'How do you make a grown man sparkle?' Catherine Hardwicke reflects on Robert Pattinson's 'Twilight' effects
It was an enchantment for young fans and a punchline for critics: Released 10 years ago this week, Twilight had the distinction of being the first vampire movie with a lead blood-sipper (Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen) who sparkled in the sunlight.
For director Catherine Hardwicke, though, capturing that glistening was a matter of remaining faithful to the bestselling books it was based on. It was also one of the biggest challenges she faced adapting Stephenie Meyer’s first novel for the big screen.
“That was definitely one of my worries. How do you make a grown man sparkle?” Hardwicke tells Yahoo Entertainment (watch above) on the occasion of the film’s 10-year anniversary. “That’s a little bit scary.”
The filmmaker relied on the masters at ILM, the celebrated special effects house founded by Star Wars maestro George Lucas. And from there it was a matter of trial and error.
“We just tried different levels of how much to make him sparkle, so it was subtle enough. I didn’t want to go too sparkly,” Hardwicke says with a laugh.
“In the book, that passage, he’s sparkling for like five minutes. I have him only sparkle for one reveal and then he steps out of the sun.”
Twilight is available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital.
Watch: Catherine Hardwicke explains how she cast Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart:
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