Moviefone Talks To Chaske Spencer About Breaking Dawn and Moving On

Moviefone just talked to Chaske Spencer about the surreal Twilight life.

Get ready to see ‘Twilight’ hunk Chaske Spencer in a completely new light — everybody’s favorite wolfpack leader packed on the pounds for his role in the upcoming flick ‘Winter of the Blood,’ and then took his new look to the next level by adding a mullet to the equation for ‘Desert Cathedral.’ But fear not, ‘Twilight’ fans; Spencer is as buff and mullet-free as ever in the highly anticipated ‘Breaking Dawn’ installments, where he reprises his role as peaceful pack leader Sam Uley.

Moviefone caught up with Spencer to chat about everything from the famously intense workouts with Taylor Lautner (and the vomiting that ensued) to how he grossed out ‘Twilight’ co-star Julia Jones (who plays Sam’s ex, Leah Clearwater) with his jiggly new gut.

How has your life changed since becoming involved with ‘Twilight’?
It’s changed pretty drastically. My face is on bubblegum wrappers now! I’ve had a lot of surreal moments. It’s just amazing to do something that’s part of a pop culture phenomenon. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it.

During your surreal moments, have you been particularly starstruck by anyone?
Snoop Dogg. And Jackie Chan. I was very starstruck by both of them. MTV International had me work the red carpet as a correspondent for the MTV Movie Awards, so I got to meet everybody and interview them. It was really cool.

What was it like filming ‘Breaking Dawn’? I recently spoke with your co-star Tinsel Korey (Emily), and she said it was kind of bittersweet because it’s coming to an end.
It’s like going to a party. All parties end. It wasn’t bittersweet for me. I had already said my goodbyes in my own way to the ‘Twilight’ experience. I had a great time, made some really good friends. I’ll always take all of those memories with me. It was time to go.

You’re the leader of the wolf pack. Did you have to participate in the grueling group workouts?
Yeah. We really bonded over the workouts. I think it was really good casting, everyone was a really good fit for those roles. We had really good chemistry. It wasn’t that hard to get the character of Sam when I was with those guys. They’re like my brothers.

See more on Moviefone

Tinsel Korey Dishes Chaske Spencer’s Awkward Fan Moments

Chaske Spencver and Charlie Bewley Sing Karaoke at Twilight Convention

Chaske Spencer on The Mo’Nique Show

You want to start looking at the 28 minute mark.

Chaske Spencer and Julia Jone’s Winter in the Blood Reaches Goal

According to Indian Country Today, the Winter in the Blood Creative Team announced that their additional funding goals had been met:

Thank you!

We made it! We reached our Kickstarter goal of $60,000! And with time to spare! We want to thank everyone who pledged. Please watch our blog in the coming days to see your name on our list of favorite people. Thanks to you, we are able to bring interns, like the up-and-coming Deidra Peaches, to the film set on the Hi-Line.”

Julia Jones also recently spoke about this new project from the heart.

A Conversation with Julia Jones. from aloneinaforest on Vimeo.

Chaske Spencer Reads Winter in the Blood

The Montana NBC affiliate featured the upcoming Winter in the Blood costarring Chaske Spencer and Julia Jones.

Winter In The Blood Director: Fortunate to Have Chaske Spencer and Julia Jones

Winter in the Blood starts filming this summer and is a labor of love for fim makers who are trying to stay authentic to the Montana experience.

“The story is set specifically in a place that could only be that region of Montana. So many of the people involved — including major investors and partners — are Montanans or at least have a deep love for Montana,” he said. “We’re casting a number of actors who are either from here or have a strong connection to this place.”

When the Smiths focused on Chaske Spencer — alpha werewolf Sam Uley in the “Twilight” Saga and a Lakota Sioux in real life — for lead character Virgil First Raise, they knew him as a New York actor and only later learned he’s from Poplar.
…Another cast member with “Twilight” ties is Julia Jones, who will play Agnes. She was Leah Clearwater in the “Twilight” Saga and is of Choctaw and Chickasaw descent.

“There’s a quality in Chaske and Julia that’s very powerful,” Smith said. “We’re excited we get them at this point in their career where they’re still willing to be in a low-budget film. It will be interesting to see them in a completely different realm. They’re going to have fun playing off each other.”

