...talks Twilight, haircuts and the future.
Although L.A.-native Kristen Stewart isn’t shy about confessing just how cute vampires may be, there's not a chance she's leaving her boyfriend for them—even if we're talking about Robert Pattinson or newly bulked-up Taylor Lautner, her co-stars in this month’s latest Twilight installment,
New Moon. When INsite recently sat down with Kristen (aka Bella), the soft-spoken moody babe—who has a knack for juggling the seductive with the sarcastic—talked shorter hair, bigger boobs and what the future holds for her and Bella.
By Prairie Miller
So how is your life different since Twilight?I cut my hair off!
Would you say that Twilight changed your life?My life hasn’t changed. But I can't describe how good it feels to have something that is truly in your heart and soul actually affecting people. And that’s amazing. So that’s the biggest change. And 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!
What about the difference in your life and becoming a big star?It didn’t change me. It did change things around me a little, because I’m so used to doing movies that nobody wants to see.
How about all those 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 it's already something so whole. And there are so many people who you’re going to inevitably either make happy or not.
And what do you think of that Bella action figure?Her rack seems much bigger than mine.
So what have been the highs and lows of the whole Twilight experience?Well, this is definitely a high! But I'm really excited for people to see this one. It's a little overwhelming, but I guess that's good!
What is the Twilight experience for you like, the second time around?It's so much easier. I mean, I'm just more aware, and I'm not as freaked out by it. At first I was just kind of freaked out. I was scared of it.
But it was a little surreal to be back doing a second one just because it’s something that I thought about for an entire year. But it was sort of like, I couldn’t wait any longer.
Does that mean you got to have more fun with this one?As long I could just say what I mean and it's not entirely jumbled, and I feel like some things got across. Then whatever happens with all this stuff is just going to happen, and it's just ... whatever!
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.
But until you actually bring it to life, you basically have the capability of murdering the character on the page. You know, if you don’t do it justice, then nobody else is ever going to see those things. 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 for that. I would jump off a cliff for it. Oh, there is cliff-jumping in our movie. Perfect!
What about co-star Taylor, who plays Jacob? He really worked out for this one.He's jacked; it's crazy. He's like an entirely different person physically. And no, no steroids!
Any truth to those rumors that you and Robert, who plays love interest Edward, are an item?Maybe Bella would rather die than be without him, but I'm not leaving my boyfriend for Robert Pattinson.
What can we expect in New Moon?Just picking up sort of where we left off. There's like a six-month period in between where the first one ended and the second on picks up, but nothing’s changed. [Bella and Edward are] at a good, solid point in their relationship.
I'm interested in seeing him leave because that's what the first one is entirely based on, that abandoned, devotion, ultimate love story. Now she's going to be stripped of that. And Bella is actually an interesting character on her own.
And 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.
So it’s just a glorified, elaborate version of the worst breakup you’ve ever been through. And 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.
Ouch! So how do you relate to a guy who gets to be a fleeting thought passing through your mind?It's suggestive. It's how she remembers him and not necessarily how he actually is.
It seems your character goes through more emotional highs and lows in New Moon. How did you get into that challenge?I wouldn't say that one was more difficult than the other. This is a severely emotional movie. And that's the one big difference. This movie is not about discovery or falling in love, which is just an intense emotion.
But this is low, and there are high points for her, too. You know, she's manic-depressive, basically. And to have a character be able to pull her out of that is a hefty feat. Which I think we pulled off.
But for me, there was no difference. It was just heavier, and it was more to think about. This is a more mature part, strictly because she's older and she has more to deal with.
Are you anxious about this one too?I think it's a different kind of anxious. But yeah, definitely.
Is there a scene that's your favorite?Yeah, the “break-up scene.” We call it a break-up scene because [Bella’s friend Jacob] basically tells her that they can't be friends anymore, and he's transforming. And if Taylor ever, ever treated me like that [in real life], it would kill me!
What do you think has gotten people hooked on Twilight?I don't know. But that's the most common question, and we get that all the time.
So what do you say? I always say that it's because you're so very much inside of Bella's head, that it's closer to home. You know, you feel like it's not happening to someone else. You feel like it's sort of happening to you.
Which story resonates most for you? I like New Moon, just in terms of how far I can push myself within the series. I feel like, after New Moon, it's smooth sailing for Bella. You know, she's very solid, content and happy. But in the second one, she's nothing. She's literally just lost. And I got to find her again.
You're just 19, so what do you want to do with the rest of your life?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! But this is what I want: I want to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s a strange thing, acting.
But 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. And I’m not going to school because I can’t take the structure of it. But I’m not going to stop learning.
