Catherine Hardwicke "Rob has that soul, that passion, that depth."

'Twilight' Director Thinks Robert Pattinson Deserves Breakthrough Male Award
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by Larry Carroll
Catherine Hardwicke celebrated the seven nominations of "Twilight" at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards by inviting us into the home where she auditioned her no-names-turned-superstars, and showing us the bedroom where Robert and Kristen shared the smooch that would eventually become a Best Kiss front-runner.

Next up, Catherine led us into the living room where she keeps a magazine rack. And, after spinning around the rack to reveal dozens of covers featuring her lead actor, she was eager to discuss Robert Pattinson's nomination for Breakthrough Male Performance.

"I remember when we first cast him. We put it on the Internet, and people were sending e-mails [saying], 'He's revolting! He's disgusting! He can't be Edward!' And of course, the fans, after we started putting out some photographs of him looking like Edward, they turned around," Hardwicke grinned. "Now he's pretty much on the cover of every magazine! It's pretty crazy."

Walk into any supermarket and you're bound to find a few RPattzes staring at you while you're in the checkout line. But while every year brings with it a few new Hollywood beefcakes, Hardwicke said she's most proud of Rob because his breakthrough might be building a career to be proud of for decades.

"I think he could do some really interesting roles, like Johnny Depp has chosen — such unique roles," she explained of the actor, who first auditioned (the biology scene) in her dining room, then went into the bedroom to try out that famous kiss. "He can transform himself into other characters, and I love that Rob will do things that we don't expect. He's going to do really unusual, unique things — and I'm looking forward to it."

What's even more remarkable is that, a mere 18 months ago, Twilighters were upset by Pattinson's casting. "People had posted their own opinions of who should be Robert online — pictures of male models that they'd put on the Internet and say, 'This has to be Edward!' and those guys probably couldn't act," Hardwicke remembered. "In fact, we looked at a lot of those guys — and they couldn't act."

Now Rob's amazing breakthrough has seen him go from "the guy in those 'Harry Potter' movies" to one of the most desired leading men in Hollywood. And along with the pleasures of his breakthrough has come a bit of pain — as best evidenced by Hardwicke's magazine collection that also includes such tabloid headlines as "Twilight in Trouble" and "Twilight Fight."

"Now everybody [knows about him], everybody is paying attention to every little thing Rob does," Hardwicke said of the new pressure on him as he's been working on the "New Moon" set. "At the time when we filmed the first movie we had a few fans [surrounding the set], like, 10 people would find us. Now it's like everywhere Rob goes it's a circus.

"People are dissecting everything," she sighed. "If he's looking [grumpy for a moment] it's like, 'Oh, Rob's upset!' It's a crazy time."

Although Hardwicke refuses to pick a favorite between RPattz and fellow Breakthrough Performance nominee Taylor Lautner, she told us that she'll be screaming louder than anyone if Rob walks onstage Sunday night to receive his trophy.

"Robert has that soul, that passion, that depth. He's a very interesting person in his heart and soul. The movies he watches are weird independent films and foreign films; the books he reads are these great, obscure things. He's a musician, an artist, and he's very special and unique," she explained, making his case as a true Hollywood breakthrough. "I can't wait to see what he does next."


Thanks to Mechevpao for the link.

37 comments:

Dani said...

Thank you Mechevpao sweetness again you rock doll. And I adore Catherine Hardwicke, I mean what is not to like about her.

She is a gem and love that she supports Rob and I feel she really invested in him. I mean she gives a shit, she truly cares.

Something that is hard to come by in Hollywood is these connections, and Rob is so likeable I have no doubt he will make many more great relationships with cast, crew and directors that will only help make his career fruitful.

On that note ladies and gents...I am off to bed. I feel nauseous and damn I really forgot what being pregnant felt like, and although I am only 6 weeks along the puking is coming on strong. Wow I am going to have 2 kiddos under 3 when this one comes...thats scary.

Merit said...

oh Dani!!! i didn't know about the baby coming!
congrats!!!
you are doing a great jog running this site along with gozde... i love being here
have pleasent dreams!!
good nite!

Ms. Bonderson said...

