Release #7

SM: Right. Right. Some of the future. I really want my kids to be able to watch these. Eclipse is a little bit for them…I mean, not that it’s like graphic in any way but just you know, when I read the kids Eclipse I did the chapter when the younger ones were asleep. And it was kind of a thing for me and my son like: “Do you understand what this is about?Let’s talk about it. Let’s have this conversation.” I think my younger ones are a little too young for you know: “What are they talking about, mommy?” And I’m like: “Okay, well when a man and a woman love each other very much…” And I just don’t really wanna go there yet till they’re ready for it! Um, and so I mean, there…I do want them to be something that…You know the fans who are nine? They’re gonna go see them anyway. And I don’t want to have their parents pissed at me you know? I’m okay with them because that’s what our imaginations are for. That’s what, you know,…we have our version of the scenes and if they did them exactly that way? Yeah, okay the rating would be prohibitive. And uh, not everybody could go and see it. And I think that we’ll…In the next one that we’ll have some nice steamy stuff. I think it’ll be good, but I think it’ll also be something that thirteen-year-olds can get into. Which is being true to your audience.

Elysa: There’s also the gory things to consider too, though.

(chatter)

SM: There are the gory things. And the birth scene’s gonna be tricky you know? Particularly because directors love that kind of stuff: “Alright!” We were just talking about like: “We gotta have this and that!” I dunno. It’s so funny how people are so freaked out by the birth scene.

Fansite: I’m excited about it.

(chatter)

Matt: I wanna see Rob chewing on Bella!

(chatter)

SM: I’ve noticed a real difference…

(chatter)

Fansite: We need a director’s cut. An unrated version.

(chatter)

SM: I find a kind of mind with people who have had children or been around that and people who haven’t in how they receive that. Because if you’ve been through a birth scene you know this is a messy, freaky, screamy thing. And you kind of have to take that to the x power, right? You have to take it up a notch. And so for me it was really fun to write, and I didn’t even think that it was like: “Wow, this is cool! This is blood and gore! Come on let’s go!” And then like I sent it to Jodi, who’s never had children, and she’s like—

Jodi: Well no, it wasn’t that.

SM: But I think that there’s—

Jodi: I do not have children, that is true. But, it was, again I’m thinking that it’s a YA audience is what I was thinking. I was thinking with an agent’s perspective.

SM: But I was very proud I made her squeamish.

Jodi: I was just like: “This isn’t gonna make the cut. No, I’m sorry.” I was like—

SM: It got toned down.

Jodi: What were some of the other…Didn’t you say like some of the “ripping” and the bones cracking?

SM: Yeah, there were specific words like “shredding” that we had problems with.

(chatter)

Matt: Is there like a manuscript or something that we could…?

SM: I’m sure there’s an original version somewhere.

(chatter)

Kallie: That would be awesome to read.

SM: Well you know I actually have violence in my nature, although some people doubt it. But you know it comes out in different places.

(chatter and laughter)

SM: Unless you get into really horrific car accident you’re never gonna live through something like that. I mean it’s the most violent part of your life that you’ll ever have if you’re lucky, right? Well you know it’s also good birth control, right?Reading Breaking Dawn: “I don’t wanna do that!”

LT: How do you see it playing out in your mind?

SM: Um, it’s interesting. I think that it’ll be very like the book from Bella’s perspective. So you know it’ll be what she’s seeing of this scene and everything. Um, which is actually more like Forever Dawn because we have Jacob’s perspective in this. And I don’t think that the Jacob’s perspective will be nearly as pronounced in the movies. Um you know I think it’s gonna—

Fansite: Aw.

SM: Yeah. It made me a little bit sad. I mean I think we’re gonna get some good moments, but they feel like they have to keep it Bella and Edward centric so…I mean I can see that. I know how people respond to it.

?: He’s got some good stuff though.

SM: Yeah, he does. He has some good moments.

?: It’s alright guys.

(chatter)

SM: But the birth scene may be, I think that now the concept is, Bella’s perspective.

LT: You know in the first movie, Twilight, where they’re sucking the blood, the venom out of her, and it’s just like flashes.It feels like it should be something like that.

SM: Yeah, something along those lines. I mean, yeah that was a good way…When Catherine did that it really did feel like Bella’s experience more than just an outside view. She was able to really personalize it which was nice. And even Edward personal too with that shot she came up with of Bella’s face kind of morphing over the days. I thought that was really beautiful.

(chatter)

Fansite: This is the only disruption in the…so far. The motorcycle clip, where Bella gets on the motorcycle with Jacob.Our members wanna know. They don’t think book Bella would’ve ever done that. Would’ve ever hurt Edward like that.

SM: I have read the comments and I said the exact same thing. I had…that was one of those days that I threw down.I’m like…The way that this…You know in the script I said the way that this is written, her getting on the back of the [motorcycle] is a direct response to her saying: “You lied to me. Well, I’m going with him.” And we were able the day of, and they cut down the clip that they played for MTV and stuff, we were able to soften it. We were able to get some lines in, and you’ve seen the whole thing so you know that there’s a breakaway. We tried to put in you know her response to Edward, and then now it becomes about Jacob. “Why haven’t you called me?” We switched…We tried as hard as we could to soften how that went down so it didn’t feel like something where: “Well, I’m gonna go get on the back of his motorcycle.” Because I felt like that was not Bella at all, and it’s not assertive. It’s rude. You know what I mean?

Matt: Yeah. It was like a slap in the face.

Fansite: Too reactionary.

SM: Yeah, it’s not like: “I’m a strong female character.” It’s like: “I’m a jerk.” And so yeah, that was…

Fansite: We were mad at movie Bella.

SM: Yeah, that was…

Fansite: Book Bella and I were okay, but movie Bella and I were like: “Ugh!”

SM: That was very much my same reaction. I think that it, in the form that it exists in the film, is better now. I think it works somewhat. I still think it’s kind of a stretch that she would do that. But you know you only have so much…that was one I lost. Early in I lost that one. You do what you can do.

Fansite: They’ll be happy that you agree!

(laughter)

LT: So true. Um, in the book Eclipse, we’ve kind of talked about it. We asked all the podcasts and we talked about it with some guys that have read it as well, and we talked about—

SM: The Font right?

LT: Yeah, The Font and White Yorkie.

SM: White Yorkie, that’s right.

LT: Those are our boys.

SM: Your unicorns.

LT: They all love talking about it. Um, so we were talking with them and we were talking about the character of Edward and kind of, it feels like in the end of New Moon, especially into Eclipse and especially in Breaking Dawn, it feels like his character changes a little bit. Or a lot maybe even. Um, how he goes from this strong, like as you said earlier, know-it-all to really almost a 180. Like simpering. Isn’t in control. Simpering is a bad word.

