Inside The Cullen Chronicles: Legacy - 1935

Greetings & Salutations

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast typically dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, a total joke, a waste of time, or a slash, totally killer, pun intended. My name is Chris, and I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Found Footage fanatic Nathan.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Hello, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Writer, director, and actor Lily Bellucci. Hello, hello, hello. And actor Jake Fogg.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Hello, welcome to happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

And you know what? Hey, welcome to you two, Jake.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Yeah, welcome. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Folks, while we are typically here to review horror movies, this week we have the distinct privilege of getting to talk about an upcoming movie, an exciting project that I know I'm passionate about, Nathan is passionate about. There is this beautiful intersection of two of our favorite subjects, Twilight and Horror. Now, these two things have been together in our periphery, but what we are here to discuss today is the project The Cullen Chronicles Legacy 1935. Lily would love to hear just from your perspective what this project is, what this means to you, and what inspired you to get started.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Well, thank you so much for having us. I'm so happy to be here. So, really, the project is a fan film. It's a feature-length fan film, and it serves as a prequel to the events of the first Twilight movie, a period piece actually. It takes place in the year 1935, and it tells the story of who we know as Emmett Cullen, but who actually started as Emmett McCarty, and it follows his story as how he went from human to monkey man, vampire. In terms of how it got started, to be very honest, I am a huge fan of film. I'm a theatre actress traditionally, but I have always loved film in all its genres, and I've always wanted to make one. I actually had a near-death experience a few years ago. As dark as that sounds, it ends well because that is what sort of made me realize that life is short. And if you want to chase your dreams, go ahead. And the worst that you can do is quote unquote fail, which really is not that bad compared to other things that could potentially happen to you. So that's how this was born, really, out of something that was quite dark, that we've turned around now into something very light and very exciting for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

I absolutely love that. Thank you so much for sharing that. That is extremely powerful. I think about even this podcast. I did not have a dear death experience. I can imagine like the fear of that, right? But I did start this from like a dark place as well, where you have these moments where you're challenged in your life to think about okay, is this all that I want? Is this what I want? What's keeping me from doing the things that I want to do and to find a new and creative outlet? So that's really powerful. Thank you so much for sharing.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Thank you. Thank you. No, it's my pleasure. If anything, my my main motto with this sort of stuff is we need to talk about it because we are all human beings. We have all been through our own misadventures. And if we talk about it, particularly these negative things, if one is comfortable to do so, then that takes away the power of that negative thing and it puts us, the the one that went through it, in the driver's seat, so to speak, and it gives us power over what happened to us. So I I always say if one person is helped or finds joy in what I can create that was born out of something so dark, then it's all worth it at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Yeah, we're definitely looking forward to talking about you know, not only this film, but also kind of some of your experiences along the way. Like I thought we'd probably start off with just a bit of background, kind of a fun question. What's everybody's history with Twilight? Either the books or the movies?

SPEAKER_03 3:55

I grew up as far as like the movies, kind of in it when it was at its peak. I was in high school when those movies came out. Obviously, being my name is Jake, I got a lot of Team Jacob, you know, sayings and and and you know, lines as as those movies came out, which was which was great. I remember going to, you know, it being just massive, you know, in school and you know, everybody going to see the the movies and to see like Rob Pattinson's career take off from it. Funny enough, like even back then, Emmett was always my favorite character. I saw so much of myself in in both him and Kellen's performance in that. I think of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Twilight, like those were the three big IPs during kind of like my middle school and high school days. It really takes me back to that. I'm fortunate enough to honestly say I'm friends with you know some of the casts, you know, and I've gotten to know them through events. So now it's a very full circle moment to be here and getting a chance to do my version of Emmett, which is gonna be very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

How could you have ever possibly known in 2008 or so, watching this movie, sitting in the theater, and you're a young Jake Fogg, only to know that to one day that you're gonna be Emmett. How incredible is that?

