Stewart and Pattinson say goodbye to 'Twilight'
LOS ANGELES: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson sit side by side on a sofa at the Four Seasons hotel, discussing the end of the five-film project that made them famous and brought them together.
''Twilight'' rocketed both to superstardom, and their real-life romance only propelled them further. With Friday's release of the final film in the franchise, ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,'' the young actors bid farewell to the worldwide fantasy sensation.
Based on a series of novels by Stephenie Meyer, rocketed the three main stars, Kristen Stewart (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob), into the spotlight and the first four films have grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office.
For director Bill Condon, who shot both parts of “Breaking Dawn” together and split into two movies post-production, the fifth and final film was all about the fans - who get a surprise twist to the ending.
“The real challenge was to make sure it was a satisfying climax,” Condon told reporters. “The film opens with an overture of all the main scenes from all five movies, and at the end, I...brought (it) back to the spirit of the old movies.”
“Breaking Dawn-Part 2” shifts the action from a love story to a family story, as the Cullen clan recruit their extended vampire family to protect Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee from an ancient vampire coven.
“I think it's very sweet, especially the ending of it, I think it's very close to the book as well. It seems to be that it's really made for the fans,” Pattinson told Reuters.
Bella and Edward, Stewart and Pattinson briefly split, which not only threatened to jeopardize marketing for the final ''Twilight'' film, but unraveled the real-life element of the vampire love story.
Now reunited, the pair finish each other's sentences during a recent interview as they talk about how much their lives have changed since the first ''Twilight'' movie was released in 2008.
''After the first one, I mean, it's a different world you're living in,'' says Pattinson, 26. ''Also, we're at that stage of life when things are shifting anyway,'' adds Stewart, 22, who was just 17 when she first played Bella Swan.
Global fame makes growing up challenging, they say, acknowledging they've become more insular.
''It's a really weird thing because you kind of have to hide,'' Pattinson says, ''and hiding really destroys the thing which, for one thing...'' Stewart interjects: ''That fuels you as an actor.'' ''Yeah. It destroys your fuel,'' he continues, ''and also it destroys you get to the point where you start to lose interest in things because you spend so much time...'' ''Guarding,'' Stewart says. ''Yeah, and that's your world,'' Pattinson says. ''Your world gets smaller.