See more on the Great Falls Tribune

Alex Meraz and Chaske Spencer Film May Shoot in Montanta This Summer

According to the Billings Gazette:

“An independent feature film focused on a fictional Crow youth and his family will be made in Montana this fall, if funding can be secured.

The producer of “Last Man Stands” is Petra Ahmann of Silverline Cinema in New York City. Ahmann is a 2004 graduate of Laurel High School.

Alex Portugal, also of Silverline, wrote the screenplay and will direct the full-length film.

Locations for the movie could include Laurel, Hardin, the Crow Reservation and other local spots. Ahmann and Portugal were in town for about 10 days to solidify more of the production details.

Most of the cast is already in place, Portugal said, with Alex Meraz, one of the wolves from the “Twilight” movies in the lead role of Taylor Brewer. Irene Bedard, who plays the part of his mother, is best known as the voice of Pocahontas in the Disney movie of the same name.

Raoul Trujillo, who has a part in the upcoming “Cowboys and Aliens,” has been cast in the role of Taylor’s father, and Chaske Spencer, another “Twilight” wolf, has the role as Taylor’s older brother.”

See more on the Billings Gazette

Chaske Spencer Talks to Ology About Kristen Stewart, The Fitness Campaign and More

Ology talked to Chaske Spencer about the new campaign he joined sponsored by The White House and Michelle Obama called “Let’s Move! in Indian Country”, his charity work, the end of Twilight, Kristen Stewart and the media and more.

“You’ve stuck up for Kristen Stewart in interviews before. Why do you think the media is so hard on her?

I don’t know why. People need to back off her. She’s really a nice girl. I just don’t think she’s into the whole game. I kind of feel that way too in the sense that, “Why do I have to keep selling myself to the media to watch a movie? Why can’t you just look at the work?” I think she does that and she’s a really nice person. If you sit down and have coffee with her or chill out with her one-on-one or in a group, she’s really a cool person. I tip my hat to her for not catering to the media. Because in the end, we’re just actors. We like to work. We like to be other people. That’s what we do. We’re not celebrities. That’s the thing. I don’t think she wants to be a celebrity. She’s not a reality show star. She’s just a person who wants to work as an actress. People need to back off from her.

Right.

That’s how today’s culture [is]. We’re surrounded by people who just want to know who you’re dating and your personal life, and it’s different nowadays then it was back maybe 15 years ago, almost 20 years ago. You were able to have a private life, do your work and people [could] judge you on that. I remember I didn’t know sh*t about Sean Penn. I just knew he was a great actor. You didn’t know about his personal life too much. Same thing with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. But nowadays, it’s like you have to sell a part of your soul to launch a movie. I don’t like that part. I’m really trying hard not to do it. But somedays, you just have to play the game and that just sucks.”

See more on Ology

Chaske Spencer to Support White House’s Let’s Move! in Indian Country Initiative

chaskespencerheadshot2According the the White House Press release:

The Office of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative and four federal agencies today launched Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC).  LMIC is an initiative to support and advance the work that tribal leaders and community members are already doing to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native children.  As a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, LMIC brings together federal agencies, communities, nonprofits, corporate partners and tribes to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in Indian Country within a generation.

The LMIC initiative was launched today at an event at the Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin where  Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk was joined by the Office of the First Lady Let’s Move! Initiative Executive Director Robin Schepper, White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Associate Director Charlie Galbraith, USDA Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Lisa Pino, and IHS Director for Improving Patient Care Program Lyle A. Ignace M.D., M.P.H.  Also joining the Administration officials were Actor Chaske Spencer from the Twilight series, Nike N7 General Manager Sam McCracken and Nike N7 Fund Board of Directors Ernie Stevens, as well as National Congress of American Indians Board Secretary Matthew Wesaw, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Consultant for Health and Physical Education John W. Hisgen, and Menominee Tribal Chairman Randal Chevalier.

“Through Let’s Move! in Indian Country we have an opportunity to engage Native communities, schools, tribes, the private sector, and non-profits to work together to tackle this issue head on,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.  “Tribes can sign up to become part of Let’s Move! in Indian Country, elders can mentor children about traditional foods and the importance of physical activity, and families can incorporate healthy habits like eating vegetables or participating in the President’s Active Lifestyle Award into their everyday life.”

