The Poster Memorabilia blog

Meeting Sparkling Vampires in Real Life

One last LA carpet for the Cullens, and the discovery that Edward laughs a lot.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Say what you want about Twilight, but I really loved those movies. Are they a bit cringey? Not a bit, but a lot! Are they silly? I wouldn't necessarily disagree with people who think so. But are they romantic? Yes, they totally are. And I love every minute of that mushiness.

The book's popularity aside, I think the cast contributed a lot to the first movie's massive success. No one else can play Bella as effectively as Kristen Stewart. The same goes for Robert Pattinson as Edward, Taylor Lautner as Jacob, and more. Without their performances, Twilight could've been a straight-to-video B movie.

I also have to say the actors who played the vampires really did their thing. They were as beautiful and as mysterious as you'd expect movie vampires to be, especially the stunning Ashley Greene and Peter Facinelli. They could go on playing vampires for the rest of their careers, and I'll still watch every bit of it.

“They're just as hauntingly beautiful all on their own.”

And when I say they looked beautiful, I'm not joking! I saw them in person at the premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 in LA in 2012, and damn! They were even more gorgeous in real life. I always thought that the movies made them look paler for that vampiric vibe, but they never needed to. They're just as hauntingly beautiful all on their own.

They're also much more personable off-screen, too. I get that they played vampires, so they have to act all enigmatic in the movie, but the 180-degree switch in real life is almost jarring. They're so different, much more jovial and fun in person, that I almost couldn't believe they're the same people.

I know that's what acting is all about, playing people who are different from who you truly are, but it was my first time meeting celebrities that night, and the stark difference between their characters and themselves was wild to see. Kristen Stewart was the one exception, carrying some of Bella's quiet reserve with her, though she was perfectly lovely about signing.

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But out of all the cast members I met, Robert Pattinson was the most surprising. Not only was he more approachable in real life, but he was downright jolly, too. He was all smiles as he posed for the cameras and when he signed my poster. I did not see a hint of the angsty Edward Cullen in him when he was in front of me.

So I'm not surprised at how well his career has gone in the years since. I'm a bit sad he and Stewart felt the need to shed their Twilight personas for Hollywood to take them more seriously, but I understood why they had to. And they've gone on to do some of the most interesting work of anyone from their generation.

Their talent, versatility, and chameleon-like skills were always all there in Twilight, despite the clunky script and cringey romance. Part of why I still look at the Twilight movies fondly is that they gave us Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, two of the most talented actors still working in Hollywood today.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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