First penned by Stephanie Meyer in 2005, Twilight morphed into a bestselling series and soon took over Hollywood. As the heroineBella chooses between the vampire Edward and the werewolf Jacob, teenage girls lost their dang minds, buying endless merch and movie tickets. But there are millions of love triangles out there, so what made Twilight such a sensation? The answer includes a lot of wigs. We’ll explain further as we take a bite from these weird facts about the Twilight Series.
1. Auditioned in Bed
After landing their coveted roles, Twilight leads Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart had to get physical. Specifically, the actors flew to their Catherine Hardwicke’s home and rehearsed love scenes…on the director’s own bed. Talk about working from home…
2. Off the Rack and Out of Your Bank Account
Bella’s iconic blue prom dress in the only cost production $20. Ironically, fans can purchase an exact replica of her gown in real life for presumably much, much more than the studio paid.
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
3. To Be Announced
As Stephanie Meyer first began to write Twilight, she only referred to Edward and Bella as “he” and “she". The names came much later; before then, the characters were, in the author’s words, merely “voices in her head". Just future mega-profitable voices.
4. The Date of Action
Stephanie Meyer remembers the exact day she had the dream which inspired Twilight. Said date is June 2, 2003, if anyone cares to celebrate...or mourn.
5. Edward Whom?
According to Robert Pattison, the actor knew absolutely nothing about the Twilight books before he auditioned. He was mainly drawn to the part he was impressed by Kristen Stewart’s performance in Into the Wild.
6. Wake Up, Jacob
To be fair to Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner also had “no idea" what Twilight was when he auditioned to play Jacob Black. Did anyone read the books at this point?
7. Scalped for the Part
The price of accuracy is harsh: Nikki Reed, who plays Rosalie, sat down for a total of 36 hours just to turn her naturally brown hair into the eerie shade of blonde that befits Edward Cullen’s adopted sister. However, this process actually made Reed lose chunks of her tresses. Luckily, she was allowed to wear a wig for the second movie, New Moon.
8. The Whole Plate
Twilight was originally going to be named after the town where most of the action takes place, Forks. Maybe a good call to change it from something more ominous and less culinary.
9. Just Like Hitchcock
Keep an eye peeled for Stephanie Meyer’s cameo in the first Twilight movie. When Bella and her father are eating at a diner, the author herself is at the counter with her laptop. Maybe her character is penning the sequel? Trippy. She also had one last cameo in Breaking Dawn: Part 1, where she played a wedding guest. Do you think it was the same lady?
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
10. Leave Me Alone
To get into the loner headspace his character, Robert Pattinson didn’t talk to anyone for the weeks leading up to filming. In fact, he went a little too far, playing Edward so gloomily that he was almost fired.
11. Maybe He Was Held
Before he was Superman, Henry Cavill was Stephanie Meyer’s top choice to play Edward Cullen. Unfortunately, Cavill was just too old to pass as a high school student by the time they started filming. To be fair, Edward Cullen himself is also too old to be playing a high school student.
Wikimedia Commons, Gage Skidmore
12. Beauty is in the Eye Contact Lens of the Beholder
Kristen Stewart had to wear contact lenses throughout filming. Her eyes are naturally green, whereas Bella’s eyes are famously “doe” brown—see: Meyer laid those deer/predator metaphors on thick.
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
13. Move On, Katniss
Jennifer Lawrence was one of the less-than-lucky actresses who auditioned to play Bella Swan, but she didn’t get it (obviously). However, Lawrence went onto her own YA-fame and starred in the Hunger Games franchise.
14. Having a Ball
Baseball isn’t straightforward for everyone. To authentically play vampires who play baseball in the first Twilight, actresses Nikki Reed (who played Rosalie) and Ashley Greene (who played Alice) had to learn the sport from scratch. In Reed’s case, she learned how to play baseball as if she were left-handed. Apparently, left-handed baseball just looks cooler on the silver screen. Don’t you love movie magic?
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
15. Ladies First
At the time of its release, Twilight won the world record for the most successful opening weekend for female-directed film. The film opened to $69.6 million.
