Even Ben Flajnik had to see the light sooner or later. The Bachelor star admits, supposedly, in a new interview what everyone said about Courtney Robertson from the moment she debuted on the ABC show. She lies. And kind of sucks. And Ben, who’s rumored to be getting a new reality show focused on his winery business, wants the women whose opinions he ignored to know he’s sorry. “I should apologize to all those women and say, ‘Sorry I didn’t see it,'” Ben said. “I really have lost all respect for this person that I thought I knew.” “This person” is Courtney Robertson , of course, and Ben now says: “She just had me fooled. I talk to my friends all the time and they’re like, ‘Maybe she was just really good at it. She got all of us fooled, too, Ben. You weren’t the only one.'” Ben and Courtney broke up after an 11-month engagement. He admits he failed to heed the warning signs, but says only he could’ve come to this realization. “I wanted to see it through on my own,” Ben says in the interview, according to Radar . “I knew if it was going to work or not. It just took a little bit longer.” Better late than never, Ben. If you even said any of this, which we’re skeptical of. For the latest on the new season, check out The Bachelor spoilers here!
The cast of Breaking Dawn took to Berlin, Germany for its next red carpet stop this week, as Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and company posed for fans and photographers. And while we’ve been comparing Stewart’s fashion choices in Los Angeles and in Great Britain , now it’s time for the guys. Which studly actor looks the most studly at the event? Contrast their looks now and vote: Fashion Face-Off! Robert Pattinson Click Here To Vote for Robert Taylor Lautner Click Here To Vote for Taylor Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner? Which actor struck a more handsome pose at the Breaking Dawn Berlin premiere? View Poll »
New York City fans rave about the final ‘Twilight’ film after a Thursday night screening. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Andrew MacLean Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart lead the final battle in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” Photo: Summit Entertainment
After spending four years and five movies playing Bella Swan’s vampire sister-in-law Rosalie Hale in the Twilight series, Nikki Reed understandably has a bittersweet perspective on the billion-dollar franchise coming to a close in this week’s Breaking Dawn Part 2 . On the one hand, she won’t miss the hate mail from fans who have taken her character’s onscreen iciness to Kristen Stewart ‘s heroine to heart for four films. But few of Twilight ‘s central figures have been as close to the saga as long as Reed has, dating back to even before director Catherine Hardwicke had cast Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the roles that would skyrocket them, the films, and all of their cast, to global fame. “Catherine called me seven or eight months before it was happening and she was like, ‘Hey, do you like the vampire genre? Because there’s this thing I’m thinking about and there are actually some books, and some fans — I don’t know if you’re into it…’ It was that sort of conversation,” said Reed, who at the time had acted in a handful of indie films including 2003’s Thirteen , which she co-wrote with director Hardwicke. Tempted by the role of Edward Cullen’s disapproving adopted sister Rosalie, Reed decided against early retirement from acting and took the gig, joining Stewart, Pattinson, and their fellow Twilight cast mates at the film’s Portland shoot — the first and last time the cast would be able to make a Twilight movie in relative anonymity. “We were just kids, and no one knew who anyone was,” Reed remembered. “There were no stars, there was no celebrity. We were just people together.” Fast forward to 2012: Reed has four non- Twilight films in the pipeline, including turns in Empire State with Liam Hemsworth and Dwayne Johnson and In Your Eyes , from producer Joss Whedon. She recently launched her own jewelry line, Mattlin Era , featuring designs inspired by her mother and grandmother. And with musician husband Paul McDonald — who she met on the red carpet for Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood , another cosmically unpredictable byproduct of the Twilight saga’s success — Reed recently debuted her first album anchored by “All I’ve Ever Needed,” an original song they wrote for the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson & Co. Premiere ‘Breaking Dawn 2’ How do you feel right now about Twilight and your experience with this franchise now that it’s coming to a close? Having us all together is such a special thing. As the movies have gotten bigger it’s become more rare. In the beginning when there wasn’t this kind of success or fan base for the films, we were all together more. Now there’s more isolation and we don’t get to all hang out in the same room like we used to. It feels really sad, and there are not many moments in your life when you can consciously close a chapter. You reach a milestone like you’re graduating college, and you’re like, oh — I’m aware that this is going to completely change my life when this is done. You normally look back on things in hindsight, but with this we’ve known that it’s been coming to an end since the beginning. It’s really sad for me. I feel really sad. Everyone else is like, “No, it’s fun and exciting!” and it’s all those things, too. But it’s hard to know what an experience this has been, and be conscious of that, and still know that it’s done. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy about this film and I want it to come out so that the fans can see it. It’s a lot of mixed feelings. Is that why you’ve been driving by Elizabeth Reaser’s house, sending her photos when she’s not home? Isn’t that funny! We both live outside of Hollywood on the same mountain, but I live one mountain over and she lives on the street that I take to get into town. So I drive by her house four times a day, and sometimes when I’m feeling goofy I’ll pull over and get out and take a picture of her license plate and I’ll go, “This is how close I was.” It’s just silly! I see her all the time. Rosalie finally gets some nice, warm moments in Breaking Dawn Part 2 – she’s become basically like a godmother to baby Renesmee, able to exercise her latent maternal instincts. How happy were you to bring Rosalie to this point as a character? I think one of the greatest challenges with this franchise for me has been knowing that Stephenie [Meyer] wrote such multifaceted, dynamic character but only getting to play one aspect of that person. It sort of makes everything look a lot more superficial than it is; there’s so much depth to all of the characters she wrote. They all have incredible back stories. If you sit down with her and ask her questions, she has answers to everything — this is her world. Also, even if the fans have read the books and know the character and connect with the character, what we bring to life is so different than what’s in the books sometimes, and it’s almost impossible to portray. So I think I’ve been waiting for this moment, not just for myself but for Rosalie. It’s been so hard defending her for so many years and defending who she is – No, she’s not that, and she’s not this, and there are all these feelings inside! Subconsciously people in general have a hard time disassociating an actor from a character; people who play the villain — you look at John Lithgow on Dexter , playing that character on that show has changed my whole perception of him. Every time I see him in something else now, I can only think of that, and you don’t even know you’re doing it. If I had known going in that playing the outcast and playing the least-liked character was going to… how you’re perceived by the fans is different from how the rest of the cast is perceived because of how they connect you with your character. So I’m happy I didn’t realize that going in, because that would have given me a lot of anxiety about the next four years of my life. It’s interesting to see how the fans will connect with you more now that Rosalie is on Bella’s side. Now you’re playing the hero. That’s an interesting, unexpected drawback to being a part of the Twilight franchise — especially considering how much the popularity of the franchise has changed your lives, with screaming fans at events and paparazzi out in public. It’s bizarre, but I can’t cry about that because my mother would kill me. I’m so blessed to be in the position I’m in, and this is today — I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring, but I can tell you that being in this series, there’s no golden ticket here. Any of us who think that are crazy, because you have to constantly work hard. You’re constantly proving yourself. And even when you’ve done a great job, you have to do something else to show people that you can do something great in some other role. We’re always trying to grow and better ourselves, and I feel like I can’t complain. There are so many perks and so many wonderful things about being a part of this. Any time I get down — which I do, by the way. When I get hate mail I get really down on myself and I read it to my mom and my mom is like, “So what? Who cares? These people don’t know you, so you can’t take the praise or the hate to heart.” All of it comes from a very distant place, so you have to receive all of it that way. Even the love, you have to appreciate it but from a distance, because you don’t want that to be absorbed either. People actually send you hate mail? People send everyone hate mail. That’s the way the world works right now, I’m nothing special. [Laughs] Trust me. It’s just the way that the world communicates now, the way that everyone functions. I love this quote, and it was a friend of mine who told me this and I think about it consciously whenever I’m feeling like this: “If it’s not personal, you don’t take it personally.” If that person doesn’t know me, it’s not personal. Whatever you have to say about me doesn’t actually exist because this relationship doesn’t exist. You don’t know me.