SM: There’s a lot of self-doubt that happens particularly after New Moon because this is someone who feels like he’s always had the answers and now he has screwed up worse than he’s ever screwed up in his entire life. And the one thing that he wanted more than anything else he destroyed her. And that was like so not what he was planning, so there is a lot of self-doubt. I feel like in Breaking Dawn the evolution completes where he goes from kind of like, not having hope or faith in himself, but faith in his ability to know everything. And he knows he’s right a lot. But he doesn’t have a lot of hope for anything and then he meets Bella and that throws everything into a mix and he screws up and he starts to doubt himself. In Breaking Dawn is the first time he really has faith and hope, like he comes around. He goes from being the worst pessimist to actually being an optimist, and for me that was a really big evolution. And it takes place a lot off screen in Breaking Dawn, because you know Bella is going through so much just here in her body it is very centered in her physically. And she has another battle, like she at this time has to say, “Edward, I can’t deal with you! I have something bigger to do here. Back off!” And so he becomes someone who believes at the end. Like the way she always has believed: “You and I are something special. This is gonna work out.” And he’s always felt like that she was wrong, and by the end he’s like: “You know what? I don’t even care what happens now ‘cause you’re right.” And see I always liked that about him, I liked that he was able to change. He’s one of those that changes. And Breaking Dawn for me was…on the surface there’s all this action, but for me it was all about Edward coming around. You know it’s hard for people though I think to watch the hot boy become the responsible dad because that’s not a sexy transition. Unless you have dated the hot boy and he has become the responsible dad to your children, and it’s really sexy. That’s not something that when you’re fourteen makes sense because dad is your father. But when it’s the father of your children it’s a whole other ballpark. A whole new level of sexy. You guys know. And that’s something that is not YA. It’s not a YA emotion and I always knew it was gonna go there.

(chatter)

SM: Oh my gosh it’s so sweet. It’s such a different level when you see them bond with their children. But I always knew this, that’s one of the reasons why it was hard to go YA because this was never gonna be…Remember Sweet Valley High? Okay, I’m really old.

Fansites: Yes!

SM: And those novels that like every…they’re still in high school. They’ve been there for 400 years and they’re still in high school. My books were theAnne of Green Gables where she grows up. She goes to college. She gets married. She has six kids. Her kids grow up. Her kids get married. I love the evolution. I love that they get to grow up and so for me the story was always…they were always gonna grow up.

Fansite: So it does change.

SM: And it does…It really changes. It’s not YA anymore in Breaking Dawn and that’s something that throws a lot of people.

Fansite: Totally.

SM: But I like letting them grow up. You feel bad when you make your characters stifle. They get to grow and change.

Elysa: Just back to Eclipse for a second. You mentioned on your website that there was an alternative ending to Eclipse.

SM: Yes.

Elysa: What can you tell us about that and will you ever write it or is it—

SM: See if I tell them, I can’t write. And so that becomes…’cause then you’ve destroyed it. But um, there was a certain point in time not as much faith in the series and I was told to end it at three. And I’d never planned to do…you know I was…There were three books right? There were supposed to be three books and there was no idea of it going on, and in my head it was this long series. And so it was like: “No, we should end this.” Because you know if you go on too long sometimes series lose their steam or whatever. And the story was just so wide open then. There was so much that wasn’t done and so to have ended it there, it would have had to be a radical ending. Um, radically different. There [were] some fantasy elements that I don’t think people would’ve seen coming. I don’t think they would have responded well. My mom hates it! Hates the ending. My sister was cool with it. And you know I could see that because there were things…Some people, the way they’re tied to the characters are dependent on certain aspects of those characters, and now I’m gonna sound really really bad but it messed with that for some people. But then once I started thinking about it I was really intrigued by that conversation. There was this really dramatic scene and Bella doesn’t know what’s going on and the visuals in it were really strong for me. And so then I wanted to write it. You know back when nobody cared about the books and I could do whatever I wanted, I was like Bree it was gonna be on the website. That was the plan all along. I would write up this alternate ending, but will people throw rocks at me if I write this? There’s a possibility! Oh and then people will think: “Oh this is the real ending and that’s the fake ending.” When it’s not you know…this is just an alternate. This is the way it could’ve gone. But it didn’t and I like it better how it is.

Matt: Are you leaving it open so—

SM: I’m leaving it open in case I decide some night I wake up and start typing and then I can put it on my website.Although you know I hate spoilers but then sometimes I wonder would Breaking Dawn have been an easier transition if people had had the spoilers? If I hadn’t thought: “Oh, I don’t want to ruin it.” And I just said, “Okay, hey guys, Bella’s gonna have a baby! Strap in!”

(chatter and laughter)

SM: Would people have been like: “Okay, I’m ready for it.” I don’t know. It’s a hard thing. Do you fight to keep it spoiler-free? Can you anymore? I was so disappointed, you know the last Harry Potter there was no way to avoid being spoiled.It was impossible. My friend took her little nieces and nephews and they went to go stand in line at the bookstore and some people drove by in a car with a megaphone shouting out the names of the people who died in the book.

(chatter)

Matt: Yeah, I got spoiled with the sixth book with Dumbledore.

SM: Yeah. I mean people just…there’s this desire people have to ruin the fun for other people.

Kassie: I don’t like that.

(chatter and laughter)

Kassie: I want to hunt them down!

(chatter and laughter)

Kassie: My vampire comes out!

SM: Why would you do that when you see little children? Like who can be that person who sees little kids there in line and wants to upset their fun? I don’t understand that.

Kassie: Oh it makes me mad! I wanna go talk to their mom.

(laughter)

Elysa: For Breaking Dawn my house was Fort Knox . I didn’t go anywhere. I was not online. Nothing. I mean I fell off the face of the earth. I did not want to be spoiled, and I wasn’t. I did not get spoiled—

Matt: You live in the middle of nowhere. I live in L.A.

(laughter)

Elysa: Fair enough. Fair enough.

THANKS TO STEFANIE FOR TRANSCRIBING!

SM: Right. Right. Some of the future. I really want my kids to be able to watch these. Eclipse is a little bit for them…I mean, not that it’s like graphic in any way but just you know, when I read the kids Eclipse I did the chapter when the younger ones were asleep. And it was kind of a thing for me and my son like: “Do you understand what this is about?Let’s talk about it. Let’s have this conversation.” I think my younger ones are a little too young for you know: “What are they talking about, mommy?” And I’m like: “Okay, well when a man and a woman love each other very much…” And I just don’t really wanna go there yet till they’re ready for it! Um, and so I mean, there…I do want them to be something that…You know the fans who are nine? They’re gonna go see them anyway. And I don’t want to have their parents pissed at me you know? I’m okay with them because that’s what our imaginations are for. That’s what, you know,…we have our version of the scenes and if they did them exactly that way? Yeah, okay the rating would be prohibitive. And uh, not everybody could go and see it. And I think that we’ll…In the next one that we’ll have some nice steamy stuff. I think it’ll be good, but I think it’ll also be something that thirteen-year-olds can get into. Which is being true to your audience.

