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- Television Series > TV Interviews & Other Projects > CBS 7 Segment

Many “Twilight” fans are counting down the hours until the next movie in the series “New Moon” opens tonight at midnight, but one local family has already seen it because their son, Jackson Rathbone, is one of the stars.

He’s got numerous fan sites, paparazzi following nearly his every move and even a budding music career, but his family says, he’s just the same old guy whose proud of his west Texas roots.

Jackson Rathbone plays Jasper Hale, one of the Cullen’s, a clan of vampires in the “Twilight” series, but his humble beginnings were on the local stage.

Randee Rathbone, Jackson’s mom, says, “He started in 8th grade, started performing in Midland Community Theatre, he was a Pickwick Player.”

But despite his parents wished he attended an arts academy for high school.

Rathbone says, “We were not thrilled with the idea, we wanted him to stay and graduate from high school in Midland, TX.”

He later moved to LA to pursue acting as a career.

Jack Rathbone, Jackson’s dad, says, “He started getting some commercials, getting some Disney spots and it took 4-5 years, maybe 4 years and then he started getting some real roles.”

Like the Twilight series.

Rathbone says, “It just sort of exploded… Nobody really knew what Twilight was… I have to admit it is kinda crazy, but its fun, these are just ordinary people who made it in the film industry. I think they all know its a little bit crazy.”

They got a first-hand look at just how crazy Twilight-mania is at the premiere of “New Moon”, on Monday night.

Rathbone says, “I guess its still not really real to us, to me… he’s still my son, he’s not a movie star…Something that was really crazy was just last Monday night, or Sunday when we were in LA and he just came to our hotel to meet us for dinner and there was paparazzi at the hotel when he walked in and when he walked out.”

But away from the hype of Hollywood, they know he’s still grounded.

Rathbone says, “He sees himself as just Jackson Rathbone, and so many people see him as bigger than life, he’s just a good kid that’s done well.”

A good kid that remembers where he came from.

“He’s proud to be from Midland, Texas… he brags about being from Texas.”

“It’s fun to watch someone who’s gone after a dream and achieved it, and when its your son, its a little extra special.”

His parents say that Jackson’s band “100 Monkeys” is about to start a 100-city tour and right now, they have a scheduled stop in Midland.

No word yet on the date of the concert.

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Actor Kellan Lutz has learned to be careful what “Twilight” fans wish for — especially when handcuffs are involved.

“As much as we’re all joking with the fans and meeting them and trying to have their experience be a great one, there are a lot of things that go unnoticed with us right away,” says Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” opening today.

“Mainly there are a few that Jackson [Rathbone] and I have come to terms with, with the fans asking if they can handcuff themselves to us. We think they’re joking, we’ll be like, yeah, just do it and then they whip out the handcuffs and we’re like, ‘Whoa!’ ”

Double whoa to marriage proposals for Rathbone, who returns as Jasper Hale in the second vampire romance based on Stephenie Meyer’s novels. The list of those willing to wed is a long one. “I’m looking for my first ex-wife right now,” Rathbone joked, in a phone interview.

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It’s one of the more complicated scenes to capture in the new Clive Barker film DREAD. Actors Jackson (TWILIGHT) Rathbone and Hanne Steen must play slightly drunk while getting hot and heavy during a romantic date in the countryside. At one point, they climb onto the hood of their car and release back into the wild a once-injured crow Rathbone’s character has rescued. Except the crow isn’t playing ball.

Director of photography Sam McCurdy (of the DESCENT duo) is perched on a crane, ready to move upward with the bird as it hopefully flies toward the camera. The crow wrangler has assured everyone this will happen. But it persistently doesn’t, and continually resetting the shot is getting very time-consuming and patience-testing—especially as writer/director Anthony DiBlasi only has 28 days to shoot this adaptation of Barker’s acclaimed BOOKS OF BLOOD short story during a cold November. Luckily, the location of this problematic sequence is only a brief walk away from the main center of DREAD operations, so something else can be filmed quickly in the meantime.

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I’ll add scans from this issue as soon as I get my hands on it.

It’s here, so let the vampy chaos begin.

“New Moon,” the highly anticipated second film in “The Twilight Saga,” hits theaters Friday and promises even more swooning opportunities for its passionately devoted fans.

Smothered in heartbreak, “New Moon” is a far different beast than “Twilight,” focusing on Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) recovery after her vampire boyfriend, Edward (Robert Pattinson), leaves her broken-hearted and leaning on her (newly ripped) werewolf pal, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), for emotional support.

Big changes were made when approaching this next installment. Director Chris Weitz replaced “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke, Lautner had to fight to keep the role of Jacob, and actress Rachelle Lefevre (who plays Victoria) was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for the soon-to-be-shot third film in the series.

We spoke to a few Edward Cullen siblings — aka “Twilight” stars Kellan Lutz (Emmett), Nikki Reed (Rosalie) and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) — about “New Moon” and their experiences with being apart of this series.

Whenever a book series with a massive fan base like this takes to film, there’s a lot of pressure for the movies to be as good — if not better — than the books. How do you deal with that pressure?

Lutz: “I didn’t know there was a book series and fell in love with what everyone else fell in love with. You really see why the fans love it so much and support it, so, yeah, there’s a little pressure trying to make it the best we can and trying to do it justice for how beautiful it is.”

Reed: “I think that none of us were actually aware of the fan base while we were shooting. Not because we were completely oblivious, but because the kind of enthusiasm that you now feel with this fan base has come from putting faces and actors with these characters. Making the films definitely sparked a different kind of passion.”

Rathbone: “Whenever it comes to a book being made into a movie, there’s always that worry of, ‘Is it going to be as good as the book?’ And honestly it’s a completely different animal. You really cannot compare a book to a movie.”

With the new filming budget and new director, what differences or improvements stand out in your mind in the filming of “New Moon?” How does working with Chris Weitz differ from your experience with Catherine Hardwicke?

Lutz: “A lot of it is having more fun and exploring our characters more in ‘New Moon’ and having Chris Weitz there, and Stephenie (Meyer), too, to ask questions to and have answers for.”

Reed: “I think it’s just a different approach with Chris Weitz. He came to this project sort of prepared with what it demanded, in terms of CGI and special effects and what the fans were expecting. In terms of quality I think he did a really great job. He knew what he wanted long before I met him and had my first meeting with him.”

Except for the beginning, your characters aren’t around as much in “New Moon.” Is it the same in the movie, or does the script include them a bit more?

Reed: “I think we all figured out early on that the best way to make the series was to stay as true to the books as possible. So we’re not in the second movie because we weren’t in the second book.” Jackson had a really nice moment in the beginning and something I think he was really looking forward to and getting Jasper the opportunity to show another side of his personality. … We all get really excited when we get the opportunity to show another aspect of our characters because it sort of justifies what we were doing previously. We all get to explain to the audience, the audience that hasn’t read the books, why we act the way we do.”

With the fan hysteria, do you guys ever feel like it’s too much or too intrusive or are you still really enjoying the enthusiasm? What’s the craziest thing a fan has done or asked you?

Rathbone: “It’s both. There are some that get to be a little too much and a little bit too grabby and try to handcuff themselves to some of us, but there’s also 90 percent that are just sweet, loving individuals who understand that we’re not vampires; that we’re actors and love the way we portray these characters that they fell in love with from Stephenie Meyer’s books.”

Source.

BC: I am curious if there were any funny incidents that happened on the set. Like did anyone flub their lines?

Jackson: Well, we had a couple of things happen. It was funny because in the house we were filming the very serious, very dramatic birthday party scene, the owners were very concerned about their hardwood floors. So the entire crew and cast had to wear these hospital scrub-like booties that you had to tie around your shoes. So it was just kind of funny to see this bunch of vampires in these little boots.

BC: OK, I hope that they filmed from the ankles up so that no one sees the booties in the film!

Jackson: Yeah, we did see the movie and no booties were seen!

Kellan: Well, there are “bootie” shots but not of that type of bootie. [Laughs]

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GALLERY LINKS:
- Appearances > 2009 > “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Los Angeles Premiere – Arrivals (x16)
- Candids > November 16, 2009 – The Twilight Saga: New Moon Afterparty (x3)

And two more videos from the premiere by Access Hollywood and Twilight Examiner.

Actor Jackson Rathbone is undeniably best known as Jasper Hale from Twilight and the upcoming Twilight sequel, New Moon. But in his heart, he’s just a guy playing in a rock ‘n’ roll band.

Rathbone talked to CHARTattack from the set of Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight saga, about his life as a teenage vampire heartthrob and his beloved band, 100 Monkeys.

CHARTattack: Twilight came out last year, you’re doing press for New Moon and you’re working on next year’s Eclipse. You don’t feel like your life has just become about Twilight all the time?
Jackson Rathbone: I don’t, actually. I have a lot of things going on outside of the Twilight world.

Being a musician, I have my band 100 Monkeys, so whenever I’m not working on a film, I work with them. We make music constantly and we’re constantly on tour. It’s a pleasure to be part of the Twilight books, but I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on.

As well with film, I’ve got some other movies going on. I’m actually producing my first film this year with my production company. It’s going great because of the wide Twilight fanbase I’ve been able to have people follow my other projects, which is just such an honour. They’re so supportive of all the movies and of us as individuals.

Do you see Twilight as a blessing, or are you afraid of typecasting with such a huge franchise? Any reservations with being part of such a cultural phenomenon?
At first, I was a little bit worried. It was one of my first conversations with my manager when they offered me the role of Jasper — “Is this the right move? Will I get stuck in it?”

But we’ve tried to establish all throughout my career different looks every time I play a character. Not just in terms of hair and eye colour, but the way I walk and the way I talk.

I’ve always been a character actor. When I was in theatre and was learning how to act as a child, I was a character actor. It’s always going to be a struggle, to not be identified as one of the brat pack from the Twilight movies, but at the same time, it’s all about what you do next, I think.

I’m not one character, even in my personal life. I’m a very multi-faceted person — I have my band, I have my music, and I have my movie career. I consider myself an artist more than I do an actor.

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Canwest: Has anything surprised you along the way? Were you ready for the craziness from day one?

Kellan Lutz: You hit the nail on the head there darling. (Laughs from the others). Craziness and surprise. From day one, I didn’t know it was a book even, until my good friend Ashley Greene came knocking on my door and gave me the books to read. And I did all this reading

Jackson Rathbone: That was surprise number one he reads.

Kellan: Yeah. That was surprise number two: The Reading. And surprise number three was that I really fell in love with these books and understand why the fans enjoy it so much. They’re captivating.

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GALLERY LINKS:
- Appearances > 2009 > “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Los Angeles Premiere – Arrivals
- Candids > November 16, 2009 – The Twilight Saga: New Moon Afterparty

4 more videos from the premiere and afterparty! More pictures and videos to hopefully come soon later.

Two more quotes from the red carpet.

Jackson Rathbone said he’s able to put his neck-biting life aside for other things. “I am not all vampire all the time,” he said, laughing. “I’m actually in a band, 100 Monkeys, and I just produced my first film this year called Girlfriend.”
Source.

With the Band
Jackson Rathbone was hard pressed to answer whether his passions lie more with music or acting, but he was happy to promote both New Moon and his upcoming 100 Monkeys album, Purple. He also laughed off questions of whether we should expect to hear a cameo from Robert on his albums ever, saying, “Nothing but Monkeys, darlin’.”
Source.