FAN SITE FRIDAYS: EXCLUSIVE ‘NEW MOON’ MOVIE SET REPORT

This past April, I (Kara, a.k.a. Team Switzerland) had the pleasure of visiting the movie set for the second film in the Twilight saga franchise, New Moon. I arrived in Vancouver on April 26th – two full days before we were scheduled to go on set. At that point, a good percentage of the Vancouver-based filming was already finished, with many of the Cullen family actors wrapped and back at their respective homes. The actors who comprise the wolf pack were currently in the city while the Volturi actors were scheduled to fly in the following week, and though we didn’t know what we’d see or whom we’d meet, it was sure to be an unforgettable visit.

On the night of April 28th, we were met by Summit and packed into a 10-passenger van where we were then shuttled to the set. Of course, I wasn’t alone in this venture and was lucky enough to attend with five other amazing site representatives. Joining me on the set were Kara from Twilight Moms, Lori from the Twilight Lexicon, Matt from Twilight Source, Kassie from Twilight Series Theories, and Kimmy from His Golden Eyes. We drove about 45 minutes and knew immediately when we had arrived at our location, not only because of the lights in the distance and the slowing of the van, but by the group of Twilight fans camped out down the street, huddled together and wielding cameras.

Upon arriving, we exited the van and walked a short distance to the set where we saw none other than the house of Miss Bella Swan. Although Bella’s original house was in Oregon where the bulk of Twilight was filmed, the house in Vancouver was a perfect replica built by the talented crew. The house was surrounded by all of the familiar things we saw in Twilight; complete with added trees, a boat, and the vehicles of Charlie Swan and Billy Black. Of course, the house is not one you’d live in and it wasn’t an every day occasion, so aside from the added trees and cars, many different forms of production equipment were present. The house itself is nothing more than a shell intended for use in exterior shots and surrounding it that night were several bright lights and white screens to give the scene the perfect evening-time look.

Naturally, many crew members and extras were on-hand for the scene that night. One interesting attendee was a man we met and spoke with named Greg. Greg happened to live at the lone house across the street from where Bella’s mock-up house was built. Though being forced to live in a unique form of chaos for a few weeks (i.e.: driving through swarms of fans while trying to get home, being photographed by onlookers mistaking him for cast members, and overall having a major film production conducted on the other side of his driveway), Greg had the distinct pleasure of being able to watch the filming as he pleased (Twilight fans – befriend Greg!).

Aside from the aforementioned, there were many more in attendance that night, including director Chris Weitz, producer Wyck Godfrey, Twilight veterans Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), and Gil Birmingham (Billy Black), and New Moon newcomers Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley) and Graham Greene (Harry Clearwater).

If you diehards haven’t guessed by now from all the clues above, the scene we witnessed went something like this: Charlie Swan’s beloved daughter Bella has been missing for hours. Being the chief of police, Charlie has rounded up a search party to find his daughter and they are all now huddled around the hood of his police cruiser. Charlie wipes his brow and looks stressed as those in the search party (which includes Billy, Jacob, Harry, and a few other unnamed characters) converse with one another and look at several different sheets of papers laid out on the car’s hood. Suddenly, something catches Jacob’s eye. “Charlie…” Jacob warns slowly as he taps Chief Swan on the shoulder. “Bella!” Charlie shouts with a mixture of worry and relief as he turns to see his daughter being carried out of the woods, seemingly unconscious, by Sam Uley. Charlie sprints to meet them and grabs Bella out of Sam’s arms and places her into the comfort of his own.

Though the weather was brisk (keep in mind this was a night shoot and past 9pm at this point), Chaske Spencer was ever the trooper; completing each take in nothing but dark shoes and cut off shorts that landed just above the knee. To keep warm in between takes, Chaske had a trainer on set to help him work out and keep the blood flowing. Kristen was dressed a little more comfortably, wearing denim jeans, an oversized camel-colored jacket, and slip-on shoes. Sound familiar? Since the scene we witnessed is set in the story right after the infamous break-up scene, the outfit Kristen wore that night was the same that can be seen in the first official trailer.

The scene itself was spot-on. As a huge fan myself, the scene aligned perfectly with the visions I had in my head. Even now, we haven’t seen Chaske in character (aside from promotional shots), so watching him carry Bella out of the woods was truly breathtaking and it felt as though the New Moon book was playing out before us. The intense emotion surrounded the scene and you could feel and identify with Charlie’s stress, Bella’s pain, and Sam’s heroism. I’ll even go so far as to say that this scene, coupled with Chris’ direction, made me feel even more excited for the film as a whole and completely confident that it’s in the perfect hands.

We watched the scene unfold several times right in front of us, but were also given the opportunity to look through a monitor to see exactly what the camera was “seeing” during each take. With each shot, the camera focused in on different angles and different actors involved in the scene. During each take, the heavy weight and stress from the emotional scene was almost tangible. In between each take, the set was a commonplace for joking and laughter. In one instance, director Chris Weitz yelled “cut!” just shy of when he should have wrapped the scene. Realizing his mistake, Chris reprimanded himself by yelling, “Bad, bad director!”

Another point of laughter on set was with jokester Taylor Lautner. Taylor, decked out in Jacob garb and his pre-transformation wig, had a relatively small part in the scene and was only required to tap Charlie on the shoulder while saying his name warily. Right before another take, Taylor screams, “Wait!” causing everyone to snap their heads around. Taylor’s signature half-smile emerges as he jokes, “I forgot my line!” and everyone simultaneously breathes a sigh of relief and laughs.

In between takes and during some of the rare downtime we had, we were able to speak to many of the cast and those working on the film that night. At the start of our visit we were immediately greeted by director Chris Weitz, who was exceptionally kind and generous. Bundled up and wearing his now famous striped scarf, Chris stopped to chat for a long while. During the twenty-five or so minutes that we were fortunate enough to speak to Chris, never once did he decline to answer a question or answer in less than a full paragraph. He has a very incredible aura about him and you can check out our exclusive interview with him in the coming weeks.

Also stopping to answer a few questions at different points throughout the evening were producer Wyck Godfrey, Taylor Lautner, and Chaske Spencer, who were all so uniquely enthusiastic and passionate about their part in the film (whether it was in front or behind the camera). Each one had very interesting things to say about filming and their experiences, and as you may have guessed, you can also expect these exclusive interviews in the coming weeks.

Though they were incredibly busy and just about to film, Gil Birmingham and Kristen Stewart also made a point to drop by and say hello at different times. Kristen, much tinier in person and strikingly pretty, met up with us at the close of our visit but could only speak briefly as she was very focused on staying in character. She discussed the need to say “in the zone” in between shots and related a lot with us as fans, stating that we (the fans) knew better than anyone what Bella went through during the difficult post-breakup times. The previous scene had wrapped and she was incredibly genuine and sweet considering the scene she had just finished and the one she had ahead of her, which was that in which Sam finds her laying in the woods. Kristen was quick to apologize that she couldn’t stay longer and expressed to us that she wished we had come “on a Jacob day”. I found this distinction interesting, because although Edward wasn’t present in the scene (and ironically Jacob was), she labeled the somber post-breakup scene an “Edward day”.

And sadly, this marked the end of our visit. Hopping into our van and heading back to the hotel, we were all reeling with the sights we just took in and the things we learned on set. I hope my experience above gave you some small glimpse into the New Moon set!

Make sure to check back in the next few weeks to get our exclusive New Moon set interviews from the cast and crew!