Love Catherine's comments... She only makes me love Rob more! Didn't think that was possible... LOL

And, congrats Dani! Wishing you all the best throughout your pregnancy. :D

albaville said...

ROB DESERVE ALL THE BEST IN HIS LIFE! THIS AWARD WILL BE JUST ONE OF THE FIRST THAT HE'LL RECEIVE IN HIS CAREER...CATHERINE IS ADORABLE!

Lynnes said...

Congrats to you and your family Dani! Hope the nausea goes away soon. *crosses fingers*

Mechevpao said...

Dani, congrats for your pregnancy!! :D
Take care and rest, please.

I´m not Catherine fan, even though I like her work in Thirteen and LOD; but I have to admit, she took the project with a lot of passion, and she casted Rob for the role and got his music into the film; it must had been hard for her to get this, since we know there was a lot of doubt about Rob into all of this, but I think that she must have seen from the very beginning, all she mentions about his interesting soul and artist nature that couldn´t be wasted in anonymity.
And she seems to have a crush on Rob :)

katykeene said...

Catherine Hardwicke is responsible for picking Rob for the part that has catapulted him into international stardom. So any niggling issues I have with her as a Director are so outweighed by that, that it makes them pale into insignificance.
Dani Congratulations! and good luck with the morning sickness. I remember that without any fondness at all??!!
Just think, your hands will be full but the babes will be good friends as they are so close.
Thank you for all the work you do here with Gozde.

katykeene said...

OK so Dani, that was supposed to be a positive statement. About the babes being good friends... forget I said that about the hands full bit...LOL.. trust me to spoil it!

margot said...

Dani :))))))))))))))))))))))

oficially CONGRATULATIONS !

You're great and Gozde and you make so many women happy like no other man ! (apart maybe from Johnny Depp in Don Juan)

all the best throughout your pregnancy :))))) take good care

Anonymous said...

LOL She does seem to have a little crush on Rob but who wouldn't ;)

I like Catherine Hardwicke and these were very nice words she had for Robert. I wasn't around before twilight so I don't really know the extent of the hate regarding Robert being cast but I can imagine how stressful it must have been both for Robert and Catherine. And seriously if Robert doesn't win the breakthrough male category, that'd just be really ridiculous.

And I think C.Hardwicke actually did a fantastic work with Twilight too. I didn't know the book before I watched the movie so the only thing I base my opinion on is how much she managed to get me hooked with her movie and not what lines/scenes she left off the movie or not. I think the hardest thing to translate into movie (beside the lovestory) was this special and characteristic 'atmosphere', this sense of mystery, of danger mixed with fascination and attration. And it was perfect imo. I came out of the theater and bought the books immediately after. And I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who felt like this. The magic of twilight the movie was that it introduced the story to many many more people all over the world who afterwards bought the books and became fans.

...wowie! said...

She is crushing on Rob...but who isn't?

Can't imagine if we had a different Edward.

Anna said...

Dani - congratulations!!

I agree that CH did manage to translate the unique atmosphere of the book onto the screen. She's a rare example of a kind, soulful person in Hollywood. And she cast Rob, for which I'll be eternally grateful.

However, she also made the movie way cheesier and cringe-worthy than it needed to be... so I'm glad she's done with the series.

anna F said...

Great news for you Dani!

And C. Hardwicke is always very nice and supportive with Rob. Her behavior is weird because she is like a teenager trapped in a woman's body, so much enthusiasm! But she seems absolutely truthfull.

Still, the movie was cheesier than necessary. And I'm glad that she is not directing new moon because I remember not even agreeing with the way she summed up the global story of new moon... like we did not identify the same main theme!

Dahlia said...

Congratulations Dani :)


And Rob really really does deserve to get this award! I may even cry if he does lol. xx

Nicky said...

I would agree with you Anna F. I didn't like Twilight the movie, and I have a gut feeling that New Moon is going to be ALOT better - can't wait! But having said that, I really do like Catherine as a person, genuine and supportive, and so I am a fan of hers, truly. As for Rob and the MTV, I would bet my life that he is a shoe-in, but honestly, no offence here, but I am waiting for when the man wins an Oscar one day - and he WILL, with the right role and some more maturity in his acting! I have every faith....

Lizalou said...