Elysa: There’s also the gory things to consider too, though.

(chatter)

SM: There are the gory things. And the birth scene’s gonna be tricky you know? Particularly because directors love that kind of stuff: “Alright!” We were just talking about like: “We gotta have this and that!” I dunno. It’s so funny how people are so freaked out by the birth scene.

Fansite: I’m excited about it.

(chatter)

Matt: I wanna see Rob chewing on Bella!

(chatter)

SM: I’ve noticed a real difference…

(chatter)

Fansite: We need a director’s cut. An unrated version.

(chatter)

SM: I find a kind of mind with people who have had children or been around that and people who haven’t in how they receive that. Because if you’ve been through a birth scene you know this is a messy, freaky, screamy thing. And you kind of have to take that to the x power, right? You have to take it up a notch. And so for me it was really fun to write, and I didn’t even think that it was like: “Wow, this is cool! This is blood and gore! Come on let’s go!” And then like I sent it to Jodi, who’s never had children, and she’s like—

Jodi: Well no, it wasn’t that.

SM: But I think that there’s—

Jodi: I do not have children, that is true. But, it was, again I’m thinking that it’s a YA audience is what I was thinking. I was thinking with an agent’s perspective.

SM: But I was very proud I made her squeamish.

Jodi: I was just like: “This isn’t gonna make the cut. No, I’m sorry.” I was like—

SM: It got toned down.

Jodi: What were some of the other…Didn’t you say like some of the “ripping” and the bones cracking?

SM: Yeah, there were specific words like “shredding” that we had problems with.

(chatter)

Matt: Is there like a manuscript or something that we could…?

SM: I’m sure there’s an original version somewhere.

(chatter)

Kallie: That would be awesome to read.

SM: Well you know I actually have violence in my nature, although some people doubt it. But you know it comes out in different places.

(chatter and laughter)

SM: Unless you get into really horrific car accident you’re never gonna live through something like that. I mean it’s the most violent part of your life that you’ll ever have if you’re lucky, right? Well you know it’s also good birth control, right?Reading Breaking Dawn: “I don’t wanna do that!”

LT: How do you see it playing out in your mind?

SM: Um, it’s interesting. I think that it’ll be very like the book from Bella’s perspective. So you know it’ll be what she’s seeing of this scene and everything. Um, which is actually more like Forever Dawn because we have Jacob’s perspective in this. And I don’t think that the Jacob’s perspective will be nearly as pronounced in the movies. Um you know I think it’s gonna—

Fansite: Aw.

SM: Yeah. It made me a little bit sad. I mean I think we’re gonna get some good moments, but they feel like they have to keep it Bella and Edward centric so…I mean I can see that. I know how people respond to it.

?: He’s got some good stuff though.

SM: Yeah, he does. He has some good moments.

?: It’s alright guys.

(chatter)

SM: But the birth scene may be, I think that now the concept is, Bella’s perspective.

LT: You know in the first movie, Twilight, where they’re sucking the blood, the venom out of her, and it’s just like flashes.It feels like it should be something like that.

SM: Yeah, something along those lines. I mean, yeah that was a good way…When Catherine did that it really did feel like Bella’s experience more than just an outside view. She was able to really personalize it which was nice. And even Edward personal too with that shot she came up with of Bella’s face kind of morphing over the days. I thought that was really beautiful.

(chatter)

Fansite: This is the only disruption in the…so far. The motorcycle clip, where Bella gets on the motorcycle with Jacob.Our members wanna know. They don’t think book Bella would’ve ever done that. Would’ve ever hurt Edward like that.

SM: I have read the comments and I said the exact same thing. I had…that was one of those days that I threw down.I’m like…The way that this…You know in the script I said the way that this is written, her getting on the back of the [motorcycle] is a direct response to her saying: “You lied to me. Well, I’m going with him.” And we were able the day of, and they cut down the clip that they played for MTV and stuff, we were able to soften it. We were able to get some lines in, and you’ve seen the whole thing so you know that there’s a breakaway. We tried to put in you know her response to Edward, and then now it becomes about Jacob. “Why haven’t you called me?” We switched…We tried as hard as we could to soften how that went down so it didn’t feel like something where: “Well, I’m gonna go get on the back of his motorcycle.” Because I felt like that was not Bella at all, and it’s not assertive. It’s rude. You know what I mean?

Matt: Yeah. It was like a slap in the face.

Fansite: Too reactionary.

SM: Yeah, it’s not like: “I’m a strong female character.” It’s like: “I’m a jerk.” And so yeah, that was…

Fansite: We were mad at movie Bella.

SM: Yeah, that was…

Fansite: Book Bella and I were okay, but movie Bella and I were like: “Ugh!”

SM: That was very much my same reaction. I think that it, in the form that it exists in the film, is better now. I think it works somewhat. I still think it’s kind of a stretch that she would do that. But you know you only have so much…that was one I lost. Early in I lost that one. You do what you can do.

Fansite: They’ll be happy that you agree!

(laughter)

LT: So true. Um, in the book Eclipse, we’ve kind of talked about it. We asked all the podcasts and we talked about it with some guys that have read it as well, and we talked about—

SM: The Font right?

LT: Yeah, The Font and White Yorkie.

SM: White Yorkie, that’s right.

LT: Those are our boys.

SM: Your unicorns.

LT: They all love talking about it. Um, so we were talking with them and we were talking about the character of Edward and kind of, it feels like in the end of New Moon, especially into Eclipse and especially in Breaking Dawn, it feels like his character changes a little bit. Or a lot maybe even. Um, how he goes from this strong, like as you said earlier, know-it-all to really almost a 180. Like simpering. Isn’t in control. Simpering is a bad word.

