Exclusive Interview: Kirsten Prout is Lucy in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE

Nineteen-year-old Canadian born actress Kirsten Prout has been making a name for herself in film and television, since getting bitten by the acting but at the very young age of two. After her feature film debut in 2005 as Abby, sidekick to Jennifer Garner's character in the superhero flick Elektra, she went on to play Amanda, the girl-next-door love interest for Kyle on the ABC Family drama Kyle XY.

This June, Kirsten Prout will be in her most visible project to date, as vampire Lucy in the highly anticipated The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. In the third installment of the popular film franchise, her character is seen in flashbacks that give insight into the backstory of Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) and how he was created.

In this exclusive interview, the rising star talked to IESB about the experience of playing her darkest role yet, in such a high-profile film.

IESB: What initially drew you to acting? Since you were so young when you started, were you even aware of what you were doing?

Kirsten: When I was younger, I used to watch television and Disney movies, and that kind of thing, and it started out as just wanting to play characters and just a love of story. I had a very active imagination. I was making requests to my parents, not necessarily to get into film or television, but to play characters. And my mom, for a long time, understandably didn't want to expose her child to an industry with so much rejection. So for years, I would just keep asking and asking, and eventually I figured out that I could actually make a career of it and it was called being an actress.

Finally, when I was 10 years old, she let me go to my first audition because she thought I'd just get it out of my system. She thought I'd just go and nothing would happen, and I'd just give up on it. So, I went to auditions and I actually started doing well. It was something that I really loved to do. As soon as I started working on television, in shows and playing characters, I just knew that's what I had to do. I was never a commercial kid. I told my mother and my agent, when I was 11 years old and so pretentious, "Yeah, I think I'm going to pass on doing commercials." I was always just in it because I love storytelling and I love getting into the mind-set of different characters. It just snowballed from there.

IESB: Was there something specific that made you realize acting could be a career?

Kirsten: I knew that I wanted to be a Disney princess, or experiencing the life of someone on a television show that I loved. I just realized that actors are the people that did that, and therefore I should become an actor to do it. I was pretty young when I decided that it was what I wanted to do and that it's what I love.

Q: How did you get involved with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse? Was it just a regular audition?

Kirsten: Yeah, it was just a regular audition. I had just come off of two films, and it was after Kyle XY, which was a television show I worked on for three years. I had been working on it for so long and, before that, I hadn't taken a real break because I had been working steadily since I was 10 years old. So, at the end of Kyle XY, which also happen to coincide with the end of my high school career, I decided to go off to University and leave the industry. I went for a year to McGill University and I majored in English literature, and I took all my advanced classes that I prepared for in high school, and I had a great time there. I got straight A's and was on the honor roll. But then, when I came back to Vancouver during the summer, I went for an audition because it was what I was used to doing, and I booked it. And then, I booked something right after that was a mini-series that would shoot into the school year. So, at that point, I decided to put off going back to University.

I had just come off of two shows and, in between filming them, I had gone for Eclipse. I read for a different vampire, called Bree, who is a brunette with short, short hair that is 13 years old and completely not me, but I went for the audition just because it was a big project. I can tell you that I've never felt that level of nervousness in an audition room, in my whole career. I had read the books, but it hadn't really sunk in what a huge phenomenon Twilight was. I went into it and it was an important audition, but I wasn't really nervous. I was just focusing on my work, but a lot of people were just so stressed out. I went to the audition room, and then I heard back about the audition that I was wrong for the character, but they wanted me to come back for another vampire that was essentially the same size role and everything, except she had long blonde hair, was extremely pale and was older. So I went in, did one audition and a week later, I got a call and then showed up on set. It was pretty rapid. I only had one audition for it because I'd already auditioned for another character and they'd seen what I could do.

IESB: Had you seen Twilight before auditioning?

Kirsten: Yeah, I had. I was very familiar with the franchise, just because my younger sister was reading the books. I was curious about what she was reading because she was just going through them like nothing. I was like, "What is that?" And she said, "It's Twilight. It's a vampire romance." And I was like, "Oh, that sounds kind of cool." I started reading it and I just shot through it. It was very readable stuff. And I'd seen the movie because everyone's seen it.

