“I’M A COMPETITIVE LITTLE SUCKER”

AS THE BENEVOLENT VAMPIRE ALICE IN THE TWILIGHT BLOCKBUSTER, ASHLEY GREENE IS ON THE RED-CARPET RIDE OF HER LIFE. LUCKILY, SHE ALREADY HAS THE CONFIDENCE TO HANDLE IT. SO HOW DOES SHE KEEP IT TOGETHER AT THE TENDER AGE OF 23? THERE’S A LOT OF PRESSURE ON VAMPIRES THESE DAYS….

By Monica Corcoran Harel

Green contact lenses and the odd fang flash just don’t cut it anymore. Take the characters from Twilight, for example. In the third instalment of the blockbuster series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, these undead creatures of the night have to run, fly and do battle with the forces of evil – all while looking impossibly gorgeous.

Actress Ashley Green was up to the challenge. To play the part of the vampire Alice Cullen – family to Kellan Lutz’s character Emmett and the brooding Edward (Robert Pattinson), as well as loyal pal to the human object of Edward’s desire, Bella (Kristen Stewart) – she had to sculpt her 1.67m frame into a lean, mean bad-guy-fighting machine. “Before we started filming, fitness was [already] a priority for me,” says Ashley. “I’ve always been active. I went from dance to tae kwon do to being on the swimming team and playing volleyball. I like sports that are fun and engaging, so it doesn’t really feel like you’re working out.”

She had a few physical advantages as well, she admits. “My body holds muscle really easily, and I tend to bulk up if I’m lifting weights.” So, while filming, she focused on cardio, squats and planks during her daily hour-long interval sessions. “I did side planks for my obliques, which are one of my trouble areas,” she says. “And traditional planks tone your back so you don’t have that little bit of fat hanging over your bra. Ugh!” Ashley even inspired squat contest among her female co-stars (“I’m a competitive little sucker,” she says with a laugh).

She did a couple of non-traditional weight moves: working with kettlebells and pushing a big box filled with weights across a room. “My butt and legs were so sore!”

But this is not a woman who’s obsessed with counting her ribs, as many other starlets seem to be. “A lot of people like to be super-tiny, but I don’t want a child’s body – I want a woman’s body that’s extremely fit. It’s so much sexier,” she says.

While filming, Ashley’s training habits tend to be more focused. “My fitness and diet regimen do change a bit for the Twilight films because we’re able to go to a trainer every day. They have us do martial arts and up our protein intake because you’ve got to have high energy. But I try to eat well and stay fit in my everyday life, so it’s not much of a change.”

Between movies, Ashley keeps her body firm and her mind calm by doing Pilates or running five to eight kilometres, three to five days a week. “You put on your headphones and go off into your own little world. If you’re running outside and you have a beautiful view, you have this sense of being free,” says Ashley. High-octane tunes by Lady Gaga, Beyonce’, Paramore and Lil Wayne get her revved. “It’s like having a trainer yelling in your ear,” she says. Not that she needs any external motivation – she confesses to having “a habit of always wanting to break some record I set previously, whether it’s on the treadmill or how many push-ups I can do”.

Not wanting to cancel out all the hard work with junk food, Ashley tries to stick to healthy staples such as tuna, sushi, chicken, egg whites and veggies. “But I don’t do the diet thing anymore,” she says. “I’m a big believer in feeding your body what it needs. Deny yourself something and you’re going to end up shoving your face full of it.” Plus being fit means not having to worry about enjoying a glass of wine or a brownie (which she does indult in, on occasion).

Her approach to fashion is equally no-nonsense. “I live a dual life,” she explains. “On the red carpet, it’s completely glam, but at home I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. Simple can be beautiful.” And as far as dating goes, Ashley knows exactly what she wants: “I like a pretty boy with an edge. Someone who has blue eyes, who has mystery and who’s a little brooding.”

Before Ashley got her big break and join the blood-thirsty cast of the hit franchise, she was a humble waitron: “I was working in a restaurant before I got cast in Twilight, and I worked there up until two weeks before I left… I haven’t stopped working since.” After originally auditioning for the role of Bella and being told she wasn’t right for the part, Ashley was understandably ecstatic when she was called back and told she’d been cast as Alice. “It has jump-started my career and it’s been an incredible ride. We’re always running around doing something new and exciting,” she says.

“Between takes on set, it’s fun – we laugh and fool around. We’ve know each other for years now filming Twilight so we all get on well and we’ve become really close. You’d think we’d get sick of each other, but on our nights off we all go out together.”

Ashley acknowledges her good fortune in being accepted into the Hollywood machine early on. She originally wanted to be a model but was told she wasn’t tall enough and was advised to try acting instead: “I think the biggest thing it’s given me is experience, which is hard to get in Hollywood – and with that comes self-confidence”.

You grew up with three sisters and are now married with three daughters. Have you figured out what makes women tick?

Women are very complex and I don’t know if men will ever figure them out. One thing that confuses me is that they always feel like you should know what they’re thinking. Men don’t work that way – we can’t read minds. So often women will be like, “You should have known that,” but you have to tell us. If you told us what to do, we would do it. However, I have nailed the answer to the question: “Do I look fat in these jeans?”

