Kristen Stewart: I'm not trying to distance myself from 'Twilight'

In the four years since Kristen Stewart began playing the role of Bella Swan in the "Twilight" franchise, the actress has only appeared in three films outside of the massively popular series.

The most popular of the nonvampire fare was the 2009 comedy "Adventureland," which at its height played in around 1,800 theaters nationwide and ended up collecting $16 million -- nowhere near the kind of money a "Twilight" film rakes in. Her subsequent turns as Joan Jett in "The Runaways" and a stripper in "Welcome to the Rileys" were even less widely seen; the latter film grossed only $158,898.

Which all makes her latest role as the princess in "Snow White and the Huntsman" that much more significant. The big-budget spin on the classic fairy tale, out Friday, will mark the first time that most American moviegoers will get to weigh in on whether or not they buy Stewart as anyone but Bella.
Still, the actress says taking on "Snow White" wasn't a calculated move to change her on-screen image.

"People are going to think that it's me trying to either distance myself from 'Twilight' or try to prove myself beyond it or whatever," the 22-year-old said Tuesday evening at a screening of the $175-million production. "But it's [just] good timing. I think it's all fallen off the truck in a really lucky way. But it's totally not my doing."

Asked if she felt "Snow White" marked a new phase in her career, Stewart said it didn't.
" 'Twilight' means so much to me, but it doesn't stand out in terms of -- " she paused, looking for the right words. "Everything I do needs to be really important. ['Snow White'] is neither better or worse than anything I've done."

Her latest film, which also stars Charlize Theron, is the second picture based on the children's tale to hit theaters this year; "Mirror Mirror," Relativity's lighter take on "Snow White," struggled at the box office after its release in March. But Stewart said she thinks her version of the film will resonate with fans because it's a "fundamental story" that makes "you care about people."

"Not to be totally over-sentimental about it, but it's got a nice message -- and a very, very simple one. It just kind of makes you feel good about being human."

Stewart will show off a different side of herself in an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” which premiered to generally positive reviews at the Cannes International Film Festival last week and will hit U.S. cinemas later this year. Meanwhile, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2” -– the final film in the series -– will open in November.

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'New Moon' Pulls In Big Box-Office Numbers

#1 "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" ($140.7 million)

#2 "The Blind Side" ($34.5 million)

#3 "2012" ($26.5 million)

#4 "Planet 51" ($12.6 million)

#5 "A Christmas Carol" ($12.2 million)

The full extent of the "Twilight" phenomenon made itself known this weekend with the debut of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," the second installment in the supernatural romance franchise starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. There was little to no doubt that "New Moon" would emerge as this weekend's box-office champion, but perhaps no one was prepared for just how successful Summit Entertainment's "Twilight" sequel would be.

On Friday alone, "New Moon" managed to earn $72.7 million, surpassing "The Dark Knight" as the single best opening day in cinema history. A hefty $26.3 million chunk of that Friday change came purely from midnight showings, propelling "New Moon" past "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" with the highest-grossing midnight opening of all time. "New Moon" also debuted with the biggest November opening ever and the third-best opening weekend of all time, taking that distinction away from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

To put the success of "New Moon" in perspective, the first "Twilight" film — which opened almost a year ago to the day — earned only $69.6 million in its debut weekend, demonstrating just how widespread the "Twilight" craze has become in only 12 months.

The audience for the "Twilight" films isn't just made of young women pining for shirtless screen time from Pattinson and Lautner, either — the movie's audience, while mostly female, was divided evenly between viewers under and over the age of 21. Apparently, there is no age restriction when it comes to falling in love with vampire and werewolf heartthrobs.

The success of "Twilight" won't end with "New Moon" either, as "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" launches on June 30, 2010.

Despite the unprecedented victory for "New Moon," credit must be given to some of the film's other competitors this weekend. "The Blind Side," starring Sandra Bullock, managed a second-place finish with an impressive $34.5 million intake. "Planet 51," another newcomer, earned fourth place with $12.6 million. Holdovers "2012" and "A Christmas Carol" also performed adequately under the pressure of "New Moon," winding up with $26.5 million and $12.2 million apiece.

Upcoming Releases

Warner Bros. unleashes "Ninja Assassin" next weekend to combat the formidable vampires and werewolves of "New Moon," while Buena Vista hopes to corner the comedy market with John Travolta and Robin Williams' "Old Dogs."

