New 'Twilight' film screens at Rome festival
ROME - October 30, 2011
Speaking to reporters about "The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn
Part 1," Rathbone called the love between Bella and Edward
"almost as mythological as the Romeo and Juliet story," referring
to Shakespeare's play about star-crossed lovers.
A co-star, Nikki Reed, who plays a teenage vampire twin to
Rathbone's character, mused about the popularity of the series,
which has raked in over $2 billion (euro1.41 billion) worldwide.
"This love between Edward and Bella is just out of the realm of
possibility and reality. I mean, it's unattainable, it's not real,
and that's what makes it so magnetic," Reed said.
She added that she thinks "that's why there's no specific
demographics for this, because you know, 12-year-old girls
fantasize about having this, and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s,
think about when they had that first love."
Rathbone said he is still grappling with the reasons for the
runaway success of the series. "When I first came on board of
'Twilight,' I had no idea what was going to happen with it, and for
it to be now a worldwide phenomenon is still baffling," he said.
The Rome festival runs through Nov. 4 and includes 15
in-competition films plus documentaries, children's films, exhibits
and screenings of movie classics.