Congrats Dani!!

G'morning everyone!

I think CW is crushing on Rob, but who can blame her?
I agree with your comments on Twilight being cheesier than it needed to be, LittleBear. In fact, the last time I watched it, I actually cringed in certain parts. But, then I remembered one key thing - this movie is geared towards kids!
I think we all forget that sometimes and we analyze from an adult point of view.
The reason that I always forget that the movie is for kids is that when reading the books, I never felt as if the characters were teenagers. In fact, when I actually sat back and thought about it one day, I was disgusted that they were only kids in the book and wondered if I'd ever want a daughter of mine reading it.

xoRobxo said...

I agree with everyone. CH seems really nice and I like her as a person, but her directing in Twilight was less (way less)than to be desired. I found that people who didn't read the book either liked it or didn't get it. And those who have read the book just were soo disapointed. I remember walking out of the movie thinking what the F*&k was that! CH brought on all her buddies from other movies, Nikki Reed (who I think was all wrong for Rosalie), Makeup artist, etc. Parts of the movie I could live with and other parts were just downright bad. One of my most cringe worthy moments is when Edward "flys" from one tree to the other and there is about 3 seconds of them hovering in the air~so fake looking. Why oh why was that that nesessary, that tiny part should have just been edited out, show that close up on their faces and then them landing on the tree and it worked. Oh speaking of editing-it sucked. And I won't go into the obvious bloopers~sucky meadow scene. But yeah bad directing, bad screenplay and low budget killed Twilight. Rob saved it. I thank the heavens for CW. Funny I bought LOD and thought it was really good. I like all the wonderful things she says about Rob. And yes she does have a crush-just listening to the commentary on the movie you can tell that

Lizlou~SM has said she never intended the book for teenagers, it was surpose to be for her~so yeah was intended for adults. I hate how the market it as a teen book, I surpose because of the high school part in the book. But really its universal. I just wish whe would finish MS~Come on Stephanie, I dyin here

Anonymous said...

CW and I feel the exact same way about Rob...she must be as robsessed as I am :)) That's just great and a testament of who and what Rob really is..as if I have any doubt about is awesomeness...naaa---aaaahhhhh...hey girls...I'm a regular stalker of Robsessed....been reading you each morning I wake up for months :))

Congrats Dani for the Baby

xoRobxo said...

Oops sorry for some typos in my above post

margot said...

yeah, I'm dying for Midnight Sun, too !!! Stephenie - come on, don't be bothered no longer - we are sorry it leaked, too... ppl are unfair.

in Twilight I couldn't stand IMO :

quality of shimmering (plus sound of it)
any action moment grrrhhh horrible crap
Rob making scary faces and growls at James + all crappy Vamp Showdown (embarassing)
Nikki claiming to be Rosalie WTF ?

and have to add that the film is magical to me and I'm watching it often (admit: Rob's scenes) and I'm convinced Kris and Rob are perfect Bella and Edward and they saved the film

and somebody of the Summit management made the biggest possible mistake thinking this film is not worth their attention, care and money... because now they know - even like this and with all the crap it will be new Love Story for years and it broke records and made huge money and they know if they had been wiser (another director, more money) they might double the success .... ha ! on the other hand, they know that CH choose Rob and she won it! they wouldn't have done it :))) It must have been a painful dillema how to sack CH after such success to hire somebody like CW

margot said...

bad note for my grammar, again ... but who cares ..

annycullen said...

first of all i was glad rob was edward. he makes a great edward! after i saw him in harry potter i immediately fell inlove with him. and second i love rob. (=


congratz dani!

blackbird said...

Congrats, Dani!

Re: CH as director, I think she has a lot of passion but some of her visions do not translate well onto film.

However, a lot of other epic fantasies have had the same bumpy starts, e.g. Star Wars, Star Trek, Terminator, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter.... The quality of filming, acting, etc improved with each sequel. I see Twilight heading in the same direction. :D

Sara said...

Congrats Dani ;)
Take care of yourself hun.