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1626826/story.jhtml

Thousands cheer stars of 'Twilight' sequel in LA

Exactly 12 months ago, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were surprised to be greeted by throngs of eager fans of the novel "Twilight" at the premiere of the big-screen adaptation.

What a difference a year makes.

The actors unveiled the sequel — "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" — at the same location Monday night in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. But this time they knew what was coming.

"I'm not as scared as I was last year," said Stewart, despite a brief touch-and-go moment as she signed autographs. "At some point, the security guy said, 'This is very unsafe.' And I was like, 'Uh.' Other than that, everything was cool."

Pattinson, who plays vampire Edward Cullen in this latest adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer's popular series, said this year's crowd of thousands of screaming fans was larger than the 2008 turnout.

"And it seems different to me because we have done this world tour in the last week and it has just been unbelievable in every single city," he said. "It is about 10 times bigger than any other city in the world."

Some "twi-hards" __ as they call themselves __ arrived as early as Thursday afternoon to secure a place in line for tickets allowing them to watch the stars' arrivals on the red carpet. The 800 available tickets were all distributed by Monday morning, but the line still stretched for blocks well after lunchtime.

Nicole Zamora, 36, was sixth in line after getting to Westwood on Thursday afternoon. She and her three sisters wore "New Moon" T-shirts they'd made for the occasion and said they spent the weekend "reading, listening to the iPod and trying to sleep — anything to pass the time."

Christina Fuentes and four of her friends traveled from New Jersey for the "New Moon" premiere. The 24-year-old wore vampire teeth ("They just clip on," she said) and carried a homemade sign that read, "We flew in from NJ! We've been camping out for three days just to see you!" She pasted her airline boarding pass to the poster as proof.

Scores of other fans — mostly young women — crowded onto street corners near the Mann Village and Bruin theaters, site of the premiere. They sat on beach chairs, displayed homemade signs and wore T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to either the handsome vampire played by Pattinson or his werewolf rival, Taylor Lautner.

Lautner, who rises to headliner status in "New Moon," said he was also amazed by Monday's fan response.

"It's the amount of passion," he said. "It's not normal."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ikMct4xzSJKE058n8CUlrHHx1SlAD9C16Q381

'New Moon' co-stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart get cozy following MTV Movie Awards

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart may not have been just acting when they accepted their MTV Movie Award for "Best Kiss" on Sunday night.

Spies caught the "Twilight Saga: New Moon" co-stars getting cozy on an intimate date at hip L.A. eatery Cecconi's following the awards show. The pair - who so far have claimed to be just friends - looked anything but as they held hands throughout the meal.

While Stewart has been dating fellow actor Michael Arangano for the past four years, her real-life boyfriend was nowhere to be seen as she chatted quietly with Pattinson. After the dinner, which ended around 11 p.m., a police escort brought the pair back to their West Hollywood hotel. Stewart, who at 19 is underage, stayed in, but man-of-the-hour Pattinson left his crush and headed to a late-night fete at Guy's.

Says an insider of the stars' budding relationship: "Robert is obsessed with Kristen and has been for a while. He likes that she's a cool, down-to-earth girl. Kristen never saw Rob as anything but a friend, but that seems to be changing."

One reason for Stewart's new interest in her co-star? He's been bulking up his already enviable bod.

"Taylor [Lautner] been training Rob a lot, and that's why he's got such ripped abs," "New Moon" co-star Kellan Lutz told The News' Nancy Dillon. "Rob's been working hard. He's trying to be the best Edward [Pattinson's character in the films] he can be."

Stewart and Pattinson also share a love of music. They both play the guitar, with Pattinson even contributing a song to the "Twilight" soundtrack.

Peter Facinelli, who plays Pattinson's vampire dad in the "Twilight" series, told us: "I love to hear Rob sing. He's got an insanely good voice. Sometimes we all get together and he gets on the guitar and starts playing and singing. He writes his own material."

He added, "Kristen has taken up the guitar for the movie she's doing [on Joan Jett]. Everyone's been carrying a guitar around."

What better way for Rob to profess his adoration for Kristen than a love song?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/06/02/2009-06-02_pattinson_stewart_get_cozy.html#ixzz0HHgtU1Sy&B

Twilight leads way at MTV awards

Vampire drama Twilight took five trophies including best film at the MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles.

The film's Kristen Stewart won best actress while High School Musical actor Zac Efron scooped best male.

Heath Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose last year, won best villain for his performance in The Dark Knight.

Sacha Baron Cohen caused a stir when, dressed as his character Bruno, he flew in on a wire before landing on rapper Eminem and baring his naked backside.