Robert Pattinson And Kristen Stewart Get Close At The Breaking Dawn Premiere In Spain Only time will tell whether or not seemingly sprung Hollyweirder Robert Pattison has actually taken his girlfriend Kristen Stewart back after she dirty-dogged him earlier this summer with married film director Rupert Sandders, but for now, they’re all smiles and walking red carpets like there was never an affair in the first place. RobStew got all up close and personal for the camers on the red carpet for the Spain premiere of their latest film ‘Breaking Dawn Part II’ which officially hits theaters tomorrow. Do you think RPatz has run back to the arms of the one who loves him fawked him over, or is he just frontin’ for the cameras until the movie hype dies down as to not disrupt his cash flow? Images via Wenn
Whether you’re a devoted Twihard, an absolute hater or someone who’s still just completely bewildered by Stephenie Meyer ‘s oeuvre, you must give the Twilight saga this — these stories are incredible, unabashed distillations of teenage (or just teenage-at-heart) female fantasy. Male equivalents, like, say, most superhero stories, have come to dominate the mainstream and fill the summer blockbuster schedule to such an extent that the Twilight films are striking simply in how very different they are. And how crazily well they target certain girlish pleasure centers with their themes of eternal romance, playing house with the advantages of unlimited vampiric wealth, and being the one that everyone wants without even trying . The wildest though hardly the best chapter of the series, franchise closer Breaking Dawn — Part 2 will also be basically bulletproof in terms of box office. That leaves the film free to indulge in the giddy insanity that also colored Part 1 , with its bruising, bed-breaking sex, accelerated monstrous pregnancy and Cronenbergian birth sequence. Like its predecessor, Part 2 was directed by Bill Condon . It picks up with Bella ( Kristen Stewart ) freshly vampirized by her husband Edward ( Robert Pattinson ) after the difficult birth of their daughter Renesmee — initially a CG-enhanced infant and, later, Mackenzie Foy — and skips the surreal, semi-metaphorical treatments of sex and fecundity for more movie-friendly but less interesting action. Renesmee, you see, is aging rapidly, moving from baby to adorable little girl at an unusual rate — and when she’s spotted bounding high in the air the way only a mini half-immortal can, she’s mistaken for a child vampire, the creation of which is against the rules. The sinister Volturi, led by Aro (Michael Sheen, in a performance that goes beyond camp to a higher, gigglier level), prepare to descend on Forks, Washington to dole out punishment, while the Cullens, prompted by one of Alice’s (Ashley Greene) visions, go about gathering allies to their side from covens around the globe. Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ends with a credit sequence for the entire series, including actors who don’t appear in this installment, and watching Anna Kendrick and other actors who played Bella’s classmates flash on screen, it’s hard to think back to when the series was merely a dreamy supernatural high school drama. With its hybrid offspring, soulmate-bonding with babies, international array of bloodsuckers (including Lee Pace as a character I’m choosing to call Revolutionary War Vampire) and an outrageous battle sequence in the snow in which heads are popped off bodies like caps off of beer bottles, this film is very far from the normalcy of Edward and Bella meeting in biology class, or from anything that makes sense. PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson & Co. Premiere ‘Breaking Dawn 2’ At this point in the franchise our central couple is, after much pining and love triangulation, a done deal, and while the two obviously have troubles to deal with, they’re no longer of the impossible-romance variety. Bella and Edward are irrevocably in this together as they prepare to face a threat to their family and their home, which may be why this installment lacks the irresistibly overheated melodramatics of the earlier chapters. With clumsy CGI and awkwardly choreographed fights, these films have never handled action well, but it’s the main focus of the latter half of Breaking Dawn — Part 2 . It’s Jacob ( Taylor Lautner ) — who obligingly doffs his shirt under cheerily contrived circumstances not far into the film — who’s left to carry the torch for difficult love stories by imprinting on and forever hovering around Renesmee, which is actually creepier when she becomes a girl than when he’s mooning over an infant. There’s no way for this development not to read as ridiculous, and the way Lautner chooses “mildly pained” from his limited array of expressions appears to indicate he agrees as he lingers near his potential child bride. Of course, a lot of Breaking Dawn — Part 2 is ridiculous, often knowingly so, with its winking moments of fan service and a gigantic array of characters, many of them signaling their cultural identity with amusing broadness. (The Amazonian vampires were entertaining, but it’s the gothy Romanians who really won me over). The film actually packs in so many new characters and explorations of superpowers (Bella, it turns out, is a “Shield”) that it feels like it’s just trying to avoid having to deal with its protagonists, unsure of what to do with them now that they’re together and married. Aside from a tastefully shot sex scene and one closing affirmation of devotion, the film plays down their relationship now that it’s not plagued with reasons the two can’t be together. And there have been so many. As ludicrous and enjoyably over-the-top as Breaking