Jackson Rathbone Discusses Jasper's 'Eclipse' Flashbacks

Actor's big scenes in third 'Twilight' film involve riding horses, training Cullens to fight.

If "New Moon" is the low point of Jasper Hale's presence in the "Twilight" saga, then "Eclipse" is the high. When MTV News caught up with Jackson Rathbone last week on the set of his indie flick "Girlfriend," he still had two weeks of "Eclipse" filming left. Much of his shooting had been completed, and he shared some of the big scenes he had already finished.

"I got to go back into my old roots, got to ride some horses again, which was nice. Got to put these riding boots to use, which is good," Rathbone said, motioning to his boots. "I actually can ride a horse."

In "Eclipse," Jasper tells Bella (Kristen Stewart) about his life before he met Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli). Unlike Edward (Robert Pattinson), Rosalie (Nikki Reed), Esme (Elizabeth Reaser) and Emmett (Kellan Lutz), both Jasper and Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) were transformed into vampires before they met Carlisle. Jasper plays a large role in the third installment of the series because he is the only vampire among them who knows how to combat the newborn vampire army Victoria (now played by Bryce Dallas Howard) is building.

Jasper's backstory, which takes place during the Civil War, will be told through flashbacks, Rathbone confirmed. Though the explanation of Jasper's history takes up a good portion of the novel, he hinted that the film version would be shorter.

"It was just really fantastic to get to delve in there and to get to don all the Civil War regalia and whatnot. That was a pleasure," he said. "I had to wear this wool suit of a major, cavalry major. "I got the big hat and everything. Hop off the horse, bow to these ladies, and then I get eaten. And then I get turned!"

There will also be flashbacks of Jasper training newborn vampires while he's still "a bad dude, a bad vampire," Rathbone said. He added that training from another film, "The Last Airbender," including wrestling, hand-to-hand combat and weapon play, was useful since there wasn't much time to prepare for the fight scenes in "Eclipse." But Rathbone was quick to clarify none of the vampires' combat scenes would be martial art-y.

Rathbone said Jasper will tell Bella his story after a training sequence where he helps the Cullens prepare for the newborn army that's approaching.

"It's actually the first time Bella and Jasper interact that's longer than one sentence, or me attacking her," Rathbone said, laughing. "Kristen and I kept saying it was really nice to get to work together because we had never had a chance to really, kind of, like, get into some dialogue."

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Will Jackson Rathbone's 100 Monkeys Appear On 'Eclipse' Soundtrack?

'It's been talked about,' Rathbone says of including his band's tunes on the soundtrack of the third 'Twilight' installment.

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Unlike the "Twilight" soundtrack, the collection for "New Moon" — which hit stores Friday — did not include any music created by actors in the film. For those who remember, "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke pushed for the songs "Never Think" and "Let Me Sign" by Robert Pattinson to be included in the film.

But as many Twi-hards know, Pattinson isn't the only star from the saga with musical talent. Fellow vampire Jackson Rathbone has a band as well, 100 Monkeys, who were recently announced to be creating the soundtrack for his indie film "Girlfriend." Not to be outdone by Pattinson, Rathbone shared with us that his group would also submit songs for potential inclusion on the "Eclipse" soundtrack.

"It's been talked about, but it's one of those things," Rathbone said when asked if he had been approached to have songs on the previous soundtracks. "We're going to be kind of giving some of our songs off of our upcoming album for them to see if they want to put on 'Eclipse.' "

Earlier this year, Rathbone talked with MTV about having a song on the "New Moon" soundtrack.

"We'd love it," Rathbone said. "[But] we're not really pushing for it. It's one of those things where if they want to put our song on the album, I'm not going to complain."

When we talked to him on the set of "Girlfriend," he echoed similar sentiments.

"It's one of those things that we're not really pressing for it, because we just love making music. We love playing live and we just have so much fun doing it, that for us it's all about the performance and not so much the marketing," he said.

To some, the chance to have their music exposed on what is expected to be a huge blockbuster like next summer's "Eclipse" would not be something to be taken lightly, but Rathbone was more concerned about pleasing his fans than money or fame.

"We believe in any marketing that we do, we give all the marketing to the fans because it's what they want," he said, referencing a contest 100 Monkeys will be having on their Web site that will allow the fans to vote on the cities they want the band to perform in. "They're supporting us. Without them we'd be living on bread and water alone."

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Jackson Rathbone Injured on Set of 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'

Actor Jackson Rathbone slightly injured during filming of the third movie

One of the stars of 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' has been injured and was taken to the hospital.

A rep for Summit Entertainment tells ET, "Actor Jackson Rathbone of the 'Twilight Saga' movies, was slightly injured yesterday during a fight scene rehearsal. As a precaution, he was driven to the hospital and checked out by a doctor. He's fine and is back at work on the set of 'Eclipse' today."

Rathbone plays the role of Jasper Hale in the series, the adopted brother of Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson.

'Eclipse' finds the film's protagonist Bella (Kristen Stewart) forced to choose between her passionate love for vampire Edward, and her deep friendship with werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). As her high school graduation approaches, Bella's home town of Forks is threatened by a series of killings in nearby Seattle, while evil vamp Victoria continues her vendetta against Bella, leading to a deadly showdown. The film will premiere on June 30, 2010.

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Jackson Rathbone Dives Into 'Jasper's Backstory' For 'Eclipse'

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'It's an interesting time to see when Jasper was actually human and what his human form was,' actor says.
We don't need to have our emotions influenced to know that Jasper Hale Whitlock is one of Stephenie Meyer's greatest creations. A 166-year-old Civil War veteran whose transformation and redemption is a key theme in the later "Twilight" novels, the character has long been a fan favorite. Which made it all the more appropriate when the franchise landed Jackson Rathbone, a 24-year-old actor/musician whose affable, easygoing charm has made him equally popular in Twilight Nation.

