Robert Pattinson is doing something different than most other actors. He’s not only acting in a movie – he’s actually living and working on set. The British actor is in Italy shooting a movie with prominent Italian director Paolo Sorrentino. He’s not only in Italy but also acting in front of a live audience – a first for him. The actor is using Skype to communicate with family and friends who couldn’t make it to Italy.
This is part of an ongoing experiment by Pattinson to blur the lines between his public and private identities. He began wearing disguises to shield his identity while working on the Set.
“I’ve never done that before,” Pattinson told reporters at the Rome Film Festival when asked about working undercover. “It’s quite an eye-opener… It does make you realize just how much you rely on technology and how much your life is documented. It’s also quite liberating. I’ll never do it again but, at the same time, I’m glad I did it.”
A Classic Actor Experiment
The experiment began when Pattinson was cast in the title role in Steven Spielberg’s controversial adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The role was an unexpected departure from Pattinson’s usual star-making turns in the popular Twilight films. While the films made him a household name, it’s his performance in Tom Sawyer that solidified him as a mature actor – one who could give some of America’s greatest actors a run for their money.
Pattinson won the Best Actor award at the 2014 Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of the iconic title character. Many considered it the best performance of his career. It was an impressive turn, considering that he’s never played a character this iconic before. In fact, he’s never really played a character that wasn’t a vampire, werewolf, or superhero.
To prepare for his role, Spielberg and writers Jimmy Andrès and John Rogers gave Pattinson an immersion course in the art of storytelling. They wanted him to learn how to make the most of his experience in front of the camera. This is something that most actors prepare for through years of acting classes and rigorous auditions. But, for Pattinson, it was a one-of-a-kind experience.
The course focused on story-telling techniques that could be used in any medium, be it film or television. It also examined the different kinds of stories that can be told in comics and how to make the most of them. In addition, the course looked at how to create a character through visual aids and how to develop distinct voices for various characters.
The resulting film, The Lost Honor of Kathleen Flynn is a mature, dramatic interpretation of the Kidnapping of Mary Ann Mobley and the trial that followed. The film was based on the true story of a kidnapping in 1949, which became one of America’s most notorious true crime cases. The film shows the public humiliation that followed when Mobley, a beautiful young woman, was declared legally dead and her family was forbidden to speak of her. The film also depicts the true story of how Mary Ann Mobley defied the system and reclaimed her freedom. It’s the kind of story that could only come from a great American playwright, William Inge. Spielberg loved the script and cast Pattinson in the role. Inge himself said that Spielberg called him and told him that Pattinson was perfect for the role.
The Making Of ‘Twilight’ Films
While filming The Lost Honor of Kathleen Flynn, Pattinson got the opportunity to immerse himself in the world of the Twilight films. The filmmaker Louis Leterrier, who directed the most recent two installments in the Twilight series – Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2 – told The Hollywood Reporter that he wanted to give the actor a taste of the long hours that went into making the films. They were shooting several long days each week, so he wanted to give the actor some time off to reorient himself to acting in a ‘traditional’ way. It was a delicate balance, but Leterrier managed it beautifully.
The director wanted to give the actors something new for their contract negotiations, so he pitched a couple of ideas for adaptations of classic children’s books. One of those ideas was Peter Pan, which would bring the boy who never grows up back to Disney. Leterrier also proposed an adaptation of Beatriz Martinez’s acclaimed comic series The Lost Girls. Disney liked the premise of the film and gave Leterrier approval to shoot it. Filmmakers could be fans of the original comic but have to work within the constraints of a movie format. This is where they often draw a contrast between a filmmaker’s love for a book and the challenge of adapting it to a screen.
Martinez told The Hollywood Reporter her reaction when she first heard about the adaptation: “I think the best thing that could happen is for it to be made. It’s a comic book that has been around for almost 70 years, and it’s still as relevant today as it was then. It doesn’t seem like it’s been a while since I first read it, and I’m still amazed at the insights that Ursula Le Guin gave to society through her writing.”
Actors’ Take On ‘Twilight’
While most people think of vampires and werewolves when it comes to the Twilight films, the series is actually about a lot more than just monsters. It’s an examination of teenage angst, an exploration of the nature of love, and an inquiry into whether or not humanity is a worthwhile pursuit. These examinations made for some of the greatest movies of our time. But, for those who saw the stories as nothing more than light entertainment, they might not live up to your expectations. It is difficult to describe the scope of the Twilight films without giving away some of their most defining cinematic moments, but here goes.
The films are set in a small New England town where local teenagers go missing. The film opens with a group of high school kids celebrating the last day of their spring break. They go for a ride on a wagon pulled by a pair of draft horses and end up at a dilapidated old barn. They start drinking and dancing, unaware that a group of vampires are watching them from inside the barn. One of the kids gets up to go to the bathroom, but he never returned. In another scene, a group of vampires are feeding on the blood of a dog. The movie cuts back and forth between these scenes while telling the story of Carl and Ashley, two teenage vampires who fall in love despite their differences. Even when the camera is on them, nothing feels quite right. You’re never quite sure what you’re seeing – is it real or are the settings just some sort of fancy lighting?
It’s fair to say that all of the main characters in Twilight have something different going on. In the original Twilight, Stephenie Meyer gave us a dark and brooding version of Bella, who is clearly not your typical sixteen-year-old. That same year we were also given a deeply insecure and suicidal Edward Cullen. The character is a study in contrasts: he’s both brilliant and physically intimidating, yet he’s also a romantic idealist who believes in fairy tales and happy endings. Finally, it’s a lot for one character to bear, so it’s no wonder that Twilight won the 2010 MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss.
Experiencing Life On Set
Pattinson’s previous brushes with the supernatural did not end well. He made his presence known to the world in 2012, when he tweeted that he’d just cast a wolverine in his next movie. His interest in these “mundane” creatures might explain why he agreed to do the role in the first place. The actor filmed a brief appearance as Marmaduke in Walt Disney Pictures’ comedy Burbank yet still manages to keep his anonymity. While filming, he told Deadline, “Sometimes I’ll ask the makeup artist to help me put on the mask. They’re usually made of plastic, so it’s easier to take it off and on. Once I get the hang of it, it’s not that bad.” It’s not bad at all.
Pattinson isn’t the only famous person to disappear for a while and then pop up again. Some have even suggested that he was abducted by aliens. While the actor was filming Tom Sawyer in Rome in 2014, a group of UFOlogists tried to get him to come down to a local bar so they could question him about his alleged visit. The irony is that, while many people might question what happens on set when an actor is shooting a movie, very few would ever think to ask what happens behind the scenes. It’s an interesting experiment that Pattinson is pursuing – one that might end up defining his reputation as an actor.