SPEAKER_03 5:12

I mean, especially back then, because I was like four pounds soaking wet. I was extremely yeah, I would not have fit the bill for Emmett at that point in time. So it's very, very cool. But it's awesome. Like I said, I saw so much of myself in that character and Kellen. So I'm so excited to bring it to life and to show people what we have in store.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Well, for me, I wish I had a cool story like that. I live in Australia. I'm Australian, and I was working in the city at the time with a very boring job, and I would be going to work on the train, right? And so we would go through several train stations and I would see when the first movie and the rest of them would come out, the subway walls would be plastered with the Twilight posters. To be very honest, I hated that. I was so frustrated. I'm I'm one of those very odd people that if someone tells me you need to read this or you need to go see this, I'll instantly be turned off because particularly if it's something that everyone is seeing at that time. I don't really know why. This is the wrong word choice, but like mass hysteria, quote unquote. It's sort of like this, for me, it just repels me. And so it sort of the more I see it around and the more I hear about it, the more I'm like, ew no, stupid. I don't want to watch it. So that was very much me when they first came out. I did not watch it for a couple of years, did not read the books, and then a friend of mine, years later, I think Eclipse had just come out, and she said, You are watching this. And so we sat down and we watched, she said, Look, we'll watch your first one. If you hate it, that's it. I'll watch the rest by myself. We finished the first one, and that was it. I think I was hooked within the first 10 minutes, to be quite honest. I mean, that cafeteria scene of just seeing all of them arrive and seeing Peter Faccinelli pale as walking through those hospital doors. You know, I was hooked. To be honest, it was really something magical. And so we watched the first three, that was all that was out at the time, and I remember being so frustrated because the way that the third one ends, I was like, what happens? And so I immediately went out and actually I I was going to say I went out and bought the books, but that's not true. I bought them on Kindle. So I just had the electronic ones for so many years, and it wasn't until last year actually where they came out with that re-release with the beautiful covers that that's when I bought the physical copy. So yeah, my my journey is rather an odd one with with Twilight. I did not uh, you know, grow up with it in that sense. However, I have, in my defense, very much made up for it. I own a bunch of different Twilight costumes that were used in the films, and now I'm I've written a movie in Twilight. So I I think I'm okay now. I think the Twilight gods are satisfied with me.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Lily, I would say so. You're doing it for the culture, you're bringing it back to folks. You're doing you're a better citizen of Twilight than I have been, quite frankly, and I admire that. That is really, really freaking cool. And I get it, like the mass hysteria of things. I think about even hereditary. I I had to stay away from hereditary for so long. One, because it got spoiled, but then two, people kind of create this idea of this hype, and it's like, oh, how could it possibly live up to that? Now, hereditary is very different from Twilight. I get it, I get it, but I I remember loving the books. Like I my older sister read the books when I was in high school, and then I started just like reading them back to back, cover to cover. And then when Breaking Dawn released the last book in the series, I volunteered at Barnes and Noble as like working the release event, and then I got a copy of the book, stayed up until dawn reading it. Absolutely incredible. Twilight has been embedded in me, and then just a love of seeing when what Kristen Stewart brought to Bella. I know I wasn't I didn't care for Bella when I was reading the books. I was more interested in like Edward's angle, etc., and the Collins as a whole as a whole. But when Kristen Stewart brought Bella to life on screen, I was like, oh, I suddenly get what everybody liked.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Yeah, I mean, I as a fan, I think when I did get into it, I also was not, I appreciated it certainly, but I was not obsessed with, oh my gosh, Kristen Stewart as Bella, this is everything I ever wanted. I was very much obsessed with the Collins. And uh and rather like Jake, my favorite character was always Emmett. And I I I think that that was because for me, I think as a woman, a part of it was seeing this really big guy that would protect his wife no matter what, and very protective and loyal to his family. So I think as a woman, the idea of feeling safe around a man like that, you know, that's something very special to me on a personal level. It's the attitude that Emmett has, which is so different to poor Edward. Edward, God bless him, is very rather melodramatic at times. And Emmett is just happy to be here. He's always seeing things with the glass half full. I love that. It's rather refreshing to be around an energy like that, especially if you yourself are not naturally that way. Not me either. So I get it.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

She just really likes people waving with butcher knives when they're saying hello to somebody. That's she was not very bad.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

That's actually how Jake and I met. Our first Zoom meeting, he waved a butcher knife at me, and I was like, Well, that's it. That's the one. I get it.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Method acting. So, Jake, I'm just curious for you, what do you like about Emmett and what do you want to bring of yourself into the role?

SPEAKER_03 10:40

What I like about Emmett, kind of what Lily spoke on. You know, I love his attitude towards life. I love that hey, he's like, especially in the movies, they present him as like kind of an he's an athlete, he's a jock, or like a himbo, you'll see that kind of you know, things said bad about him. But he's a very intelligent individual. He's a person who is extremely strong. I think he knows he's the strongest one in the house, and he can walk into any room and he's he's the baddest dude there, and he knows it. But at the same time, he chooses to be tender and gentle in the movies. He's extremely accepting of Bella, you know, long before she becomes a vampire. You know, he's wrapping her up in big dare hugs, and you know, he he wants to have fun, and he he sees the the jar half full in life and in every situation. And there's so so much that you know that I resonate with that and just try to approach life in that way. I'm very much the same person I think you know, Lily or anybody who's spending time around me will will probably vouch that I'm a big heavy bear, and I just love to you know surround people with kindness and and and humor, but at the same time, like I am an extremely protective person. And you know, if you're one of my people, like I have your back, like always. And there's a moment in breaking dawn. I and Lily knows what moment I'm probably gonna talk about, where Bella and Jacob and Renezne are walking towards the Volturi, and she just kind of stops and looks back at Emmett and with like out of word, he's like, okay, and he just steps out and he just starts walking towards like I have everyone's back, and like nobody's gonna mess with us. And that was my favorite moment of the whole saga. Like, I clicked, I was like, I get it, I would be the exact same way. So that's part of what I love about Emmett, as far as what I want to bring to the table with the character, I think, obviously, because this is his origin story, and we're seeing him not only as in the early days of him being a vampire, but also, you know, as a human as well. You're getting to see also his vices and probably the stuff he's not proud of. It's a very human guy who you know is going through the ringer, and how does he deal with that in this huge 180 swing in his life, but yet still hold on to that, you know, glass half-full personality, and how does he become the person we see in the movies? And I'm I'm really excited to show that on screen. I think people are gonna be kick out of seeing Emmett and Rosalie and their love story and all of that as well. So I'm really excited for people to see that. Hopefully, people don't enjoy watching me get molded by a bear too much.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