IESB: What can you say about your character in Eclipse? How does she fit into the story?

Kirsten: Without revealing too much, Lucy is one of the vampires that turns Jasper, played by Jackson Rathbone. Jasper gets turned while he is an officer, and I'm one of the vampires that causes Jasper to be turned during his military career. Lucy appears to be an innocent little victim, and then she turns into something a lot more sinister.

IESB: Is Lucy the darkest character you've ever played?

Kirsten: I've always been on the good side. I've never played a villain, in my entire career. I'm the girl next door, or the girl who helps out, or the girl that makes an innocent escape. For once, I got to look all innocent and have that angelic quality, and then, all of a sudden, turn into something really dark. That was fun for me. That was the first villain that I've ever played.

IESB: Did you do anything to get to know Jackson before filming, or did you just click right away?

Kirsten: We actually got along really well. We met in the make-up trailer, during the make-up testing, before filming even started. When I first got the part, they had to figure out whether they had to airbrush you, which in my case they didn't really because I'm already pale enough. But, they take a look at you, and design your hair and the hair pieces you're going to wear, and all that. So, I met Jackson when he was getting his hair done. He was getting his hair dyed by the on-set stylist, and he was getting weird patterns shaved into it underneath, which was kind of funny.

IESB: Playing a vampire, were you at all disappointed that you weren't going to get to wear fangs?

Kirsten: When I was reading the books, I was very surprised that there weren't fangs. The vampires in the Twilight Saga don't have fangs. We sparkle. No, I wasn't disappointed. The thing is, a lot of the actors that have been hired have very nice teeth that are very noticeable. They've picked people with teeth that stand out. It's more threatening. You notice that there's something different about that person's teeth, but it's not fangs. It's not obvious. You don't know you're going to get bitten. I was not disappointed. When someone tells you you're going to be a vampire in Twilight, the reaction is not disappointment. I've had to deal with prosthetic teeth and it's not fun.

IESB: How secretive were they with you, when you were auditioning? Did you get to read actual scenes?

Kirsten: No. The technique that they used for the audition was that they made the scenes exact transcripts from the book. It was very strange to audition with them because they were written to be read and they weren't adapted yet. They didn't give the screenplay out. So, the audition side was just reading a page of Twilight and reading the lines that were interspersed between the descriptions. That's what it was like. They could never distribute that. Even when I got the job, the secrecy was so high in the Twilight world.

IESB: While you were shooting, did you have any experiences with the paparazzi?

Kirsten: Oh, yeah. The first day that Jackson came into work, he almost tripped on the stairs, coming out of his house, because there were so many photographers that he couldn't even see. The circus around all the trailers and everything was crazy. They had giant black dividers to keep paparazzi out. On the first day, they took down all the signage and blocked everything out. All the actors had to wear bathrobes to cover their wardrobe in between scenes. It was really intense.

I was born and raised in Vancouver, and I've done a lot of film work in Vancouver. I worked with Jennifer Garner on Elektra and there was a lot of paparazzi on that as well. But, Vancouver has changed a lot since Twilight. It's changed the whole media culture there. We didn't used to have paparazzi. You'd get five, tops. And then, on Twilight, all of a sudden it was like, "Where did all these photographers come from?" They were hiding everywhere. There were hundreds, just waiting. It's part of the whole phenomenon of Twilight. You have to just take it as it comes because it's just nuts.

IESB: How was David Slade, as a director? Had you been familiar with any of his previous work?

Kirsten: Yeah, I had. He's a great guy because his way of working is so open. He just says, "Do what you do," and lets you play with it. If he has notes, he gives them to you, but he's a very open director. He keeps it light. He loves his job and he's very serious about it. He's a great director.

IESB: What is Seven Deadly Sins and who do you play in that?

Kirsten: I play a character named Miranda. It's a cool concept because each character, and there's seven main character, all have a sin. It's a story that revolves around the sin that we perpetrate and how it changes the plot. It starts off with a very basic high school group of friends, but it slowly unravels. Through envy, sloth and all the sins, it slowly turns into this situation which is very high drama.

