May 4, 2010 ... announcement of a new Stephenie Meyer novella,. THE SHORT ... Melissa
Rosenberg noted that in ECLIPSE, the army of newborns just ...
Jodelle Ferland as Bree Tanner.
Y
From The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz. Coming from Little, Brown and Company on June 29th. www.thetwilightsaga.com
Eclipse-pp10-144_4THpass.indd 123
a n e w b o r n T h r e aT
oung actress Jodelle Ferland stepped into the role of Bree Tanner without realizing that she would become a key character thanks to the late announcement of a new Stephenie Meyer novella, THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER, which was published just before the film release. The director and the screenwriter were among a lucky few to get a sneak peek at the text, from which they could glean inspiration for realizing the newborn vampires on-screen. Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg noted that in ECLIPSE, the army of newborns just appears; readers don’t see how the group was formed. “In the movie, we see how Victoria puts her army together and uses Riley,” said Rosenberg. “The newborns don’t know who created them and why they’re together until the last minute, because Victoria wants that element of surprise and doesn’t want Alice to ‘see’ that. And, of course, the Cullens don’t know who Riley is. The short story Stephenie shared has Bree looking at Riley from a distance, trying to understand what is going on.” “The newborns are not zombies, and they’re not monsters,” explains director David Slade. “They are essentially people who have no control when they smell blood. “Bree was the character who best illustrated it—she gets a burning in her throat at the smell of blood, and there’s a lack of control,” he continued. “Newborns have no inhibitions, and they’re full of paranoia. And if you’re amid a pack of newborns, you are not safe. You’re not even safe in a clan, where the members might kill each other.” Of course, Bree survives the battle only to meet her end at the hands of the Volturi, striking a sharp contrast between the Italian enclave of vampires and the Cullens that sets up the final conflict in the novels.
123 5/4/10 11:03:32 AM