But well, this is your Leonardo DiCaprio moment. This is like your revenant moment.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

I'll let Lily tell that story. How many people told her, myself and Kellen, and we're like, you need to watch the Revenant. He would watch it for the longest time, and then she did, and the light bulb went off. But no, I think it's it really for me, it's watching his journey is to accept this new reality, and also what does it mean to have like all that strength and have to learn control and let go of the past and move on into a future? So that's really the the main thing I'm ready for people to see what we're doing in that regard.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

I'm also just thinking about this because there's the strength of Emmett physically, there's the romantic strength of Emmett and how much he gives into surrendering to Rosalie and just this loyalty that he has to his family, and it obviously begs a question like this is a horror take on Twilight. So I know Nathan has some questions to lead us that way, but my mind is already racing with anticipation.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

Yeah, I would say one of the things that drew me to the project initially was the idea that you wouldn't shy away from some of the brutal realities of the period. And so, Lily, can you describe some of the things you want to portray that maybe more family-friendly, shall we say, films might have shied away from?

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Absolutely. So, firstly, if I may, I would like to offer a brief correction from one thing that Jake did say, which is that Emmett is the strongest one in the house. Yes. I would like to say, as the woman portraying Esme Cullen, that I believe Esme is the strongest in the house. She just doesn't need to show off like Emmett does.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

No strength is stronger than a mother's love, you know.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

That's it. Yeah, there you go. So essentially for me, that was several things were most important to me when I had the concept of writing the script. The first thing was I need to keep it as canon accurate as possible. Stephanie Meyer gave us a lot of detail with regards to Emmett's life as a human being. She did say that he was a womanizer, that he was a gambler. So our film will lean into those human sides of him that, you know, both some sides of him that are great, some sides that are not so great, which is what makes him like the rest of us. But in addition to that, the bear attack scene, I think arguably is one of the scenes that people are going to be waiting for out of the whole film. I think when that scene happens, that's the one that if we get anything wrong, I think there will roast us alive, and rightly so. So for me as a writer and a director, I wanted to do one thing that was not done in the Hollywood films because they were sort of attracting a as large an audience as they possibly could. Being an indie film, we have the freedom to get a little bit more creative and get a little bit darker with the realities of what this world is, which is at the end of the day, vampires are the bad guys, technically. So that was the first thing is exploring as Emmett learns what he is, exploring his own lack of humanity, quote unquote, and uh trying to figure out how he can be a good vampire if there is such a thing. And with the bear attack, that is one thing that I absolutely have been set from the start on it being as accurate as possible. And of course, as a horror fan myself, I also very much, it sounds a bit creepy to say this out loud, but I very much wanted to see some gore because a bear attack is definitely not a good way to go, I have learned. And in terms of the Leo DiCaprio moment, yes, I will I will say how that happened. So Jake, once he read the script, he came to me and said, It's so good. So, you know, have you seen the revenant? You should you could really learn a lot from that. And I was like, No, no, no, I I know he won an Oscar for it, but I've heard that animals die or they're injured and and whatnot. And I'm a big, big animal lover. And I said, I don't think I can watch that, you know. I mean, for me in a horror film, if an animal even moans in pain, that I'm done, you know. But if a hundred people die with a chainsaw or something, it's like, oh, that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

You know, there's something about people we kind of opt into it sometimes, but animals are not opt in.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

So for some reason, that's just the way that I'm built, right? And so I I really just kept myself as far away from that as possible because I I just didn't want to see an animal, you know, potentially die. And then I spoke to Callan, who has you know given us his blessing. I actually met him last year and he follows us now and just such a great human being all around. And he told me, Hey, you should you should see the revenant because that scene, man, that's that's Emmett's that's what happened to Emmett. And you should have seen it. I I sent that message to Jake and I said, Guess what? You ended up yeah, pretty much. And Jake sent it to me again, and like just that scene, the bear bear attack scene, and he said, just watch it, it's okay. And I said, Do any animals die? And he goes, No. And so then I watched that scene, spoiler alert, the animal dies, and I'm like, dude. He did it for the art.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