It was good to work on a drama and have some gritty material. My sin was envy. My character starts out as a good girl and, throughout the movie, because she's envious, she becomes harder and harder and more deceitful. By the end of the film, she's completely different and she's definitely learned a lesson. I really enjoyed working on that. The actors were just phenomenal. We had a great time together. We filmed in Victoria and all stayed in the same hotel. It was like staying in a sorority and a frat house combined.

IESB: Are you personally more like Miranda in Seven Deadly Sins, or are you more like Amanda from Kyle XY?

Kirsten: Amanda was very sweet and docile, and she didn't have that kick or bite to her. I think I'm more like Miranda because she has a bit of an edge to her and she stands up for herself. She's got more of a strength. I think I'm more like Miranda. I can kick butt when I have to.

IESB: Do you enjoy working in these types of ensembles? As an actor, is that something that you feel helps you learn from the other actors?

Kirsten: Oh, yeah. Also, because I grew up in the film industry, I've been working with people who are older than me, my whole life. Even on Kyle XY, everyone else was hired to be a 17-year-old, and I wasn't even 17 yet. I got hired when I was 14, so I was playing 17 when I was 14. I've always been around people that are older. So when I see a cast, and I'm at that age where I'm around people who are my peers, it's very exciting for me to come onto a set and have that bonding opportunity.

Working with the cast of Twilight, that's so young, and also working with the cast of Seven Deadly Sins, with a lot of up and coming actors who are very seasoned, we're able to learn from each other and everyone understands what you're going through. Everyone is going through the same thing. So, it's great. I look forward to doing it more.

IESB: When you work on projects that are based on novels, like with the Twilight Saga and Seven Deadly Sins, do you like to use that source material, or do you prefer to just stick with what is in the script?

Kirsten: With Twilight, the plot is basically just rearranged to fit a film. I had to read the books because it's so similar and I wanted to get all the subtext of what's been written to learn what the characters were thinking. In the script, you don't get that. In a book, you have someone tell you what everyone's thinking. That was an important tool for me to use. It's far more similar than other projects that I've worked on that have adapted books into screenplays.

Whereas with Seven Deadly Sins, it was a concept that was based on the book, but it's entirely different. The plot is completely different than the books. And, my character is supposed to have a huge nose, be a redhead and be super-gawky. She never makes a transformation into something sexier, which my character does, by the end of the film. She's the dork of the entire story. If I had read the books before auditioning, I would have totally had a different way of going into the audition room. But, I was told that, because the concept was taken from the books, but it was so different, that I shouldn't even read them. So going into it, I prepared for the role without reading about the other characters. Of course, I read the books after I had the part and I read the script and understood the concept, just to get a taste for it and to get into the author's mind. I just read it for fun. Honestly, it was so different. Some of the characters are similar, but my character was completely taken out and changed to fit the new plot

IESB: What was the experience of making Meteor Storm like?

Kirsten: It's about the end of the world. To be honest, I had just come out of University and I was looking for something that I had never done before, that was so nuts and crazy. I just wanted to get back into the industry, get back on a set and just do something that was completely different. I read Meteor Storm and it was just fun. It will have a cult audience of people who are into apocalyptic films. It was so much fun to film. I love the two actors that I worked with, Brett Dier and Travis Nelson. They were my age, and we had a great time making the film. But, that said, what I do enjoy more are character studies, more like Seven Deadly Sins or Eclipse, where I can actually get into a stylized character.

IESB: Who do you play in Meteor Storm?

Kirsten: She's just the average teenage girl. The film is about a completely average, normal American family has to cope with an extremely crazy situation. For me, it was just about taking it and stripping it down to the basics. It was about wondering, "How would a normal person naturally react to something that's so unbelievable?" That was a good exercise for me.

IESB: When you make a movie with that type of subject matter, do you try not to think about the reality of something like that ever happening?

