Twilight Lexicon Interviews Edi Gathegi

EdiNewMoonWe had the opportunity to interview Edi Gathegi at the creation Entertainment Official Twilight convention in Arlington, VA a few weeks ago. Edi took 5 minutes out of his busy schedule to give a brief run down on the Twilight experience and what he has in store next.

Laura: So one of the things actors usually talk about is how acting is this life long process.  You never stop learning with acting, and you’ve had the chance to work with two really great directors – Catherine Hardwicke and Chris Weitz.  What do you think you’ve learned from Catherine and brought into your ensemble?  And what do you feel the same way with Chris?  What do you think you got from each of those directors that you didn’t have before?  Or maybe a new respect for something having worked for them?

Edi: I’ll start with Chris Weitz.  He’s a great director and amazing in so many different ways.  But I think in the nature of New Moon with the CGI was a completely different experience for me.  I grew up watching big, epic, cinematic films, but I didn’t have that concept of how you make a movie like that.

Laura: Yeah, like Star Wars.

Edi:  And then when you get to be in a movie where you have technical people on set and they’re holding up, you know, Styrofoam cows and telling you, just act here and we’re gonna insert it later, that just opened up my eyes to the inner workings of how a movie like that comes together.  So I think I’ve learned certain things technically from Chris Weitz that I didn’t know before hand.

But I’ve worked with a lot of different directors on a lot of different projects.  I mean, my whole background was theatre so I’ve worked with directors who were only concerned with the moment to moment, just relationships with characters.  The thing that’s different in a film is that there’s a lot more that goes into it.  So the director might only be partially concerned with character.  They’re worried about budget.  They’re worried about time.  They’re worried about scene.  Like location and a lot of these other technical aspects that directors in theatre don’t consider, you know what I mean?

Laura: Yeah, that doesn’t come into play.

Edi: The kind of director that I’m really excited to work with, not to say that Catherine and Chris weren’t this, but the kind of director who doesn’t have that much pressure from studios that gets to spend time on each moment with every character.

Laura: That’s great.  What about your fellow cast mates, the actors in the movie? Like you said, how do you pick a favorite out of all these guys you worked with?  [On stage Edi had been asked who his favorite actor in the Twilight film was and his response was, “Well whose your favorite child? You can’t pick!”]Sometimes when you’re on set with somebody, you just kind of have the moment where you click as an actor and you can’t predict that.  It’s just chemistry.  Anybody with Twilight you feel like you had that moment where you clicked and you like to work with them again?

Edi: Well, off the bat, the first that comes to mind is Rachelle.  But I think just generally when you’re working in the television and film industry – and this is a gross generalization – but generally you connect with a lot of people, because you guys speak the same language.  It’s the common vocabulary of what it is to be an artist in this business.  So you all have sort of a commonality where you’re gonna connect with a lot of people.  But with Rachelle it was like, “Oh, we’ve got the same sense of humor!  Oh, we have the same interests.  Oh, you’re like the female version of me! Let’s freaking party!  Let’s hang out!” So we became friends.

But then again, everyone in the cast got along very well.  I still hang out with Taylor.  I see Kellan every now and again with my friends.  I see Nikki a lot.  Peter and I always make plans and then fall apart.  Like last night, he’s here and I’m like, “Uh, I’m too tired Peter, and we reschedule for LA?” “I never see you in LA!” “That’s cause you’ve got kids… and a wife.  Let’s set a night.  Go hang out.” He has poker nights every now and then, and I do that.

But a lot of the casts are friends.  But Rachelle was the first person that came to mind because, naturally I was doing most of my scenes with her.

Laura: You talked about how you were going to go over to the UK.  [Edi had given a Q and A on stage at the convention mentioning a project he would be working on in the UK. He had studied theater there briefly when he was a student and has always wanted to go back, but gave no details about his upcoming project.] I’m such an Anglophile, so that rocks, and I’m a big theatre person from New York.

Edi: YEAH!  Me too!

Laura: I’m curious, can you say who the director is or can you expand any more on that project?  If not, what can you tell us about upcoming work?