It was for the art, you know. It was for the art. Me and Big Bro both had to let her know that you gotta watch it.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Sometimes a sacrifice has to be made. And I I do stand corrected now that while for me personally, that scene is difficult to watch because of what does end up happening to the poor animal that was attacking it by as a writer and as a director, and also as someone who lives in a country where we don't have bears, it was very good to see, I suppose, yeah, something that is probably as realistic as one could get as to how vicious a bear attack is. So it really opened my eyes. In fact, I it led me to rewrite a couple of moments from the scene itself because I was just so impressed. And I said to Jake, we have to do this, we have to do this.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

I was just thinking for a moment, as you said that. My eyes just flash with all the dangers of Australia, and you are relieved of the burden of bears. And I think you have a lot to worry about, so there's nothing to envy here. But at least bears are cute. Some of y'all there's some stuff happening in Australia that I do not envy you.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Listen, I was I'm also actually Aboriginal Australian, so native Australian. So Australia, for me in particular, I I guess, you know, spiritually, is woven into my DNA from, I mean, my people are the eldest civilization on the planet, over 60,000 years old. And it's a it's a heritage that I'm extremely proud of. And there's something about growing up in Australia surrounded by things like that. You just it this sounds insane, but you really, it's not a bother, you know, because you're used to it. We know not to go out walking in the bush unless you're wearing, you know, heavy, heavy boots or, you know, whatever those called, like steel-capped boots, because if a snake bites you, that's it. I grew up with seeing snakes in my yard and and spiders under the bed, and it doesn't really bother me at all. Steve Irwin, God rest your soul, was my my hero, so I suppose not normal when it comes to having a healthy fear of animals. I'm very much not that individual at all.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Well no, I mean, it's wonderful, it's great. One, you're built different, so I respect it. Second, imagine there's already the sense of putting to film a bear attack, a man being mauled by a bear on the brink of death, and then let that be crafted and the vision of that be materialized by someone who does not have that fear of animals. I think it's gonna give us something different and exciting. So I'm ready for it. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

I actually I never thought of it like that, but now, yeah, completely agree.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Yeah, I love that. You've both mentioned that you've talked to Killin. Jake, could you maybe share some of what your experiences have been like, like when you first met him and any advice he might have given you?

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yeah, like I met what I'm most notably known for is doing Superman for DC and Warner Brothers for a lot of their promotional stuff. And so I do a lot of Comic Cons around the country and guests there. Several of them, the Twilight Crew, are typically there. It's usually like Kellen and Jackson and Peter and Ashley is at a lot of them, but Peter and Kellen in particular. So been lucky enough to meet them, and they're all, as Lily said. Wonderful people. But the first time I met him, I was in Superman. And we we have I think we're very similar personalities, like very there's a lot of Emmett in both me and Kellen. If you meet Kellen, you'll be like, This dude is like literally Emmett, and just him. But he the first time I talked, he was like, dude, like I've never seen anyone cosplay Emmett. Like we're the same size, like same height. He was like, cosplay Emmett, like the next time you're here. So I did, like a year later. I can't remember if it was him or his wife saw it, and he immediately was just like went crazy for it. And we were guesting at another event together. I dressed as in the baseball outfit. And for whatever reason, I put the hat on backwards and you know, shave up and put it on. Like we look, I will say, we look very similar. And that we met and that he like was just so excited, and we took a bunch of pictures together. And Peter actually came over and he was like, Oh my god, like can I take a picture of you guys? So it's like weird seeing like the other cast take pictures of us like next to each other and and all that. But he, you know, he recently found out that I'm gonna be playing Emmett, and I guess it's kind of weird because that's kind of how Lily found me actually was through that experience. I mean, it's like this weird, like the stars just kind of aligned in this weird Twilight Emmett moment, you know. I like just kind of cosplayed them for fun. It went kind of viral. Kellen saw it, you know, I end up at this event and then Lily sees it, and then this opportunity presented itself. So it's kind of meant to be, but I think he has spoken about, you know, just making it my own, you know, to just have fun. The fact that Emmett is the protector, he's Emmett the bear. He you will walk in any room and he feels even though Esme might think she's the strongest, like he knows who the strongest really is, and like he's gonna be there for his family. And you know, Rose Rosalie's his world, so it's like her world, he's just living in it. And to just, you know, to keep a lot of that I think boyish, you know, spirit in him and just like have fun at the same time. So he's been a godsend, and like I really appreciate like him being so accepting of this and excited for it. And yeah, no, it's just been it's been awesome. I'm really excited for them to see it.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

