New Moon News – Press Junket Taylor Lautner Interview

Yeah! Taylor Lautner’s Interview from the press junket has been posted! Yesterday you guys read The Twilight Saga: New Moon Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Interview.

Tonight we have Taylor’s. Thanks to Christina Radish of iesb.net for transcribing the interview! Still looking for the audio footage though. We’ll update here once found. Thanks a heap to TwilightXchange/KStewart fans for the picture!!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Interview with Taylor Lautner

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is sure to shine the spotlight on actor Taylor Lautner, way more so than he received for his performance in Twilight. Even though legions of fans already love him for being a part of the first film, New Moon showcases his talents as Jacob Black, the werewolf vying for the affections of best friend Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), while her vampire love is gone.

The personable and gracious 17-year-old is soaking up all of the extraordinary experiences being a part of this film franchise has brought him and is taking it all in stride, as he prepares for the release of New Moon. At the film’s press day, Taylor Lautner talked about proving his ability to convincingly portray the transformation of Jacob Black.

Q: Did it ever feel like you were really in danger of not getting the role in this movie?

Taylor: Honestly, I knew where my character went in New Moon and that’s all I tried to stay focused on. I couldn’t control things outside. I couldn’t control the media. But, I could control what I was doing to portray Jacob Black correctly. That’s what I stayed focused on, the whole entire time.

Q: Did that start with going to the gym and gaining 30 lbs?

Taylor: Absolutely. Jacob transforms a lot in New Moon, not only physically. but mentally and emotionally as well. So, it was a matter of getting to the gym and eating the right food, and a lot of it. But, it was also about reading and studying the book and the character, over and over and over again, so I could have his character down as well because he changes in many, many different ways

Q: How does he change?

Taylor: Basically, my job was to continue what I started in Twilight, which was this extremely happy, friendly, outgoing guy, who is best friends with Bella. I had to continue that for the first half of the film, but as soon as he transforms, he snaps and becomes a completely different person. He’s dealing with his issues and it’s really hard for him.

Q: You have a lot of opportunities in the film to show off your new physique, like when Jacob takes off his t-shirt to wipe Bella’s blood.

Taylor: I start laughing so hard, every time I see that scene. “You’re bleeding? Okay, let me fix it.” It’s so embarrassing. Here’s the thing: there’s a reason that he’s not wearing clothes, all the time. One, when he transforms, all his clothes get shredded. He can’t help it. And, when he goes into the woods to get something to put on, so that he’s not naked, it’s just a ripped pair of jean shorts. He’s also hot. He’s 108 degrees. So, that’s another reason. The thing is, I love this character and story, and putting on the weight and not wearing much clothing was required by the role. A year from now, if I love a story and I love a character that requires me to lose 40 lbs, I’m ready to do it.

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Q: How freeing was it to get rid of Jacob’s wig?
Taylor: It was very freeing. I’d look at myself in the mirror and I wouldn’t even be able to recognize myself. It was so weird just to see that hair on me. It was also very itchy, hot and annoying. And, it slowed down the filming process. Whenever it got caught in my eye or whatever, we’d have to cut and start over. It got caught in my mouth and I’d be spitting hair out in the middle of the scene. I’m coming this close to kissing Bella and I’d have to spit my hair out. It was annoying.

We actually had a picture wrap on the wig. The crew claps for you at the end of shooting. My last day of filming with the wig, we ripped it off, held it up in the air and were like, “That’s a picture wrap on Taylor’s wig.” The whole crew gave it  a standing ovation. It was amazing. It was great to chop that thing off.

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Q: Who else are you close to?

Taylor: I wouldn’t be able to pick one.  If I were to start, I’d end up listing the whole cast. I do spend a lot of time with Kristen because all my scenes are involved with her, so Kristen and I are very close. I guess I’m close with Rob, too, ’cause we spend a lot of time together as well. But, the great thing about this series is that the whole entire cast is so close, and it would be a nightmare if we weren’t. It would be impossible to make this series because the characters are so tight. So, we’re really thankful that we all get along so well.

Q: What has it been like working in Vancouver, Canada?

Taylor: Canada is great. I’ve spent a while there. I’ve spent six months out of this year. The first time we were there, it was really rainy, dark and cloudy. It was snowing. That was difficult weather-wise. But, it’s just one of the most beautiful cities and I’m definitely going to miss it  a lot.

Q: How was it to film Eclipse? What can you say about that film?

Taylor: Filming Eclipse was beautiful. Eclipse was my favorite book, so I was really excited to start filming the movie. I just love that it’s the height of the love triangle. Twilight develops Edward and Bella’s relationship, New Moon develops Jacob and Bella’s, and in Eclipse the three of them are physically together. It has one of my favorite scenes ever, in that movie. The tent scene, where Edward is forced, and I guess it was a choice of his, to let me sleep in the same sleeping bag as Bella, just so she doesn’t die, because she’s shivering to death and I’m warm. I’m the only thing, at that moment, that can keep her alive. It’s a funny scene. There’s a lot of ribbing going on between Jacob and Edward. It’s going to be a really good movie and visually stunning.  David Slade is incredible visually.

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Q: In the movie, Jacob speaks Spanish to Bella. Do you speak any Spanish at all, and are you going to speak more Spanish in Eclipse?

Taylor: I don’t speak much Spanish. I took it in school, but that was about it. I think it’s just Jacob’s personality. He’s really outgoing and he’s random. It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with his character. It’s just the fact that he’s friendly and you never know what to expect.

I didn’t speak any Spanish in Eclipse. That was a bummer. But, at the end of this one I did speak a little bit of Quileute, when I was leaning in to kiss her in the kitchen. I’m not gonna tell you what I said. I’ll leave that to you to figure out. But, it was really cool. There’s only like four people left in the world that actually speak Quileute, and we were able to talk to one of these ladies. It was really interesting.