SAN DIEGO – Twilight-mania invaded Comic Con as fans lined up by the thousands to see the vampire/werewolf saga’s trio of stars, Robert Pattinson , Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner at the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 panel.
Fans began camping out more than two days prior to Thursday’s mega-panel outside Hall H of San Diego’s convention center, bringing with them plenty of tents, sleeping bags and a few cases of bottled water. And for those looking to have their faith and patience rewarded, the cast answered a number of questions and brought with them exclusive footage.
Asked to give the fans what they want, Stewart offered her thoughts on what she said to be the most important part of the movie–filming the wedding.
“I had been ramping up to shoot that scene for over four years, and they also put it right at the end of the entire filming,” Stewart said. “So it was six months of standing on my toes waiting for the most important part of the whole thing. When I got to the set, I was just as nervous and terrified as I expected myself to be. It was just so beautiful. I had to go away and get locked in a room for the rest of they day. At that point, I had to be locked into my dress and sort of protect it.”
Director Bill Condon presented two lengthy scenes he said were not in the books, the first of which showed Jacob’s separation from his family and tribe after forming an alliance with the Cullens. Determined to save Bella, he enters the woods to negotiate with his old pack, and in the process, reveals deeper motivations behind his newfound peace with vampires.
“It’s difficult because Jacob at the beginning of the film is the Jacob you’ve always seen before. He’s immature, in love with Bella. Then he gets his heart crushed,” Lautner said. “He doesn’t handle it well. He handles it how Jacob would usually handle it, and he becomes an entirely different person. He’s forced to mature and become his own man. If that means separating from his own pack, brothers, he’s willing to do that and he does.”
The second clip takes place much earlier in the film when Bella and Edward arrive at the hotel room for their Brazilian honeymoon. With plenty of audience screams, the couple walks across the threshold causing even more screams upon sight of the marital bed. Bella nervously asks if she could have a minute to herself while Edward goes for a swim. Looking like a woman who realizes she’s about to have her husband alone for the first time, she piles on the toothpaste, brushes her teeth, shaves her legs and spruces herself up before joining Edward outside in a state of near nakedness.
Pattinson, with a rather unique hairdo in which the right side was shaved and the rest uncut, went into great detail explaining the birth scene along with the other actors.
“My favorite scene to film was the birth scene. It was different compared to anything I’ve done before. Literally, he’s so aware of his own helplessness. There’s no one else around. He’s tried to help Bella but there’s nothing he can do. He’s desperate. Normally when that happens in the other movie, Bella comes in to save the day. Every single time, Bella comes to save him. But this time Bella can’t. It was nice to play someone who’s totally annihilated by the entire situation.”
After being joined by surprise guests Julia Jones, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed and Ashley Green, Pattinson faced down the question of a little girl, who drew several “awww!” reactions from the crowd and was asked if he enjoyed having the baby with Bella.
“The look on your face makes me think you’re asking something else (laughs). No, I do. I really like babies. I like doing scenes with them too,” Pattinson said. “It was really fun, especially with this series as well. You’re playing this statue-esque guy most of the time. Can’t be hard, but he has the baby and it makes everything more human. And babies, in terms of acting with it, they just do their own thing. It’s more fun. You’re basically improvising.”
With filming completed for Part 2, Reaser and other cast members admitted to now missing waking up at 4 a.m. after four years of working together, noting all that’s left is two years of press and premieres before it’s time to say goodbye.
“I’d like to say it’ll be a fairy tale ending and we’ll have dinners once a week,” Reed said. “There will be things that live on forever. It’s been a really great thing for all of us.”