16. Swan Song
“Bella’s Lullaby” was composed by Robert Pattison himself. He comes from a strong musical background, actually going into music before he went into acting and contributed two songs to the movie's soundtrack. Don't judge me, but they're actually very good.
17. Aren’t Vampires Supposed to Have Terrifying Dental Habits?
The horrors of “British teeth” are supposed to be a myth, but Twilight producers saw nothing but a dreadful truth in Robert Pattinson’s mouth. In their eyes, the English actor’s teeth weren’t star-worthy enough. Although he was pressured to get dental work, Pattinson never actually got around to getting the dental brace. In his words: “I was supposed to do this brace thing, and I never wore the brace, and so now I’ve damaged my teeth permanently".
18. Roll Call
In his human life, Edward’s brother Jasper Casper was a Confederate soldier. Stephanie Mayer got his name by searching the rolls from the real-life Confederate Army. Who says fantasy can’t be authentic?
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Summit Entertainment
19. A Baby Says A Thousand Words
At least we know how new American parents voted in the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob wars. In 2010, “Isabella” and “Jacob” were the most popular US baby names.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Summit Entertainment
20. Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Not in Her Contract
Imagine getting paid to not cut your hair? Summit Entertainment allegedly offered Kristen Stewart various forms of compensation to not chop her tresses. Apparently, they wanted an “all-natural” Bella. Stewart turned them down, of course. In Breaking Dawn: Part 1, Stewart is wearing a wig because she had shorn her hair to play Joan Jett in The Runaways.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (1) (2011), Summit Entertainment
21. Loser by a Hair
Even Robert Pattison was not immune to the Twilight production’s wig drama. In Breaking Dawn: Part 2, the actor is wearing a wig for certain reshoots. He had shaved himself bald and called the hairpiece “Frankenstein’s monster” because it was actually an unholy hybrid of six other different wigs.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2) (2012), Summit Entertainment
22. Appropriate vs. Appropriation
Going for authenticity, New Moon director Chris Weitz made sure all of Jacob Black’s wolf pack were played by actual Native American actors—they also needed to be in perfect shape. Just for the record, the actor who plays Jacob, Taylor Lautner, claims Native American heritage only distantly, from the Ottawa and Potawatomi region, via his mother.
23. Some Things Are Better Left Censored
Robert Pattison’s butt crack was visible in the original Breaking Dawn: Part 1 intimate scene. No wonder the film initially got an R-rating! Naturally, because it needed to be a teen-friendly flick, Bella and Edward’s first time was recut to appeal to everyone.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (1) (2011), Summit Entertainment
24. The Bridal Burrito
Whenever production paused on Bella and Edward’s wedding in Breaking Dawn: Part 1, Kristen Stewart wore a Volturi cape over Bella’s dress. This kept the anticipated design literally under wraps until the film was released.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (1) (2011), Summit Entertainment
25. No Shirts, No Shoes, No Stardom
In his audition, Robert Pattinson had to take his shirt off as a sign of “good will” to the production. Sick with anxiety, Pattinson told director Catherine Hardwicke, “If that's what we're being judged on, I haven't got the job". Crying was apparently involved.
26. Hiding the Goods
According to Taylor Lautner (who played Jacob Black), censors demanded there be no wolf genitalia visible whenever he or the pack went into full beast mode.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (1) (2011), Summit Entertainment
27. Moving Behind the Camera?
Drew Barrymore was considered to direct the third movie, Eclipse.
28. Fast and Furious: Twilight Drift
To promote both Eclipse and Volvo cars (which Edward drives), both got together to create their own Twilight/Volva crossover video game: “Lost in Forks” was the result. Players were able to navigate themselves around Forks in Edward’s iconic silver Volvo. The mission: get to Bella’s graduation party at Casa Cullen as fast as possible, measured by the number of road “forks” passed—get it!? Well, what were you expecting? Grand Theft Auto: Forks?
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
29. Would a Jacob By Any Other Face Smell Just as Sweet?
Could you imagine Twilight without Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black? Apparently, producers at Summit could. After the success of the first movie, Lautner nearly lost his part in the sequel—the one where Jacob was to undergo a “glow-up” and play a bigger role. Too keep up with the character, Lautner put on 30 pounds in muscle. It was enough to keep the part, obviously.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Summit Entertainment
30. Gotta Film Fast
There was only a seven-month gap between the release of the second film New Moon and its sequel, Eclipse. For perspective, Harry Potter films typically take about 1-2 years to complete and The Hunger Games were released with least one year between each other.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Warner Bros.