SM: There’s a lot of self-doubt that happens particularly after New Moon because this is someone who feels like he’s always had the answers and now he has screwed up worse than he’s ever screwed up in his entire life. And the one thing that he wanted more than anything else he destroyed her. And that was like so not what he was planning, so there is a lot of self-doubt. I feel like in Breaking Dawn the evolution completes where he goes from kind of like, not having hope or faith in himself, but faith in his ability to know everything. And he knows he’s right a lot. But he doesn’t have a lot of hope for anything and then he meets Bella and that throws everything into a mix and he screws up and he starts to doubt himself. In Breaking Dawn is the first time he really has faith and hope, like he comes around. He goes from being the worst pessimist to actually being an optimist, and for me that was a really big evolution. And it takes place a lot off screen in Breaking Dawn, because you know Bella is going through so much just here in her body it is very centered in her physically. And she has another battle, like she at this time has to say, “Edward, I can’t deal with you! I have something bigger to do here. Back off!” And so he becomes someone who believes at the end. Like the way she always has believed: “You and I are something special. This is gonna work out.” And he’s always felt like that she was wrong, and by the end he’s like: “You know what? I don’t even care what happens now ‘cause you’re right.” And see I always liked that about him, I liked that he was able to change. He’s one of those that changes. And Breaking Dawn for me was…on the surface there’s all this action, but for me it was all about Edward coming around. You know it’s hard for people though I think to watch the hot boy become the responsible dad because that’s not a sexy transition. Unless you have dated the hot boy and he has become the responsible dad to your children, and it’s really sexy. That’s not something that when you’re fourteen makes sense because dad is your father. But when it’s the father of your children it’s a whole other ballpark. A whole new level of sexy. You guys know. And that’s something that is not YA. It’s not a YA emotion and I always knew it was gonna go there.

(chatter)

SM: Oh my gosh it’s so sweet. It’s such a different level when you see them bond with their children. But I always knew this, that’s one of the reasons why it was hard to go YA because this was never gonna be…Remember Sweet Valley High? Okay, I’m really old.

Fansites: Yes!

SM: And those novels that like every…they’re still in high school. They’ve been there for 400 years and they’re still in high school. My books were theAnne of Green Gables where she grows up. She goes to college. She gets married. She has six kids. Her kids grow up. Her kids get married. I love the evolution. I love that they get to grow up and so for me the story was always…they were always gonna grow up.

Fansite: So it does change.

SM: And it does…It really changes. It’s not YA anymore in Breaking Dawn and that’s something that throws a lot of people.

Fansite: Totally.

SM: But I like letting them grow up. You feel bad when you make your characters stifle. They get to grow and change.

Elysa: Just back to Eclipse for a second. You mentioned on your website that there was an alternative ending to Eclipse.

SM: Yes.

Elysa: What can you tell us about that and will you ever write it or is it—

SM: See if I tell them, I can’t write. And so that becomes…’cause then you’ve destroyed it. But um, there was a certain point in time not as much faith in the series and I was told to end it at three. And I’d never planned to do…you know I was…There were three books right? There were supposed to be three books and there was no idea of it going on, and in my head it was this long series. And so it was like: “No, we should end this.” Because you know if you go on too long sometimes series lose their steam or whatever. And the story was just so wide open then. There was so much that wasn’t done and so to have ended it there, it would have had to be a radical ending. Um, radically different. There [were] some fantasy elements that I don’t think people would’ve seen coming. I don’t think they would have responded well. My mom hates it! Hates the ending. My sister was cool with it. And you know I could see that because there were things…Some people, the way they’re tied to the characters are dependent on certain aspects of those characters, and now I’m gonna sound really really bad but it messed with that for some people. But then once I started thinking about it I was really intrigued by that conversation. There was this really dramatic scene and Bella doesn’t know what’s going on and the visuals in it were really strong for me. And so then I wanted to write it. You know back when nobody cared about the books and I could do whatever I wanted, I was like Bree it was gonna be on the website. That was the plan all along. I would write up this alternate ending, but will people throw rocks at me if I write this? There’s a possibility! Oh and then people will think: “Oh this is the real ending and that’s the fake ending.” When it’s not you know…this is just an alternate. This is the way it could’ve gone. But it didn’t and I like it better how it is.

Matt: Are you leaving it open so—

SM: I’m leaving it open in case I decide some night I wake up and start typing and then I can put it on my website.Although you know I hate spoilers but then sometimes I wonder would Breaking Dawn have been an easier transition if people had had the spoilers? If I hadn’t thought: “Oh, I don’t want to ruin it.” And I just said, “Okay, hey guys, Bella’s gonna have a baby! Strap in!”

(chatter and laughter)

SM: Would people have been like: “Okay, I’m ready for it.” I don’t know. It’s a hard thing. Do you fight to keep it spoiler-free? Can you anymore? I was so disappointed, you know the last Harry Potter there was no way to avoid being spoiled.It was impossible. My friend took her little nieces and nephews and they went to go stand in line at the bookstore and some people drove by in a car with a megaphone shouting out the names of the people who died in the book.

(chatter)

Matt: Yeah, I got spoiled with the sixth book with Dumbledore.

SM: Yeah. I mean people just…there’s this desire people have to ruin the fun for other people.

Kassie: I don’t like that.

(chatter and laughter)

Kassie: I want to hunt them down!

(chatter and laughter)

Kassie: My vampire comes out!

SM: Why would you do that when you see little children? Like who can be that person who sees little kids there in line and wants to upset their fun? I don’t understand that.

Kassie: Oh it makes me mad! I wanna go talk to their mom.

(laughter)

Elysa: For Breaking Dawn my house was Fort Knox . I didn’t go anywhere. I was not online. Nothing. I mean I fell off the face of the earth. I did not want to be spoiled, and I wasn’t. I did not get spoiled—

Matt: You live in the middle of nowhere. I live in L.A.

(laughter)

Elysa: Fair enough. Fair enough.

THANKS TO STEFANIE FOR TRANSCRIBING!

Stephenie Meyers’ Breaking Down?

SM: This one she says may not be answerable.

