any other art form, so music is going to play a tremendous role in this.

Q. Could you tell us about New Moon and how it’s different from Twilight?

A. I think we get an opportunity to sort of expand our scope -- from the confines of the forest to Italy. Your sense of mythology of this world is deepened so that the story that underlies what was going on in the first movie becomes more and more clear. And there are a lot of secrets that were set up in the first book and the first movie that come to light in the second movie. So there are a lot of surprises in store.

Q. How do you keep the continuity of the story?

A. Well, we try to maintain a coherence so that nothing seems unrealistic or bizarre. One of the strengths of Stephenie Meyer’s books is that they manage to convey the normalness of people’s lives and the normalness of the main character, and yet feeds on all those supernatural and extraordinary elements. When we go to Italy [to shoot], we are dealing with this 2,000-year-old order of vampires. The key is to cast it and to design it in such a way that it doesn’t fall completely from the story, but it’s a beautiful and intricate part of the whole thing, while at the same time, giving you the sense that you’re opening up to this much bigger world. That part of the story is a reversal of the usual rules. Bella goes to save Edward. It’s not the guy saving the girl; it’s the other way around.

Q. Can you comment on some of your casting choices, like Dakota Fanning?

A. Dakota Fanning is playing Jane, who’s the most dangerous and evil of all of them. And it’s a part where she plays against type because you don’t think of Dakota Fanning as either evil or dangerous. But she’s an extraordinary actress and we’re lucky to have her. Michael Sheen plays the head of the Volturi, who are the law and order of the vampire world. I think he’s an extraordinarily accomplished actor and I just feel, again, fairly fortunate to have someone of his calibre.

Q. What is it about this story that resonates so much with its audience?

A. It deals with emotional occurrences that everyone has gone through. You’ve got all this supernatural stuff, but really what it’s about is falling in love for the first time, losing that love, wondering if you’ll ever be happy again, the restorative power of friendship, having to choose between the guy who seems the right guy or whether you’re going to hold out for the wrong person. This is true of girls, boys, men, women. We’ve all had the experience of falling in love or having unrequited love or being left and feeling miserable and hoping you can get someone back. All these things are universal.

Q. Stephen King wrote in a column that there is no substance, nor emotion in these books, unlike Harry Potter that he loves. What are the qualities of the books in your opinion?

A. The books address the feelings of love and loss that Stephen King isn’t particularly concerned with. (Laughs) I’m not terribly surprised that he says that. I would say, “physician, heal thyself.” Actually, the reason that they’re so successful is that people identify with the main character, with her sense of insecurity, with her sense of being singled out by someone extraordinarily special, with the sense of being broken up with, which is something everyone has experienced unless they are terribly, terribly lucky, and with the deep value of friendship as a way to heal. So I must respectfully disagree with Stephen King. (Laughs)

Q. How would you describe the books to someone who hasn’t read them?

A. I’d say it’s a story about heartbreak and reunion. It’s also a story about humans, vampires and werewolves at the same time. It has these elements which are all about human feelings and then it has elements which are magic, wonder, surprise and suspense.

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‘New Moon’ Volturi Castle Pictures

The omnious mouth of the Volturi Castle, potential site where New Moon indicates that Edward and Bella process to plead for their lives before the coven.

The magnificent Volturi Castle, decorated in the vampire clan's flags.

New Moon crew erect the Volturi Castle.

A close-up of the dramatic, blood-red Volturi flags and family crest.

The now-notorious fountain that serves as site of Edward and Bella's reunion.

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New Moon’s Lautner bites into meatier werewolf role

For a while, there were rumours the Twilight character of Jacob Black would be recast for New Moon, but actor Taylor Lautner is back in the role. It’s a juicier one this time, with more for the actor to get his teeth into. Not only does his relationship with Bella — played by Kristen Stewart — develop, but Lautner also went through an impressive physical transformation.

Q. How’s it back being on set?
A. It’s good. I’m really excited to be back with the whole team again and our new director, Chris Weitz. It’s been a lot of fun so far and the movie’s looking great, so I couldn’t ask for more.

Q. And you have a huge role this time…
A. It’s a little bit bigger, yeah! It’s exciting because I’m excited to bring alive the new Jacob Black for the fans.

Q. You look like an 80’s rock star with your long hair!
A. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I don’t recognize myself. It’s an actual wig. It’s glued to my head in the front and it gets itchy sometimes. You can see the lace if you look close, but it doesn’t come across on camera. It gives me a totally different look. I don’t even look like myself. But it’s fun.

Q. The biggest change is in your body though. You gained 30 pounds of muscle for this role, is that right?
A. I did, yeah. When I was filming “Twilight”, I knew where my character was going in the rest of the series, so obviously I knew I had some work ahead of me! So as soon as I stopped filming “Twilight”, I got back home, hit the gym and worked very, very hard, and here I am filming “New Moon”, 30 pounds heavier.