The rapper, sat in the audience at the Gibson Amphitheatre, looked uncomfortable as Cohen - dressed in a skimpy angel costume - landed upside down on his lap after apparently colliding with an obstacle.

"Is the real Slim Shady about to stand up?" Cohen said.

Cameras then showed Eminem storming out - but it is not clear if he was in on the stunt.

Best kiss

British actor Robert Pattinson won the male best breakthrough performance for Twilight and also shared the best kiss award with co-star Kristen Stewart.

Accepting her best actress award, Stewart said: "The fans are the ultimate driving force."

Ben Stiller won the MTV Generation Award

Twilight also won the prize for best fight.

Ben Stiller, 43, meanwhile, picked up the MTV Generation Award - the ceremony's top honour - for his body of work, which includes films Zoolander and There's Something About Mary.

Presenting him with his award, actor Kiefer Sutherland said: "Ben, I have never had the privilege of working with you but when I see the remarkable consistency you display in your films... I see a consummate professional who commands the respect of his co-actors."

Ashley Tisdale won the female best breakthrough award for High School Musical 3: Senior Year while Miley Cyrus received the best song from a movie prize for The Climb, from Hannah Montana: The Movie.

And Jim Carrey won best comedy performance for Yes Man.

Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire came away empty-handed despite its six nominations.

Viewers of the programme, shown live on MTV in the USA, were shown previews of forthcoming films including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

'Twilight': From Unknowns To Superstars

One year ago, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and a handful of other "Twilight" stars arrived at the MTV Movie Awards and walked down the red carpet, with most of the world's press uninterested in speaking with them. In fact, they had to go back to the beginning of the carpet and start again, just so they could be properly introduced to those who didn't realize they were movie stars. Luckily, MTV had caught the "Twilight" bug early, eagerly did some exclusive interviews with the actors on the carpet and were proud to use the occasion as their coming-out party.

This Sunday night, Rob, Kristen, Kellan, Ashley, Cam, Taylor and others will return to Universal's Gibson Amphitheatre triumphantly, leading the evening's attendees with seven nominations. And when director Catherine Hardwicke recently showed us around her Venice home where it all began, she marveled at the difference 12 months can make.

"Pretty much, everyone was more or less an unknown when we cast them," she explained. "Now they've all blown up big, like, crazy."

Hardwicke has a seat on the aisle, stage right. And she's ready to do a lot of jumping up and down and shrieking if "Twilight" continues its rags-to-riches story at the MTV Movie Awards. "I think it's going to be different," she said of the reception she expects for stars like Pattinson on this year's red carpet. "Most people, now, know who Robert is. He's been at the top of the Star Meter on IMdB for a year now — he's really blown up big."

"We were in Italy with him, and Germany, London. People all over the world are just crazy about him," she said of watching Rob's ascension to the top ranks in Hollywood. "So, [the Movie Awards] are going to be a lot of fun."

It's no secret that Hardwicke became a proud den mother on the "Twilight" set, watching over her young actors as she helped guide them from relative obscurity to superstardom. And although the director has passed the "Twilight" torch to others for the upcoming sequels, she's still thrilled to know that she gave Pattinson, Stewart, Lutz, Lautner and others their breakthrough roles.

"[That] for me is exciting, because it means there are a lot of actors out there now who can play interesting parts and will be given the chance to do something great," she explained. "Robert's small films and Kristen's small films are getting released now, and hopefully new interesting films will be made, because these two are very unique in their choices."

And if "Twilight" should win the big prize of Best Movie on Sunday night? "Oh, well, I don't think I have to give a speech," Hardwicke said tentatively, before being reminded that directors typically do at the MTV Movie Awards. "Well, that would be fun — but we'll see."

Instead, Hardwicke grinned, she's looking forward to hearing the possible acceptance speech of Breakthrough Performance nominee Pattinson. "If anyone has dealt with it well, [it's Robert]. He hasn't gotten a big head — he takes it with a grain of salt. He sees the absurdity and the humor in it," she explained. "He's great with that self-effacing Brit-thing; it's awesome."

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1612433/20090529/story.jhtml

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner To Present 'New Moon' Clip At MTV Movie Awards

Are you ready for a sneak peek at tomorrow's blockbusters today? Check out our new series "Behind the Screen" Sunday night at 11 p.m. on MTV for the broadcast premiere of the "Brüno" trailer, the very first visit to the set of Russell Brand's "Get Him to the Greek" and much more!

