Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Twilight of the Future: What's Next for the Cast?

This is a departure from my normal book related discussion posts. As you all know, I'm a huge Twilight fan. I love the books as well as the movies, despite recognizing the faults in both.

I was trying to come up with a discussion topic for today and I kept thinking about Breaking Dawn 2 and what the major actors are going to do next. Whether their careers will last beyond the final Twilight. So I thought it would be fun to discuss each of the actors in turn. I'm going to guess about their future success or lack thereof in Hollywood plus a few (somewhat cutting) comments about my personal opinions of them.

Oldie but goodie photo
Edward and Bella: Rob and Kristen

I'm tacking them together, because my assessment is basically the same and they always seem to be a pair anyway. I think they stand the greatest chance of having long, successful careers. A lot of people criticize their acting, but I think they play the roles they're given quite well. Neither of them are particularly emotive and both are rather awkward. Luckily, there are quite a few roles where the characters' personalities are awkward and non-demonstrative. Kristen especially is different than most of the young actresses who are either bubbly gum cheery or tearing off their clothes sexy. She fits a niche that Hollywood appears to be looking for right now.

They both seem to be making the right moves to position themselves in the Business. By aligning themselves with couture designers (Balenciaga for Kristen and Dior for Rob), they give off an aura of refinement that is different from many of their peers who fall over themselves to front a cheap (quality and/or cost) line of clothing or perfume. As for the whole couple thing, I don't know whether that helps or hurts them. Part of me thinks its all staged for publicity. It looks quite suspicious. On the other hand, they sure went out of their way to hide it for a long time. Plus, the gossip columnist I consider most reliable (Lainey Gossip) says that all her sources indicate that it's real.

Jacob: Taylor

What a sweet kid. Unlike many viewers, I do not swoon over Taylor. He's good-looking, definitely, but the ten year age difference makes me look at him with an "Aww, how cute...pat on the head" mindset. He seems like such a nice boy. Unfortunately, I think the piece of lint I just flicked off my sleeve acts as well as he does. And judging by the abysmal reviews his action movie Abduction received, Hollywood agrees. I hope he's able to take some good acting lessons, make a turn around, and find success. He has the looks and fitness of an action star. A kid as good as him deserves to do well...but only if he figures out how to act.

Alice: Ashley

Ashley tries. Tries what you might ask? Whatever it takes, I'm guessing. She has had more non-Twilight roles than most of the other supporting actors. But I don't know if she'll be able to parlay that into a successful career. I think her problem is that she's the opposite of Kristen - she's just like every other young Hollywood actress. She's very pretty, she's sweet yet sultry, etc. Her acting is just fine, but I haven't seen anything that makes her stand out. Not that it matters, but I can't decide whether I like her as a person. She's hard to read. I picture her as (a) the super nice girl next door who'd be your best friend or (b) the snobby mean girl who turns her nose up at you if you don't meet her impossible standards of perfection.

Jasper: Jackson

I would love to see Jackson do well. He is such a cool guy. Funny, handsome, talented, really charismatic. I don't know if he has much lined up outside of Twilight anymore. I hope he finds more roles. He seems like a good actor - or at least as good as the other young actors. And he has that nameless "something" that makes you want to watch him more. He left his band 100 Monkeys last year. I wonder what was behind that. I'm thinking that getting his girlfriend pregnant put a major kink into his plans. I sure hope he's able to move beyond it and find success.

Rosalie: Nikki

Nikki intrigues me. She's been typecast as the edgy bad girl for almost her entire career. She has the attitude to play such roles well. But she also seems like a smart, cool, fun girl. Not saccharine sweet in the way that Ashley comes off. I'm surprised that she hasn't gotten more significant roles. I see her as a character actor, not a leading lady, but I still figured she'd be out there more. I do think that she was foolish to get married so young (not that I can talk much, since Nikki married at 23 and I got married at 25. It just feels a lot younger). I wonder if that will negatively affect her career. Or positively affect it. I don't know.

Emmett: Kellan

Personality wise, I lump Kellan in with Ashley. Both come off like sweet, fun loving people, but not distinctive. Hot, uber built, testosterone driven, action star wannabes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. What sets Kellan apart from the crowd? Nothing, as far as I can tell. Like Taylor, Kellan seems like a nice guy. And because of that, I hope he'll do well. But other than a remake of Tarzan and a few tiny things, I don't really see anything leading in that direction.