Dawn — Part 2 can be, it’s not a terribly satisfactory capper to the Twilight franchise because it sets aside the strange undercurrents of desire and danger that defined the series and made it such a hair-tearing conundrum for feminists mystified by the appeal of its passive blank of a heroine. Bella’s an empowered badass in this last installment, wielding newborn strength while showing unusual self-control and learning to use her new abilities — and that’s why things feel off. Bella’s foremost qualities in this series come through in her being protected, being rescued, being adored — she’s a fantasy of finally being recognized as precious after always having been undervalued. And as Bella and Edward ride off into the glittery sunset together to live in their fancy cottage with their walk-in closets and mutant child, it’s nice to see Bella holding her own, but also a curious final twist on the Twilight saga’s darkest appeal — the lure of being the thing that is fought over. READ MORE ON TWILIGHT : The ‘Twilight’ Scream-O-Meter: Notes From The ‘Breaking Dawn 2’ Premiere Taylor Lautner On Jacob And Renesmee’s ‘Breaking Dawn’ May-December Relationship: ‘I Was Worried About It’ Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Whether you’re a devoted Twihard, an absolute hater or someone who’s still just completely bewildered by Stephenie Meyer ‘s oeuvre, you must give the Twilight saga this — these stories are incredible, unabashed distillations of teenage (or just teenage-at-heart) female fantasy. Male equivalents, like, say, most superhero stories, have come to dominate the mainstream and fill the summer blockbuster schedule to such an extent that the Twilight films are striking simply in how very different they are. And how crazily well they target certain girlish pleasure centers with their themes of eternal romance, playing house with the advantages of unlimited vampiric wealth, and being the one that everyone wants without even trying . The wildest though hardly the best chapter of the series, franchise closer Breaking Dawn — Part 2 will also be basically bulletproof in terms of box office. That leaves the film free to indulge in the giddy insanity that also colored Part 1 , with its bruising, bed-breaking sex, accelerated monstrous pregnancy and Cronenbergian birth sequence. Like its predecessor, Part 2 was directed by Bill Condon . It picks up with Bella ( Kristen Stewart ) freshly vampirized by her husband Edward ( Robert Pattinson ) after the difficult birth of their daughter Renesmee — initially a CG-enhanced infant and, later, Mackenzie Foy — and skips the surreal, semi-metaphorical treatments of sex and fecundity for more movie-friendly but less interesting action. Renesmee, you see, is aging rapidly, moving from baby to adorable little girl at an unusual rate — and when she’s spotted bounding high in the air the way only a mini half-immortal can, she’s mistaken for a child vampire, the creation of which is against the rules. The sinister Volturi, led by Aro (Michael Sheen, in a performance that goes beyond camp to a higher, gigglier level), prepare to descend on Forks, Washington to dole out punishment, while the Cullens, prompted by one of Alice’s (Ashley Greene) visions, go about gathering allies to their side from covens around the globe. Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ends with a credit sequence for the entire series, including actors who don’t appear in this installment, and watching Anna Kendrick and other actors who played Bella’s classmates flash on screen, it’s hard to think back to when the series was merely a dreamy supernatural high school drama. With its hybrid offspring, soulmate-bonding with babies, international array of bloodsuckers (including Lee Pace as a character I’m choosing to call Revolutionary War Vampire) and an outrageous battle sequence in the snow in which heads are popped off bodies like caps off of beer bottles, this film is very far from the normalcy of Edward and Bella meeting in biology class, or from anything that makes sense. PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson & Co. Premiere ‘Breaking Dawn 2’ At this point in the franchise our central couple is, after much pining and love triangulation, a done deal, and while the two obviously have troubles to deal with, they’re no longer of the impossible-romance variety. Bella and Edward are irrevocably in this together as they prepare to face a threat to their family and their home, which may be why this installment lacks the irresistibly overheated melodramatics of the earlier chapters. With clumsy CGI and awkwardly choreographed fights, these films have never handled action well, but it’s the main focus of the latter half of Breaking Dawn — Part 2 . It’s Jacob ( Taylor Lautner ) — who obligingly doffs his shirt under cheerily contrived circumstances not far into the film — who’s left to carry the torch for difficult love stories by imprinting on and forever hovering around Renesmee, which is actually creepier when she becomes a girl than when he’s mooning over an infant. There’s no way for this development not to read as ridiculous, and the way Lautner chooses “mildly pained” from his limited array of expressions appears to indicate he agrees as he lingers near his potential child bride. Of course, a lot of Breaking Dawn — Part 2 is ridiculous, often knowingly so, with its winking moments of fan service and a gigantic array of characters, many of them signaling their cultural identity with amusing broadness. (The Amazonian vampires were entertaining, but it’s the gothy Romanians who really won me over). The film actually packs in so many new characters and explorations of superpowers (Bella, it