Kallie: It may not be legal and that’s okay. If it’s not, okay.  I feel like a rebel right now.
Kassie: You are.  I told her not to ask it.
Kallie: I’m the straight-laced one.  Okay, so Breaking Dawn the book is being made into two movies.
SM: Yeah.
Kallie: Breaking Dawn I, Breaking Dawn II?
SM: Oh the names?
Kallie: Yes, for the movies.
SM: Oh I don’t know.  I don’t know.
Kallie: Do you have any ideas or anything?
SM: I don’t have anything.  I was thinking about that one because Breaking Dawn I and Breaking Dawn II is really flat, but then what else are you gonna do?
Kallie: I think we should look towards the Alien movies and what they’ve called them ‘cause I always think that the baby scene…
Matt: “Breaking Dawns”?
Fansite:  You know how it’s like breaking out?
Kallie: Yeah, “Breaking Out” is number one and Breaking Dawn can be number two.  No, not really.  But you know—
SM: “Breaking Down”.
Matt: “Breaking Down Again”.
SM: “Breaking Down” was actually a project for awhile.  There was awhile where you get burned out.  We came up with an alternate Breaking Dawn called “Breaking Down”.
Fansite: Nice.
SM: It was awesome.
?: There was a lot of really good stuff.
SM: Spiraling downward into the destruction of Bella Swan’s life and everyone around her.  Charlie ended up being a meth addict.  It was cool.
(chatter and laughter)
SM: No, no it was awesome!  Okay, so it starts out with Bella on the same cliff, right?  But this time she’s taking her life and she’s going back over like everything that’s happened to get to this point, and it all kind of got started because there was trouble and Alice and Jacob…I forget how it works.  Jacob killed Alice right?  And it was somewhat Bella’s fault.
Fansite: What?!
SM: No, no.  It was “Breaking Down.”  So Alice is dead and Edward is horrified because this is Bella’s fault and he like backhands Bella and disappears.  He’s gone.  All the Cullens are gone.  Alice is dead.  The Cullens are gone.  So Bella’s in the hospital on heavy pain meds which is how Charlie got addicted, and she ends up marrying Mike because you know she settles and she marries Mike.  And so she’s stuck with Mike and it’s really depressing and then he leaves her for Eric Yorkie.
(chatter and laughter)
?: You’re forgetting Lauren what’s her name on America’s Next Top Model.
SM: Oh and Lauren Mallory wins America’s Next Top Model.  Um and then Charlie ends up getting killed by drug dealers and so …I think her mom died in a car accident somewhere.  And so she ends up…there’s nothing so she’s gonna kill herself and then she thinks at the very edge at the cliff at the end: “You know?  This is stupid.  I’m not gonna kill myself.  I’m gonna rebound.  I’m gonna forge a new life.”  She turns around; she trips and falls over anyway.
(chatter and laughter)
Elysa: This needs to be made.
Matt: It needs to be a graphic novel too.
SM: Well I…you know there were so many expectations for Breaking Dawn that were like: “If this doesn’t happen I’m going to hate it.”  And then the exact opposite: “If the exact opposite doesn’t happen I’m going to hate it.”  I’m like: “I’m gonna write something that everybody hates!”  And then I wanted to leak it you know?  And just like have little pieces of it and people be like: “Oh my gosh!”  It was gonna be great.  We have a lot of fun when coming up with these horrific ideas.
Kallie: It sounds like it.
SM: You know the thing is that Billy Burke would kill Charlie on drugs.  He’d be so good at that.
(chatter)
SM: I’m just surprised that he hasn’t been…He’s an amazing talent.  Like where are people in picking him up?  ‘Cause he is amazing.  I want to see him in more things.