What’s the number-one mistake women make in relationships?

When women like men, they want to show them. But if they’re always in teh guy’s space – callin ghim all the time or “Hey, I just washed your car!” or “Hey, I just cleaned your flat!” – it can be smothering and the guy withdraws. You have to leave a man always wanting more.

What’s a woman’s most seductive asset?

Lips are sexy. They’re a tool for communication but also a tool for kissing. [They're] sexy both visually and intellectually.

You’ve said that your Eclipse co-star Robert Pattinson gets “crazy” fans. Any bizarre encounters for you?

I get the occassional fans who hyperventilate and can’t get thier words out. It makes me uncomfortable, because they’re so excited to meet me and I hope I live up to their expectations. People always come up to me and say, “Oh my God, you’re Carlisle – can you give this letter to Rob?” I’ve become the pony express to Rob Pattinson, but I’ve yet to get one letter from [him].  Maybe he’s hoarding them.

Why do you think women are so into vampires these days?

The hunger of wanting someone so much that you can taste them is very intimate, beautiful and romantic. It’s a metaphor [for sex].

]]> http://www.twilightseries.co.za/actors/peter-facinelli-talks-about-women/feed/ 0 http://www.twilightseries.co.za/actors/ashley-greene-on-the-cover-of-womens-health/ http://www.twilightseries.co.za/actors/ashley-greene-on-the-cover-of-womens-health/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:00:40 +0000 Felicity http://www.twilightseries.co.za/?p=9299 And on the September 2010 cover of South Africa’s Women’s Health, is our own gorgeous Ashley Greene.  Ashley says in the article “I’m a competitive little sucker”.  Here are the scans from the mag that I did

They have some great articles too so be sure to get your copy!!

Here is the article :

KELLAN LUTZ’S ABS EPIPHANY CAME DURING a graduation party at a water park. “Before then, I never knew abs were attractive,” he says. “Where I grew up in Arizona, you would never see anyone without a shirt on at school. But when I took off my shirt, all the girls were, like, ‘Oh, look at your abs!’ And I was, like ‘Yeah!’”

Psychologists call this “positive reinforcement”. And Lutz instinctively knew what to do: stay active.

But it wasn’t easy. The 25-year-old’ Twilight star’s advantage was an early love of athletics, but he’s had to put in constant effort to maintain his physique. He played football in high school, hit the gym regularly for years and considered becoming a Navy SEAL. One of the reasons he attended the university he studied at was its location – near the beach.

If only we’d made fitness part of our lifestyle as kids, then… But there’s no reason we can’t start now.

Hell, Lutz’s workout regimen had been an unfocused mishmash for years – until he filmed the HBO series Generation Kill in 2007. How do a bunch of guys stuck in the African desert kill time for seven months? They do exactly what you and your friends should do: challenge one another. In Lutz’s case, that involved push-up and sit-up contests and lifting weights in a makeshift gym. One fellow actor, a former pole-vaulter named Rich McDonald, offered Lutz some helpful tips; now they’re regular training buddies.

Lutz, who recently become on the newer faces of Calvin Klein underwear, starts every workout with five minutes of cardio and follows it up with core work. “Activating the core maximises muscle utilisation in every other exercise,” McDonald says. Translation: core work makes your body ready to rock.

After a few sets of powerful full-body movements, Lutz and McDonald do simpler exercises that target specific muscles, letting their bodies recover a bit before another blast of energy and muscle-fibre recruitment.

When exhaustion compromises Lutz’s form, McDonald has him back off – even if Lutz wants to continue. It’s more important that he do things right. Otherwise he’ll risk hurting himself.

The workouts don’t end when Lutz leaves the gym. While it’s impossible to stay perfectly faithful to a routine, it’s easier to stay active when fitness blends naturally into your day. That’s why Lutz hikes, and swims in his pool with his shepherd husky, Kola. He even does lunges while he’s out walking Kola.

Food used to be a problem, though: good eating habits weren’t something Lutz had an early start on. He was one of eight kids raised by a divorced mother, “With a big family and not a lot of money, we ate whatever we go,” he says. Years later he could still eat 10 tacos in one sitting. “By the time I got the eighth one, I’d feel so sick.”

No longer. Now Lutz eats small meals every two to three hours, and he never skips breakfast. Because of that, he’s energetic all day. And he’s never too hungry, so he’s less prone to overeat. To keep his metabolism humming overnight, Lutz downs a hard-boiled egg before bed.

The dividends are as much mental as physical. Fitness teaches him to channel his energy. Just before we spoke, Lutz had been dealing with two flat tyres and was pretty annoyed. “I’m not usually a down person, so when something like that happens, I go to the gym and run it off – work out, make my blood pump.”

]]> http://www.twilightseries.co.za/actors/kellan-lutz-on-cover-of-mens-health/feed/ 0 http://www.twilightseries.co.za/breaking-dawn/melissa-rosenberg-talks-breaking-dawn/ http://www.twilightseries.co.za/breaking-dawn/melissa-rosenberg-talks-breaking-dawn/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:31:22 +0000 Felicity http://www.twilightseries.co.za/?p=9274 MTV caught up with Melissa Rosenberg at The Emmy’s Red Carpet and talked about Breaking Dawn.  She says that the battle scene has been an enormous challenge.

