The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1


The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is a 2011 American vampire romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the 2008 novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. It is the sequel to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and the fourth installment in The Twilight Saga film series. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively. In the film, Bella and Edward marry and become pregnant with a half-human, half-vampire child, which causes the Cullen family to become a target of Jacob and his Wolf Pack.
Summit Entertainment announced that Breaking Dawn would be adapted into a two-part film on June 10, 2010. Principal photography for both parts began on November 1, 2010, and wrapped on April 22, 2011. The first part was shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Vancouver, Canada.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 premiered at the Rome Film Festival on October 30, 2011, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 18, by Summit Entertainment. The film received mixed reviews from critics with criticism aimed at pacing, screenplay and performances. It grossed $732 million worldwide, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2011. A sequel, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, was released in 2012.

Plot

Several months after the events of the previous film, human Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen are getting married. During the reception, werewolf Jacob Black, who had left town upon receiving his invitation to the wedding, returns, much to Bella's delight. They share a dance in the woods, where Bella says that she and Edward plan to consummate their marriage on their honeymoon while she is still human. Jacob becomes furious, fearing that such an act could kill her.
After the wedding, Bella and Edward travel to an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, and they make love for the first time. Two weeks later, Bella vomits after waking and realises her period is late. She informs Carlisle Cullen, a medical doctor and Edward's adoptive father, that she believes she is pregnant.
Edward is distraught, as it is highly unlikely a human could survive giving birth to a vampire's baby. He encourages Bella to receive an abortion from Carlisle. She refuses and convinces Edward's sister Rosalie to be her bodyguard. The couple flies back home to Forks, Washington, where Jacob rushes to the Cullens' house to find a pale, underweight, and visibly pregnant Bella. He implores her to terminate the pregnancy immediately, but she refuses.
Jacob storms out of the Cullens' residence and meets in the woods with his packmates, including their leader Sam, who soon feels they should kill Bella to ensure her half-vampire child does not harm anyone. Jacob refuses, and he and several other werewolves separate from the pack.
As Bella's pregnancy progresses, her health declines rapidly. She soon realizes the fetus is craving blood, so she begins drinking human blood obtained by Carlisle from the hospital, improving her health. As a half-vampire, the fetus's development is far more accelerated than that of a human fetus, and thus Bella's pregnancy progresses at an alarming rate.
Edward's resentment for the baby dissolves when he discovers he can read its thoughts. When Bella suddenly goes into labor, Edward, Jacob, and Rosalie begin performing an emergency C-section while Carlisle is out obtaining blood. The procedure is excruciatingly painful, and Bella falls unconscious, though she wakes to find she has delivered a healthy daughter, whom she names Renesmee.
Bella's heart suddenly stops, and Jacob desperately attempts CPR. Edward injects Bella's heart with his venom in an attempt to transform her into a vampire, but his action seems futile as Bella remains lifeless. A distraught Jacob decides to kill Renesmee for apparently causing Bella's death; however, when he looks into the baby's eyes, he "imprints" on her: a werewolf phenomenon in which one realizes one's soul-mate. This prevents his pack from killing her as their most absolute law is not to harm anyone who has been imprinted on.
Over the course of two days, though still unconscious, Bella's injuries heal and her figure returns to normal. Finally, her eyes open and are blood-red, signifying that she has become a vampire.
In a post-credits scene, the Volturi, the keepers of vampire law, receive a letter from Carlisle which summarizes Bella and Edward's wedding and her transformation into a vampire. The Volturi bicker about how Carlisle is growing his coven and that the Volturis' dispute with the Cullens is over. However, their leader mentions that the Cullens still have something he wants.