It is such an incredible pipeline to go from Comic-Con to bear mauling in the span of your last couple few years of your life. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_03 24:21

I know. I'm gonna have like PTSD with petty bears. I think I'm gonna have to like avoid build a bear at all costs. I'm gonna have like a meltdown.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

That's the goal. If we haven't caused Jake to have at least one meltdown, then we've not done our done our jobs.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

You have to do for bears what Final Destination did for log trucks.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

100%. I still can't drive behind them.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Nobody cares. I'm never gonna touch a bear in my life. This is gonna be great. I cannot wait.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Yeah, you mentioned the outfits, and it makes me think about how you just had a photo shoot in character. You know, how was that experience? What did you think of the outfits? Lily, did you give any direction in terms of like where they should look or things they should be doing in the photos?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

We did talk extensively about the shoot. We had it planned in advance for about a month and a half or thereabouts. As far as finding costumes goes, Jake actually has his own sort of twilight wardrobe, I suppose you could call it. So he had several choices to go by where he sent me a few photos of him in this or that costume, and I would say yes or no. I think I just said yes to everything basically. But we sort of had to start from scratch there, which was a lot of fun because we did have to source costumes and then not only modern day costumes that Twilight fans would recognize, but costumes that are very old-timey from the 30s. In terms of the actual shoot, we did have a plan as to, okay, I want to see this and this is what you guys are gonna do. It's going to all culminate in this and this and this. Because it's not just a photo shoot that they ended up doing, but also we received several different video clips. Unfortunately, the Twilight Gods decided that that day in New York had to be particularly rainy, which is very, I suppose, twilight appropriate. But when you're trying to do a photo shoot and a video shoot, that can hinder what one can capture, of course. So there there were a few things that they were just unable to do simply because of the weather. But that being said, we have a fabulous set photographer, and he's the one that did take the images while they were in New York. And, you know, between his skill and then the camera loves our Rosalie and Emmett. So they they just have this natural gift with just happening to look good in front of the camera, but also their natural chemistry between Jake and Sierra is very, very clear when you get them in a room together or when you meet with them on Zoom or something. Their chemistry is just off the charts. So relying on that in particular, it was sort of more about setting the environment or the mood so that when one looks at these photos or videos, then you sort of have that feeling of, oh, this is twilight or oh man, that's we're getting dark here. Okay, we're in a dark theme. Yeah, let's do it. So I was very much more wanting them to portray a theme more than a specific look, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Yeah, it does. Jake, jump over to you. How was your experience working with Sierra on the shoot?

SPEAKER_03 27:29

It was awesome. She is my rosal leaf for sure. To Lily's point, I think we did like a read-through, I would say, I guess a couple weeks before the photo shoot, and it was our first time ever reading together. And we did our bit in a particular scene, and like I was on my phone, you know, so I couldn't really see. I had to always focus on the script. And then I finally looked over. Lily was crying, another person was crying, and then Sierra was in tears from like just our back and forth. And we were all like, oh, like this is really good. It wasn't like that there, it was like a first take on the first go. It was just like instantaneous. So it's been like this slow build, and and Sierra and I have, you know, talked. And I think, especially people who really love Twilight, the movie's really gonna go as far as the connection between me and her and the Rosalie Emmett dynamic really takes it. So it was really fun to like get the chance to meet her in person and just kind of pick up, you know, kind of the anticipation of like, oh man, like I hope we really hit it off or have that, you know, vibe together in person, as we do, you know, through a computer over the phone while reading lines. And immediately we did, and we were just goofing off having fun. And it was weird because I felt like it was somebody that I've shot with a hundred times, and and she was she was like, This is so easy. And I was like, I know, like this is awesome. And you know, our photographer, he was amazing, and he was just like, Wow, like you guys are like really like Rosalie and Emmett, and he's a tiny little thing, so and it was really fun to just like pick her up and spin her around and and do different poses that you guys will see, I'm sure, over the coming weeks. But it was an incredible. Obviously, the weather was not it was really rainy, really cold. We were in Brooklyn and in a park, and there's people looking at us like this guy with red eyes is staring at me, he might need to check himself in somewhere. There could be an issue. It's New York, so you never know. But genuinely, it was such a fun experience, and like it just took the excitement to a level on like actually getting the chance to like start filming some of these scenes, and I think people are really gonna be excited about like our chemistry together. It's she's she's a heavyweight when it comes to her acting. She's a superstar, so she is so excited.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

She is certainly the probably the brightest spot in the in the last couple Hell House LLC films for me. I remember seeing the last one thinking, like, oh, she's just really bringing it together, and so I can only imagine what she's gonna bring in terms of just like her presence to this role. I'm so excited to see what she has in store. As you're telling the story, Jake, I'm thinking uh a couple things, right? One, definitely the least weird thing that's happened in that spot in New York, I'm confident. For sure. Second, I'm also reminded of this debate, right? The strength of Emmett, the strength of Esme. But then let's also think about the strength of Rosalie to recover his body and then carry him and not feed on him. And is that something that you plan on uh exploring in the film? I would expect.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