The star-gazing, OMG-generating, anything-might-happen madness that is the 2009 MTV Movie Awards has just shot into the celebrity stratosphere: "Twilight" stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will be presenting an exclusive, never-before-seen clip from their upcoming vampire sequel "New Moon" during the live broadcast.

Joining the "Twilight" trio will be a group of newly announced Hollywood presenters: Sandra Bullock, Dwayne Johnson, Sienna Miller, Channing Tatum, Danny McBride, Abigail Breslin, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Lennon and Sofia Vassilieva.

This high-powered crew will hook up with previously announced presenters Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz, Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Vanessa Hudgens, Leighton Meester, Jonah Hill and Lil Wayne. Eminem is set to take the stage, where he'll perform music from his new album, Relapse, and Kings of Leon will perform live on MTV for the first time ever, rocking out with their hit song, "Use Somebody."

Heading into the Andy Samberg-hosted event on May 31 at 9 p.m. ET, "Twilight" leads all movies with seven nominations, including nods for Pattinson (Breakthrough Performance Male), Stewart (Best Female Performance) and Lautner (Breakthrough Performance Male).

Several of the new presenters are also up for awards. "Get Smart" star Johnson will vie for Best Villain, McBride will battle it out for Best Fight (based on his "Pineapple Express" throwdown with Seth Rogen and James Franco), and Lennon will pucker up for Best Kiss (thanks to his lip-locking scene with Paul Rudd in "I Love You, Man").

For the first time in the 18-year history of the awards show, viewers chose the nominees for the Golden Popcorns. They can vote for the winners through May 27 by going to MovieAwards.MTV.com. Voting in the Best Movie category will stay open through the live telecast, so anything that takes place onstage has the chance to sway the eventual outcome.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1611566/20090518/story.jhtml

Kristen Stewart talks 'Twilight,' Joan Jett

As "Twilight" frenzy swept the world, Kristen Stewart was propelled into stardom. She'll be returning as Bella in the eagerly awaited sequels, now in filming. In the meantime, you can see her in a startlingly different role in "The Cake Eaters," directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. Stewart plays a teenager afflicted with Friedreich's ataxia, a terminal disease of the nervous system, for which there is no cure. She'll also star in the Joan Jett biopic "The Runaways." Stewart is hoping that the notoriety she's gained from "Twilight" will draw fans to her upcoming films.

Related content from Parade.com

PARADE Magazine: You met some girls who suffer from this terminal illness. What did you take away from that?

Kristen Stewart: Not to sound totally cliché about a disease movie, but all the girls I met have a resistance to any sort of patronizing and any box that you want to put them in. It's overwhelmingly inspiring to meet them. It's about not letting your life end. To them, it's like they're different and so they're going to have to live a different life. But it can still be great. I could identify with that.

Your character is very outspoken. Are you like that?

Georgia is all about the truth. She really calls everything by its right name. She's very honest. I'm honest, but I don't think I have as much to say as she does. But I'm free with my words when I believe in something, I guess.

Related: Take the ultimate "Twilight" quiz

Were you shocked when Catherine Hardwicke was replaced as director of the next "Twilight" movie?

It wasn't like it was a big bomb that was dropped. It wasn't such a shock. To be honest, I don't know about the inner workings of whatever was going on within the studio. But everybody has creative integrity, and everybody has to be on the same page when you're making a movie. And in this case, Catherine and Summit just agreed that it was the best thing to do for her to move on. It wasn't like, "You're fired!"

The "Twilight" DVD is coming out soon. There is a lot of curiosity. What can we expect?

We did an audio commentary. And I can't wait for everyone to see it. Literally, there wasn't a day that went by that we didn't have camera crews on set, so I'm sure that they have hours of footage to cut together for the eager audience.

Related: Exclusive video interview with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Talk about system overload: In the midst of filming the next two "Twilight" movies, we hear you're also going to be starring as Joan Jett in "The Runaways."

Yes. We'll be shutting down for eight weeks in between "New Moon" and "Eclipse," and that's when I'll do it. Right now I'm just listening to Joan's music all the time. I spent New Year's with her.

Everyone wants to know what she's like.

She's so cool. One of the nicest, most soulful women I've ever met. And so many people love and admire her. It's an immense responsibility to play a real person, one of the most intimidating things that I've ever had to confront. Her story is an incredibly triumphant, feminist story. The main thing that Joan talked about was just how much she cared about the days when she was a teenager and started singing with the Runaways. She told me that the band was what started her entire life.

