'New Moon' filming in Italy, the perspective of an extra on-set

Thanks to RobPattzNews, we have an excellent translation of Twilight Italia's latest article. Grab your popcorn.

“Engines, moving around, beep beep beeeeeeep.”

...

I’ll start the story right from the day before, when I received the famous call from the production company. I thought that they were calling to tell me that I was not photogenic enough and that it was not necessary for me to go. But instead, the lady from the agency told me I was needed for the next day. And could I pass up that offer? Absolutely not! (I’ll omit all the screaming and jumps for joy that occurred after the call)

Sometime later, my phone rang again. It was the same number. They wanted to know if I could come with my car and if they could put it in the movie. WOW. “Of course, I’d come on a tricycle if you wanted me to.” I told the agent. However, my car is not in very good condition. Ughh, of all my luck!

Unexpectedly, I ran into my friend Francesca, who saved my life by letting me borrow her striking motorcar. I can’t thank her enough for her kindness and patience. Thanks Franci!

Okay. Now to begin my report from the actual set.

...

Driving calmly, I arrived early at Montepulciano at 5:50am. Everyone was supposed to meet there at 6:15am. Ok, now time for panic: what do I wear? Since I am so prone to bad luck, I had brought 5 tops and 5 pairs of pants - just to be on the safe side. After putting on a pair of jeans and a v-neck shirt (Just like Robert Pattinson!), I found 2 other extras and we all tried to remain calm. After only a couple minutes within arriving, I already had sweaty armpits and smelled bad (Another similarity between me and Robert Pattinson!) 

The crew was very quick and organized, and divided all the extras into groups: “the drivers”, “the reds”, and “the blacks”. We felt like the prey of the production company. They then offered us breakfast, which I was grateful for since my stomach was complaining more than Rosalie. Me and all the other drivers (there were about a hundred of us), were then told to park in the front of the main entrance of the town, where a yellow Porsche was also parked! My God, what a beautiful car! The rest of the extras were taken inside the city wall, where they would be shooting the reunion between Edward and Bella later in the week.

The wait was unnerving. And extremely long. In the meantime, we learned the shooting schedule: Monday is rehearsals, Tuesday inside the city again, Wednesday and Thursday in the city square (Where there is expected to be 1000 extras), and Friday was for any needed reshoots. While I was waiting, I saw a really pretty girl with brown hair in jeans and t-shirt. For a second I thought it was Kristen Stewart, but then I realized it was her stunt double. The similarities between the two was striking, especially from behind.

At around 10pm, it’s our turn. When arrived in front of the door, Chris Weitz’s assistant, Bill, arranged the order of all the cars. Every time he looked at me and my car, he smiled. They then began tests with the Porsche, with Bella’s and Alice’s stunt doubles. And here’s the funny part: Alice had a stunt MAN, instead of a woman. He was wearing a headscarf, sunglasses, a red leather glove and a long grey coat with big silver buttons. Bella’s stunt double, instead, was dressed very simply, wearing only a green sweater and jeans.

The tests of the Porsche were seemingly never-ending, they really wanted it to be perfect. They did not overlook even the smallest detail: everything -from the placement of the car to all the car sounds- had to be just right. They even were overly careful with all the red flags placed around Montepulciano. The crew was sweaty and shouting us to get in our places, to which we obliged. Bill (Weitz’s assistant) was always calm and smiling, every once in a while stopping to talk to us on set.

A small note on the side: Bill told us that we could not reveal the details of what we saw to the public before the release of the film. Therefore, for my love of the Twilight saga and respect of the crews’ hard work, I am going to make this report as general as possible. I hope you understand, and I am sorry that I can not go into that much detail.

They kept lunch light, and after we ate, they began placing all of us in different spots and alley ways in the city. In one of the takes, I hit the left side of my car’s roof on the video camera. The cameraman gave me a look that said: “That was the ninth take, it was going perfect, and then YOU -a small, inane nobody, ruined it. I wanted to shrink smaller than a grain of sand and disappear. Everyone around me gave me a dirty look. When the cameraman saw my expression, he said “Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. Just pretend the camera isn’t here and go on like you normally would. It was actually my fault, I should’ve been more attentive.” I felt better right away, and we reshot the take another 3 times.

The most exciting part of the experience was meeting all the other Twilight fans. We all, no matter how small our roles were, wanted to make the sequel the best it could be. And it was all for our love of the saga. I met a bunch of girls who were from some of the poorest parts in Italy, and all came so they could have a chance to be in this movie. To all the Twilighters who traveled from far away to be here, you all deserve a round of applause.

They then told all the drivers to move closer to the gates of the city, only to make us wait again. From my new position, I was able to have a look inside the city walls. It is very attractive. The red drapes and flags went well with the grey of the building’s walls. When I saw the fountain -which was not yet finished- I was a little disappointed, since I pictured it more ancient looking. However, my fears were placed to rest as I saw a girl coming to spray paint it to give it that “antique” look. They also added more flags, most -if not all- of them being red.

To end, I leave you all with two small goodies: In the square on Wednesday, it seems like some sort of procession will be taking place. It is said that about 20 people will be dressed like duchesses and squires (all outfits being red, of course) wearing Venetian carnival masks.  

There will also be a canopy/gazebo (specially built for the movie) which is to represent the liberation of Volterra from vampires by St. Mark. (Note: the canopy may be constructed of the supposed Volturi throne pictures that were leaked earlier in the week)

We finished shooting in late afternoon and got a thank you from Chris Weitz’s right-hand man, Bill. He said to us: “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work today!” We all erupted into applause, we were so tired, but so happy!

Full article is available here.

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