Carlisle and Esme: Peter and Liz

Just like Edward and Bella, the "parents" are similar to me. Peter and Liz were relatively established character actors when they started filming Twilight. Their roles in Twilight were basically supporting character roles. They're roles outside of Twilight have been character roles. I see them continuing to have moderately successful careers mainly outside of the spotlight. Liz never seems to like the attention from Twilight which I presume is why she was hardly ever interviewed. I don't know much about her, but she seems decent. Peter clearly loved the attention and interaction with fans. He's always struck me as a really cool, outgoing, fun guy. I sure think it's sad that he and his wife split up. Unfortunately, it's unusual to see Hollywood couples last as long as they did and they still came to the same end as most.

What do you think about the actors' futures?

20 comments:

  1. *sigh* ... The Twilight Cast... Honestly? I am not sure! I hope they will all do well, but I don't think they made the major jump in their carrear. Only time can tell if even Rob and Kristen will make it. The problem I have with Kristen is her expression....

    Truly, no one of them made a major super big movie apart from Kristen. Also Rob's movies are not that big, so as sad as it is I don't see them making major carrear...

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  2. I agree with you, for the most part. I think if any of them stand a chance it's Rob and Kristen. Rob seems to have quite a few movie roles already lined up, and this new Dior deal is only giving him staying power. Kristen, I think will be around the longest. Before Twilight, she lived in the Indie movie zone, and I think she'll eventually stick with that. SWATH was fun, but I think she's most comfortable, and at her best, with smaller (lesser known) roles.

    With the rest of the cast, I pretty much agree with you. Ashley, seems to be working her way towards fashion, etc., so I won't be surprised if her career takes a turn in that direction. As for the rest, yeah.... I think Twilight was their big chance to shine. Maybe that's why THEY seem to be taking it the hardest that Twilight is done. Just saying.

    Peter and Elizabeth? Exactly what you said. They'll be fine in the roles they've always played.

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  3. Honestly I'm not sure how well the actors will do in their future careers but I definitely agree with you with Ashley and the other supporting actors . . . they haven't really done anything fantastic in films but I think Rob and Kristen will do the best since they are the popular ones. More so with Rob because he does have great acting abilities and I can see him doing many, many films sometime soon. As for Kristen . . . eh . . . I'm not a HUGE fan of her but suprisingly I did love her Snow White film so who knows . . . her acting might get better and she might get better roles.

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  4. Rob has been handed meaty roles for a quite a while now and since he has done exceptionally well, I'm not particularly worried about him. Taylor, being young, really needs to hone his acting skills. He has the physique to be the next big action star - he just needs to work on the acting bit. Nikki's a good actress as well (I remember her on The OC) and I wish her more roles in the future. The same goes with Jackson. Since Ashley and Kellan are mostly in the public eye, I'm sure that they can rack up roles after roles. I don't think they'll have leading roles though...

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  5. I think Rob and Kristen will still do well after the movie! <3

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  6. Taylor is totally garners a pat-on-the-head response from me as well -- I like them, well, older and raw-er. He's too cutsie for me. It seems he wants to do action movies but he has to grow up a bit before I'll accept him as an action hero.

    Kristen just annoys me. Poor girl. It's not really her fault that she has the most expressionless face on the planet. Maybe she should play poker.

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  7. For some reason, I can't picture any of the actors having a good career outside of Twilight. Especially Kristen. In my opinion, she's a horrible actress. Acting is all about expressing emotions. I do understand that minimalism is a style in acting as well but I don't see that in her. It's more of an incapability than a style. LOL, I hope that made sense.

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  8. I think the actors - including Rob and Kristen - are riding the waves of Twilight success, and the only reason most of them have gotten any other roles is because the producers are hoping that Twihards will show up to see their favourite actors in different movies too.

    Once the Twilight hype fades, I think most of these actors will fade with it.

