So you’ve finished watching Twilight and wondered, like us, whether Robert Pattinson really wore contacts during the filming of the movie? You’re in luck because there’s an answer right here!
There are two theories as to why Robert Pattinson wore contacts during the Twilight filming. One suggests that he had contact lenses and didn’t want to disturb the aesthetic of his eye makeup by swishing around his contacts in his eyes (hence the reason why he kept them in). The other suggests that he didn’t wear contacts and had to put up with terrible vision all the time.
Well, we’ve got the answer! While researching for this blog post, we came across an interesting little tidbit in the IMDB trivia section about Twilight. One of the trivia answers refers to a scene where Robert Pattinson’s character, Edward, walks through a field of tall grass as he searches for his vampire lover, Bella. Turns out that in the scene, Edward isn’t wearing contacts, but instead has eye makeup applied. The effects makeup artist, Kim Murphy, revealed that they had to do multiple takes because Robbie kept putting his contacts in and taking them out. This was so annoying because it was taking too long and he kept ruining the shot.
If you think that the scene doesn’t make much sense without Robbie wearing contacts, then that’s probably because you didn’t see it coming from the beginning. The sequence was actually scripted that way from the very beginning and it was only added later that Edward doesn’t wear contacts.
According to an interview with EW, the sequence was actually a homage to Peter Fonda and Brandy’s motorcycle scene from Easy Rider. Apparently, director Chris Weitz had seen that scene and thought it would be funny to have a similar interaction between Edward and Bella. Of course, the timing and setting of the scene are totally different, but the basic idea is the same.
Did Chris Weitz Get Inspired By Easy Rider?
Inevitably, the scene that everyone is talking about after watching Twilight is the one where Edward walks through a field of tall grass as he searches for Bella. If you’ve never seen the movie, then it’s certainly an iconic image and it’s easy to see why this scene was chosen to be included in the final cut of the movie. The effect that the thick grass has on the sky is rather beautiful, don’t you think?
There’s a fun fact about the scene that you might not know. According to the IMDB trivia section, the director of Twilight, Chris Weitz, cited Easy Rider as an inspiration for the scene. In an interview with The Verge, Weitz said:
“There’s this moment where [Edward] is looking for Bella, and he ends up in this meadow of tall grass. It was a conscious decision to do that. We were specifically after this effect of the sky being blocked by the grass. It’s something I saw originally in a Brandy and Peter Fonda movie – Easy Rider. I loved that moment because it was so cinematic and it really blocked the sun.”
It’s clear that the scene wasn’t scripted that way, but it was a last-minute addition. This is most likely because they were running out of time and had to add something that would make the scene better. Had it not been for the field of grass, the scene might not have ended up being as iconic as it is today.
Why Was The Final Cut So Different?
While the majority of the movie was filmed in the summer of 2012, the edit didn’t start until the following spring. This is most likely because they needed more time to fix some of the scenes. The reason that they needed more time wasn’t because of any sort of problem, but because they had to top up on the scenes that they didn’t have time to film.
Some scenes were filmed with double-digit day and night scenes. Apparently, the lighting was so difficult to achieve that they ended up taking multiple breaks throughout the day. Sometimes, they would film for two or three hours before having to stop and reshoot because the light wasn’t right.
There are a few scenes towards the beginning of Twilight that don’t hold up quite as well as the rest of the movie. Specifically, Michelle’s (Bella’s sister) arrival at Forks High School and the scene where she and Bella get in a fight are a little boring. Fortunately, these scenes don’t take up too much time and they don’t affect the storyline too much. This is why it wasn’t really necessary to include them in the final cut of the movie. In fact, you probably only remember Michelle because she played a pivotal role in Twilight.
Why Was It Important To Include The ‘Forks High School’ Scenes?
As we’ve established, the majority of Twilight was filmed in the summer of 2012, but the edit didn’t start until the following spring. During that time, Forks High School was undergoing renovations. Specifically, they were turning the school’s library into a recording studio and adding a few extra classrooms.
If the school had already started its renovation process when the movie was filmed in the summer of 2012, then there would have been no point in including the scenes where the characters are hanging out at the school. The fact that they were filmed during a time when the school wasn’t even open to the public ensured that they would be completely obsolete once the scenes were edited together.
Including those scenes took up a lot of room and, according to the EW article, they were actually spread across two discs. It’s no wonder that the DVD edition of Twilight is one of the bigger discs in terms of both capacity and weight. In order to save room, some scenes were cut from the final version and it was a real shame because those scenes are actually quite funny. It’s hard to believe that they didn’t make the cut for nothing.
Unfortunately, it’s not all bad news. At least, there is one funny scene that was cut from the final version of Twilight because it was deemed too violent for children. In the original cut of the movie, the characters witness a murder that takes place right in front of them. While it’s not entirely clear who the victim is, it’s obvious that it’s someone close to them. For some reason, they decided that this was too much information for young viewers. That scene wasn’t included in the DVD release of Twilight, but it has since been re-added for digital sale.
What Does The Future Hold For Twilight?
Even though the majority of Twilight was filmed back in 2012, it seems as though the franchise will continue to grow in popularity. Between the upcoming sequel, the success of the movie itself and all the buzz surrounding it, there’s every reason to believe that it will continue to grow in popularity. The most recent Blu-ray for Twilight is selling quite well, sporting a 4.5/5 rating on Amazon with over 70 reviews.
Based on what little we know about the next installment in the Twilight series, it looks like it will continue where Twilight left off. We know that Bella is going to be furthering her education at university while Edward is going to start his own architecture firm. Of course, we can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if Edward hadn’t left town after killing Bella’s classmate. Perhaps, she would’ve gotten over him by now.
There doesn’t seem to be any signs of Twilight slowing down, either. Not only are there rumors of a possible TV series, but there are also talks of a possible spin-off focused on Alice. The future of the Twilight franchise is very much up in the air and who knows, maybe one day, we’ll see an architect in the role of a vampire.