Breaking Dawn - Part 1

"Forever is only the beginning."

- Breaking Dawn - Part 1 tagline

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is the fourth installment of the Twilight film series, based on Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name.

Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the film adaptations of novels in the Twilight series, announced in November 2008 that it had obtained the rights to the rest of Stephenie Meyer's series, including Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn has been split in two parts. The first half of Breaking Dawn was released on November 18, 2011, while the second half was released on November 16, 2012.

Plot
"Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age" "The child is grown, and puts away childish things." "Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies."

- Bella narrating the opening line, by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The movie opens at the Black house, where Jacob Black storms out, phases and runs toward the forest. His father, Billy, tries to stop him to no avail. After Jacob is gone, Billy picks up a note on the ground and realizes it is an invitation to Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's wedding. Charlie Swan, Renée, and Phil Dwyer receive invitations as well.

At the Cullen house, Bella is trying on her bridal shoes at Alice Cullen's insistence while the rest of the Cullens are setting up the scenery. Back at home, Bella packs up all of her stuff and reminisces about Jacob's dreamcatcher, which is still hanging on her bed. Edward appears and tells her about the time when he went off on his own and fed on humans who were almost as monstrous as he thought he was before finally returning to Carlisle and Esme.

Bella talks him out of thinking of himself that way. Just then, Emmett Cullen and Jasper Hale arrive and demand that Edward follow them to his bachelor party. Bella goes to bed and dreams about the Volturi and all of her human friends and family being dead, with Edward and herself stained with blood.

The next day, Alice and Rosalie Hale prepare Bella for the wedding while Renée and Charlie give her an old silver hair clip with sapphires, which had belonged to Bella's grandmother.

Bella grows increasingly nervous as she walks down the aisle, until she sees Edward and all of her worries disappear instantaneously. The wedding is a success and Bella and Edward are married.

During the reception, Bella is greeted by the Denali coven, but Irina becomes upset with the Cullens for inviting one of the wolves, Seth Clearwater, since they killed her lover, Laurent. Jacob arrives and dances with Bella, but he gets angry when Bella tells him that she and Edward plan on making love while she is still human, which he foresees as dangerous. The other wolves arrive to stop him before he can make the situation worse.

Edward takes Bella to Isle Esme, a present to Esme from Carlisle, for their honeymoon. That night, they consummate their marriage. The next morning, Edward is distraught because he has involuntarily hurt Bella, though she disagrees.

They spend the next week exploring the islands and enjoying their honeymoon without making love, but Bella continues to attempt persuading him. One night, she has a dream and wants it to be real so badly that she pleads with Edward and he gives in.

Back in La Push, Jacob is resentful of Edward and expects Bella to be dead by the time they return, and is anticipating the moment when he kills him.

Bella realizes that she is pregnant when she sees her unused tampons and feels something move inside her stomach. Edward takes her back to Forks for Carlisle to remove the baby. Unwilling to give up the baby, she calls Rosalie for help.

Two weeks later, Jacob visits the Cullens and finds Bella pregnant at an unnatural rate. Despite everyone else's warnings, Bella is determined to give birth and Rosalie is on her side. When the pack hear about this, Sam Uley decides to kill Bella to prevent the baby from becoming a threat to the locals.

Jacob, however, disagrees and embraces his rightful power as Alpha to separate himself from the pack. It doesn't take long before Seth and Leah Clearwater join him. Since the Cullens have been warned, Sam decides to surround the area and wait for the opportunity to strike. The Cullens hide in their house for the time being as they starve.

Bella's condition worsens throughout the days as her body rejects any kind of food. Eventually, Jacob makes a comment that inspires Edward to let Bella try drinking human blood to satisfy the baby. She begins to feel better immediately.

When Edward hears the baby's thoughts for the first time and learns that it has goodness and loves her parents, his hatred for the baby disappears immediately. Jacob helps Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett escape to hunt by distracting Embry Call, Paul Lahote, Quil Ateara V, and Jared Cameron. However, they are discovered by the two remaining wolves, Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea.

Back at the house, Bella tells Jacob the names that she has settled for the baby: "Edward Jacob" — shortened E.J. — if it is a boy, and "Renesmee" — derived from Renée and Esme — if it is a girl. Shortly after telling them the names, the baby's placenta detaches and Bella goes through an incredibly painful labor, with her spine and several bones being broken by the baby's struggle. Rosalie tries to get the baby out, but loses control when she tries to open Bella's womb. Edward proceeds with the surgery and acknowledges that the baby is a girl, calling her "Renesmee". Bella's heart stops beating after the birth, and Edward injects his venom into her system and fights to save her. The venom begins to take effect, but Edward doesn't notice it.

