New Interview — Xavier Samuel Talks Eclipse, & Riley’s Huge Presence The Movie Vs Book

24 Comments June 23, 2010 by LMCullen Filed Under: Eclipse Promotion, Interview, Xavier Samuel

Eclipse 2qmdgkg 560x4371 280x218 New Interview Xavier Samuel Talks Eclipse, & Rileys Huge Presence The Movie Vs Book xavier samuel interview eclipse promotion Dose.ca has a new interview with Eclipse Vampire Xavier Samuel (aka Riley). In the interview Xavier talks about what it was like to step into such a huge franchise, Eclipse, and is character Riley in the movie having a bigger role then in the novel -

You’re new to the hysteria surrounding the Twilight franchise. How are you handling it?

It’s a wonderful thing; all these people come out and support these stories and they’re really passionate. It’s intimidating when you’re doing the work because you really have to pay tribute to the characters that are so dear to people.

Read more after the break!

Was the Twilight convention in L.A. your first experience with that sort of intense fan reaction?

Yeah. It was really nuts. They just kind of pushed us out into a sea of 2,000 people. It was just bizarre. But they’re all really friendly. I think the fans will laugh and cheer at just about anything you say.

Did you know anything about the franchise before you signed on?

Well, I didn’t have the matchbooks or the pillow cases or anything like that.

For shame!

[Laughs] I know! Well, I knew that it was severely popular; I’d seen the posters on the back of busses. And then when I found out I had an audition, a whole bunch of friends kind of jumped out of the Twilight closet and were like “Oh my god! You need to do this!” and got really excited on my behalf. But yeah, I didn’t know much about it.

The opening scene with you is intense. It definitely sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

Yeah, it was intense to shoot it, too. We were down at the docks and they had these rain machines and it was really slippery. It’s a great introduction to the character.

I’ve read all the books…only because, you know, I had to for my job.

Oh yeah, sure. [Laughs]

But from what I remember from Eclipse, Riley is barely mentioned. But in the movie, he’s a big character.

That’s the thing. When I got the job, I was flipping through it going “Where’s Riley, where’s Riley, where’s Riley?” But I think one of the other really exciting things about this installment is that it’s the first time that it departs from Bella’s perspective. So not only has it given me more to do, it also gives us the opportunity to learn more about the Cullen family. You learn a lot more about Jasper and Rosalie’s backstories, which is really exciting.

One thing about Riley’s character in the movie compared to the book is that I think the audience has a lot more sympathy for him now. You really feel bad about the way Victoria is playing with his emotions. Did you and David talk about how to approach him as this complex, tortured guy instead of just a straight-up villain?

Yeah, that was really important. We talked about how the relationship between Victoria and Riley really mirrors Lady MacBeth and MacBeth. She’s manipulating him; she’s got him wrapped around her little finger and he’ll do anything for love, even if it means assembling a newborn, bloodthirsty vampire army. But on top of that, we talked about how he’s had his humanity ripped away from him, and as a result he harbours this intense jealousy and rage and hatred for humanity. He’s really wrestling with that, so he really is a complex character.

You can read the rest of the interview here!

Category: Eclipse Promotion, Interview, Xavier Samuel

amanda_cullen

i love xavier!!
OhEdward-Glittergutter

Kind of funny!

As much as I like Xavier – I'm not thrilled about his huge presence in the movie vs. the book.

I know that some concessions need to made for adaptation to the screen – but Riley and Bree could have remained in relative obscurity and I wouldn't have been bothered at all.
VivaRogue!

3rd!
cosmogirl21 <3 my Twisters

The only way to understand his huge presence in the movie is to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner… b/c it's supposed to go hand in hand with Eclipse and when SM recommend that fans read it before they see Eclipse… I was like “Gotta get this biotch read before I see it!!” and I did, and it was really good.

Gives a nice solid background of what's going on with the newborn army that we can't get from Eclipse. Very interesting. So don't see Eclipse without reading this first! lol, it'll make it more enjoyable:)
5/09 LWNV – CHASKE felt my A$$

I feel the same way.

But I feel – and please peeps let me know what you all think too – But isn't odd that the Bree book did not come out until recently? Imean if SM really felt it was important for us to read and know why did she wait until about a month before the movie to release it? she has had well over a year to let us know she was thinking about this.

I fell more that MR and Summit had some sort of shady hand in this and that SM wrote the story to keep them from doing some major damage to her characters and the books.

What do you think?

BTW I am anti other perspectives in this movie and I am far from team Bella (as we all know – though I am gaining some respect for KS, etc – Still dislike Bella as a character which floors me knowing how much I adore the series)

So OhEdward please share your thoughts with me….
Team Rob,Edward,Tyler,Jacob J

agree 100%
erin

i wish him well when eclipse comes out even though i think movie riley should have been like the book not shown as much. but i hope he does well
OhEdward-Glittergutter

My feeling is that we've been duped.

I think SM took advantage and that she and Summit are in kahootz to do damage control to minimize the fan outrage for modifying this beloved book.

Whether this strategy is in response to a typically weak script from MR, or if SM just decided that she wanted to do her own thing and the rest of us be damned – I'm not sure. I feel taken advantage of and used.

I was suspicious from the get go when Jodelle was getting what seemed like an inordinate amount of of press. The pictures of her with the burned ashes in the bucket of SM's novella on set made me feel like this was all premeditated. However, I think the leaked script brouhaha that erupted caused SM and Summit to seriously back pedal.

It's a mess for sure – it may work, but I won't be convinced until I see it. I'd like to remain open minded, but I just might be too bitter for that. LOL
5/09 LWNV – CHASKE felt my A$$

Hmm – I like your wording. I have troubles with that but I am in complete agreement – especially the part about possibly being too bitter to be open minded.