Kirsten: I don't really think about the world being destroyed. Sometimes it's fun, just in the creative process. I was in a scene where things were blowing up, and I stopped to think, "If this actually happened in my everyday life, what would my reaction be?" It's very easy, as an actor, to just go, "Oh, my God!," and scream. But, it's the actors that pause and take the time to give that look like, "What the hell is happening!?," that seem more real. That was fun for me to play with.

IESB: Would you consider doing another television series?

Kirsten: Yeah, totally. The thing with my career is that I've never said, "I'm only going to do this. I'm only going to do that." For me, seeing material that I like is the most important part. I look for something that I'm passionate about. If a television series came my way and I read the script and loved it, I would totally do another television series. But, if I read a feature film and I absolutely adored it, I would go for that as well. It's about the character, the story and what I connect with. And, it's about where I am in my career, at that point.

IESB: Where would you like to see your career go next?

Kirsten: I love dramatic roles. I love situational comedy with a darker sense of humor. I love playing those characters that are going through a struggle or something darker. I watched The Road recently, and I'm not saying that I would want something as dark as that, but that was something that showed me how these small choices that you can make, with such high stakes and such drama, that would be the ultimate challenge, as an actor. So, I'd love to do something darker. I've been reading some scripts that are not as bright as Little Miss Sunshine, but they're around that area. It's that humor and that everyday struggle and those weird events that just make you laugh, but are serious, at the same time. I'd love to do something that I could just explore a little more, that's a little more dramatic.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE opens in theaters June 30, 2010

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Interview: THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND with Bryce Dallas Howard

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is a new drama based on a recently rediscovered original screenpla

By by legendary writer Tennessee Williams. Widely considered the most important American playwright of the post-World War II era, Williams wrote the screenplay at the height of his late-1950's heyday, amid such classic plays-turns-films, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly, Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth and Orpheus Descending.

Set in the Roaring Twenties, in the town of Memphis, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond tells the story of Fisher Willow (Bryce Dallas Howard), a headstrong young heiress who is bothered by the constraints of proper Southern society and who rebels by asking the impoverished but handsome son of her father's caretaker, Jimmy Dobyne (Chris Evans), to escort her to the major social events of the season. Although their relationship starts off as purely a business arrangement, Fisher discovers that she really loves Jimmy, but she finds it impossible to earn the affection she tried to buy.

At the film's press day, Bryce Dallas Howard talked about playing the dueling strength and fragility of the quintessential Williams heroine, as well as what it's been like to be a part of the big film franchises, Spider-Man, Terminator and now the Twilight Saga, in which she is taking over the role of vampire villain Victoria in Eclipse, due out in June 2010.

Q: This is a great time in your career, being in such big franchises as Spider-Man, Terminator and the Twilight Saga, and you got to do this recently re-discovered, long-lost Tennessee Williams film. What is this period in your life like right now?

Bryce: I just feel really lucky. To get to originate a Tennessee Williams heroine is not anything that I ever thought to even go for. You don't think that those kinds of roles would ever be available. It was extraordinary. For me, whether or not a film has some kind of massive budget or is an independent film, or however it's getting made, it's always about the filmmaker and, hopefully, being a vessel for the filmmaker's vision. That's what really attracts me to projects.

With this, it was really Tennessee Williams and Jodie, and just her deeply profound understanding of what Williams intended for this piece, and then her own perspective and interpretation of that. It was so exciting to me. I just feel really lucky to have gotten to do this.

Q: Is being a Tennessee Williams heroine a genre unto itself? Did you try to put all of those other characterizations out of your mind while doing this?

Bryce: No. I really valued going through his canon of work and studying the great performances that had already been captured on celluloid and reading about the great theatrical performances because, in my opinion, he was a very singular writer and he had particular themes that it seems he was consistently fascinated by. There's an iconic Williams female character that you see elements of, over and over and over again, which is a woman ahead of her time, who's being suffocated by the world and who's too bright, too clever and too sensitive to really survive and feel grounded. So, to go through and watch Blanche DuBois and Maggie the Cat, who are these really iconic characters that he had created, and steal, to be honest, was something that was helpful to me.

Q: When you were watching those various performances, did you try to mimic the way they spoke at all?