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  9. I agree with Kelly and Gellie. I dont think they will go far after the hype is over. I do not think Kristen can act. I will admit I have not seen Snow White so I can not judge her on that..but the rest of her movies..she has that same stupid expression on her face. As for Rob..who I do think is hot as hell..his acting has improved but only a bit. There are way to many other actors in Hollywood who look just as good and can act much better. Whatever, I wish all of them the success they desire, they have entertained me now for 4 years and I appreciate that.

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  10. Taylor seems like such a sweet boy, but he needs to learn how to act, for sure.

    I don't get the appeal of Kristen as an actress at all. Just don't get it. She's just the same in every movie. Rob, on the other hand, I think he's talented. I can see him sticking to offbeat indies after Twilight though. As for their relationship. Who the hell knows what is going on. I'd love to know the truth!!

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  11. Not sure about the futures of the actors. I know that Rob has been in many movies but they've yet to do anything at the box office or critically. Kristen seems to play the same role over and over again and I think she's better suited for indie movies. I'm just not thrilled by either of these two.

    As for Taylor, he is still young and needs to hone done his acting skills. I've seen Kellan in roles but he's very limited in roles, just being physically present like in Immortals.

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  12. I feel like Rob and Kristen will definitely have long careers, they've both tackled projects that have done well either critically or at the box office in between Twilight movies, so I don't think they're in danger of suddenly being typecast or linked only to their most famous role. I personally am not a huge fan of Kristen at all, so her movies (aside from these) are not ones I rush out to see. I think it will be fun to see what everyone does after the promotions for this film wrap up though!

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  13. I agree with most of what you said. I can see a few of them go far but I think for some Twilight might be the end for them. I especially think Nikki has potential, I'd love to see her in other films.

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  14. I think they all have a bright future ahead. Twilight did wonders for their acting careers. If they all keep their head on straight and pick good roles, I have no doubt they will be ever more successful :)

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  15. I agree with most of what you said. The only thing I disagree with is Kristen. I think her acting is about as good as Taylor's. She does better in awkward, non-demonstrative roles, but she still doesn't do well. She actually ruined SWATH for me. She was good in the first half, but sucked in the second half. But, I'm sure she'll find success.

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  16. Interesting post. I also like the books and movies. I'm not inlove with either, but I think they are fun, and I will certainly be seeing Breaking Dawn 2 soon after its release.

    I feel like I'm missing something with Kristin Stewart. She certainly does play Bella as I imagined while reading the books. I did think she did reasonably well in Breaking Dawn 1 - particularly with the honeymoon funny scenes - which surprised me.

    But I didn't think Kristin was wonderful in Snow White & the Huntsman, and I really wanted her to be awesome.

    I guess we'll see what happens.

    I agree about Taylor being a cute boy. He's way too young for me to think of him any other way :)

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  17. I love this post, seriously. I think the one thing we have to define is what equals success though. It's different for everyone. Whether it's publicity talk or not, Rob has said repeatedly that he's perfectly happy taking Indie roles and doing things like Cosmopolis and if that makes him happy, then that may be his success. Not everyone is made for big picture films and not everyone even wants that kind of scrutiny, Rob and Kristen, until recently, seem to be two of those people.

    Jackson is the one who I want to see succeed the most. He's just so adorable and I was distraught when 100 Monkeys broke up, but what can we do. If anyone has seen the Criminal Minds episode he played it, it's a perfect showcase of his potential of a performer. I hope, like you, he jumps back in and does well.

    Peter and Liz are so adorable. I hope both of them continue to succeed and do well, they each deserve it.

    Here's to the future... My heart is a little sad to say goodbye :(

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  18. I thought I heard there was going to be more Twilight movies? If this is true then the ones whose careers fall flat after the series will most likely return to it I bet.

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  19. Anna Kendrick (Jessica) seems to be doing pretty awesomely. She was in Pitch Perfect and I know she has another musical coming up, at least. I know she wasn't really in the main Twilight cast but I the scenes that she was in, I thought she delivered superbly.

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  20. Ooh, this was a fun post! I really loved it and I do pretty much agree with what you have to say. I've always thought it was a bit unfair that people criticized Kristen and Rob's acting so much as they are only doing the best with the material they have to work with. Taylor on the other hand... yeah, I agree, he seems like a really nice guy and everything, but I have to say his acting ability could be improved. And I honestly hope it does! I wish the cast nothing but the best in the future!

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