“Interior is proud to partner with our federal family in support of the First Lady’s call to combat childhood obesity in Indian Country,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  “Educating all youth about the benefits of leading an active lifestyle and outdoor recreation is a vital step in creating healthier communities and generations.”

“As the principal agency tasked with protecting the health of all Americans, HHS is at the forefront in tackling the growing epidemic of childhood obesity not only in Indian Country, but also across the nation,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “Working together to help our children live more active lives is one of the biggest steps we can take to improve our nation’s health.”

“This is a special day for the Tribes and for USDA.  Let’s Move in Indian Country, will help promote healthy eating and physical activity among Native Americans and is an important part of the effort to reduce teen and childhood obesity,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  “Through initiatives like Let’s Move!, ‘Fuel up to Play 60’ and the People’s Garden, the Obama administration is working to get kids to become active and ensure they will have full, rich and healthy lives.”

“Today’s launch is a great example of the positive change we can support in Indian Country. By bringing together numerous government agencies, tribes, schools, communities and the private sector to focus on the health and welfare of Indian Country we can make a difference in the lives of Native youth and families,” Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk said.  “Menominee is a powerful demonstration that we can all do our part to accomplish this goal.”

“We are absolutely honored to be the launch site for this important national campaign for Indian Country. I can attest that there is no better place for this initiative.  The Menominee Reservation ranks 72 out of 72 in health factors and outcomes associated with high diabetes and heart disease rates,” said Chairman Chevalier.  “Becoming a healthier community starts with our children, so I am delighted that we can address these issues in such a comprehensive way.”

Childhood obesity is a national health crisis in America.  Over the past three decades, rates of childhood obesity in this country have tripled.  Today, nearly one in three children in the U.S. is overweight or obese.  An equal proportion—one in three—of all children born after 2000 will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives—an all-time high.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are twice as likely to be overweight than the general population.  These children make up the only racial or ethnic group whose obesity rates increased between 2003 and 2008.  The acute nature of this problem in Indian Country warrants a targeted initiative like LMIC to support culturally proficient strategies for ensuring access to healthy food and prenatal services, implementing nutrition and physical education programs, and engaging Native youth, parents, and communities in active, healthy lifestyle choices.

LMIC has four main goals: (1) create a healthy start on life for children, (2) create healthy learning communities, (3) ensure families access to healthy, affordable, traditional foods, and (4) increase opportunities for physical activity.

To accomplish these goals, Let’s Move! in Indian Country will:

  • Launch a new webpage and toolkit that includes step-by-step assistance, resources  and information for schools, tribes and organizations on accessing federal programs and grants to combat childhood obesity/diabetes in Indian Country at www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry.
  • Certify all 14 federally run IHS obstetrics facilities as Baby Friendly Hospitals by 2012.
  • Launch new on-line PSAs featuring Sam Bradford, quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, and Tahnee Robinson, the first female full-blood American Indian athlete to be drafted to the Women’s National Basketball Association.  Both are Nike N7 Athlete Ambassadors encouraging Native youth to lead healthy, active lives.  Nike N7 is Nike, Inc.’s long-term commitment and comprehensive program to bring access to sports to Native American and Aboriginal communities.  For more information, visit www.niken7.com and http://www.doi.gov/letsmove/indiancountry/index.cfm.
  • Issue the 25,000-person Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge this summer in Indian Country.  Six thousand Native youth have already completed the challenge and received a certificate from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition.   To learn more about the Challenge, visit www.presidentschallenge.org/lmic.
  • Announce a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services programs, the National Society for American Indian Elderly, Boys and Girls Clubs in Indian Country, and Southwest Youth Services to place 200 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associations in Indian Country to support LMIC implementation, positive youth development, and healthy lifestyles in at least 15 states.  In addition, CNCS, with support from the Nike N7 Fund, will place full-time, year-long AmeriCorps VISTA members with organizations promoting physical activity and sport on Native lands.
  • Engage celebrity spokespersons in getting out the message including, Sam Bradford (Cherokee Nation)* and Tahnee Robinson (Northern Cheyenne)*, Chicago Bears player Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne)*, Olympic runner Alvina Begay (Navajo Nation)* and Twilight film actor Chaske Spencer (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation).  (*These spokespeople are also N7 athlete ambassadors.)
  • Encourage 363 “Just Move It” tribal partners to mobilize locally PALA walks, runs and other on-reservation family-oriented activities across Indian Country.