Bryce: No, not that so much. We had this wonderful gentleman, Tim Monich, who was really helpful.

Q: There are a lot of words in this film. What was that like to adapt your acting to that approach?

Bryce: I come from a little bit of a theatrical background. I started that way. I don't have a tremendous body of work or anything, but I went to drama school. And so, to get to do a piece where the characters get to talk a lot, and that isn't just about the spectacle or the set piece, or is simply visual or movement based. It was really wonderful for me, and juicy and exciting. So, I didn't feel like there needed to be an adaptation to a different kind of style. It's just that the characters are speaking their mind. As opposed to it just being an expression, they're actually saying what's on their mind, and that's something that Tennessee Williams is really famous for. Shakespeare does that and Tennessee Williams does that. You crave that, when you're an actor, for sure.

Q: How did you go about approaching this in such a grounded way?

Bryce: I didn't consciously do that. I was always on set asking for line readings.

Q: What was it like to work with Chris Evans?

Bryce: Chris comes from a theater background as well and he really values rehearsal. It was such a relief to work with him because usually I feel like I'm the one harassing people to do it again, and he was right there. We'd rehearse pretty consistently until four in the morning. It's a very nuanced relationship. There's this shift in dominant-submissive that keeps happening throughout the film. This is Tennessee Williams. We wanted to do our best and give it our best go.

I just felt really lucky to work with him, for that reason. I remember looking on the monitor one day, and I was like, "Oh, my God, he looks like Paul Newman." There's something classic about him. He has this classic, strong, leading man presence, and is just such a wonderful person as well.

Q: What did they doing to your look for Eclipse, since you are stepping in to play an already established character?

Bryce: I'm wearing a wig for that film, so that there's a very grounded visual continuity for the character, which is critical.

Q: Isn't it a bigger role in the third film?

Bryce: Well, as written in the book, Victoria becomes the primary predator of Bella in Eclipse.

Q: You're going to be doing the Clint Eastwood film Hereafter next. What can you say about that?

Bryce: Oh, goodness, that's actually the first question I've had about that. I want to be careful because I haven't spoken to anyone on the film, as far as what I can share. But, it's a Clint Eastwood film, written by Peter Morgan and starring Matt Damon. I play opposite him. It's an incredible story. I'm really going to be totally vague because I don't want to speak out of turn. I just got hired.

Q: With it being a supernatural thriller, isn't that new territory for Clint?

Bryce: Oh, possibly.

Q: Clint Eastwood is an actor who became a director, Jodie Markell is an actor who became a director and you grew up with a father (Ron Howard) who was an actor that became a director. Is there a certain comfort zone, or a certain sense that you can communicate in a different way with a director who has been on your side of the camera?
Bryce: I couldn't answer that, just because I'm not a director. But, working with directors whose history is in performance, I feel like there's a different kind of focus, as opposed to directors who are more prone to being really technically proficient or visual. I feel like there are two schools of both, and a director needs to have both.

Jodie has both, for sure. I felt really, really supported, in terms of my performance. When I had questions or when she was directing me, there was an approach that was coming from a psychological place because she's an actor, and so she knows how to speak that language. Kenneth Branagh was the same way. M. Night Shyamalan is the same way. And, that's highly effective, for a number of reasons.

Q: What is the best advice that your father ever gave you, as an actor, and the best advice he ever gave you, from a directorial standpoint?

Bryce: The best advice he gave me was that, if there was anything else I could do, to do that. You need to not be able to do anything else, to be in this business. If you have other options, in those unemployed moments, those other options will take precedent. From a directorial standpoint, I think it's really Freudian, the amount of trust I have in filmmakers because I have such a trusting relationship with my dad. He's such a mentor to me. He has never let me down, as a person. He just hasn't. And, that's translated for me with filmmakers.

I have an association that director means total authority. Director means they will never let you down. Director means just trust them and fulfill their vision, and know that the story will be told in its best incarnation. I've always felt really lucky to get to work with really great filmmakers. For me, the whole objective is just to hopefully be of service to what they want. In his persona, that's been the advice that he hasn't directly said, but I've understood.