Kallie: We think he’s very funny.
SM: His timing is excellent.
(chatter)
LT: All his scenes are the best.
SM: And Anna Kendrick?
(chatter)
SM: It’s so exciting when she has…when it’s her day on set because you know you’re gonna be laughing all day.  She is—
Laura: Is she funny like outside the film?
SM: Oh yeah. Yeah. She just was monologuing in New Moon, like she was just coming up with that stuff.
Matt: Oh yeah I heard about that.
SM: She is great.
(chatter)
Matt: The whole thing with him [Charlie] and Bella talking about you know “the talk”.  It was so funny.  I was laughing out loud.
SM: That was one of those things, talking about protection, that I really didn’t want to get out before the movie.  And so far so good because that scene is just something that needs to be seen in its entirety and enjoyed ‘cause it’s well done.
Matt: It was really good.
SM: He owns it.  He’s so great. Okay.
Fansite: Okay, we might need you to … on this one Jodi.  Would you ever put that “Breaking Down” on Twilighted and what do you think of fan fiction?
SM: Oh okay Twilighted is not something…
Fansite: Twilighted.com it’s like—
TF: It’s like fanfiction.net but it’s a different one.
SM: Okay, um, I mean if I wrote it I would put it on my website as a joke.  I wouldn’t put you know…I have a venue to do these things.  Um fan fiction has kind of become sort of a mixed thing for me.  Like in the beginning I hadn’t heard of it and there were some that were um, I couldn’t read any that had the characters in character because it was kind of…it freaked me out.  Um, but I liked…there was one about Harry Potter and Twilight was hilarious.  And then there was one about a girl who was starring as Bella in the movie and like got to meet Henry Cavill, this is really early in, that was funny.  But then I hear so many people like arguing about fan fiction and “this one is better!”  It seems very contentious and it seems like some of it’s not as much fun anymore so I don’t know.
Fansite: We’re having lots of fun with it but…
(laughter)
SM: Well that’s good.  That’s good.  Although sometimes I worry because people pour out so much energy and talent into these things and then they can’t…I mean I guess it’s practice, but it makes me frustrated like go write your story ‘cause you’ve got something.  Put them out there and get them published!  That’s what you should be doing.  You should be working on your own book right now.
Fansite: Some of them they can just change the names and they could be books.
TF: The ones that I like to read are the ones that aren’t anything to do that are similar.  I don’t like anything similar to the book.  I like the ones where Edward is a banker or Edward’s in the mafia or whatever.  I like the totally different ones ‘cause I like my characters to just stay the pure characters that you write.
SM: Well I mean and I just—
Fansite: But a lot of people love it.
SM: As long as they view the writers of it like move on from it and write their own stuff because I think it’s sad to spend so much energy on something that you can’t own and that makes me a little bit sad because all these talented kids should be you know…Get your story out under the bed and get it out there.
Fansite: Right.
(chatter)
SM: We need more books.
Fansite: If you won’t write it we have to have something!
(chatter and laughter)
TF: The ones that I love are the ones where they are so good they could be a novel like if they would just change the names ‘cause it’s nothing like the plot.  You know it’s not like the Twilight plot.
SM: Well and that means it’s their own story and maybe they want to have a venue to try their stories out and that’s something too.  But you know you do have to kind of worry I mean the whole Midnight Sun mess came about because when you first get started you really want people to read your book/work and give you feedback.  And no one’s ever gonna care, like you don’t have to worry about leaks.  That’s such a crazy idea and with Midnight Sun you know I had a readers’ group and we all read each others’ stuff and that’s very normal and I saw a lot of feedback you know like: “Well she shouldn’t be giving her stuff out” and everything.  It’s like ten years ago before anybody knew that had ever read Twilight did you ever think anyone was gonna care and look for this crap?  Absolutely not.  And you know that’s how, as a writer, that’s how you work.  You show your stuff.  You get feedback from people and you learn from it.  Um and I think that the fan fiction can do that in a nice way.  It…you at least get to hear some people’s thoughts also but there’s a lot of negativity online.  If your face isn’t attached you’re not…When you’re in person with someone I think it’s really hard to be like: “I hate you! You suck!”
(chatter and laughter)
LT: Yeah they would rather twitter something about you in the same room. I’ve had that happen.
SM: Really?
LT: When they vent and they’ll say something mean about me in the same room and you’re like I’m right here!  Come to me.
SM: I worry about that evolution.  Like if we all are all mean on the internet and nasty all the time is that going to cross over into real life?  That’s kind of scary.  Are we gonna lose that common courtesy element ‘cause online it’s completely gone.  And so that’s a hard thing.  If you have a writers’ group and you’re talking about your work people are at least gonna have some courtesy [and] be like: “Well this part maybe didn’t work for me so well.”  But they’re not gonna be like: “You’re the biggest loser in the world!”  Which is what you’re gonna get online and that might discourage some writers who are really good and shouldn’t be that discouraged you know?  That’s kind of scary. Yeah, sometimes online it’s…
Matt: Anyone can have a voice on the internet that’s why it’s…
SM: Well some people seem to take delight.  It’s like the Harry Potter shouters.  People who take delight in just kicking people down and it’s like why?
Matt: I don’t know who…Oh no it was Nikki Reed who was telling me, who told me that’s why she doesn’t go on the internet and hear about people talk about her character and how her portrayal is.  It’s because it could be anybody that talks…that can just hit you right in the gut and it could be just some ten-year-old kid from, I don’t know, the Netherlands talking about you.
SM: And they might even believe it.  They might just be saying—
Elysa: It’s always those ten-year-olds.
Fansite: Those stupid ten-year-olds!
(chatter)
SM: But you know they do they massacre people.  And I’m hoping that people see her performance in this one and like have a better appreciation for what she can do.  She hasn’t really had a chance you know.  A lot of them haven’t and it’s great that she gets her moment in this one.  Short but it’s there at least.
Fansite: Your bridezilla.
Fansite: So we love to talk about merch[andise].  We love to purchase weird merch things and like do embarrassing things with it ‘cause it’s just awesome to do that.  Um, so what have you seen that you’ve been like: “Oh okay that’s interesting.”  Or have?
(chatter)
LT: What is the weirdest thing you own?
SM: What’s the weirdest thing that I’ve been given?  I’ve been given some really amazing stuff.  It’s weird because it’s so much time.  The quilts that I was made that, I mean I don’t have words.  It’s amazing.  Each square was made by someone different and so they depict scenes from different scenes from the book, and it’s lovely.  I had…someone knitted a giant Twilight book cover with the hands and the apple.  It’s a bed-sized blanket, and it’s amazing but it also makes you feel a little weird like that’s a lot of effort and you’re just giving it away to someone you don’t know!  I mean it’s kind of…I’m trying to think if I have anything really weird.  People send me a lot of music; like self-made music.
?: We get it too: “Can you pass this on to Stephenie?”
SM: People at my old house used to slide it through the gate and there would be stuff out there in the morning.
?: The drum.  I’m just helping you remember things.
SM: Oh the drum was…That was amazing.  That’s one of my favorite things.  From the Quileute Nation they sent me a drum, and I guess part of the passage on is [that] you have to make your first drum and it was somebody’s first drum that they made.  It’s really beautiful. There’s one very similar to it hanging in Emily’s house and they used the same thing, so that was really cool.  But they want things that are funny that I’ve gotten.
(chatter)
?: The Christian t-shirts.
(chatter)
SM: I’m trying to remember. It was something like “Edward would wait.” And it had like a picture of Edward on it.  I have [stuff] like that. And those are like, aw man, talk about secondhand embarrassment.  I get a lot of that.  The tattoos make me cry.
LT: Those are my favorite.
SM: But they make me cry—
LT: They’re so great.
Kallie: There’s somebody doing a contest I think right now about you.
SM: I know and they’re encouraging them!  Ten years are gonna pass and your gonna read another book and your tattoo is gonna spread and you’re gonna be really unhappy you did that!
Kallie: It’s different if it’s like a spray and tack on your body kind of tattoo.
SM: Oh do it! Temporary tattoos are great. Go for it.
Kallie: I remember last year, I guess at the premiere there was a girl that had Twilight but then you turned it around and it said “vampire”?
Fansites: “Werewolves.”
SM: I mean you gotta give her points for it being kind of cool.
LT: But what about the one that’s like Edward’s head but it’s like sort of Rob but he’s got a wonky eye.
(chatter and laughter)
SM: I just don’t want people having big regrets in ten years because of Twilight that makes me kind of sad.
(chatter)
SM: “Why did she do this to me?!”
Fansite:  But there’s like the um, what do they call it, the Edward pillow have you seen that?
SM: You know what that always…Did you see the 30 Rock with um, oh what’s his name?
(chatter)
SM: James Franco.  Where he’s in love with the body pillow?
Fansite: And he takes it [on] dates.
SM: And like he’s dating a body pillow and so he hires Jenna to be his fake girlfriend to cover up the scandal.  And every time I see that I think of the Rob pillow.  Yeah, there’s some stuff out there, and especially the non-sanctioned stuff and everything…Awww.
(chatter)
Fansite: Do you have a room that you put all of this stuff in or—
(chatter)
SM: I have a Twilight storage shed.  We have three storage sheds.  I mean they give me all the official merchandise too and you know you kind of think there are people who want this you know I’ll save this and give it to someone, and then the boxes pile up.  Thought it’s kinda…Like for—
?: You guys are getting some of it.
SM: Yeah you are!  For Christmas last year, we always do a “white elephant” exchange in my family it’s kind of like a good joke at who can get the best thing right, and so I you know because I have a lot of brothers so I got the extra-large Jacob with no shirt on [t-shirts] so they could wear those around.  It was pretty good.
(chatter and laughter)
Kallie:  We have a traveling wedding CD that one of our cousins did for her wedding, like a CD of their favorite songs, and it’s always the “white elephant” gift.  It gets given to somebody every year.
SM: It’s the sauna suit at our house. It’s like a metal bag thing.  That one makes the rounds.
Fansite: I’m right there with you.

THANKS TO STEFANIE FOR TRANSCRIBING!

The Villainous Volturi

This week we bring you a discussion about the Volturi, and even discuss the music Stephenie listens to!  Kassie and I had so much fun playing the villains in this picture!  How cool is it that Stephenie let us pretend to bite her?!?!

Elysa: I wanna talk about the Volturi because not only are they probably my single most favorite aspect of the series but I think as far as the villains go [they’re] probably my favorite of almost any book I’ve ever read.  Because for me they’re like—

Matt: Rockstars.

Elysa: Well yes, naturally.  But—

Kallie: Foreign rockstars.