I think I got to that point after the whole Rachel L thing followed by the removal of the spaceheater line…
EdwardsBella<3

definitely
cosmogirl21 <3 my Twisters
CherBear87_TeamBella!

I can't believe some people think that we've been duped with the Bree Tanner book! I really think that it didn't come out until recently because Stephenie wanted us to have only one view on Eclipse and that was through Bella's eyes. Well, when the movie was coming out, of course those involved would need to know more than just Bella's POV so she brought out Bree's story. I thought it was amazing that she did that! It's like Midnight Sun– she wrote it for her own thought process for the book. With the case of Bree's story, she kept it underwraps, and rightly so. Midnight Sun got leaked and she lost interest in really finishing it. I'm sure she either has or will but it's not REALLY important. At least not as important as Bree's story because of the whole connection between her and Bella…

Yeah, sorry, just my two cents.

And as for this interview– I love the part about the raccoon!! I love raccoons too but my BF always tells me I can't try to get too close… for exactly the same reason why Xavier shouldn't of LOL
http://twitter.com/jen_pennybug Anne

SM said on her website when she announced the Bree book that it originally wans't going to be a book.She was writing it & it was originally going to go in the official guide (that we've been hearing about forever & it still hasn't been released.) But because it's almost 200 pages it was too big to put in the guide & her & her publisher decided to release it as a seperate book.
http://twitter.com/jen_pennybug Anne

After reading the Bree book I am not as sympathetic for Riley as I was before. He's just as manipulative & mean as Victoria. It will be interesting to see how they portray that in the movie. One week!!
5/09 LWNV – CHASKE felt my A$$

Still do not like it. Still plan on not watching Bree and Riley more than once. TOTALLY plan on fast forwarding over it once I get the DVD of it.

I still feel it is wrong to add other character's perspective to what is a single perspective story. Listening to the fight as Edward speaking in the pack voice… The goosebump feeling watching Edward and Jake freak that some random vamp was in your room… finally piecing it all together yourself and seeing the horror dawn in the eyes of those you love that you are right and danger is coming… Not being able to see what is coming at you through the woods until Riley and Victoria are there. your head turning back and forth between two fights – one going out of your sight – what to do – what to do???…. Hearing the First Wife story and envisioning it happening as you stare into the fire…

these are small parts of the whole book through BELLA's eyes. Not Riley Not Bree. The mystery unfolding as you turn each page. Losing that mystery just sucks.

I feel it is totally cheapening the whole experience and I stick by my earlier comments that we are being duped.
http://www.twitter.com/alywilson3 TheHoneyBear

i only care about this dude.
i think his scenes are the only ones i'm looking forward to in eclipse, tbh.
bella ♥ vita

WHAT? NO SPACEHEATER LINE? Say it isn't so!!! I read the leaked thing that cannot be named too, but it was months ago so I don't remember every single thing that MR butchered into unrecognizable pieces aside from ruining the scene when Bella jumps on Jake's motorcycle and rides off in front of ALICE not EDWARD damn it it should be ALICE! Sorry I just absolutely hate the way that scene in the movie makes Edward look like such a complete friggin pansy! How in the hell could that wicked she-devil leave out the spaceheater line on top of all of her other f-ck ups?!

If she leaves out Jake's awesome line about “Dracula 1 and Dracula 2″ in BD she might as well just kill her self because other wise I'll feel very much inclined to do it for her.
RileysGirl_TeamSladeBrigade

i am really excited about the whole movie, but him in particular.
apparently he's so good that he steals the show. just from that 1 minute clip of him and bree you can tell he has talent. SO PUMPED!
LadeeCullen

Oh TRUST ME!! I have friends who are still in twilight closets that only come out when I talk about twilight.. it's like they're waiting for someone to make it a conversation, so they can all talk about how excited we are for the movie. Bunch of weenys, but deep down; They are obsessed with twilight.. lol!!
5/09 LWNV – CHASKE felt my A$$

I have to say I am shocked that I knew about the space heater line removal and you didn't. I mean it was HUGE news right after that which must not be named got leaked. That's how I knew. You couldn't go anywhere on the web without hearing about how it got cut. (I think it was actually filmed and then cut by some editor that was not DS's but Summit's…)
SC~3rd_Wife(TeamSM)

As she stated on her website, Stephenie was planning to put a chapter about Bree in The Official TL Guide. When it ended up being almost 200 pages long, she realized that wouldn't work. Once MR started writing the script and Eclipse pre-production began she decided to let a few people involved in the movie making read it. Then she decided to offer it to her fans, but giving them a chance to read it for free since it was never intended to be a stand alone book.

We haven't been 'duped' as others keep mentioning and SM is not a money hungry publicity whore as I've heard others call her. She really cares about the story and her fans.
http://www.twitter.com/alywilson3 TheHoneyBear

i know he just has ferocity going on all over him.
and his voice is like honey.

plus he seems like he (and bryce) can redeem the movie (if it's not really good)
RileysGirl_TeamSladeBrigade

i hope so. just watched an interview with stephenie at the premiere, and this is what she said, no joke:
'and on this we ended up with some really cool finds. like xavier samuel who's so GOOD, so good'
HHIMC<Finally ROBSTEN!YES!

Absolutely agree. Glad we're on the same page. The saga has been cheapened and turned into a generic money maker. :S
But that IS the business of Hollywood. And we're the suckers : But we're onto them…it's not hard to see–they dont even hide it anymore. That's why we call them SCUMMIT!