MTV News was lucky enough to catch up with “Dexter” writer-turned – “The Twilight Saga” scribe, Melissa Rosenberg last night at the Emmy’s red carpet. As is our natural response when face-to-face with anyone involved in the “Twilight” universe, we had to ask for any update on “Breaking Dawn”, which begins shooting in November.

Fortunately, Melissa is the best woman to talk to considering she is writing the not-yet-finished script. She told us that the two screenplays (for “Part 1″ and “Part 2″) are about 75 to 80 percent completed. A bit surprisingly, it’s the finale of the second film that is giving her the toughest time, and not “Part 1′s” infamous birthing scene.

“The final battle sequence is a big challenge because it lasts 25 pages,” she said.  ”It’s almost an entire three-act story in and of itself. You have to track (keep it all in one setting) hundreds of characters. It’s an enormous challeng to choreograph on the page and for Bill [Condon] to choreograph on the stage.”

It sounds like Melissa has written versions of both screenplays, but it’s just the matter of perfecting them that is the issue. Melissa said she hasn’t had a chance to go over her ideas with director Bill Condon yet, which makes finalizing the script impossible.

“I’ve written a couple of drafts [of the scene]; I haven’t gotten with Bill [to go over it] yet,” she said.  ”That’s the next big hurdle to sit down with the stunt coordinator and create the ballet. It’s a lot of work. I’m exhausted, but we’re intent on making them the best scripts yet.”

So with a few months to go before filming of Breaking Dawn starts and 442-days  till the premiere, what are your thoughts on this?  Are you excited yet?? What scenes are you most looking forward to?

Source

ET Online:

ET’s introducing you to one of the new castmembers of ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.’ ET correspondent Kate Gosselinchatted with new ‘Twilight’ hunk Rami Malek, at ET’s exclusive Emmy party.

Malek told ET that he was thrilled about his upcoming role in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2.” “I think it’s going to be great,” said Malek. “It’s going to be super exciting and I’m thrilled,” Malek said of joining the superstar cast that includesRobert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.

For Malek, who starred in the Tom Hanks-produced “The Pacific,” this was his first time at the Emmys and he was thrilled with the HBO project being awarded the statuette for Outstanding Miniseries.

After talking about professional matters, Kate turned professorial when she put Malek to the test during the Kate Quiz.

When Kate asked him to reveal the one star he’d love to meet, Malek seemed definite when admitting that “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara was not only a star he’d like to meet. He said, ” [Sofia is] someone I could see in my family, [that you'd] aspire to marry and live with for the rest of your life.”

‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2′ is slated to reach theaters on Nov. 16, 2012. ‘Breaking Dawn, Part 1,’ meanwhile, is scheduled to hit the big screen on November 18, 2011. The films are expected to go into production this fall.

Rami is also set to star alongside Tom Hanks in the upcoming film ‘Larry Crowne,’ due out in 2011.

Examiner:

A couple of days ago, Rami Malek (The War At Home, Night At The Museum)’s name was added to theIMDb.com page for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, and today a video of him at the Emmys confirming his addition to the cast has been revealed by ET Online.

“I think it’s going to be great . . . It’s going to be super exciting and I’m thrilled,” he said of the news.

Malek’s part is listed on IMDb as “Benjamin,” a character who we all remember to be very earth-changing in Breaking Dawn.

You might remember Rami Malek as “Ahkmenrah,” an Egyptian Pharaoh, in Night At The Museum and Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian. In Breaking Dawn, the character “Benjamin” is a treasured part of the Egyptian Coven. In other words, it’s easy to see that Rami Malek will pull off the character. Agree with this casting decision? Other thoughts?

The Robert Pattinson Fansite Cookbook Project started in early 2010 when Robnation.org rallied a group of Robert Pattinson and Twilight fan sites to join forces and create a cookbook for charity. The idea was to have a book that was made by Rob fans, for Rob fans, with all profits going to charity in honor of our favorite actor. All profits from the Robert Pattinson Fansite Cookbook will be donated to the Natural Resources Defense Council.This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. We are proud to offer the Robert Pattinson Fansite Cookbook for your enjoyment. We believe we have exceeded our goals and expectations and have created a book that not only we can be proud of, but Rob could be proud of as well.

Available to download as a PDF EBook NOW HERE for just $9.99!!!!  Its for a great cause and shows our love for Rob in a positive way.

Source: TeamEdwardPOV

Update
Here’s an easier way to make your mind up – thanks to the boyfriend

Hay Guys

The South African Blog Awards are open to nominations right now! We are*hmm somewhat of a late entry so please click this link or the sidebar (on the right of your screen) to nominate us in the Entertainment Blog section, we would really appreciate the nomination and sadly voting closes at midnight on the 27th so…. spam your friends, family and facebook profile and help us to make it into the running

While the hair may not be a purrrfect match, I’m sure Cat Cullen has an impressive set of fangs