How do you approach something like the proposal scene, which could so easily be the cheesiest thing ever? Do you try to underplay it?
I really tried to keep the actors in the moment and not be premeditated about things. We had a policy of not changing lines unless specific issues came up, in which case we’d discuss it well in advance. I also had a one-on-one actor rehearsal policy, where I would meet every actor individually to discuss scenes and talk about their characters so that by the time we got to the full rehearsal with all the actors, we had just the content of the scene [to concentrate on]. We’d answered all the questions, so we could deal with the meat and potatoes of getting the scene right. I think the actors appreciated that time we spent with them. When it came down to it, one of my goals was to make things realistic and believable without leaning on the fantastical elements at all, but trying actually to be antithetical to that. I wanted the fantastic elements to be as believable as possible.
I know Kristen Stewart knocks herself out to be believable in her performances.
One of the things she said to me early on was, “If I don’t believe in it, I can’t do it. I’m a terrible liar, and if I don’t believe the words I say, then I can’t go through with saying them.” Sometimes it was tricky, massaging some of the line readings, but it was always in the process of getting it down. Kristen can be an exceptionally naturalistic actress in that way, but that’s really what I was looking for. We knew that this was the most mature of the books in how the story was told. It’s the conclusion of the love triangle, and a lot of the the themes in the first two books conclude in this book. We knew it would be a more adult and cinematic film, and we wanted to treat the drama as drama. There’s comedy, but the comedy is intentional.
The actors were saying that you had to reshoot the tent scene to make it more erotic.
What actually went on there was that it was really a two-day shoot to begin with, but we only had one because of our schedule. We were scheduled to do some pickup shoots — little shots here and there — and then we decided that it’d be great to have another day on that scene. It wasn’t that much different, actually. In the actual film, we intercut between the first day of shooting and the pickup shooting in that scene, so I think people made a lot more out of it than was actually there.
The fourth book really pushes the envelope as far as violence and sex. Had you not directed this film, could you envision a David Slade version of Breaking Dawn?
Oof. You know, I don’t know. [Laughs] I’m not dodging the question, I just don’t have a great answer. I feel blessed that we got one of the better stories — you’re only as good as your story, right? I’m sure Bill Condon’s going to do a great job with Breaking Dawn, but I’m pretty happy to quit while I’m ahead.
Have you lined up your next project yet, or are you like, “I think I’ll wait until those opening weekend grosses come in…”
I just want to sleep. [Laughs] I’ve been talking about various projects, but I’m not out of the woods on the press tour yet. I’ll be thinking about that after I get back from Europe, and maybe after a short break. I’m not going to be directing The Shadow, though — that’s just a rumor.
So where did that rumor come from?
I wish I knew! It’s one of those really strange things where I have no idea.
If Eclipse is the highest-grossing movie you ever make, would you be fine with that?
Yeah. I’m pretty sure it will be! I’m pretty sure this will be seen by more people than any other film I make, but listen, who knows? The world of cinema is changing, the way we make films is changing, everything’s changing. I try not to think like that.
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