Bill Condon's Interview with Movieline and Movies.Com. Talks about BD Secrecy, the Honeymoon, and Kristen

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Movieline  Not only that, but the idea that Bill Condon would want to direct a Twilight movie! What were the reasons you were interested in the job, and how did you go about convincing Summit you were the right director?
You’d have to talk with them but I think it was the connection to the material that I felt. Because it’s all told from Bella’s point of view, I don’t know why I hook into her so much especially in this story. And my Kristen Stewart crush, you know? The idea that she was going to take this journey, I was really exciting to collaborate with her on that.

What is your strategy in regards to what to show and what not to show to fans?
I know! Well, it was hard this time, because I think there are just basic things. You don’t want to show Bella in the wedding dress…

Why?
Because we want to, as long as we can and I hope we can keep it until opening day! We want to keep it a surprise.

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You went pretty long without even announcing the dress designer. So, until opening day, will you not reveal Bella’s dress?
If we have our way, which you know will never happen. [Laughs] But I’m hoping! Certainly today in July, we’re not going to show anything in the wedding dress, and I’m not going to show anything of her pregnant because that’s a whole transformation that she goes through. So you take that out of the equation and for Bella and Edward there’s really only the honeymoon, and for Jacob, it’s really not that many scenes. So it wasn’t really hard to figure out once you got to that point.


No one wants to see — no one needs to see a full-on sex scene to have the incredibly intense experience that they’re making love, you know?
There are so many iconic scenes in the book; how do you walk the line of romanticizing the feathers-at-the-honeymoon scene, or deciding how gory to go with the birth scene, in a PG-13 movie?
You know it’s not going to be an R-rated movie, so it’s a great challenge. How do you have the experience without having to be too explicit about it. I think that’s not a hard thing to do. No one wants to see — no one needs to see a full-on sex scene to have the incredibly intense experience that they’re making love, you know? And it’s more romantic. The same with the birth; I think it’s very visceral, but it doesn’t necessarily need close-ups of certain things.

Did you track the fan reaction when the honeymoon footage leaked?
Oh, yeah. That was upsetting.

I can imagine — so much got out. But fans seemed to love what you did in that sex scene. Especially, if I may point out, the bed breaking glimpsed in the trailer. It’s sexy.
[Laughs] I think it’s good. I hope people feel that way. Read more

Movies.com : You showed two clips today. For the clip that was of the honeymoon scene in the secluded island getaway, the thing that struck me was that there is so much silence. There isn’t a lot of dialogue. That could result in intended awkward silences or just unwanted awkwardness, can you relate how that choice came about?
Condon: That’s very intriguing. I was looking because we started to do a temp mix on the movie, and the whole last reel it’s 20 minutes long and there are only 59 lines. So maybe that’s a thing. I don’t know. But there, there is this incredible elephant in the room, and it’s called a bed. It’s between them, and it’s almost comic how much this has been anticipated. Forget about the fan anticipation, but just the anticipation of these two characters. So inevitably, it’s about what’s going on between the lines. The two actors just captured that so well. Part of it is its awkwardness is funny too, but in a very real way.

Movies.com: In other words the audience is laughing with Bella not at her as she’s flinging all these skimpy outfits out of the suitcase?
Condon: Right, right.

Movies.com: In the Hall H panel, you talked about how you feel that there is no bigger Twilight fan on the set than Kristen Stewart. Can you expand on that?
Condon: Right from the beginning she was a real collaborator. When I sit down with her with and a draft of the script and she says, “God I miss this part not being in,” most of the time we put it right back in. I think she never loses sight of what it was like for her the first time she read Breaking Dawn. She’s reading it as a fan, but also with the responsibility of giving and living up to what is expressed in the books about what Bella is feeling. She becomes an important voice to listen to in all of that. As I said we’d talk about it, then we’d rehearse it, then we’d block it, then we’d come to the day and we would still find some nuisances that we’d want to explore having reread it again the night before.”

Movies.com: When you read the source material the first time, what was the scene the you envisioned the clearest?
Condon: I think the love making oddly enough, and how to approach that.

Movies.com: Did you know right away where you were going to go with that?
Condon: I sort of had an idea as I was reading it which was what I turned out to do. It’s fun when that comes to you. You take it through the steps of meeting Stephenie Meyer and pitching it to her. Then eighteen months later it’s exactly what’s on screen.
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via fiercebitchstew and KStewAngel