Will you be singing or lip-syncing her songs?

I don't want to speak out of place. I really hope to be able to actually perform the music, but I just don't know yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you guys soon.

Like some of the characters you've played, have you had problems coping with your teen years?

I don't think so. I have sort of a picture-perfect family. My parents are awesome, and my brothers are like my best friends. But you change. You're so yourself when you're a little kid, and then you turn 13 and all of a sudden you are concerned about what you look like and you have all these insecurities. But, then, after you go through the different stages, there's like a sort of triumphant, "I'm done with that, and I'm becoming who I am." That's where I am now, I think.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=356200

Kristen Stewart Sets The Record Straight On 'Twilight' Rumors

Kristen Stewart , who plays mortal Bella Swan in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," is taking a bite out of the rumors about Robert Pattinson , the Twi-hard fan base, the Oscars and the likelihood of a fourth movie in the popular vampire franchise.

In an interview with E! Online's Marc Malkin, Kristen debunked reports that she had an off-screen romance with co-star Robert Pattinson

"Rob and I are great friends. But I understand why you would assume that when we lean on each other for support, there must be something more...And I'm not criticizing anyone for thinking it, either. If anything, they're really perceptive, because they can see a closeness," the "Twilight" beauty noted.

In fact, Kristen said it was the dedicated fans that saw this on-screen closeness, and hoped that it would bleed over in to real life.

"I love the fans," she explained. "I feel like I am one of the fans and any direct interaction I've ever had with them has been the most warm and pleasant and enthusiastic. If anything, it's the biggest driving force that could propel you to do something."

Yet, the frenzy created by the "Twilight" fans, at times, could be overwhelming.

"It's not normal for me to be in a situation that 'Twilight' puts you in," Kristen continued. "It's not personally normal for me to see 5,000 screaming girls. But I'm not criticizing them for being 'crazy' about me. I'm sort of going, 'Wow, this is just crazy!'"

Kristen also set the record straight on why Robert presented at the Oscars, without her. According to Kristen, she wasn't asked.

"If I was invited to the Oscars, I would be there in a nanosecond," she tells E! "If I got an invitation to the Oscars, I wouldn't turn it down!"

Now that the second film, "New Moon," is about to start production and the third film, "Eclipse," is in development, many are wondering if there will be a fourth.

"We all really hope there is going to be a number four," Kristen admitted. "I'm pretty confident that the fans aren't going to all of a sudden lose interest. The only case that a fourth one wouldn't be made is if all of a sudden people stopped caring, and I really don't think that's going to happen."

With her role in "Twilight," and new projects including "The Runways" and "Adventureland," Kristen couldn't be happier.

"There's really no better position for me to be in right now in my life, and I am entirely grateful," she said.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/kristen-stewart-sets-the-record-straight-on-twilight-rumors/19714

Robert Pattinson To Present At Oscars

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson will be handing out an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards, HitFix reports.

The website says it has exclusively confirmed Pattinson's appearance, however the academy is not announcing the names of presenters this year.

No word on which category Pattison will hand out, or if he will be joined by his "Twilight" co-star Kristen Stewart.

Twilight Fever!

TWILIGHT is an action-packed, modern-day love story between a teenage girl and a vampire. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has always been a little bit different, never caring about fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix high school. When her mother re-marries and sends Bella to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn't expect much of anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a boy unlike any she's ever met. Edward is a vampire, but he doesn't have fangs and his family is unique in that they choose not to drink human blood. Intelligent and witty, Edward sees straight into Bella's soul. Soon, they are swept up in a passionate, thrilling and unorthodox romance. To Edward, Bella is what he has waited 90 years for - a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. But what will Edward & Bella do when a clan of new vampires - James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi) and Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) - come to town and threaten to disrupt their way of life?

ABOUT TWILIGHT: Based on the #1 New York Times Best-Selling series with over 17 million books in print by Stephenie Meyer, TWILIGHT is a cultural phenomenon, with a dedicated fan base that eagerly awaits this movie. There are over 350 fan sites devoted to TWILIGHT, and it has been chosen as the New York Times Editor's Choice, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Amazon's "Best Book of the Decade...So Far", Teen People's "Hot List" Pick, and The American Library Association's "Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults" and "Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers," among others. Critically acclaimed director Catherine Hardwicke brings to life this modern, visual, and visceral Romeo & Juliet story of the ultimate forbidden love affair - between vampire and mortal.