‘Twilight’: Why Anna Kendrick Says Cast ‘Bonded For Life’ in ‘Like a Hostage Situation’
It’s been more than a decade since the release of the first film in the Twilight franchise. A lot has changed, including the career of supporting actor Anna Kendrick. Here’s what she’s said about her experiences on set in a new interview.
Anna Kendrick’s breakout role was in ‘Twilight’
The first film in the franchise, based on the book of the same name, stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. A seemingly ordinary teenage girl, she meets and falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and learns about his world and that of his family. The movie helped propel many of its young stars to fame.
In Twilight, Kendrick portrays Jessica Stanley, a fellow high school student who befriends Bella when she moves to Forks, Washington. At the time, Kendrick had very few credits to her name. She told Vanity Fair it was “truly like such a shock” to get the “mean girl” role.
The cast ‘bonded’ but it was ‘like a hostage situation’
Though the movies take place primarily in Washington State, they were filmed in a few different places. The first was filmed in Portland, Oregon, to match the rainy Pacific Northwest weather. And this was apparently done very well, as the weather is the main thing that Kendrick remembers from shooting.
Kendrick says she was “so cold and miserable” while filming the first movie. She calls her co-stars “a really great group of people,” joking that she thought, “I’m sure that we would be friends in a different time, but I want to murder everyone.” However, Kendrick compares it to “people who survive like a hostage situation. And you’re kind of bonded for life.”
Kendrick’s role in the second film coincided with ‘Up in the Air’
Kendrick also appeared in the second film, Twilight: New Moon. In the movie, after Edward breaks up with her and the Cullens leave, Bella spends time with her human friends, like Jessica. Because of this, Kendrick says she and the cast bonded more on this set.
She was also busy filming another movie at the time: Up in the Air, with George Clooney. The two films could have conflicted. However, Kendrick says that New Moon director Chris Weitz and others behind the scenes were able to move things around so that she could do both.
She says her speech in ‘Twilight: Eclipse’ was made better by Stewart
The third film, Twilight: Eclipse, came out in 2010. Jessica isn’t in most of the movie, as Bella graduates from high school, leaving behind her human friends. Kendrick says that people frequently approach her about the graduation speech she gives in the film, calling it “really sweet” and “really moving.”
However, she doesn’t feel that she deserves all of the credit for that. “The thing that is happening is you are looking at Kristen Stewart’s reaction to that speech, and that is the thing that is moving you.” She continues, calling Stewart “so talented.” Kendrick adds, “People are like, ‘That speech is so amazing.’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’s just her, and she’s great.'”
