rHodas: 'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' Ends In A 'Very Organic Place'

Thursday, November 24, 2011

'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' Ends In A 'Very Organic Place'

'Everybody debated it a lot,' screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg says of back-and-forth over where to split the finale.
By Terri Schwartz, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Robert Pattinson in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

If you were among the devoted "Twilight" fans who lined up to see "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" over the weekend, then you already know the film has a pretty dramatic conclusion. But MTV News has learned that the first of the two-part finale wasn't always intended to end where it does, even if it seems like the obvious choice.

When we caught up with screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and director Bill Condon shortly before "Part 1" hit theaters, the creative duo admitted to a lot of early discussions trying to decide the best place to split the final two movies. While Rosenberg and Condon felt that the current ending was the most "organic" place to pause before "Part 2," the studio wanted to make sure it was a spot in the story line that would best serve the entire series.

"We went back and forth a lot and, initially, this seemed like a very obvious place for the split, but then as the creative process went forth, myself, the studio and [author] Stephenie [Meyer], [producer] Wyck [Godfrey] and everybody debated it a lot," Rosenberg said. "I tried a couple different things but ultimately this was a natural, very organic place to split it."

Condon said he was always a defender of the existing split, even if many members of the creative team debated him on it.

"When I came on, I really felt very strongly this is where it should be [divided]," he told us.

Fans of Meyer's novel should have a general idea of where "Part1" ends even if they haven't seen the movie. But if you're afraid of spoilers, we'll just say that Bella (Kristen Stewart) undergoes some pretty significant changes as the film winds to a close.

Rosenberg actually considered a split that would have pushed "Part 1" even further along in the novel. "Pushing from further into the second movie, pushing into the first act of the second movie," she said of the other options she had toyed with. "But it wasn't organic, it wasn't right."

Do you think the filmmakers chose the right place to split the two "Breaking Dawn" films? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."

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