Q: Are you going to come back for Spider-Man 4?

Bryce: I don't know. But, that was always how it was. I'm just really glad that it's going to be Sam [Raimi] and Tobey [Maguire] and Kirsten [Dunst] because they're the epicenter of that franchise. Other than the fact that it's Spider-Man, they're responsible for that. They're incredible and totally dedicated.

THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND opens on December 30th

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RADAR VIDEO INTERVIEW: Twilight Star Julia Jones Talks About Filming Eclipse

Twilight actress Julia Jones can’t wait for Eclipse to come out, and neither can fans of the Twilight movies. In part two of our exclusive interview at The Grove in Los Angeles with Julia as she shopped for her cast members, she talked about her favorite scene in New Moon and what we’ll learn about her character in the third installment of the Twilight Saga.

As the only female member of the Wolf Pack, she distinguishes herself not with a pink bow on her wolf, but tells us her wolf “is smaller than the other boys and it’s light gray.” She said that the boy wolves are “huge!”

Just like the guy wolves and the vampires, Julia had some tough physical scenes while filming Eclipse. As she filmed her scenes of becoming a werewolf she described jumping up and landing on a mattress for the action. “I realized after 18 takes that I was landing on the ground and I had dirt on my chin. I couldn’t lift my arms for four days!”

Julia, who is currently starring in the Los Angeles play Palestine, New Mexico, told RadarOnline.com's Alexis Tereszcuk about what the cast ate at craft services and what they did during their down time while filming Eclipse. “We ate a lot of chocolate, anything round that was throwable.” Julia said that Taylor Lautner has the best aim out of the bunch and “it got very competitive, how many grapes or chocolates could you get in someone’s mouth.”

Julia also described that she thinks the theme of Eclipse is immortality. “New Moon is about heartbreak. Eclipse is about immortality.”

Watch Julia talk about filming Eclipse, which will hit theaters on June 30, 2010.

Watch it HERE.

Bryce Dallas Howard Talks Twilight saga:Eclipse on ABC News Radio

Bryce Dallas Howard portraying the role of a villain vampire Victoria stopped by at ABC News Radio to talk with David Blaustein about her role in the new film “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond” and she also talks for a good six minutes about the Twilight third sequel Eclipse movie!

'Eclipse' villainBryce Dallas Howard Interview on The View

Bryce Dallas Howard a.k.a Victoria talks about working on a film right after having a child and on The View talks about Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie in the end of the interview.


Watch the Interview here!

Summit Releases Photo for Twilight Saga Eclipse

From Twilight and New Moon to Eclipse comes a new photo for fans of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Fresh on the heels of the Twilight sequel New Moon, Summit Entertainment is keeping the Twilight buzz alive with a new photo for The Twilight Saga Eclipse, which hits theaters June 30, 2010. Much like the early photos for New Moon, the new Eclipse photo features Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in a flowery field with Bella Swan played by Kristen Stewart.

Although the new Eclipse photo, and many more Twilight Saga Eclipse photos ahead, may be hard to distinguish between New Moon and Eclipse, there's no doubt that Twilighters everywhere will eat up any Eclipse photo that comes their way. Amid the rumors that Robert Pattinson and KristenStewart are a couple, any Twilight Saga Eclipse photo of Edward and Bella will certainly fuel the Pattinson and Stewart romance rumors for months to come.

Directed by David Slade, The Twilight Saga Eclipse stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone and Dakota Fanning. The big screen version of Eclipse is based on theTwilight Saga novel, Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer and screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg.

Here's a look at the newly released Twilight Saga Eclipse photo released and sent to us from Summit Entertainment.



In ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

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Eclipse actress Jodelle Ferland Shows Her Dance Moves in her Upcoming Movie

Jodelle Ferland who plays Bree in the upcoming Eclipse, is in Wonderful World co-starring Matthew Broderick. Jodelle plays Matthew’s daughter. The movie opens January 8th.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Synopsis:
A pessimistic pothead struggles with his own cynicism after his Senegalese roommate is stricken ill and an insensitive municipal employee inadvertently exacerbates an already desperate situation. Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) wanted to be a children's folk singer; instead he's become a career proofreader... and the world's worst weekend dad. But while Ben's life may be a mess, at least his regular chess games with his roommate, Ibou, offer some amount of intellectual release. That all changes when Ibou falls mysteriously ill, and his malady is compounded by the indifference of a rude municipal employee. Convinced that his negative world view has finally been confirmed, Ben channels all of his energy into a frivolous lawsuit against the city before discovering that his misanthropy may be a simple matter of perspective.

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Michael Kenneth Williams, Sanaa Lathan, View All »

Director: Joshua Goldin

Theatrical Release: 1/8/2010 (USA - Limited)

Rated: R

Run Time: 89 minutes

Released By: Magnolia Pictures

Eclipse star Bryce Dallas Howard Interview on Saturday Night Magazine

She may have a last name that rivals most Hollywood heavyweights, but don’t think Bryce Dallas Howard rose to fame riding on her father’s coattails. Before starring in big name blockbusters like Terminator Salvation and Spider-Man 3, Ron Howard’s daughter paid her dues.

Thanks to a reputable background in theater, where she caught the eye of director M. Night Shyamalan who cast her in two of his biggest films, The Village and Lady In The Water, Howard’s career has blossomed on the big screen. This month, she emerges as a 1920s debutante in Tennessee Williams’ The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond and next year will soon be seen as Victoria in the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (replacing Rachelle Lefevre). While there may still be some skeptics (nothing can stop an angry Twilight blogger after all), Howard continues to make a name for herself all on her own.

SNMag: So you have a film coming out this month, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond?
Bryce Dallas Howard: Yes, it comes out in select cities on December 30.

SNMag: Could you tell us more about the project and how you came to get involved with it?
BDH: It was such an amazing thing. I had enormous excitement when Jodie (Markell, the film's director) invited me to do the film. It was brave on her part because typically women who are pregnant don’t get movies. (laughs) But, Jodie, she’s a mother and she was incredibly inspiring and said, “You know I really think that you can do it and I will be really supportive of you and let’s play together.” That got me involved. Jodie reached out, and I’m really grateful.

SNMag: We heard that you were her first choice for the role of Fisher Willow. What are your thoughts on that?
BDH: The fact that she would feel that way is astonishing and humbling, and it was amazing to work with somebody who is also an actress because she knew this character so well. She knew this character not only from the perspective of a filmmaker but from the perspective of an actress. I could really rely on her in ways that I haven’t in previous projects. It was really great. It feels like this role was a genuine collaboration.

SNMag: What was it about the role specifically that drew you to the character?
BDH: Well, the character is very different from me and to be honest it was kind of challenging at first, for that reason, to really understand her. I think the reason why I was having difficulty in understanding her is because I operate from a very apologetic place. I just don’t like to take up a lot of space and I’m always feeling bad if I do something. I’m a people pleaser and she’s none of those things. She is totally unapologetic and every single emotion that she has, every single nuance comes from that. She doesn’t care what people think about her.

SNMag: Were you a fan of Tennessee Williams’ work before taking on this project?
BDH: Oh yes, very much so. I went to drama school and I was always really disappointed that I was never cast in any of the Williams teams. It’s such a delicious thing for an actor to do a Williams role. It is so emotional and the characters are so expansive in their emotions and how they express themselves and the language is so beautiful. I mean, to be honest, one of the reasons why I went to NYU is because when I was a junior in high school, I went and saw an NYU production of Suddenly, Last Summer and it was amazing. I wanted to go to the school. So, the possibility of acting in something that draws you in with the rich beauty of his heroine …it is just outstanding for me. That’s a huge treasure.

SNMag: When you initially applied to drama school you chose to drop your last name. Is that something that you’ve had to worry about, getting special treatment because of your father’s career?
BDH: That’s definitely something I think about a lot because I’m all about fairness. I have a huge thing about justice in life. I want to achieve things by my own merit. I’m really grateful to have a family that has an immense amount of wisdom, but I didn’t feel comfortable just going out there professionally with the Howard name. To be honest, I don’t think it would have made a difference. At the end of the day people just need an actor that does a good job. For my own well-being, I needed to remove my name at first so that I would never question that. My sister is an actress and she’s the same way. We’re just super sensitive to that. It goes back to justice and wanting to be fair. The idea that there’s another actress out there that’s better and not being hired because I know someone who is friends with my dad, I could never stomach that.