I think so. I think another thing too to touch on is it's straw, and I know Lily's talks about this a lot, is it's not just Emmett who's like physically, but this is a newborn Emmett, which is like think of like a newborn on stereo, like get the biggest, strongest guy, and now he's a newborn vampire, and like how did he have an insatiable like just lurk to to for blood and to have this control, and he knows he's the strongest one, and you're gonna see bits of like it takes a it takes a clam to keep them to keep him contained. And there's gonna be you know, you're gonna see the teddy bear on it, but you're gonna see some real, real dark bits as well of like what levels of strength that he has and what that means for you know society when somebody with that level of strength also is an apex predator now. And we're gonna explore that, which is gonna be really fun.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

I I really wanted to have that as one of the highlights of the film. When I was writing the script, whenever I would write a scene that had newborn Emmett in it, I would also always have Jasper's voice in my head, where he says this in eclipse, I believe. He's describing newborns, and he says that it's when they are at their most uncontrollable, which is the first year, they are vicious and insane with thirst. Now, we really we did see that a little bit in the Eclipse film. We don't really see that at all with Bella, because she has this sort of super self-control or whatever it is. Emmett does not. Emmett is very much more of the quote-unquote average newborn vampire. So whenever he detects a scent or something, he's going to be off and there's no stopping him. So it's showing that is something that as a Twilight fan myself, I am particularly excited about seeing because we've really never seen just how bad it can get before. We've heard it a lot, but we've never actually seen it. And of course, as as Jake mentioned, his strength being rather a bit of an issue. I'm so glad that that was brought up because that's another thing that people I think can sort of forget about. They just think, oh, he's a newborn and yep, it's Emmett. Okay. Well, Emmett is arguably one of the strongest vampires in existence. I remember asking Jake a while ago who would win in in a fight against Emmett and Felix of the Volturi. I think that'd be rather evenly matched. But that is absolutely something we are going to show in the film is he does have super strength, but because he was so strong as a human being, that has just amplified so that as a newborn now, he was already going to be stronger than the Cullens, who are not newborns, but now you add in that supernatural strength that he's been blessed with or cursed with, it really creates a whole other problem for them. And the thing that we got to remember here as well is that this is 1935. Alice and Jasper aren't part of the family yet. They don't show up until 1950. So these are the colons. We have Carlisle, Esme, who is no fighter, God bless her, and Edward. And uh that's it. Oh, and Rosalie, I guess. But she never really saw herself as part of the family, right? But that's that's it. You know, they're they're not these incredible fighters. Like they they can fight, of course, but they're they're no match against Emmett. And without Jasper, who can control another vampire's emotions and could arguably control a newborn Emmett because of his skill in the past, and Alice, who has the ability to see the future, so she could stop any potential Emmett attacking a human being and killing them. But Cullins don't have any of that. So they just have each other. So it's a very, very difficult time, but in in typical Cullen fashion, they are determined not to just abandon this vampire or to tell him, look, you're on your own, off you go. Not only because of their fear of the Volturi, and a newborn would be quite destructive and therefore attract the Volturi, but mainly because of the connection that the rest of the family see between Rosalie and Emmett, even as he's just a newborn and they don't really know each other. They really sort of do Rosalie that favor, I suppose, because she's just been so miserable ever since she was turned. So yeah, there's a lot that goes into it.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

Oh, that sounds so incredibly layered and beautiful. And I don't even want to to to make such a shallow reduction, right? But I'm also just considering, Jake, as you're as you're talking about your past and cosplaying and the Comic Cons, the strength of newborn Emmett versus the strength of Kalel. I mean, there's obviously Superman is Superman, but also I feel like Emmett would give him a run for his money.

SPEAKER_03 35:25

Oh man, you're like talking about both heart strings right now. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

I know I can't make you choose and I would never, I'm not gonna, you know, you have a reper to protect, and I'm not gonna make you debate. But I just think it's something that's worth considering, right? Like that's enormous strength, and how fortunate. I mean, you have to be proud to represent that strength in in two different characters.

