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VanityFair did a nice interview with Ashley Greene, while in the midst of filming Eclipse. Ashley talks about filming New Moon and how the Twilight experience has changed her life. Here are some excerpts:
Your role as Alice Cullen becomes more significant as the series continues. What was your experience filming New Moon?
It was incredible, and I think the timing was right. I’m glad that [my role] wasn’t that big in the first one because I was wide-eyed and nervous. By the second one, I had the time to fully develop this character, and I’m really comfortable with Alice Cullen now. It’s going to be sad to be done with it. I was really excited when I read the script because I had, of course, read the book and you never know how they’re going to translate it, how it’s going to read, and filming it was great. Chris [Weitz, the director] was awesome.
How much does it (New Moon) differ from the first film?
It’s more dangerous; it’s darker in the costumes, scenery, and tone. The Volturi come in, and they definitely make them look scary. I think that’s why the lighting was so important; it was key. A good part of it is in Italy …
What was your favorite scene to shoot?
Driving the Porsche was really fun. [Laughs] I got to drive it up these tiny, cobblestone roads having to deliver lines. I’m actually proud that I did it and didn’t crash! But filming one of the first scenes, where Alice throws this party and Bella gets a paper cut, was really fun because we were all there. During [New Moon] it was basically me and four or five other cast members. The Cullen family was really only there for a week. It was nice because we started out with coming back, reuniting, and seeing everyone again … and we got to see Jasper in action.
What would you say is the one major thing that has changed about your life since Twilight came out?
My life is a crazy whirlwind right now. I’m just working and working and working. With the success of the film, there are a lot of things you get offered, places people want you to go just to have you there, and I really haven’t been able to do that. Between this and other films, I’ve just been working. You know, I was a struggling actor, and I was modeling to pay bills. I was worried about rent, and I was living with two other people. To go from that to me going, “I need a break, I need a day off,” is a crazy thing. It’s good, and it’s tiring, but my mom being able to see what I’m doing every single day on the Internet? It’s crazy! From nobody really knowing or really caring who you are or what you do to suddenly making headlines with what you’re eating, where you’re going, who you’re hanging out and having coffee with is nuts. But I guess it helps when I’m walking into these rooms with directors and producers, all of a sudden they know who I am. That’s the craziest thing …
What is?
My whole outlook has changed. You go into rooms with producers and directors and you’re so nervous, and you’re thinking these are big, bad studio heads and they want you to fail. Then you do something like this, and you can walk into these rooms and they want to know what you think, what you want to do, how you view their script. I go into these rooms [now], sit down, and have conversations with these people, which is what I should have been doing from the beginning. It’s a different world.
Have there been any changes in the way you interact as a cast?
Yeah, a little bit. We’ve gotten to know each other, we’ve been thrown together, and we’re working together six days a week, 12 hours a day. So we’ve definitely gotten to know each other better, and there’s a lot of real chemistry. There are also days when you know someone’s grumpy! There’s one big thing that we can all relate to, and that is how all of our lives have changed drastically. We can rely on each other a little bit more. If someone’s going through something, there’s someone else in the cast who has gone through something or who is going through the same thing. It’s nice.
