Keith GirardKristen Stewart was filming her 2009 movie “Adventureland” when the script for a movie called “Twilight” arrived on her doorstep. She reveals her reaction in a new interview and her response may surprise… no.. shock you. It certainly shocked her.
“Adventureland” was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pa, from October 2007 to January 2008.
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But Stewart actually caught the eye of “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke because of her role in another film, the 2007 Sean Penn directed picture “Into the Wild.”
She played a small role as Tracy Tatro, a love interest of the movie’s real-life central character Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, played by Emile Hirsch.
Hirsch, who had appeared in an earlier Hardwicke-directed film, 2005’s “The Lords of Dogtown,” recommended Stewart for the part of Bella Swan, the conflicted high school teen who falls in love with a vampire.
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Hardwicke said she was won over by Stewart’s “mixture of innocence and longing.” She cast her in the role in late 2007. Pattinson was cast shortly thereafter. The rest is history.
Kristen, however, wasn’t really impressed with the script. “Actually, I read the script for ‘Twilight’ when Jesse and I were on ‘Adventureland,'” she told the Toronto Sun in a new interview.
“And I didn’t realize anything. Quite the opposite,” she says.
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“I thought we could just do whatever we wanted, and we would never make a sequel, and the book was a jumping point and then we could kind of explore this realm, and move on,” she explained.
Indeed, the indie movie was basically a B-level high school coming of age story. It was filmed on a paltry $37 million budget, and critics lampooned the film’s elementary special effects.
But the story line, the characters and the especially Stewart and Pattinson, resonated with teens around the world. The film grossed more than $192 million following its release in Nov. 2008, setting the stage for four more sequels.
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Kristen explained the impact.
“And then, all of a sudden, it turned into something. It absolutely happened overnight. It was a huge shock to the systemNot just speaking personally. The whole production and every actor involved was hit with this like a ton of bricks.”
The series ultimately grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide, and made international stars out of Stewart and Pattinson, who still both have a rabid following of fans.
But the success and notoriety came with a price. To this day, they are still hounded by paparazzi and fake tabloid stories. But Kristen has learned to take the fame in stride.
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“Honestly, if you’re going to focus on what you lose, rather than what you gain in a position like this — and I don’t mean monetary gain — I’m given so much happiness and stimulation by what I do. It would be silly to focus on the fact I can’t go to malls anymore. I’d rather focus on the fact I’m working with incredibly intelligent, driven people who I just want to be around.”
Stewart is currently promoting her latest movie, “American Ultra,” with co-star Jesse Eisenberg.
“I had just done a ton of heavy stuff and I just wanted something a little lighter. When I got there it was just the opposite — it was as hard as any job I’ve done!” she said of the film.
In “American Ultra,” she plays Phoebe Larson, the stoner girlfriend of Eisenberg’s character, Mike Howell, a convenience store clerk who doubles as a deadly sleeper agent.
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When he’s inadvertently activated, he’s targeted for elimination by government assassins. But taking him out is no easy task. Both were psyched about playing action roles.
Says Eisenberg:
“To me, the best possible distraction for an actor is to have something physical to do, because it immediately takes you out of your head,” “You can’t second guess yourself or doubt anything, and it’s the best way to invest in your character. So the physical stuff I had to do in this movie was a great help.”
“The black comedy hits theaters next weekend. Check out the trailer below, Kristen’s new photos and be sure to follow IM on Twitter for the latest Kristen Stewart news you can trust.