turns out, is a “Shield”) that it feels like it’s just trying to avoid having to deal with its protagonists, unsure of what to do with them now that they’re together and married. Aside from a tastefully shot sex scene and one closing affirmation of devotion, the film plays down their relationship now that it’s not plagued with reasons the two can’t be together. And there have been so many. As ludicrous and enjoyably over-the-top as Breaking Dawn — Part 2 can be, it’s not a terribly satisfactory capper to the Twilight franchise because it sets aside the strange undercurrents of desire and danger that defined the series and made it such a hair-tearing conundrum for feminists mystified by the appeal of its passive blank of a heroine. Bella’s an empowered badass in this last installment, wielding newborn strength while showing unusual self-control and learning to use her new abilities — and that’s why things feel off. Bella’s foremost qualities in this series come through in her being protected, being rescued, being adored — she’s a fantasy of finally being recognized as precious after always having been undervalued. And as Bella and Edward ride off into the glittery sunset together to live in their fancy cottage with their walk-in closets and mutant child, it’s nice to see Bella holding her own, but also a curious final twist on the Twilight saga’s darkest appeal — the lure of being the thing that is fought over. READ MORE ON TWILIGHT : The ‘Twilight’ Scream-O-Meter: Notes From The ‘Breaking Dawn 2’ Premiere Taylor Lautner On Jacob And Renesmee’s ‘Breaking Dawn’ May-December Relationship: ‘I Was Worried About It’ Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
So the good news is pouring in for Channing Tatum today. In addition to nabbing People’s Sexiest Man Alive honor, GQ magazine chose the Magic Mike star as its Movie Star of the Year, part of its annual Men of the Year issue. That means Tatum and his strong chin will be gracing at least two magazine covers in the coming weeks, and that’s got me wondering: where is the Twi-hard outrage over Robert Pattinson being snubbed? With the sun finally setting on The Twilight Saga , it’s remarkable that RPatz — who had the crowds thrilling and screaming at the Breaking Dawn Part 2 premiere earlier this week— did not nab Sexiest Man honors once since 2008 when the film franchise debuted. Hugh Jackman graced People’ s cover in 2008; Johnny Depp in 2009; Ryan Reynolds in 2010; and Bradley Cooper in 2011. Related Story: Check out Movieline’s photo gallery of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart & Co. at the Breaking Dawn 2 premiere. Pattinson, who seems more concerned with being an actor than a screen idol, probably isn’t terribly interested in such an accolade, and he’s in good company. Last year, People ‘s decision to choose Cooper over Ryan Gosling sparked quite a furor among Baby Goose’s fans, along with the rumor that the magazine had actually wanted to put Gosling on the cover but went with Cooper when the Drive actor, who’s all about the work, declined to give them an interview or participate in a photo shoot. ( People and Gosling’s publicist denied this at the time.) Still, I’m betting Pattinson’s fans are feeling miffed right now, and I’d like to gauge the depth of that dissatisfaction by inviting them — and any other lover of big-screen beefcake — to vote for the actor they would crown the sexiest man alive if they were calling the shots at People . I’ve listed five choices, including Tatum, Pattinson and Gosling. The rest is up to you. If you feel there’s a better candidate out there than the available choices, write him in the comments box and I’ll add him to the poll. As for what People ‘s honor will mean for Tatum besides a butt load of publicity, I don’t see any real correlation between People’s coronation and an actor’s career. The year that has passed since Cooper got the People cover has been a good one for the actor, given the success of Limitless and his fine performances in The Place Beyond The Pines , which will be released next year (and also stars Gosling), and Silver Linings Playbook , which opens Friday, and is generating Oscar buzz for the actor. But if you go back to 2010 Sexiest Man Alive Ryan Reynolds , the year that followed his anointing saw him star in the critically savaged Green Lantern, which, according to Box Office Mojo has only made about $20 million more (worldwide) than its $200-million production budget. Let’s see which way the wind blows for Tatum. Take Our Poll [Box Office Mojo] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Ready to run it back, Twihards? Kristen Stewart walked the red carpet of the UK premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2 last night, once again rocking a provocative, sheer outfit for all to see. We’ve already asked for your take on her Los Angeles premiere dress , so now let’s gauge opinion on the following black number: Yes, Kristen Stewart posed again with Robert Pattinson . She also tried to win him over with this sexy selection. What do you think of the fashion choice? Do you like it? Yes, hot stuff! No, weird stuff! View Poll »
Ready to run it back, Twihards? Kristen Stewart walked the red carpet of the UK premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2 last night, once again rocking a provocative, sheer outfit for all to see. We’ve already asked for your take on her Los Angeles premiere dress , so now let’s gauge opinion on the following black number: Yes, Kristen Stewart posed again with Robert Pattinson . She also tried to win him over with this sexy selection. What do you think of the fashion choice? Do you like it? Yes, hot stuff! No, weird stuff! View Poll »