Edi: I think I can talk about this one.  It’s not completely done, but I can talk about it.  I can’t talk about this other thing that’s really exciting.

Laura: No problem!  That’s okay!  We can just say you’re really excited about something else, but you can’t say.

Edi: This other project is called 50/50.   It’s like True Romance meets Snatch.

Laura: Oh wow!  That’s an awesome combo!

Edi: And I get to play this British gangster and he’s the wild card.  He’s dangerous and funny.  It’s cockney and I have a deal with the director: if I can’t sound completely authentic, then were’ just going to go Jamaican or something.

Laura: HAHA!

Edi: So I have a month where I can get my cockney accent down.

Laura: Awesome!  I can’t wait till it comes out!  Thank you!

We would like to thank Edi for taking the time to speak with us and to Creation for the opportunity!  We are looking forward to interviewing another member of the Twilight family in Vancouver this coming weekend.

Rachelle Lefevre at Oprah’s Mother’s Day Walk

Rachelle LeFevre took part in a charity walk in New York City on Mother’s Day that was organized by Oprah Winfrey. A variety of causes earned money. Rachelle was specifically raising money for Best Friends Animal Society which is an organization that provides education on responsible pet ownership, encourages adoptions, etc. Rachelle met her goal and raised $1,250 for the cause. Rachelle and her boyfriend, Jamie,  are HUGE pet lovers. They sadly lost their dog Honey earlier this year right, but they are still the proud owners of Jack Sprat and Momma Bear, two rescue adoptees.

Before starting the walk Rachelle took the time out to chat with some Brazilian fans and to give one a birthday shout out.

Jackson Rathbone Interviewed For College Papers for Airbender

jacksonAirheadVarious College Newspapers had a conference call with Jackson Rathbone to talk about his upcoming role in The Last Airbender. Santa Monica College’s The Corsair was one of the lucky publications.

“The name Jackson Rathbone isn’t one many are familiar with, which is shocking considering Rathbone plays Jasper in the “Twilight” saga, is a member of the band100 Monkeys, and is an indie producer and director.

Rathbone recently finished filming the “The Last Airbender” with director M. Night Shyamalan. The film, based on the Nickelodeon animated TV series, ties the four elements (air, water, earth and fire) together after a brutal war is launched. A century has passed since the destruction began and little has been done to change the situation. Rathbone’s character, Sokka, works alongside the four elements to reestablish peace in the world.

Following is an excerpt of a conference call interview that Rathbone had with nine colleges across the country in regards to the film.

Santa Monica College: How did you prepare for your role as Sokka?

JR: There were two months or so of intense Kung Fu training in Los Angeles for three hours a day. We had two weeks of rehearsals in Philadelphia where we ran through the scenes and the process was very natural. Shyamalan is a very natural director; it was very easy to work with him.

Northwestern University: Since you were so busy filming, what did you do when you had free time?

I never really like to have free time. While I wasn’t filming the movie, I was also performing with my band, as well as starting to produce a film with a bandmate, Jared Anderson. I was also busy getting the trailer ready for that project as well as new songs with the band when I got home at night. I don’t really tend to have much “off time.”

See more on the Corsair site. Via TwiMoms

Happy Mother’s Day 2010

This is our annual Mother’s Day post first written about three years ago by Pel.

I know that we are all in love with Stephenie’s literary babies, but more importantly, Stephenie is the Mom to three boys.  Hats off to Stephenie and to all the Supermoms out out there, today is your day!

From personal experience, as a Mom, like Stephenie, who works outside the home (note I didn’t say working mom, because as any mom can tell you it’s work…period.), it’s hard to balance the “office work” and the “mom work” in a society that is critical of you no matter what your choice.

Kudos, to stay-at-home moms like Alphie, who has two children under six. Stay -at home-moms (SAHM) sacrifice all kinds of things to make sure kids are successful a their first dance recitals, put up with cranky after and before nap behavior, and run a household pretty much single-handedly better than a corporate CEO with a fleet of paid support staff.

Special shout out to all the single Moms. In the past year I have a whole new respect for the ladies who do it on their own because life has left them (for whatever reason) with no other choice.  The manage all the above and have no one to depend on but themselves. Round of applause and my deepest admiration for you ladies.

