Ok, so maybe we were a bit harsh on Kristen Stewart earlier. Her ambivalent responses to New Moon queries during her Adventureland tour of Sundance seemed a bit off for the female lead in one of the year’s biggest blockbusters. She said that New Moon had turned into a “machine.”   And then we read…..this:

[Camilla] Belle says that Robert Pattinson, who portrayed the sexy vampire lead in the hit film opened up to her about the stresses of required “media training.”

“My friend Rob, for that whole Twilight nonsense, the studio was having them take all these classes,” the 22-year-old actress tells Nylon magazine in its February issue. “It was the most frustrating thing in the world because they want you to speak like someone else, not yourself. It’s so silly. And I would be frustrated, too.”

Media Training? Wow. Studios should be aiming for transparency in this age of the web, not pushing stars to interact with the press like trained animals. In this light–that Summit is giving “media training” to at least one of the Twilight stars–Ms. Bella should be applauded for her honest opinion of how New Moon has gone so far. There’s also an interesting Reuters article from today that sheds some light on how to Kristen Stewart learned to deal with the spotlight–

Stewart is a child of Hollywood — the daughter of a stage manager and a script supervisor — and her Los Angeles upbringing provided a close up view of fame that has helped her handle the three-ring media circus of Hollywood celebrity.

“I grew up on a set,” she told Reuters at Sundance. “I don’t take it as seriously, and then at the same time I take it more seriously than anyone. It’s like a balance.”

Camilla Belle Dishes on Twilight ‘Nonsense’

“Twilight” star Stewart rides roller coaster of fame

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With Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Wolf Man, and New Moon being released this year, a month ago we called 2009 the year of the wolf. USA Today is now picking up the same vibe, stating–

Vampires monopolized the monster kingdom last year with the dawning of literary phenom Twilight on the big screen. But those aloof bloodsuckers are so last administration. Never mind seduction. Snarly and snappish is where it’s at.

USA Today had this to say about the most anticipated wolf film of 2009, New Moon:

New Moon, due Nov. 20 and based on the second volume of the Twilight saga, expands upon a supernatural love triangle. While vampire Edward (Rob Pattinson) runs away to Italy to keep his mortal teen queen Bella (Kristen Stewart) out of danger from others of his kind, she makes time with the less-complicated Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as he finally reveals his hairier, scarier side.

Director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) picks up where Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke left off on the production that starts shooting March 23. One of his first tasks on the sequel was deciding to keep Lautner, whose gangly Native American high-schooler in the first film transforms into a hulking giant over the course of the book series as he fulfills his tribe’s destiny.

“Taylor is a formidable guy, kind of a great tool in the toolbox,” Weitz says of the nearly 17-year-old actor who has been working out daily and has packed on 29 pounds, most of it muscle. “In the first movie, we did not see or recognize how dangerous a character he could be.”

As for Taylor himself, “he can kill me with his left pinky. But he is too nice to do that. There is something compelling and sexy about him. He captures the spirit of Jacob.”

The backdrop of the Twilight books might be a gothic fantasy, but the filmmaker sees his characters as expressions of emotional attitudes shared by young people. “One of the great things of Stephenie Meyer’s novels is that she keeps them very grounded in the real world,” Weitz says.

“The vampires are about distance and reserve,” he says about the contrast between his male leads. “Edward represses his desire to do harm. Jacob is very warm and emotional, but also feels the heat of anger. When he transforms, it’s like losing your temper — sudden, explosive and lightning-quick.”

Where Bella is concerned, he adds, “Edward represents the unattainable perfection of first love. Jacob is friendship.”

Move over, movie vampires: Werewolf pack is back

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Kristen Stewart put down her, ah–tobacco pipe just long enough to bemoan how popular New Moon is to MTV:

“It’s such a machine now. All of a sudden, this movie has become [something bigger],” she explained. “With all the expectations — usually, you make a movie and think, ‘If it touches people, great; if it doesn’t, then you move on to the next one, and no one’s personally affected by it.’ [But] everyone’s really sensitive with any changes right now.

“Everyone needs to be on the same page to make the same movie [as the original 'Twilight' was],” she said of the upcoming “New Moon” shoot. “Or else it will be a very disoriented project.”

You know, Kristin–I get it. Down with the man. Make art, not product. But this isn’t high school drama club. You’re in the big leagues now, and with that comes managers, producers, stylists, PR agents, spin doctors, and decisions by committee. You may not like it, but it’s the name of the game in Hollywood when you are working on one of the most anticipated movies of the year. However much I might agree with you–that New Moon has all the signs of potential disaster now that everyone wants a finger in the pie–you’re coming off as unappreciative and oh-so-over-it in this and the recent E! Sundance interview.   There are thousands of young actresses that would kill to be in your position, and though we all certainly appreciate your honesty–perhaps giving thanks that you could even be in this incredible position is the better tact for the press? It’s not all bad vibes and buzzkill for Stewart, though–she digs the new director, Chris Weitz:

“Chris is — on top of him being a really sweet guy — he is entirely devoted,” she explained. “And he’s very clearly not doing the movie just because it’s the next big thing. He really likes it a lot.”

Stewart is glad Taylor Lautner is staying for his role:

“I’m so glad they didn’t have to find somebody else; we already had him! I didn’t understand all the deliberation on [whether to bring him back]. But now that it’s set, we can all rest.

Kristen Stewart Confident In Taylor Lautner, Chris Weitz For ‘New Moon’

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