SPEAKER_03 35:46

It's not something I take lightly, and it's also I think fun as an actor to show really strong characters that are very vulnerable and have problems, and you know, these extremely OP kind of individuals that are also honestly like pretty fragile, you know, emotionally because having all that strength can also lead to a lot of loneliness and just kind of always feeling like you're walking on eggshells. So it's very fun as an actor to kind of explore that.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

Yeah. Lonely at the top is an apex predator, I better Yeah, but delicious, you know.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

Hearing honestly all four of us talking about it is just making me more and more excited to see what's coming up. And we should talk about the Indiegogo, which as we record this podcast, you're about to launch a campaign to help with funding. Can you talk a bit about things like your goals, your hopes for the campaign, and maybe some of the fun rewards available at different tiers of support?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

Yeah, absolutely. So at the moment, at the time of recording, I am still working on it, so there may be, you know, a little a few minor changes when it is launched. Um but yeah, at the moment it's it's simply because this is a fan film. So due to copyright, we cannot personally, you know, make profit out of this and we can't seek film investors in the traditional sense. And so a great majority of our funds would need to come from fans who believe in our project and are willing to support us to see it ultimately filmed and and celebrated. So in terms of the different levels of support, there will be something for everyone. So, you know, we're not asking for, hey guys, we we only accept donations of a thousand dollars plus. Like that's ridiculous. We're not gonna do that. We want to open this up to everyone. So I think the lowest tier that I'm going to be setting is just one dollar. And you know what? It's funny because it it sounds so small and and almost silly. The idea of, well, I donated a dollar, so look at me. I'm so proud of myself. But really, everything adds up. Every little piece that we get genuinely does help us. So, you know, it it starts at uh one dollar, and I think that we will be going up to a thousand potentially. In terms of the rewards that one can get, that again varies depending on what you do end up donating. We have things from a thank you video from one of our casts. We have signed props that that one can get. We even have, you know, visits to set and the executive producer title on IMDb and in our film credits. So there's there's a lot of different benefits that one can get from supporting something like this. But the the main thing really is that indie filmmaking is really starting to take off now more than ever, I find. So I think at the end of the day, the biggest reward, it's gonna sound a little cheesy, but I think one of the biggest rewards that one could get from this is simply supporting an Indie project because indie films really are taking off. I know you guys being fans of horror, we have all seen our fair share of indie horror flicks. Some of them have arguably been the greatest scares and the greatest horror films of all time. So, yeah, that that's sort of my thinking around it. Everyone, you know, if even if you don't have a dollar to spend, because hey, we are all very well aware of the world that we're living in right now and the constant rise of the cost of living and all of that, word of mouth is also an incredibly powerful tool. So even if you are not able to financially support us, we would ask that you just share our campaign to socials or to your friends and family. It really is a team effort here. And it's something that we've said from the beginning is that this film is being made by fans for fans. So this is really a team effort, a collaborative effort between us and the Twilight community sort of coming together as one to make this happen.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

I've definitely been on the march trying to promote this and tell people about it. We appreciate you. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 40:11

Yes, thank you. Yes, and I can assure you our audience will be listening and wait, waiting in great anticipation for this. We are a horde of Twilight fans, and we will uh talk about Twilight any chance we get. I can already think of even several people even in my own workplace who will be excited about this.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

So listen, the Twilight and Forks Festival, which I know you're both going to this year, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

And Lily, I know you've gone in the past as well. And I'm I'm going this year, so see you both there. Yes. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

Can't wait to see you there.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

Yeah, it'll be good. What are some of your favorite memories from the last time you were there? And also what kind of things are you interested in doing this year?

SPEAKER_00 40:56

So we are actually shooting just before the festival. So we plan to wrap a few days before it officially takes off. So the idea behind it for me, as someone who has been there before, this year will be rather unique because I'm I'm going to be with uh a couple of people from my team who we just finished making a Twilight film. So the idea behind it is to simply really immerse ourselves once again into the Twilight world, but this time not doing it from a work perspective, but rather just as fans that are celebrating what we just created. So that's something I'm really looking forward to this year, is just celebrating with my team of, hey, we just did this. Also the idea that we we don't have to work as well. I think we'll be all pretty tired after our shoots. So that's definitely one thing that I'm looking forward to. I I suppose the thing that I cherish the most about that festival is the sense of camaraderie that you feel. I mean, not only you are in the real town of Forex, Washington, so it it it really does feel like you have just literally leapt into the movie itself. You know, you go to the Forex High School, you and they all they all dress it up as well to sort of celebrate. So you can go into the science wing and they have the golden onion there, you know, like there's all these little details that as a Twilight fan you see, and it just feels so immersive. It's the way that I sort of describe it, it's it's almost like you go to a Disney World or Disneyland and you see these princesses walking about in character, and for a moment the child inside you is like, oh my gosh, this is real. It's sort of the same thing with the Twilight Festival. You go and you are in the town of Forks and you meet these cosplayers who are in character as either Alice Cullen or Jasper Hale and you know, people like that. So it's it's a very unique experience and one that I would highly recommend that any Twilight fan does at least once in their lives because it it's just very, very special. And I'm so excited to to do it with Jake as well. I think it's just it's gonna be really one for the books.