Cast

  • Kristen Stewart as Bella Cullen, Edward's wife, Jacob's best friend and Renesmee's mother. She marries Edward in this installment and, soon after, falls pregnant with his child, eventually giving birth to a half-vampire, half-human daughter. This is the film where Bella becomes a vampire due to Edward's venom penetrating her heart and to save her life after giving birth to Renesmee.
  • Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire husband, Jacob's romantic rival and Renesmee's father. Despite his reluctance to turn her the entire series, after Bella nearly dies giving birth to their daughter, Edward is forced to transform her into a vampire to save her life after giving birth to their daughter Renesmee.
  • Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Bella's werewolf best friend and Edward's romantic rival. He was heartbroken over Bella's choice to marry Edward, but eventually he imprints on Bella and Edward's daughter, Renesmee. He is also the great-grandson of a Chief, and the Alpha of the Black Pack.
  • Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, Esme's husband and the patriarch of the Cullen family. He is a doctor who helps Bella during her unnaturally accelerated pregnancy and provides human blood for Bella to drink to maintain her strength.
  • Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife and the matriarch of the Cullen family.
  • Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who is close friends with Bella. She is Jasper's wife.
  • Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, the husband of Rosalie and the strongest member of the Cullen family until Bella's transformation into a vampire.
  • Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family who helps Bella through her pregnancy. She is Emmett's wife.
  • Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen coven who can feel, control and manipulate emotions. He is Alice's husband.
  • Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, the Chief of the Forks Police Department, and Bella's father.
  • Sarah Clarke as Renée Dwyer, Bella's mother, who remarried to Phil Dwyer.
  • Ty Olsson as Phil Dwyer, Renée's second husband and Bella's stepfather. Phil was previously portrayed by Matt Bushell in the first film.
  • Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley, One of Bella's friends from school and Mike's girlfriend.
  • Michael Welch as Mike Newton, One of Bella's friends from school and Jessica's boyfriend.
  • Christian Serratos as Angela Weber, One of Bella's friends from school and Eric's girlfriend.
  • Justin Chon as Eric Yorkie, One of Bella's friends from school and Angela's boyfriend.
  • Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater, Seth's older sister and the only female werewolf in existence.
  • Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater, Leah's younger brother and Edward and Jacob's friend.
  • MyAnna Buring as Tanya, the leader of the Denali coven.
  • Maggie Grace as Irina, a member of the Denali coven whose lover, Laurent, was killed by the werewolves.
  • Casey LaBow as Kate, a member of the Denali coven who has the ability to release an electric current over her body.
  • Michael Sheen as Aro, Caius and Marcus's brother who has the ability to read every thought a person has ever had once he has made physical contact. One of the three main founders of the Volturi.
  • Jamie Campbell Bower as Caius, Aro and Marcus's brother. One of the three main founders of the Volturi.
  • Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus, Aro and Caius's brother who has the power to sense the strength and nature of relationships. One of the three main founders of the Volturi.
  • Charlie Bewley as Demetri, a Volturi guard who is a gifted tracker
  • Daniel Cudmore as Felix, A loyal servant to the Volturi who is one of their guards.
  • Gil Birmingham as Billy Black, a Quileute elder and Jacob's physically disabled father
  • Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley, the Alpha of the main werewolf pack.
  • Tyson Houseman as Quil Ateara
  • Kiowa Gordon as Embry Call
  • Alex Meraz as Paul Lahote
  • Bronson Pelletier as Jared Cameron
  • Tinsel Korey as Emily Young, Sam's imprinted fiancée whom he once hurt unintentionally
  • Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee Cullen, Bella and Edward's half-mortal, half-immortal daughter and Jacob Black's imprintee.
  • Christian Camargo as Eleazar, a member of the Denali coven who has the ability to identify the special powers of other vampires.
  • Mía Maestro as Carmen, a member of the Denali coven and mate of Eleazar.
  • Olga Fonda as Valentina, a secretary to the Volturi who announces Edward and Bella's wedding.
  • Stephenie Meyer makes a cameo as an attendee of Edward and Bella's wedding.
  • Michelle Washington baby Renesmee's voice

    Production

Development

In early November 2008, Summit Entertainment obtained the film adaptation rights to the remaining novels in the Twilight book series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Talks for a Breaking Dawn film started after Summit approved The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the second and third installments, respectively, in The Twilight Saga film series. Wyck Godfrey, producer of the previous films in the series, stated in mid-2009 that they had every intention to make the film version of Breaking Dawn, but Stephenie Meyer, author of the series, explained on her website's Breaking Dawn FAQ that if an adaptation were to be created, it would have to be split into two films because "he book is just so long!", saying that she would have made the book shorter if it were possible. She also believed it to be impossible to make a film due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby that has complete awareness; however, she did acknowledge the film might be possible due to the quickly-advancing technologies. Moreover, because of the mature and explicit nature of the Breaking Dawn novel, fans and critics questioned if the studio would be able to keep a PG-13 rating, noting that the movie should not be rated R for the ever-growing fan base.
In March 2010, Variety reported that Summit Entertainment was considering splitting the 754-page book into two films, along the same lines as Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Since under contract for only four films, the status of Stewart's, Pattinson's, and Lautner's contracts were in question, making the possibility of a split unlikely. Producer Wyck Godfrey stated that all three main cast members were signed onto one Breaking Dawn film. In the same month, it was reported that Summit was searching for Academy Award-nominated directors to helm the films, with names as Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, and Bill Condon rumored to have been approached to direct. On April 28, 2010, Summit announced that Bill Condon would direct Breaking Dawn; Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and author Stephenie Meyer would be producing the film. Condon said, "I'm very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book—and we're hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience." Condon, about Summit approaching him, said, "The very nice folks at Summit… they sent me the novel. I loved it. I quickly imprinted on the material". Another reason Condon cited to work on the film was the desire to collaborate with Stewart. Gus Van Sant later explained that Robert Pattinson mentioning him as the ideal director for Breaking Dawn was what made him audition for the job and described the audition as "very nerve-wracking". However, after Condon was hired, Sant suggested that the reason behind not getting hired was his style and way of auditioning being different from what the executive producers were used to.
On June 10, 2010, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth novel would start filming in November and made clear that all major actors would return for both parts. The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part was released on November 16, 2012.