Well, Twi-hards, with the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II on DVD and Blu-ray this week, the series has come to a final close. (That is, of course, until Lionsgate decides to reboot the franchise or Stephenie Meyer cranks out more stories in this universe. ‘Cause we all know that’s gonna happen soon enough.) To help tie the final two chapters of the saga together, Lionsgate has also released the extended edition of Breaking Dawn – Part I. Both movies feature a commentary by director Bill Condon.
Now don’t worry too much. While I (and many of the writers here at Film School Rejects) am not a fan of the series at all, I can respect the fan base. This won’t be a lengthy article goofing on the flaws of the series. Instead, let’s break down what the director has to say about wrapping up the series with a one-two punch of the final book brought to life on the big screen.
And on to the commentaries…
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2011-2012)
Commentator: Director Bill Condon
4. Condon had the make-up department noticeably tone down the vampire make-up, especially on Edward. His skin was then made more smooth and marble-like by digitally removing the grain from his face in post-production.
5. Condon’s favorite horror movie of all time is Bride of Frankenstein, which probably isn’t a surprise to fans of Condon’s film Gods and Monsters which focuses on James Whale, the director of that movie. Condon tips his hat to Bride by showing Edward watching the movie in the flashback to the 1930s.
8. The honeymoon house was shot on a set for the interiors, but the house was an actual location in Rio de Janeiro. On the third day of shooting at the location, a hurricane struck the area, and the entire cast and crew, numbering about 80 people, had to stay the night in the house. The weather following the hurricane resulted in a “gloomy honeymoon” look, causing them to shoot the beach scene on the couple’s first night together in the Virgin Islands.
9. The only part of the bed-breaking sex scene that the MPAA had trouble with was an extended thrust at the end, which had to be cut for the PG-13 rating.
10. During the beach-and-chess montage, boats of paparazzi followed the production around. Because there was no legal recourse to keep them away, the production had to put up barriers during rehearsals to discourage press, and they also had to digitally remove boats from the water in some wide shots.
13. Condon sees Kristen Stewart as a would-be director, Robert Pattinson as a would-be writer, and Taylor Lautner as a would-be producer or studio head.
15. To avoid an R-rating for violence during the Cronenberg-esque scene in which Edward tears Renesmee from Bella’s womb using his teeth, Condon followed the rule that he could only show what Bella sees, greatly reducing the amount of on-screen bloodletting.
16. After Jacob imprints on Renesmee, there was a scene in which Edward attacks Jacob. This was removed from the theatrical version because it showed imprinting as being more creepy, which was what many critics (including me) complained about. The scene was included in the extended edition of the first film, and the concept of imprinting is discussed at the beginning of the second film in more detail.
19. During Bella and Edward’s first vampire sex scene, Edward goes straight in to kiss her neck because he would have never been able to trust himself to do that while she was a human. – See more at:
22. There are noticeably fewer shots of sparkling vampires in these two films, compared to the other ones. This is because Condon wanted to keep that more subtle and less cheeky. – See more at:
24. Breaking Dawn – Part II had a “set containment” budget of $1 million, which was used to lock up the locations and keep people from coming onto set or getting close enough to take photographs.
32. The final montage that Bella projects into Edward’s mind comprises many alternate takes from previous films, giving the appearance of familiarity but also using previously unseen footage.
see the rest here
Via Spunk-Ransom
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