Moms of every type need to be cut a break, because let’s face it, without us none of you would be here! So, make your mom’s day and tell her “thanks”, and if you really want to make it special tell her thanks next Sunday too.

Robert Pattinson Gets Unexpected Musician Award

rob guitarAccording to their press release, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) announced that :

“Past and present headliners Robert Pattinson, Johnny Depp, Halle Berry, Thomas Edison, Alan Greenspan, and Steven Spielberg are among the list of “Unexpected Musicians” in the world of film, television, politics, business and science, unveiled today by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). Celebrating music makers and promoting music education, NAMM revealed the notable list, known as the Unexpected Musicians Celebrity Database, as part of the fourth annual National Wanna Play Music Week, May 3-7.

Legitimate Twilight Related Open Casting For Burger King

There are so many bogus Twilight related casting scams out there that we are happy to announce one that is actually for real. So, if you live in the immediate New York City area, you are in luck. Summit has verified that it is legit and it is for Burger King. According to the official information that is being done through the group actor cast:

“In anticipation of the new movie “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” an open call hosted on ActorCast.com is looking for the biggest Edward fans and the biggest Jacob fans out there. We want you to tell us why you’re on Team Jacob or why you’re on Team Edward.

Convince us. Prove to us why Edward or Jacob is the right choice for Bella. Or why Edward or Jacob is just simply your personal favorite. It can be because you think Edward is Bella’s true love. Or because you know some super obscure fact about Jacob that makes you like him more. We just want your honest feelings.

ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE FREE AND MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT, May 12, 2010 YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD TO SUBMIT AND LIVE IN THE TRI-STATE AREA OF NY, NJ OR CT OR WITHIN REASONABLE DRIVING DISTANCE OF NEW JERSEY OR CONNECTICUT.”

Burger King first connected to the Twilight movies with New Moon and according to the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, it was a huge success. Get full instructions here on how to submit your entry!

Jacob and Isabella Top Popular Baby Names Lists Again

BellaJakeEclipsebike

According to USA Today:

Twilight is spawning more than just sequels. The film seems to be inspiring new parents.

According to the Social Security Administration, Isabella (the full name of Kristen Stewart’s Bella character) replaced Emma as the most popular baby name for girls in 2009. Among the boys, Jacob (the werewolf played by Taylor Lautner) retained its 11-year-run at the top of boys list.”

See other naming trends on USA Today.

Facepunch Trailer Winners!

We had tons of entries for this contest and deciding was really hard. All we can say is a lot of you have friends and family who are really good sports about being fake sucker-punched.  We were laughing our heads off at everything from montages of re-cut Buffy episodes to live action running all over town.  In the end there were three that stood out.

First Place!

Second place!

Third Place!

Winners check your inboxes for an email on how to receive your prize of autographed New Moon merchandise.

We’d also like to recognize these two honorable mentions:

Honorable mention 1

Honorable mention 2

Give Nashville a Hand

As many of you know Alphie (Lori) is from the Nashville area. Nashville was hit with a rainstorm that brought two feet and more of water in under 48 hours. It created massive flooding that no one had anytime or warning to prepare for. Famous locations like Civil War historical sites and The Grand Ole Opry were flooded. Alphie’s family was fortunate enough to live on high ground and only had to worry about the relatively minor inconveniences of temporary loss of power and Internet and driving a very round about way to get out of her subdivision.

Others however were not as fortunate. One of our local Nashville friends and budding YA author, Myra McEntire, has organized an auction with proceeds going to Nashville relief. If any of you have ever attended our Nashville movie events, Myra has been the person behind the scenes helping us tote giveaways and stuff bags. Items from various authors such as signed copies or offers to critique your own writing are up for big. Check out Myra’s auction site for details. You can also find Myra on Twitter here and get links to her other sites from there.  Co-organizers for Do the Write Thing for Nashville are  Victoria Schwab and Amanda Morgan, also authors from the Nashville area.

Video: Ashley Greene Behind the Scenes at Nylon