SNMag: What has it been like joining the cast of Twilight?
BDH: It’s a really extraordinary series and obviously the franchise really reflects what Stephenie Meyer has created with a lot of integrity. She’s so involved with the movies and it is really wonderful. It’s really an incredible storytelling moment. And people are really connecting with and responding to that. So I read the books and I just did my best for the character Victoria. I just wanted to do my best not to interfere with the books.

SNMag: Did you feel pressure coming into this, with the character already being established?
BDH: Yes, of course I did. Rachelle [Lefevre] did an extraordinary job at creating Victoria and part of the joy of a franchise like this is getting to see not only the characters grow but the actors continuing to grow with the characters. That’s a lot of the joy in the Harry Potter series. Every time I see one of those movies it’s so exciting to see them because they’re all getting a little bit older and different things are happening to them. It’s like watching a TV show. You start to connect with the actors really deeply. It was really unfortunate for everybody that Rachelle left. I did feel, I don’t know if I should say a pressure, but an enormous responsibility because the fans felt really strongly about the role of Victoria and they felt a deep connection to Rachelle, which they should because she is also beautiful and talented. I really did do my best and I hope that whatever work I did can somehow honor what had been created before and what was created by Stephenie. I felt really grateful to this because Rachelle and I have connected. She’s an amazing woman and has been enormously and overwhelmingly helpful.

SNMag: What was the shooting like for you? Did you have an opportunity to hang out with the cast and bond with them?
BDH: Oh, yes, I mean they’re a very tight-knit group of people who are just wonderful. They’re incredibly authentic and none of them are getting swept up by the mania of this. They just care about each other and are protective of each other. They are just a great group of friends. I feel like all of these people would have been friends regardless. They all bonded through this amazing moment that’s happening in their lives.

SNMag: Now that you’re a new mom, how do you balance motherhood and having such an intense career at the same time?
BDH: It is really challenging. I’m producing a movie in Portland right now and I fly back home to L.A. on the weekends. I have a really supportive family and my husband is like father of the year. It’s a good infrastructure of support but even then I always feel like I’m falling short. I think most mothers feel that way, especially working moms.

SNMag: What is your perfect or ideal Saturday night?
BDH: I write a lot. My ideal Saturday night is either writing or going to my favorite restaurant in L.A. called Lamill. My ideal Sunday is with family, my husband and my baby.

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'Eclipse' Star Bryce Dallas Howard Explains How She Maintained The Essence Of Victoria

Turns out Bryce Dallas Howard might not have been able to get as much into the character of Victoria as she would have liked. The "Eclipse" star said she has seen "Twilight" several times, but her husband ("Dirty Sexy Money" actor Seth Gabel) had his own reason for not being such a fan.

"Whenever Robert Pattinson would come onscreen, I would grab my husband's hands and start squeezing, and he'd be like, 'Stop squeezing my hand!'" she told MTV News.

But beyond not drooling over Rob whenever he walked around on set, Bryce said the thing she paid the most attention to during her time shooting was maintaining the continuity of Victoria's character through the transition from Rachelle Lefevre to her.

"The visual continuity of the character of Victoria is really important because such a distinctive character had been created that the fans and the audience had really connected to," Bryce said. "She's really described perfectly in the book. So that's what's really important to everybody, that there's an authenticity to bringing these characters to life. It's not really an interpretation. It's like a true representation of what's written on the page, so that's obviously incredibly important to preserve."

Though we haven't had a look at "Eclipse" yet, we hope that the change in actresses isn't a distraction during the character's biggest role in the series.

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Eclipse star Boo Boo Stewart Interview on Twilight saga:Eclipse

Clever TV interviewed Boo Boo Stewart plays Seth Clearwater about Eclipse, his musical career and more: