Catherine Hardwicke Answers YOUR Questions!!

In March 2009, to coincide with the DVD release of Twilight, the movie's director, Catherine Hardwicke, answered questions sent by members of TheTwilightSaga.com. She answered as many as she could - here are her responses. See if your question was answered!

Katie: Who chose the music for the soundtrack for Twilight?
CH: I've got a detailed section in the Twilight Director's Notebook that explains the whole process. In a nutshell -- the director makes the final decisions, but the Music Supervisor, Alex Patsavas, the Music Editor, Adam Smalley, and the Film Editor, Nancy Richardson, all were a big part of the decision-making process. And of course, the first place I looked for inspiration was Stephenie's playlist -- we were lucky to get songs from Radiohead, Muse, Linkin Park, and Collective Soul.

Twilightforest : If you had the opportunity to go back to the production of Twilight (aware of the story lines left out of the movie that the fans loved in the book) what major part of the book would you add or expand on?
CH: I think the film was about the right length. What did you miss?

Leanne: What was the most frustrating scene to bring to life from the script?
CH: Working in the extreme weather conditions last winter made the outdoor scenes difficult -- especially the baseball scene and the scene at La Push beach. We were FREEZING!!!

What overall scene were you most proud of when you were finished shooting the movie?
CH: I love the "how long have you been seventeen?" scene. I like the intoxicating camera moves and the actor's performances. I also love the kissing scene.

Angela: What is your favorite part of the entire filmmaking process, i.e. pre-production, actual filming, post-production, promotion, maybe, and why?
CH: Pre-production is the most creative -- you are letting yourself dream up cool ideas -- without restrictions. There are those pure moments of imagination -- then reality (budget, weather, schedule) slaps you in the face -- hard.

Lynn: When dealing with your actors, were there any special exercises you would have them do to help them get into character?
CH: We sometimes did improvs of scenes that weren't in the film -- like we rehearsed Bella's phone call to her father, asking if she could come live with him. We also had a choreographer come teach a "cat class" -- showing us how predators move when stalking their prey and fighting. Nikki and Rachelle especially got into it -- we almost had a delicious CAT FIGHT.

Marjie: Hi! I just was wondering, what was it like off-camera? was it crazy? who was the prankster in the cast?
CH: Rob was a great sport and always had unique, original comments. Kellan has some great "dirty south" moves, and Nikki fires off frequent zingers like "Guess what guys, I just had a baby on Wikipedia".

Alyssa~Cullen: Why did you pick the fight scene to start filming the twilight movie?
CH: On Lords of Dogtown, I did the most difficult scene first (surfing the pier) and it worked out great because during our Prep time, before we started filming, we could actually rehearse and work out some of our technical issues. (In that case: how to film actors in 8 foot surf!). The fight scene had a room full of mirrors and complicated stunt and wire work -- not too mention heavy emotional scenes. I knew if we shot it at the end of the schedule, we would be exhausted from shooting and we'd probably only have a few hours on a Sunday to go the the set and figure things out. This way, we conquered our biggest challenge right away -- while we were fresh and had lots of rehearsal time. Also, Cam Gigandet had another job and had to leave after the first three weeks of shooting!

Tania P: Which scene did you think "Wow this is gonna be great in the movie"? And why?
CH: I was very excited about shooting the treetop scene -- I thought it would be so beautiful. But it turned out to be one of our coldest days. I also really loved shooting Rob playing the piano... it was amazing to watch his long vampire fingers moving across the ivory keys.

Stephanie: Since the movie was based on her extremely successful literary work - did you ever feel the urgent need to consult Stephenie for direction on any particular scene or the movie as a whole?
CH: Stephenie was involved as much as she could be -- (she gave us script notes, visited the set several times, did a cameo, and gave us notes on the cut) -- though she did write and promote two other books during the time we were making Twilight! She is unbelievable -- too bad she's not running the government, huh?

Salomé: I would like to know... if you were a character of the movie/saga, who would you be?
CH: I'd want to be Bella!

Laura Cristiano: Why did Edward and Bella never actually say the words "I love you" in the film?
CH: For me, they said they loved each other in much stronger ways than actually saying the words.

Betty: Assuming it was intentional, whose brilliant idea was it to place the stuffed owl behind Edward in Biology class so that he appears to be an angel with wings?
CH: Gene Serdena, our fantastic set decorator, had the beautiful owl on the set -- I think he rented it from a university. When I saw it, I lined it up behind Edward....

Ashley: What is one thing you learned from directing Twilight that you will bring with you into future films?
CH: The relationship between the characters is the most important element. The chemistry between Bella and Edward had to be powerful to make us care.

CarleneLove: Quickly, I wanted to say how much I loved the comedy that you brought to the story in the movie. My question is, what were your thinking and ideas as far as adding in the lighter moments?
CH: Laughter provides relief from the serious moments -- it breaks the tension. We all want variety in our lifes -- friends that make us laugh, make us cry, make us feel. I saw Bella's human friends and her father as great places to inject comedy. I also wanted to feel the absurdity of Edward bringing his girlfriend home to meet his "family -- a "housefull of vampires"! .... And -- I like to LAUGH!

becca_bby: while filming the movie, how did you deal with the difficulties of a tight budget? If you had your dream budget, what would you have done differently?
CH: In the Twilight Director's Journal -- I've included some of my detailed shot-lists -- because I really had to plan out each day almost down to the minute. One thing I really wanted to shoot was a beautiful underwater dream sequence that I planned to weave all through the film.

Melanie Cameron: At the Salute to Twilight in San Francisco Feb. 20th to 22nd, several cast members told the audience that you had lead them all in a cloud dance. I thought that was really neat and was wondering what inspired you to lad them in this?
CH: Because of Edward's skin, we couldn't shoot if it was sunny, and we also coudn't physically shoot if it was snowing, hailing, or pouring down rain. So basically, we needed cloud -- all the time! The weather just doesn't work like that -- so one day in the school parking lot we were waiting so long for the sun to go behind the clouds that it seemed like we weren't going to be able to film any scenes. So I started chanting "Clouds, clouds, clouds" and people started dancing and pulling down "clouds" from the sky. It got wild!!!!

LIONLOVER1918: When was one moment in the movie you wished you could be one of the actors, instead of the director? Who was it?
CH:I wanted to be Edward and do some of the flying sequences in the harness. That looked fun!

SibbySue: As an architect myself, I'm very curious to know how your background in architecture informs your process of discovery and decisions as a director.
CH: As architects, we pre-visualize things before they exist. We have to see the possibilities that others can't see. My favorite times are when my hand surprises me and starts sketching things on its own.

Suzanna Maltby: Do you feel that the movie making process bonded you closer towards the Twilight series?
CH: Yes! I feel like I got to know the characters -- in my bones, in my bloodstream. They will always be a part of my family.