Elysa: What I like so much is that you can’t…there’s a great sense of ambiguity there in a lot of ways.  They’re clearly the enemy and you’re clearly afraid of them but there’s a sort of reverence as well and especially because, in some ways as humans, you have to kind of respect a little bit that they prevent things, like Seattle, from happening all the time.  So I love them for that reason, also because I think a lot of villains, whether it’sHarry Potter or Star Wars and other big franchises, you can tell by looking at them you know what I mean?

SM: Monsters.  They look ugly.  Zombies coming at you.

Elysa: Exactly!  It’s like that’s expected and you know…

SM: Although there’s a book that’s gonna come out I think next year called Warm Bodies that will change zombies for you forever so—

Meghan: For the rest of your life.

SM: For the rest of your life.  You’ll never look at them and not be like—

Meghan: Go get it.

(chatter)

SM: It’s not out yet.  It’s by Isaac Marion, and it’ll change zombies for you forever.

Matt: Is it a series?

SM: No—

(chatter)

Meghan: It’s a stand-alone. He has a website and he has up some of his other stuff.  Plug for Isaac!

SM: I mean it’s funny because I always use zombies as an example like how monsters you’re supposed to be able to look at…And see that’s…I find it so much more frightening when you can’t tell.  You know because it’s like I never really got scared over monster movies and I found I didn’t watch a lot of horror, the ones that scared me were like psycho because he looks like a nice guy and that’s when you don’t know.  And that’s the scary thing because you walk out of your house and there isn’t a dinosaur about to eat you but there is a guy right over there and what if he’s a psychopath?  And I’ve always been fascinated with appearances because evil doesn’t appear evil, it doesn’t.  It’s clean and shiny and pretty.  The Volturi are kind of, they’re villains that got to have 3,000 years to refine themselves into [this] perfect powerful presence, and they’re fun.  It’s fun to show vampires at the very pinnacle of that power, although they’re not really at the…They are very dark but you know you have a whole different kind.  You kind of figure with vampires the whole, like the more wild and blood-thirsty, but this is just such a controlling and patient kind of evil.

Elysa: That’s what creeps me out!

SM: The patience is…Well and one thing, Aro in particular, the really really darkest thing for me about him is that he can honestly love someone and still kill them if it gets in his way; like his sister who he honestly loved, who was like the most important person in his world, but she got in the way of his ambition and he could kill her and grieve her but grieve over what he had done but still do it because that was okay to him in his world. And when you can do that, when you can cross that line—shivers.

Elysa: Yeah, yeah.

Matt: Do you have a question?

Elysa: No, I just wanted to fangirl a bit.

Matt: Oh, okay!

SM: You know who you should read?  My favorite villains, like the scariest villains I’ve ever read, have any of you read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman?  [Croup] and [Vandemar], Oh. My. Gosh!

Elysa: What’s the name of this?

SM: It’s called Neverwhere, and it’s by Neil Gaiman, who’s one of my favorite like geniuses, and he has these bad guys [Croup] and [Vandemar], I’ve never read anyone so terrifying in my life.  They’re so good.  So good!

(chatter)

Elysa:  Maybe there is a question to be salvaged from all of this.  Did you always know the Volturi went to visit Victoria before?

SM: Yes, because in the story, when Alice has the vision, they give her four days and I always knew that there was an impetus that they had met up that she had to make a decision because Victoria’s would’ve been to be like: “Now.  Let’s go.” You know? No thought.  That’s how she was planning to roll.  Get them ready kind of get there and they’re like now we run and so that they have maybe, at most, an hour to get to her.   Four days was really an exorbitant amount of time and that was the Volturi’s fault because Jane was tired of waiting and so she went and said, “You have to do something already.”  Victoria was making a huge mess.

Elysa: I think you might’ve touched on this before a little bit earlier, but you said that sometimes Jane does act on her own a little bit.

SM: This is really kind of a…I mean, Aro is very controlling.  He is the pinnacle and he has all the power and so he calls the shots but in this specific case knowing with Alice he has to deviate from the pattern and so he let Jane make her…You know he said, “Go out.” And not even specifically about them because Alice could see that, you know just “Jane, I think that you are very much fantastic and I want you to go out and take care of things in the world that need to be taken care of on your own.  I think you can make your own decisions.”  And Jane is like: “Ah, I know what this is about.”  And so she goes out there and she knows it’s her mission.  She knows it’s about the Cullens.  She knows that she has to effect some kind of progress there, but how to do it.  So yeah that’s Jane.  You could write a story about Jane through [that] month of frustration and all the stuff she was trying to do and not screwing up so that when she came home Aro didn’t decide “maybe I don’t need someone who can burn people.”

Elysa: Do you think…

Kallie: Go ahead! That was what we were gonna ask so that’s good.

Matt: We have a while.

Elysa: Okay.  Does…I always was under the impression that Jane hated Bella more than anyone and then we read Breeand apparently she really hates Alice .

SM: Well think about it, Aro this whole time…Aro is the one person of significance in her life, besides Alec, but Aro is the one that she always wants to be the favorite of.

Matt: Like the new baby.

SM: Yeah.  Well but I mean they’ve had a relationship for years.  She is his prize.  She is his jewel.  He is unstoppable because of her.  Alec obviously is a big part in that too but there’s a very strong relationship there and now he’s found a shinier jewel than her, and if she could kill Alice she’d do it in a heartbeat.  But she knows that that would, I mean she’d be in real trouble then.  So she hates Alice .  Bella’s just annoying, someone who doesn’t cringe in pain?  How dare she!  But Alice —

(chatter and laughter)

SM: Alice is a problem for her, a big problem.  You know that when it came down to the fight if… Jane would’ve been hopeful that Alice would’ve gone out.  And you know, how frustrating Aro gets there and Alice isn’t there and it’s like: “Oh crap.”  And Jane’s sitting there like: “She’s not gonna die?”  And Aro knows exactly how she feels and he’s able to play that to his benefit ‘cause he’s sick!

(chatter)

SM: He is sick, but lovely, and Michael Sheen…You know I—

(chatter)

SM: We kicked around a lot of names with that, right?  And Michael Sheen was Chris’ [Weitz] choice and you know I hadn’t…Frost/Nixon?  He’s a great actor but I couldn’t see him in it.

Fansite: Oh Lucian, so hot!

SM: Well see, I hadn’t seen the Underworld things and so I was just like: “Uh, I don’t know.  I kind of had a different mental image and I had this actor or that actor that I wanted” and he talked me into it.  First day I saw him on set I went up to Chris and I said, “Thank you so much.  You were right, I was wrong.  I will listen to you forever because you were so right on that one.”

(chatter)

SM: It was like acting class to watch him go in there.  Every single take he did something different, he did a slightly different thing.  Always, of course, lines perfect.   He would never [make a] mistake but he gave them something different for the director to pull from and he’s so great.  He’s a really interesting guy.  He’s so much fun to talk to.