Recently, we caught up with Jackson as he was preparing to begin work on "Eclipse," the currently filming third chapter in the blockbuster saga. What follows are some major plot revelations from the next two films — including his fight scene with Kellan Lutz, exposing Japer's powers earlier than you might think and how to kill one of David Slade's newborn vampires.

MTV: Jackson, what are you most looking forward to shooting in the next film?

Jackson Rathbone: I'm really excited to start filming "Eclipse." I got a chance to read the script, and we get to go back into Jasper's backstory. They actually had to ask me about my equestrian experience. I told them I can gallop and trot and all that. I used to ride. It's been two or three years since I've been on a horse, but I'm excited to get back up on the saddle.

MTV: So we're going to get to Jasper's Civil War backstory?

Rathbone: Yes, I get to shoot some Civil War stuff, and I'm also going to shoot a lot of fighting scenes. Which is great, because I just came off [M. Night Shyamalan's] "The Last Airbender," and I've been doing fighting for the last six months. So I'm ready to keep it on.

MTV: What kind of moves will you be pulling off? Just shooting guns? Obviously, it won't be highly-stylized martial arts stuff.

Rathbone: No, it won't be karate, it won't be kung fu, like the stuff we're doing in "Airbender." But even in "Airbender," the fighting styles I was doing were a little bit more loose, like street fighting. And that's kind of what this is; it's about evading.

MTV: Why is that?

Rathbone: Well, we're talking about newborn vampires that can't control their urges — they can't really think very quickly. So if you just let them go to their instincts and evade and attack them from side to side, you could get them; but if you try and go after them through force, they're going to win every time. So it's all about evasion.

MTV: Are there training scenes in "Eclipse" along these lines?

Rathbone: It's interesting; there's a lot of cool scenes where Jasper trains the Cullen family on how to fight the newborns. He gets to train Emmett — and Emmett is a born fighter — so he's telling Emmett all these techniques, and Emmett thinks he could just best Jasper [during their sparring]. Jasper ends up getting the best of him, because it's a war mentality, not just a street brawl. It's about thinking ahead; it's a chess game.

MTV: Cool. Will we see the scene where Jasper gets bitten?

Rathbone: Oh yeah, we have to see that. It's going to be great. I've been studying up a lot on the Civil War and that era. It really was a crazy time. It was all-out war on our own turf and between countrymen. That's terrible. It's an interesting time to see when Jasper was actually human and what his human form was and, when he gets turned, how intense and how dark he is. Then [we'll see] his realization of what he's become, him finding Alice and being redeemed by love.

MTV: And is that the first time we'll see your powers?

Rathbone: Actually, in "New Moon," we get a little glimpse. Inside the school.

MTV: How was it to film scenes where you were influencing the emotions of those around you?

Rathbone: It was fun. I just played it very naturally, like, if you have these special powers — like Edward has the ability to read minds — it's not like he's going to [get overly dramatic] and go, "You're hungry!" No, it's a natural thing, like the human ability to smell or to hear is a natural ability. To affect the mental state of anyone around you [I depicted Jasper as] keeping it all right in the eyes. Just thinking it and transferring it through the eyes, which are the windows to the soul — even to the soulless.

MTV: And will it be clear to the audience that this emotion-manipulation is going on?

Rathbone: In "New Moon," when we see it? It's pretty obvious.

'Twilight' Stars Address Rachelle Lefevre Controversy

At TwiCon, Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone discuss actress' replacement in "Eclipse."

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Although there was a lot of fun to be had at TwiCon over the weekend, there was an elephant in the room few celebrities would address. While Twilighters took sides and spoke passionately about the recent replacement of Rachelle Lefevre as evil vampire Victoria for the third installment of the "Twilight" series, some of the saga's stars refused to answer questions on the controversial matter — for understandable reasons.

A pair of high-profile stars who began the mega-franchise with Lefevre, however, did agree to speak with us on the record. And they were eager to say that they've spent the last few days sharing one key emotion with their fans: sadness.

"Who?" said Peter Facinelli, trying to force a grin when we brought up the headline-garnering story.

"I can say that I'm saddened that the dates didn't work out," the affable actor explained, referring to both Lefevre's and Summit's claims that a 10-day shooting overlap with another film was the reason she will be replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in "Eclipse."

Asked if he had been keeping up on the news, Jackson Rathbone replied, "I have, I have," getting serious as he spoke about the subject. "You know, Rachelle's a dear friend, and I'll miss her terribly."

The uncommonly public dispute has put the stars in an uncomfortable position, as they have to balance their words carefully about having a friend and co-worker fired while at the same time not badmouthing their boss.

"I really can't say anything on the business side," said Rathbone, who spent the weekend signing autographs, performing with his band 100 Monkeys, and even participating in a "Coffee With Jackson Rathbone" brunch. "Rachelle is an amazing actress and an amazing woman."

If there is a silver lining to the cloud, however, it's that the new Victoria is an award-caliber actress of the highest order. "I'm excited to work with her," Facinelli said of Howard. "But again, I'm deeply saddened that Rachelle is not going to be in 'Eclipse.' "

"I love [Lefevre] like a sister; it deeply saddens me," he added. "But you know, the show must go on. We're going to embrace Bryce Dallas Howard — and I hope that the fans do, too."

"I would love to work with Rachelle again," reasoned Rathbone. "I'm really sad that I'm not going to get to work with her on the final film of the franchise we started together."

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