BEVERLY HILLS, California — Think you know everything there is to know about "Twilight"? Think again, spider monkeys.
To help with our 10 Days of "Twilight" festivities counting down to the film's November 21 release, director Catherine Hardwicke sat down with MTV News over the weekend for an expansive interview covering many of the fandom's top unanswered questions. Which sequel has Hardwicke already shot a scene from? What bonus features are going to be on the DVD? How much money must "Twilight" make to green-light "New Moon," and why the hell is Edi Gathegi wearing her clothes?
Keep reading, Twilighters, and you may soon find yourself possessing more Forks knowledge than Dr. Carlisle Cullen.
MTV: Did you enjoy taping "MTV Spoilers" the other night and doing the Q&A with all those die-hard Twilighters?
Catherine Hardwicke: Yeah, let's have the real fans! Those people were not faking it. They were into it.
MTV: After all this time, "Twilight" is finally coming out. Has it been fun watching your young actors rise to such fame during the last few months?
Hardwicke: Oh, yeah. It's been really interesting, because I felt like each of them were incredibly talented. Now, the world's gonna get to see it too!
MTV: Obviously, someday there will be a "Twilight" DVD we'll all want to buy. Do you have any details yet that you could share?
Hardwicke: Oh, yeah, we've already put together all of the deleted scenes and extended scenes. I think there's about 10 or 12 pretty cool things that people are going to like. And then I made a montage of all the other scenes that didn't quite make it in, of vampire bites and sexy, crazy stuff. And then I put all of the human kids [into another montage]. They did a lot of crazy things, so you'll see all that stuff too. There's a pretty neat video that we made that goes with the Jason Bentley remix, and that's very intense and beautiful. So I think there's going to be some delicious things. But, of course, there's also the "making-of," talking about how we really figured out every scene. It's gonna be pretty good.
MTV: Very cool. And will it be a two-disc or a three-disc?
Hardwicke: I think there's gonna be a two-disc and a three-disc. A one, two and three! I've also got all the cool storyboards and drawings and sketches and stuff, so we'll probably get all that stuff out there.
MTV: While you were filming, the whole "Midnight Sun" thing occurred that caused [author] Stephenie [Meyer] to stop writing it. Assuming she ever does finish the book, would you want to reshoot "Twilight" from Edward's perspective?
Hardwicke: Oh, yeah. Robert [Pattinson] and I got to read that. Back in the early days, when we were trying to figure out his character; Stephenie gave us those chapters. It's very fascinating. I mean, you've probably read it on the Internet, but it's pretty intense from Edward's point of view. I'd love to do that too.
MTV: It's hard to think of a film where a director basically reshot the same movie but from a different actor's perspective.
Hardwicke: I think that's fascinating, though. Yeah, I think that would be awesome. Actually, I have to say one thing: On the DVD, I shot one little tiny scene that is from "Midnight Sun," and you're gonna see it on the deleted scenes. Nobody knows that yet.
MTV: Wow! Can you give us a little clue about what the scene is?
Hardwicke: [Laughs.] No, I can't.
MTV: Also, halfway through the shooting of this movie, "Breaking Dawn" came out. Did you rush out and buy it? What did you think?
Hardwicke: Oh, yeah, of course I did! I read it that night, and I thought it was really wild, what Stephenie did. I mean, she just went for it. She took it to a whole other level. Some of it was shocking and fun and crazy, and I loved it.
MTV: Would you love to shoot that far-out-there stuff someday?
Hardwicke: Yeah, that would be fun. But she's not thinking about our budget, though! She just went wild! But I like that.
MTV: Speaking of budgets, there's a rumor out there that you and the studio have a number in mind, and if "Twilight" makes that much money, you'll get your budget and a green light for the sequels. Is that number indeed $150 million?
Hardwicke: I think it's somewhere in there. I don't know the exact number. But I think that when you look at what this book cost to make and what it costs to market it, and then you think about the next book [being so] much more complicated.
MTV: Yeah, you'd need a bigger budget.
Hardwicke: It's got werewolves, it's got visual effects that turn people into werewolves, it's got motorcycle stunts, you go to Italy. It's probably twice as much as this. So just doing the simple math, you add it up and go, "Yeah, ['Twilight'] is probably gonna have to be somewhere in that [$150 million] neighborhood to make enough money to justify it." So we would say to the fans: Get out there and see the movie!
MTV: Well, more so than most fanbases, it seems as though Twilighters would say to each other after a few weeks: "Dude, it's stalled at $130 million! We all need to go see it five more times!"
Hardwicke: Yeah, that's cool. We like that.
MTV: When we screened the "Twilight" footage at the "Spoilers" event the other day, there were audible gasps in the theater during Edward and Bella's kiss.
Hardwicke: That sounds cool. I like that.
MTV: Were you gasping back in the day, when you had Robert and Kristen [Stewart] audition by sitting down on your bed and practicing that scene?
Hardwicke: I kinda was, actually. [Laughs.] I was trying to be cool, but I started to realize, "This is gonna be steamy, this is gonna be hot, this is gonna get people going."
MTV: Bella and Edward are great, but is there a background character that you weren't all that crazy about at first but came to love as the filming moved along?
Hardwicke: I love the dad [Charlie Swan, played by Billy Burke]. He's really cool. He's solid, and I love their relationship. I love all the human kids too. They don't get a lot of love right now in the media, but I think when people see them, like Eric [Justin Chon] is hilarious as he twirls, and I think Jessica [Anna Kendrick] is super-funny.
MTV: A lot of these actors have found their stocks quickly rising. Who, in your opinion, has handled it the best?
Hardwicke: Well, Rob and Kristen have both done a great job of dealing with all the madness and the excitement, because they're both very serious and dedicated to their craft, and they're looking for excellent work that challenges them. So I think they look at every script that comes to them and think what the challenges can be: "What can I make out of this? How can I make this significant and wonderful?"
MTV: I love that the apple-in-hands shot has been worked into the film. Who came up with that idea?
Hardwicke: I came up with that. I love the book cover, and I thought, "What if we just sneak it in, like a two-second flash?" But now it's in the trailer, so I think everybody knows. But, yeah, I like that. I love apples.
MTV: Edi Gathegi told me a "Twilight" secret the other day: The three nomads are wearing your clothes?
Hardwicke: Oh, yeah. [Laughs.] In fact, Rachelle [Lefevre] is wearing my own pants, Edi is wearing my belt — I went and picked out his jacket at a thrift store in Venice [California], and that's what he wears in the movie. Cam [Gigandet] was wearing my jacket. I guess I like those nomad clothes, those bad rock-and-roll clothes!
MTV: Are you going so far as to line up a project for your next film? Or are you keeping your schedule open in hopes of the sequels?
Hardwicke: Well, I just finished ["Twilight"] — like almost two weeks ago, we were still doing the music, the sound effects and the color timing. Now I've been on the road to Rome and Madrid and New York, talking about it. I'm reading other scripts, but I am hoping that we'll make enough money to make the next one.
MTV: Would you still be willing to shoot "New Moon" and "Eclipse" simultaneously?
Hardwicke: Maybe. I don't know if we would do that, but you never know. Fingers crossed!
We've got the biggest exclusives from tomorrow's blockbusters today. Check out the premiere of MTV's "Spoilers" on Friday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m., for first looks at "Twilight," "Watchmen," "Bride Wars," "Bedtime Stories" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still." And before the most-anticipated film of the year, "Twilight," opens November 21, we're celebrating with 10 Days of "Twilight," featuring exclusive interviews, scenes, photos and more.
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