The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (part 1)
In order to keep the budget on both parts of Breaking Dawn reasonable, even though it is substantially greater than the previous installments in the series, much of the film was shot in Louisiana.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn, is an upcoming two-part romantic-fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two parts form the fourth and final installment in the popular The Twilight Saga series. Wyck Godfrey and Karen Rosenfelt will serve as executive producers for the film, along with the author of the series, Stephenie Meyer; the screenplay will be written by Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter of the first three entries. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, will reprise their roles.
Part 1 will be released on November 18, 2011, and Part 2 on November 16, 2012.
Bella (Kristen Stewart) decides to remain human for a while longer after marrying Edward (Robert Pattinson). They honeymoon on a private island where Edward can bask in the sun without causing alarm. When she begins to get sick, Edward rushes her home to Forks.
They soon realize that despite all odds, Bella is pregnant and the baby is growing so quickly that Bella’s life is in danger. The Cullens are afraid that if Bella gives birth, she will die, but she refuses to give the child up.
When the Quileute wolf pack learns of the pregnancy, they fear that the baby will be like a newborn vampire—a crazed blood drinker who murders innocent humans. They plan to destroy it—and if Bella is killed in the process, so be it.
Talks for a Breaking Dawn film started after Summit Entertainment greenlit the second and third adaptations of the franchise, and scheduled the two films to be released six months apart. Wyck Godfrey, producer of the previous films in the series, stated in mid-2009 that they had every intention to make the film version of Breaking Dawn, but Stephenie Meyer, author of the series, explained on her website’s Breaking Dawn FAQ that if an adaptation were to be created, it would have to be split into two movies because “The book is just so long!”, saying that she would have made the book shorter if it were possible. She also believed it to be impossible to make a film due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby that has complete awareness, “The one thing that I’ve never seen is a CGI human being who truly looks real”; however, she did acknowledge the film might be possible due to the quickly-advancing technologies. Moreover, because of the mature and explicit nature of the Breaking Dawn book, fans and critics questioned if the studio would be able to keep a PG-13 rating, noting that the movie should not be rated R for the ever-growing fan base. In March 2010, Variety reported that Summit Entertainment was considering splitting the 754-page book into two films, along the same lines as Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since under contract for only four films, the status of Kristen Stewart’s, Robert Pattinson’s, and Taylor Lautner contracts were in question, making the possibility of a split unlikely. Producer Wyck Godfrey stated that all three main cast members were signed onto one Breaking Dawn film.
In June, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start filming in November. A November 18, 2011, release date has been set for the first part, and the second part’s release date is set for November 16, 2012.
Since the first film was released, fans and critics speculated whether Breaking Dawn would be adapted into a film considering the adult nature of the book. In March 2010, Rosenberg spoke about adapting the book saying, “It’s the big one, it’s gonna be a big challenge, and I guarantee you that not all of the fans will be happy, and I guarantee you some of them will be. You have to give up the ideal of making everybody happy, it’s just not gonna happen, but you hope you make the majority happy. Again, for that last book it is about taking that specific character Bella on her journey. It’s a big journey, it’s a massive change for her, and you hope to realize that.”
One of the scenes that aroused the speculations that the film would be rated R is the infamous graphic birth scene in the novel. In August, Rosenberg addressed such specualtions saying, “On the fan site, on Facebook, all the comments are “It has to be R rated! You have to show the childbirth! Gore and guts and sex!” For me it’s actually more interesting to not see it. You know, you can do childbirth without seeing childbirth … it doesn’t mean it’s any less evocative of an experience.”
Producer Wyck Godfrey addressed those speculations further saying, “it would be a crime against our audience to go R-rated” as the core fans of the series are below 18 years old, but insisted that the film is based on a mature book, so more progress and sophistication are needed. To compromise the necessary sophistication in adapting such a mature book and the need for maintaining a PG-13 rating, Rosenberg stated that the scene would be shown from Bella’s point of view. Godfrey described it saying, “She is looking through the haze, experiencing pain and everything rushing around her. We only see what she sees”.
Godfrey considered releasing the second part in 3D to differentiate between the time before and after Bella becomes a vampire, an idea originally proposed for Eclipse, but said that the decision is up to Condon. However, he said that if the second part was to be released in 3D, he would like to shoot it with the proper equipment in “real” 3D as was done with Avatar (2009), not convert it into 3D in post-production as was done with Clash of the Titans (2010).
Filming officially began on November 1, 2010 in Brazil, with locations in Rio de Janeiro and Paraty. The first scenes were shot in the Lapa District in Rio de Janeiro for one night. A long city block was rented for shooting, and Summit Entertainment paid residents 50 to 500 reais (30 to 300 in American dollars) to not allow paparazzi or fans to overlook filming from their windows. Moreover, owners of bars and restaurants were paid 10,000 and 20,000 reais (6,000 to 12,000 in American dollars) to stay closed for the evening to eliminate noise and provide a clear street.
Shooting then moved to Paraty where the honeymoon scenes were shot. According to Paraty’s Tourism Office, filming took place in the Taquari area, near an unidentified waterfall and in Saco do Mamanguá beach where a mansion is located. It rained on everyday of shooting. In late November, shooting moved to Baton Rouge, Louisania where most of the indoor scenes were shot on a sound stage and in a house.
In late February and early March, filming of most of the exterior shots, along with Bella’s vampire scenes, occurred in Canada . The film’s first shooting location in Canada was Vancouver. However, the cast and crew were evacuated from the set due to the tsunami advisories resulting from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Toni Atterbury, a spokeswoman for the film, said that “the crew was moved to higher ground” as a safety precaution and “the shoot was delayed for a few hours, but the day’s work was accomplished”. Therefore, filming relocated to Squamish, British Columbia, but a few scenes were shot in the Orpheum theater in Vancouver with the Vancouver police covering all the entrances of the theater.
The wedding scene in Part 1 was the last scene the cast and crew shot. It was also shot under tight security. A helicopter hovered above the set, off-duty police officers surrounded the location, and sheets and umbrellas were used to protect the set from aerial shots being taken. Stewart spoke about the wedding at Comic-Con, describing it as “insane”. She went on to say that it was “secret service style. The crew was incredibly inconvienenced. No cell phone, etc. They wanted to keep the dress secret.” Concerning the wedding dress, Stewart was locked in a room wearing a Volturi cloak to cover the dress.
Filming wrapped—for most of the cast—on April 15, 2011, ending the franchise’s three years of production since March 2008. However, on April 22, what is believed to be additional scenes that will fit into the honeymoon sequence were filmed on St. Thomas Island in the Caribbean which was officially the last day of shooting.
The teaser poster of Breaking Dawn was released on May 24. After giving fans a sneak peek on June 2, MTV released the first official teaser trailer on June 5, the night of the MTV Movie Awards. It was released online shortly before the awards show began and then made its television debut during the broadcast.
On July 21, Summit held a sold-out Comic-Con panel in Hall H, which held 6,500 fans, promoting Part 1. Condon, Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner attended the panel and answered the fans’ questions along with showing them exclusive clips from the film. Cast members arrived early in the morning and signed autographs and posters for the midnight-camping fans and Summit booths offered them Breaking Dawn: Part 1 character trading cards.
This Video is Tagged With:
adaptations, bill condon, blood drinker, breaking dawn by stephenie meyer, executive producers, fantasy film, installments, kristen stewart, quileute, robert pattinson, romantic fantasy, saga series, summit entertainment, taylor lautner, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, wolf pack