SPEAKER_03 43:03

I'm just hoping no bears are there.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Listen, I have I have been having to fight the urge to pack up everything I own and move out to the Pacific Northwest. I feel like my soul would just feel at peace out there as someone who loves a good, gloomy, rainy day, and I can think of no better way to see it for the first time than to be among Twilight fans.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

I love the Pacific Northwest too. If I moved to America, that is absolutely where I would go. It's I mean, I I also am rather like Morticia Adams in the sense I I love rainy days. And to me, those are beautiful days, you know. It's when the sun's out that I'm like, oh, this is a horrible day. And I live in the sunshine state. So what am I doing? It's just such an experience, you know. I mean, the the forex sign, the welcome to forks that you see in the film, that's there on both sides of the town. So even seeing that, you guys, it's just you see it and you're like, whoa, it's real. I'm here, you know. And that feels Healing never really leaves you. It's it's always there that whole weekend, and I will say you don't get much sleep, but that's sort of the beauty of these these festivals, is it's almost like, oh well it it's part of the experience, right? Like we're all a bit overtired, so we just embrace it and go to another party.

SPEAKER_03 44:18

Vampires don't sleep anyway, so it's all good. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 44:23

So I have one final question for both of you, which is simply about your hopes for the project. When you look at the full scope of the things that you want to achieve, what do you hope the viewers will take away from the film when it's all said and done? Oh goodness.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

I think for me it's it's truly something that Twilight fans and hardcore fans are are proud of, something that pays true homage to the books, to the world that Stephanie Meyer created. I think from Emmett's perspective, I think g like really fleshing out his backstory and his life and showing like what an amazing character he is, both you know, in his human days and to his vampire days, and to where we see him in, you know, the larger movies. And then also I think he also have a love story with with Rosalie and Emmett that that people won't forget. So that's definitely my biggest takeaway.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

I mean, that's great. I I think for me it's it's a much deeper level, really. The kid that grew up as an outcast with no friends in school, that loved fantasy worlds, that loved something different, that felt like I belonged in, you know, different fantasy worlds, to make something like that and or or to to watch something like that, or to read about it, it sort of feels like you have this healthy escape, right? Where you can dive into the book or dive into the film and for even if it's for one hour, you you are in a world where you feel as though you belong and you feel that you're safe and that you're happy and that you are accepted just as you are. That's what I want to give these people. I did not have a lot of that growing up. And so I immersed myself in these books and and these films, and that became my sanctuary for so much that was going on in my personal life. So for me, I want to pay that kindness forward and give to people what I once had myself from authors just like Stephanie Meyer. This film is so many things, but one thing for me personally, it is my love letter to Stephanie Meyer for everything that she has given all of her fans. As a lover of film, I think for me, I want to do something that will give fans a lot of credit because really they are the reason why Twilight has remained as popular as it is all these years later. We never let it die. We never let the obsession with these sparkly vampires die. And so for me it's it's getting things like, you know, canon accuracy, keeping everything as accurate as possible, taking creative liberty where we have had no other option to do so. But yeah, like Jake, just giving people something that they can feel proud of and feel as though once again they were, if only for a little while, um, dove back into this Twilight World that they fell in love with when they first saw it on screen, what, 12 years ago or something. So yeah, that's I would say that's my hope for it.

SPEAKER_01 47:34

Wow. Lily, thank you so much for sharing such a a beautiful like connection to it and then just a greater hope for it. I mean, I I was that kid growing up with no friends and getting lost in fantasy worlds to try to find some kind of like sense of belonging somewhere. So that deeply resonates with me. I feel like you're a kindred spirit, so thank you for that. And when we think about even our hacker slash community, we are a place where we feel like horror is for everyone. It's maybe not all horror is for everyone, but this is a place where you're gonna find your folks.

Toodles

SPEAKER_01 48:05

So I know that our listeners are going to be so excited to see this project and this fan film and this labor of love really continue to grow. Where can they look to learn more and follow your journey?

SPEAKER_00 48:16

So we have a YouTube that is where our film will be released. So it's just the House of Lucha, which is H A-U-S-L-U-C-E. We also have an Instagram, of course, where you can see all of our promotional photos. We'll be posting more reels as time goes on, and we'll be posting all of our teasers there as well and our movie trailers. So that is uh House of Lucha on Instagram. We also have IMDB. So that's just the title of the film, The Cullen Chronicles Legacy 1935. And you can find us there. And yeah, if you find us on Instagram, give us a follow and say hello. We love meeting new people, and yeah, we would love to meet even more people that are fans of horror and twilight. Why not?

SPEAKER_03 49:01

Yeah, you can follow me at Foggy Night14, that is F O G G Y K-N-I-G-H-T 14, and I'm sure you'll see me on all the House of Luce reels and pictures, and just hit that like and comment. All you want. We're ready for it.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

Thank you both so much for the the labor of of love that you're pouring into your work and for the privilege of your time. And to our listeners, we'll keep you posted along the way.