Fansite: My husband thinks I’m crazy for all this.  When he heard that Michael Sheen was [in New Moon] he was like: “Oh, maybe this isn’t as crazy as I thought.”

SM: He is so great, and it’s one of the reasons I love that movie is because I love watching him work.  Every time he comes on it’s just like: “Say something more!”

(chatter)

SM: And I hate that Jamie Campbell Bower did not get as many lines he had originally.

(chatter)

SM: ‘Cause he is chilling.

Kallie: He’s brilliant.

SM: He actually tried out for Demetri.

Kallie: Oh really?

SM: And he was too scary for Demetri, we were watching it.  There was another guy that…You know Demetri is supposed to be, Charlie [Bewley] was sort of the in between,  Demetri is supposed to be smoother and like kind of calm people down, but then of course movie people don’t want to ever have somebody that’s a peacemaker they want all the tension.  So Charlie was scary, but not as scary as Jamie.  Jamie was chilling and then his face takes the makeup like nobody else, he has no pores!  His face is perfect.  And he looked, you know he got in the makeup and every line he delivered had so much weight and you’re just like: “More.  More please.”  Caius needs a story.  We need to see more of it.  A whole thing with him and Michael Sheen just let’s go!  Well Marcus too, who also… Chris [Heyerdahl] just creepy.  He just did this thing where he sounded like he had 500 years of dust in his throat.  It was crazy.

(chatter)

SM: At a cast dinner I was sitting there talking to him, I didn’t know it was him because he’s bald and I was so used to him in the hair!  And so I’m talking to this tall bald guy and just like thinking that he was somebody else and then when I realized it was the actor I’m thinking really quick back through everything I said, “Did I…Does he know I don’t know who he is?”  And then I told him I’m like: “I didn’t recognize you without the wig and the red eyes and all that.”

Fansite: That’s so funny!

Kallie: Okay, I have a question about music.

SM: Music.

Kallie: One of the things that I loved most, even before the movies came out, was going to your website and playing the playlists while I read and so now that we’ve got these movies and these soundtracks, are there any songs from the soundtracks that you think, “Oh that would’ve been really good on my playlist”?

SM: Um, I’m trying to think.  Right now the song from The Dead Weather, it’s, cover your ears, it’s in the scene with Victoria talking to Riley and it’s like her theme.

Matt: Yes.

SM: Okay you’re good. You’re good.  It’s like her theme song, like the tone of it, not the words so much, but the beat and the sound that just…I really liked how that worked.  And you know obviously the prom song from Twilight was…just became so iconic.

Fansite: Every time I hear it I just feel like crying.

SM: Yeah.  I mean, there are some great…And [the] Thom Yorke song from New Moon.

Fansites: Oh I love that.

SM: It was the pinnacle of the music in the movies for me, and that’s how Chris’ mind works.  Like he could see that this could be an action sequence song.  We saw that with…We had a premiere in Arizona , I do it with my friends sometimes, and we had a band come and perform and they hadn’t seen the movie before either and they came up.  All they could talk about was that song.  It blew their minds how that worked.  And that was cool.  So there are obviously songs, but most of the songs, like the lyrics from them and I’m a very lyric and music [person] I have to have both, and a lot of these, in the movies it’s a lot more about the sound, except for Lykke Li’s “Possibility” song which is killer where that was put in, and so some of the songs it’s more about the tone in the movies and then when you deconstruct them it doesn’t work as well with the books.  So I don’t know that I would do too many replacements.

Kallie: But it’s nice to hear the ones that you love so much ‘cause it’s one of those things that…you’re a music person.

SM: Well it’s a nice chance for me to be able to have my tastes with the music, because in the movies that’s a really tough one because there are a lot of people involved in that and you’ve got a record company who has things they want to promote and you’ve got another person who has these things to promote.  We struck out on this last one.  I mean I love the soundtrack but there was one song we fought for and we kicked for and we cried for and we just begged any placement of it and we still…

Matt: What was the song?

SM: Um, I’m a big fan of the band Meese, and they did a song for the movie specifically so it’s not released but I think they will release it, and I wanted it for the end because it had this lightness to it. All through the movie you kind of…and then that end you need a song that picks you up, and the Metric song is really good there, but we love this song.

(chatter)

SM: It fits really good and it’s beautiful, and I really liked how it turned out but before we’d heard that, we didn’t hear that song till very near the end it was one of the last things we heard, and we were really fighting for that song [to be placed] just anywhere ‘cause it had this feeling of like, you know it’s so complicated with Bella and Edward there’s a lot of downer things but when the two of them are together and it’s just the two of them there should be a happiness to it, and this song has a happy sound and it’s just light and we really loved it.  Shout out!  I love Meese, they’re great.  You guys are all getting a Meese CD today, just fyi.

Fansites: Yay!

SM: I put some of my new favorites in the bag so you’re getting Meese and Dan Mangan,  that CD I cannot stop listening to, and then Sleigh Bells, which is really good for like working out, right?  And then what was the fourth one we put in?

Meghan: Florence and the Machine.

SM: Florence and the Machine.  They have one of the best songs on the soundtrack.  “Heavy” it kills me it’s so good.

Fansite: And then Sia right after that, we were just talking about how that transition between those two songs is awesome.

Fansite: Beck’s song too.

Kallie: I love the music.

Fansites: The Beck song is great.

Kallie: I’m kinda, when you…I think I connected even more with the books when I was on your website and saw Muse on it ‘cause I was like: “Aw, this takes me back to high school.”  ‘Cause I’m not…not necessarily all of their music [does that] but that’s when they were writing a lot of really good stuff and it’s kind of funny that they’re so popular now ‘cause they were out back then.

SM: When I first heard them like nobody had heard about them.  The thing that for me that fits with the way I write and the way that they’re music strikes me, I guess, is that they are so…they’re not cynical about it.  They throw themselves into it.  They live that emotion and there’s no sense of like: “I’m gonna hold back and be a little sarcastic” or whatever.  They just [put] pure emotion into the songs whatever it is.  It’s the end of the world?  It’s the end of the world!  Like they don’t…They take it seriously, and when I write I don’t like to be cynical I want to just feel the emotions and so their songs work really well for me that way.

Fansite: Do you like Rush?

SM: I haven’t listened to a lot of Rush.  I should.

Fansite: ‘Cause they’re literally [this part is inaudible].

SM: See I have a weird…my musical…I didn’t listen to a lot of music in high school, which is what most people do, and so I really got into music more in college and then even more, more and more as I got older which is kind of a weird way to do it.  So a lot of the music that I really love is stuff that came out in the last ten years.  I have a limited background.

THANKS TO STEFANIE FOR TRANSCRIBING!