Q. And doing your own stunts.
A. So far. Let’s not jinx it, but basically you get an evaluation at the beginning of filming. They took me to a gymnasium to see what I could do. They put me on some dirt bikes to see how well I can do. I think they’re just figuring out how much they’re actually going to allow me to do. So far, I’ve been able to do everything, so I’m hoping that doesn’t change too much cos the stunts are a lot of fun.

Q. Did you have a trainer?
A. Yes, I did have a trainer that I used the whole time and I owe him a lot of thanks!

Q. How is it working with Chris Weisz?
A. Chris is amazing. He’s extremely talented and he’s done a lot of amazing work. Everything is looking fantastic so far for this and I know it’s gong to continue to. But at the same time, the set is so calm and relaxed and we’re just having a really great time. Sometimes you wonder, “How is he doing this? How is he creating this beautiful work and we’re just all having a blast doing it?” Chris has definitely taken control and he’s a blast to be around.

Q. What is the biggest challenge this time around?
A. It’s actually the same biggest challenge we had for the first one and it’s the weather. It’s really funny because I think the “Twilight” saga is the only movies where we have to stop filming when the sun comes out. So whenever it’s sunny, we have to either go to an interior shot or just stop filming.

Q. Let’s get to your character, Jacob. He is actually in love with Bella…
A. Jacob’s love for Bella is really intense. He will always be there for Bella, no matter what. Even if she’s with another guy… or a vampire!

Q. How did you prepare for your role?
A. I did a lot of study for the first film. Before I even started filming “Twilight”, I studied up on all of the Quileute tribes and legends and myths and everything about them. And when got yup to Portland, Oregon to film, I was able to meet with about ten Quileute tribal members. I got to talk to them and what I really learned is that they’re not much different than me, and that was very unexpected.

Q. Do you ever discuss Jacob with Stephenie Meyer?
A. It’s really cool because she comes up here every once in a while for her favorite scenes. At the beginning of filming, she gives a list of her favorite scenes that she wants to be up here for. You got the best person in the world to ask for advice. So if you have a question, you can just walk on over and ask her.

Q. What’s your most exciting scene in “New Moon”?
A. It’s so hard to choose. Like I said, I really enjoy the stunts so I had a lot of fun doing the dirt bike sequences. I got to hop on the bike and go really fast and come to a skidding stop. It’s really cool. And I also like a lot of the more serious scenes, the pivotal scenes in the movie, like Jacob and Bella’s breakup scene, which is the first time Bella sees Jacob after he has transformed into a wolf. And it’s really emotional. I felt bad for Jacob just reading the books, but now that I’m actually living this character, I feel so bad for the guy! It’s really sad.

Q. Is Jacob an outsider like Edward?
A. Yeah, I’d say a little bit. Jacob is a really interesting character because he definitely feels like an outsider because he doesn’t go to the same school as everybody else, he’s on the reservation. But Bella brings him out of that. Also, Jacob brings Bella out of this huge depression she’s in. She wants to kill herself, she’s so sad. Jacob is her sun. He brings her alive, out of this deep hole.

Q. Jacob likes Bella. Who kind of girl does Taylor like?
A. Somebody who can be themselves. Somebody who can just open up and be free and not try to be somebody different.

Q. Have you, Kristen and Rob become close?
A. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. We all get along really well and I think definitely our chemistry offscreen is going to be transferred onscreen.

Q. What is a typical day on the set for you?
A. I have very early wake-up calls. I’m usually waking up at 4:30 or 5, and we don’t usually finish until about 5 or 6 at night. But we usually go out after, just explore the restaurants in town. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

Q. What do you do when you’re not on set?
A. Well, I’ve been so busy with the “Twilight” saga within the past year. It’s been crazy, but it’s been a lot of fun. We did tons of publicity. I got to travel to so many places in the world. I got to go to Australia, Tokyo… I got to go all over the place. So it’s been a lot of fun. It’s definitely keeping me busy though.

Q. Are you ready to change your life and not be able to walk in the street incognito?
A. I think so! I’m not sure yet!

Q. What would you be doing if you weren’t an actor?
A. I’d probably still be playing sports. I did football and baseball my whole life. I definitely like writing too and maybe I’d be trying to be getting in the directing field, but I’m glad that I’m an actor.

Q. Who are your favorite actors?
A. I really like Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

Q. What about actresses?
A. It changed a lot. It used to be Jessica Alba for the longest time, and I’m kind of transferring to Megan Fox.

Q. All the hot babes!
A. Yeah, yeah, yeah! (Laughs)

Q. What kind of movies to do you watch?
A. I’ll see a wide variety, but usually my favorites are action movies. I really like action drama movies. I like “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man”, I like the “Bourne” series.

Q. Are you eventually looking to play in an action love?
A. Yeah, some day. I’d love to.

Q. Aren’t you involved in some sort of hip hop performance art show?
A. No! That’s on some of my biographies. I need to get that off because I did it when I was 10-years-old and I did it for about six months and I was done with it. And I can’t dance at all, so I need to clear that up!

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