31. A Face Not Even a Mother Could Love
Who can forget the Bella and Edward’s creepy CGI baby, Renesmee? But did you know she was originally going to be an even creepier animatronic? It was so disturbing, people on set referred to the doll as “Chuckesmee” (after the only slightly less creepy horror doll, Chucky). Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon referred to the doll as “a giant misfire on all fronts” and “one of the most grotesque things I’ve ever seen". Is that any way to refer to our heroes’ daughter?
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2) (2012), Summit Entertainment
32. A Grad is a Grad
In the third movie, Eclipse, Bella graduates from high school—but Kristen Stewart also graduated from high school just one week before filming Bella’s own grad scene. The actress had gotten her degree via correspondence, so to get a photo of herself at “grad,” she took one with an extra on location while they were in full costume.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
33. Not Seeing Red
The color red was kept completely out of New Moon’s color palate until the Italian scenes.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), Summit Entertainment
34. Take That, Batman
New Moon defeated The Dark Knight’s world record for biggest one-day box office gross in the United States.
35. The Aro of Destiny Has No Direction
Mexican actor Diego Luna was offered the part of Aro in New Moon. The role ultimately went to British actor, Michael Sheen, who admits he had no idea who Aro was, or what he did, until his daughter educated him.
36. Field Trip
Twilight started with a literal dream. Author Stephanie Meyer dreamt of a boy and girl sitting in a field, where the boy was notably sparkly. I guess the vampire stuff got added later.
Twilight (I) (2008), Summit Entertainment
37. He Needed a Lady’s Touch
Other names in the running to play Edward Cullen were Ben Barnes, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jackson Rathbone. Ultimately, it was Robert Pattinson’s chemistry with Kristen Stewart that landed him the part.
38. Danger Ahead
Kristen Stewart was only 17 years old when they started filming Twilight. The first film’s director Catherine Hardwicke warned 21-year-old Robert Pattinson, “Don't even think about having a romance with her. She's under 18. You will be arrested". Later on, Stewart and Pattinson would pursue a relationship.
39. Pick Your Princess
In 2007, Stephanie Meyer blogged about her top personal picks to play Bella Swann. Emily Browning, Danielle Panabaker, and Elliot Page of Juno fame were her favorites.
40. One to Judge
Robert Pattinson has been very open on his feelings about playing Edward. When asked to sum up his own character, he told an interviewer, that Edward is basically “an ax murderer". He also called the series’ author Stephanie Meyer “mad,” said there is “something wrong” with Bella and Edward, and that their relationship is “traumatic".
But his two best burns, in my humble opinion, are as follows. He once called Edward "a 108-year-old virgin". And the pièce de résistance, when an interviewer asked if he took anything from the set, he said "my dignity". Slow clap it out for Robert Pattinson for he is a shady king among men.
41. Unhappily Ever After
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson pursued an off-screen relationship that was an open-secret among paparazzi. It became more public for unfortunate reasons: in 2012, Stewart was photographed in an embrace with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders. Sanders was also in a relationship—in fact, he was married—which added extra flavor the scandal. In the end, Bella and Edward did not end up together in real life.
42. It’s Tough to Say Goodbye
We supposedly know why Victoria suddenly looked “different” from Eclipse. The actress who played her, Rachelle Lefevre, was replaced by Bryce Dallas-Howard after just two films. Officially, Summit films said it was due to schedule conflicts with Lefevre’s other film, Barney’s Version. But in Lefevre’s words, she was “stunned” by the decision, which studios made over a mere 10-day overlap in filming.
The studio countered that because production was so huge, they had to accommodate many schedules—10 days could mean a lot to production. Fans were actually saddened to lose Lefevre and even petitioned to bring her back. Alas, this was not to be. Lefevre didn’t even attend the premiere of her last appearance in New Moon, tweeting how the launch was “was just 2 emotional 4 me & I couldn't manage it".
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