Actress Kristen Stewart - The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Pacific Northwest. 

Twilight, based on the popular book series, opens Nov. 21, and Hardwicke is quite pleased with the translation from page to screen. “It has a lot of heart, a lot of soul,” she beams. As a former production designer with an architecture background, Hardwicke was concerned with bringing a visual, cinematic quality to the story. She traveled to Forks, Washington, where the story takes place, and familiarized herself with the community. 

“I tried to add stuff that wasn’t in the book to get to the details in Bella’s mind,” she says, referring to the main character. Author Stephenie Meyer was very supportive of Hardwicke’s vision. “She said [the added details in screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s draft] were like bonuses.” 

Hardwicke dismisses any comparison between the supernatural worlds of “Twilight” and “Harry Potter”. Other than the fact that both book series are penned by previously unknown female writers with modest backgrounds, the two are completely different. “Harry Potter is very much rooted in fantasy,” she explains. “[Twilight] is more romance-based, more character-driven. We created moments to make it as visceral an experience as possible.” 

Twilight is a clear departure from the stereotypical vampire ethos. When Meyer’s characters go into the sun, they don’t burn, they sparkle. The principal vampires in Twilight who don’t hunt humans are referred to as “vegetarians”. And each has a unique “gift” or superhuman power. 

“So many vampire movies rely heavily on symbolism,” says Hardwicke. “This film doesn’t do that. We don’t use the cross.” She describes the popular legend of vampire bloodlust and the constant battle to control it as a metaphor for abstinence. “You have to control the urge because if you cross the line with your girlfriend you could kill her,” she says sardonically. 

Originally from Texas, Hardwicke had a thriving architecture career before migrating to Los Angeles. “I’m probably the only film director who has built over a hundred buildings,” she laughs. As a production designer, she created sets for more than a dozen movies, including Tombstone, Tank Girl, Three Kings, and Vanilla Sky. 

Her directorial debut was Thirteen, which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed. Hardwicke was close to Reed’s parents, and she took the rebellious teen under her wing. She taught her how to surf, took her to museums, and tried to interest her in drawing. But Reed wanted to act. Hardwicke suggested they write a screenplay in which Reed could star and Hardwicke direct. The film won her a best director award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and launched Reed’s burgeoning career. Hardwicke has enjoyed a steady working relationship with Reed. The young actress appears in Twilight and also starred in 2005’s Lords of Dogtown. 

I dutifully follow as Hardwicke guides me through the maze of hallways in her home, past walls adorned with paintings (most by her sister), her own drawings, and posters and memorabilia from her films. In the bathroom, there’s a photo from a scene in Lords of Dogtown, in which Emile Hirsch is cutting off his shoulder-length hair. The scene was shot in that same bathroom, and the framed photo includes an actual lock of his hair. 

Back on her sun-soaked patio, Hardwicke muses on what superpower she would want if she had her choice. “I’d want to be able to knock people out with one breath,” she says, demonstrating with a silent roar. “All the people who are mean to me. There’d be a lot of corpses lying around.”

Ashley Greene and Rachelle Lefevre

words by Alicia Keating, photos by Robert Todd Williamson
art direction by Laura Ann, styled by Melis Kuris
makeup by Lusine, hair by Anthony Cristiano

Rachelle Lefevre and Ashley Greene are two of the stars from the highly anticipated film, Twilight, based on the best-selling book series by Stephenie Meyer which debuts nationwide on December 12th.  Rachelle’s character, Victoria, is one of three evil nomadic vampires.  Rachelle revealed that in order to grasp her character she needed to find something honest in Victoria.  “I made up a whole backstory for myself about who she was and what had happened to make her so vengeful and unforgiving.”  
The movie, based on the current #1 New York Times Bestselling book (47 weeks and counting) is already the 12th most searched movie on the Internet according to IMDbPro’s moviemeter.  During the month of April, the film’s 18 listed cast members made up most of the top 30 searched stars on the Web, which is an unbelievable feat for a list of newcomers. With countless blogs to boot and an unstoppable buzz, Twilight has quickly become a huge international phenomenon, developing a strong core base of dedicated fans. 
Ashley Greene plays one of the “good vampires” in the film.  She spoke about her expectations for the film, “The fact that the movie is so popular generates a lot of excitement and a bit of fear within me. It’s amazing to see the love people feel for this book and our characters, but with the love comes pressure.  The cast and I are all huge fans and really just excited to see Twilight brought to life on screen.”  
There’s something that happens to you when you’re first introduced to the phenomenon that is Twilight…it ignites something inside of you.  Much like Rachelle and Ashley in this photo shoot!

Rachelle Lefevre

Ashley Greene

Rachelle Lefevre

Ashley Greene and Rachelle Lefevre

Rachelle Lefevre and Ashley Greene

Ashley Greene

Ashley Greene and Rachelle Lefevre

Ashley Greene and Rachelle Lefevre

You can get a copy of our issue with the Ashley and Rachelle shoot and a subscription by subscribing to the magazine and then emailing the word Twilight Rocks to twilight@h-monthly.com.