SANTA MONICA, California — Edi Gathegi recently reunited with his "Twilight" co-stars in Vancouver, kicking off the lengthy process of shooting the highly anticipated sequel "New Moon." But before he left, he stopped by the MTV studio to fill us in on some top-secret script details, what it's like to pump iron with Taylor Lautner and what we can expect next from the vampire Laurent.
"I'm going up to Vancouver for some preproduction stuff and rehearsals. The entire cast is going to be up there," said the actor, who recently starred in "My Bloody Valentine 3D," making him the first "Twilight" star to have a hit film follow-up (there's already talk of Gathegi returning in a sequel). "We're going to be doing a whole bunch of fun stuff.
"I've read the script — it's very good," Gathegi explained, praising the talents of returning screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg. Comparing the script to Stephenie Meyer's 563-page novel, he said, "It's a lot more active — in the best possible way — than I thought it was going to be."
Although the novel is peppered with failed romance, depression and thoughts of suicide, Gathegi insisted that the second story is better because anticipation becomes reality. "I'm actually one of the people that think that 'New Moon' is pretty active. There's a fraction of people who think it's slow because [Edward Cullen] is gone for a long time, and [Bella] is going through depression — but I think it's more active than 'Twilight,' " he explained. "In 'Twilight,' it's the anticipation every day. The anticipation of 'What is he?' And then you discover what he is. 'New Moon,' I think, has a little more forward movement; which is great for a movie.
"And I love what I get to do in it," he said with a wicked grin. "I definitely get to sink my teeth into something."
Gathegi also loves the recent activity of co-star Taylor Lautner — one of his best friends on the "Twilight" cast. When Lautner's youthful appearance presented him with a possible exile from "New Moon," the two actors pledged to hit the gym together — and the results have spoken for themselves.
"He does not let up. I ask, 'What do we do?' [and he replies] 'Everything! The whole routine,' " Gathegi said of their regimen. "I could say that he's definitely one of the most committed people that I have ever seen at the gym. I think I might have been like him when I was younger — I go off and on, even right now. This kid just stays at the focus point.
"[Lautner] does free-weights: bi's, tri's, shoulders, legs," Gathegi marveled. "He's ready [to play the older Jacob Black]. His job depends on it, and he has to be this way and get bigger for the rest of the series. I mean, this kid is incredible!"
The biggest news for Gathegi these days, however, is that the movie version of Laurent won't go down without a fight. "[In the novel] they talk about me getting chased and destroyed by the werewolves — and in the movie, we'll see what they have me do," he revealed cryptically. "We might show it."
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga's New Moon."
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