From the LA Times:
To gear up for the third feature to be adapted from the wildly popular Stephenie Meyer books, here’s a study guide for Twi-hards and the uninitiated alike. Roll over photos to learn who’s who, read about their favorite scenes and time travel with their characters into the future.
Key Players
Robert Pattinson
Character: Edward Cullen, the adopted son of Esme and Carlisle, adoptive brother of Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and Bella Swan’s beau. He has the ability to read minds, with the exception of Bella’s.
Back story: It has taken the brooding Edward generations to fall in love and now that he has, he feels responsible for Bella’s life — and soul—so resists turning her into a vampire, though outside forces are weighing on him to do so. In “New Moon,” after a brief birthday fiasco puts Bella in mortal danger, Edward breaks up with her and the Cullens move away as a way to protect her from further potential harm from their kind. He soon finds it difficult to live without her and returns only to find Bella is in renewed danger and, in his absence, has developed a close relationship to her friend Jacob. Needless to say, Edward and Jacob, do not care for each other.
Where is Edward 100 years from now? “Oh, God, I don’t know,” Pattinson says. “I mean, it seems like he’s gone through so many problems and the series is only over a period of like two years or something — or three years, maybe, for the whole thing. I mean, you can’t keep living like that … it’s just craziness the entire time. [Edward’s] probably been killed or something.”
Kristen Stewart
Character: Isabella “Bella” Marie Swan, Edward Cullen’s girlfriend and best friend of Jacob Black.
Back story: Bella desperately wants to be changed into a vampire so she and Edward can share their love for eternity. Edward, though, is determined to keep her human to save her soul. It’s a dilemma made only worse when the ruling vampire body called the Volturi discovers that human Bella knows of their existence. They force a vow from the Cullen family to turn Bella within a year or they will kill her. Bella is also being hunted by the vampire Victoria, after the Cullens killed her sadistic mate James.
Favorite “Eclipse” scene: “There were two scenes that just were very important to me and they happen one after the other,” Stewart says. “It’s when Jacob and Bella kiss and then she goes and talks to Edward about it. It was just so different from anything that I’ve played in this series so far. The movie is so very much about ultimate devotion, so to stray from that was just weird and cool and sort of makes the relationship between Edward and Bella a little bit more real because now she’s seen another side and she can actually consider something else for five seconds of her life.”
Taylor Lautner
Character: Jacob Black is Bella’s best friend. He is a Quileute Native American and a member of the wolf pack.
Back story: Though Bella is still clearly in love with Edward, Jacob’s feelings toward her have grown. He has also discovered that he is one in an ancient line of Quileute werewolves — mortal enemies of the Cullens though sworn to a long-standing treaty with the family as long as the vampires don’t harm humans. Suspecting Bella’s desire to become a vampire, Jacob reminds Edward of the Quileute-Cullen treaty, implying there could be trouble if she is bitten.
Favorite “Eclipse” scene: “I liked the tent scene a lot,” Lautner says. “I had a lot of fun filming it. But another really fun one occurred right in front of Bella’s house after I kissed her for the first time … and she punched me. Edward and Jacob get into a huge fight and we’re yelling at each other and he grabs my shoulder and [Bella’s father] Charlie comes storming out and breaks up the fight. It was really a funny scene to film.”
Peter Facinelli
Character: Carlisle Cullen, patriarch of the Cullen family.
Back story: In “Twilight,” we’re introduced to Carlisle, a doctor in Forks, who, over the last century or so, “created” his happy, vegetarian clan of vampires (they feed on animal blood only). Pleased that Edward has finally found love, Carlisle is steadfast in his willingness to protect Bella from all threats and is in favor of turning Bella into a vampire as she has long hoped for.
Favorite “Eclipse” scene: “I liked all the action stuff. For me, the training sequence and the battle scene were the ultimate,” Facinelli says. “I mean, we did six months of training and we were finally able to take all that and put it to use. It was exciting. I’m sure the wolf pack is jealous; they have all those muscles and abs, but it’s for nothing! They don’t even get to do stunts.”
Where is Carlisle 100 years from now? “Carlisle is still doing doctor work somewhere … maybe back in Forks.”
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