As wierd as I find Catherine, I gotta love her for what she has done so far. If she wasn't there, Rob probably wouldn't have even been looked at twice. I believe she believes in him and her confidence is infectious.
As much as Twilight could have been better(and that's an understatement...), I think she did a good job with what she had. Plus, her expertise is small indie films and critics forget that when you see how big Twilight has gotten and how much stick she got for it.

margot said...

plus :

it has just come to my mind that there are so few female film directors and if by any chance it weren't Cathrine but a man, we wouldn't like this movie at all, not at all

xoRobxo said...

For those of you who have not seen Lords of Dogtown~watch it! I wanted to see it because Catherine directed it and I wanted to see another of her films to compare. And the differnce between Twilight and LOD are night and day. And I mean directing, editing obviously not plot. I wasn't sure I was going to like it but it was real good. It's a true story set in the 70's and has alot of well known actors in it:
Heath Ledger(hes awesome in it)
Emile Hirsh (who I liked b4 the Cannes crap, now I'm not sure)
America Ferrera
Johnny Knoxville
KStew BF Michael whatshisname
Rebecca Demorny (sp?)
of course Nikki Reed

True Catherine did the best she could on Twilight with budget and maybe script(Im not sure how much a director can change the script if they want) but what about the bad editing and direction, bloopers~there is IMO no excuse for that. I'm sure it does not cost any more to edit a movie badly as it does to edit it good. And to make sure Kstew's oxygen tube either stays on her cheek or up by her eye~not moving back and forth especially in such a close up shot~geeze come on

Oh by the way: Congrats Dani-you and Gozde are top notch girlies

TwiHartRK said...

Congrats Dani! Thanks for keeping us in the know while you are going through the pukey parts of your pregnancy - hopefully it won't last long. And it's worth it! I was in your shoes a couple years ago and thought I could never handle it but we moms find a way.
xo

This is a great interview with CH - she really appreciates Rob and confirms what we all love about him. Thanks.

Chicago girl now in LA said...

I completely agree with Dani...what a positive, supportive and shining light Catherine has been for Rob...
BTW, CONGRATS DANI!

Chicago girl now in LA said...

I'm not at all convinced that Catherine was fired...that's insider info...I think what she said is entirely possible, that they expected her to work on too tight of a schedule. I believe her when she said her creative process wouldn't fit their timeframe.

XORob~That's "continuity" you're describing with Bella's tube.

Margot~I generally agree with you on Twilight's flaws, especially casting Nikki as Rosalie.

MandyW said...

Thanks Dani, and congrats, try and relax as much as you can.(not so easy with another little one running around.)

We all owe Catherine Hardwick our thanks, no matter how we feel about her.

Shani said...

TRUEFAX. CONCUR. DITTO....enuf said.

Nikola Six said...

I kinda like Hardwicke. She seems very passionate about that which she is...um...passionate about. And yes, I do believe she is very passionate about Rob Pattinson. Not in the obvious way ladies (although what do I know of her feelings for him), but rather, I believe she is passionate about his talent. SHE GETS IT and she did from almost the beginning and I love that she champions him at every opportunity. And she doesn't have to as she has been dismissed from the preceedings. I see no bitterness in her. And I believe she's going to do down as the woman who truly discovered Robert Pattinson.

As for her filmaking skills...for 37 mil, she got alot of bang for her buck. Question the execution, but she still produced a lush and gorgeous looking production.

Yup. Anyone who praises the talent of Robert Pattinson, can have a seat at my table anyday.

Nik

Nikola Six said...

Oh. And congradulations on the baby Dani.

Please be well.

Nik

Treasure_7 said...

I am with Catherine I can hardly wait to see what he is going to be doing in the years to come. He has a great start and I know that he has a great future as musician, singer, actor what ever he wants I know that he can be successful.

Mrs. Robinsane said...

Dani: Lovely news—so glad for you!

As for Catherine Hardwicke:

I LOVE her unabashed, unashamed gushing over RP! Love the "RP Audition Site Tour" of her house and the in-plain-view RP magazine-cover shrine!!

xoRobxo said...

Thanks Chicago Girl:)
Ok the continuity was bad!!bad bad- it was all bad*ok i feel better*

Kathy#1 said...

Congrats on the baby Dani. I agree with you about Catherine Hardwicke...I do think she has a little bit of a crush on Rob though, too. But who could blame her?

 
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