Jacob, broken by loss, cries in the backyard while Paul eavesdrops on them. The pack, feeling driven to the edge by Jacob's betrayal, decides to make their move on the Cullens after being informed of Bella's death and confirming the baby's threat. Meanwhile, Jacob goes back inside to kill the baby, who is now in Rosalie's care; but the moment he looks into her eyes, he imprints on her and all of his previous attachments become severed.

The pack arrives and a fight erupts between the Cullens and the pack. Leah, Seth, Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle arrive just in time to neutralize their approach. When Sam readies to strike again, Jacob leaps in between and tells them that he has imprinted on Renesmee, which has made her untouchable to the other wolves. Because of this, the wolves are forced to make permanent peace with the Cullens.

In the following days, Bella's transformation continues as her body heals itself. The movie ends with everyone standing warily still as Bella opens her eyes, which are now blood-red as a newborn vampire.

In a post-credits scene, the Volturi are informed of Bella and Edward's wedding and Bella's transformation into a vampire. The new secretary, Bianca, is killed by Demetri and Felix for spelling Carlisle's name without an 's'. "First it's the spelling, then the grammar," Aro claims. Marcus states that he, Aro, and Caius have no further business with the Cullens. However, Aro disagrees, saying they still have something he wants.

To be continued in Breaking Dawn - Part 2...

Development
Meyer stated in her Breaking Dawn FAQ that if a film were to be created, she thought it would have to be made into two movies because "it's hard to imagine it fitting into ninety minutes. The book is just so long! I can't imagine how to distill it—if I could, the book would be shorter." According to Variety, the studio had decided to split the 756-page book into two films, along the same lines as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Subsequently, Summit had to negotiate new deals with the main cast, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, since they were only under contract for four films.

Meyer also believed it may be impossible to make Breaking Dawn into a film, due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby but has complete awareness, and that "the one thing that I've never seen is a CGI human being which truly looks real"; however, she went on to state that "they develop amazing new technologies everyday, and we've got a little time left." It is still however unknown whether Renesmee will be CGI, or if one/many actresses will portray her. There are also concerns about making a PG-13 movie adaptation, given the book's complex and graphic storylines, including the birth of a half-vampire, half-human baby. When talking about Taylor Lautner's next film for Summit Entertainment, producer Wyck Godfrey stated "Lautner will reprise his role of Jacob in Breaking Dawn beginning in late 2010, and it is likely that the final book will be divided into two films that will be shot back-to-back."

It was announced on April 28, 2010 that Bill Condon will direct the film. On July 5, on Twitter, Melissa Rosenberg, the official screenwriter for Twilight, announced that Breaking Dawn will remain a PG-13 movie. She added that, quote: "I think we can get awfully [hot] with PG-13. I'm not worried about the rating. I know a lot of fans are like, 'We have to go R to do it justice', but i don't think so. I think it's going to be pretty hot. Way hot!" Rosenberg says. Rosenberg was referring to the worry of some fans about the movie being rated R because of love scenes between Edward and Bella. She added that a lot can be done in a PG-13 movie, despite what skeptics may think or say.

According to Summit's Twitter and Facebook, the first film will be released on November 18, 2011 and the second on November 16, 2012.

Producer Wyck Godfrey announced that the first part will cover the wedding, the honeymoon and the birth. The film ends just before Bella "embarks on her supernatural transformation". Godfrey said about Jacob's book, "The story will break from [Bella] and follow Jacob throughout the course of the movie as he struggles with his own dilemma. There is a sense that as Bella and the Cullens deal with her pregnancy, the world is still turning outside with Jacob."

Filming
In July 2010, Summit announced that the movie will be shot in Vancouver, Canada, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Both parts will be shot simultaneously as one project. Filming officially began on November 1, 2010 in Brazil.

The first scenes were shot in the Lapa District in Rio de Janeiro for one night. A long city block was rented for shooting, and Summit Entertainment paid residents 50 to 500 reais (30 to 300 in American dollars) to not allow paparazzi or fans to overlook filming from their windows. Moreover, owners of bars and restaurants were paid 10,000 and 20,000 reais (6,000 to 12,000 in American dollars) to stay closed for the evening to eliminate noise and provide a clear street. The honeymoon scenes are shot in Paraty for Isle Esme, an island only accessible by helicopter and boat.

In February, the cast re-located to Vancouver to shoot the wedding scene and the rest of the movie. Some scenes from in the book will be changed in the movie adaptation. For example, in the book Irina (played by Maggie Grace) is too upset at the Cullens for not allowing her to destroy the wolves, who killed Laurent, to attend Bella and Edward's wedding. However, the picture below clearly shows Irina at the wedding in the film.

The wedding scene in Part 1 was shot under tight security. A helicopter hovered above the set, off-duty police officers surrounded the location, and sheets and umbrellas were used to protect the set from aerial shots being taken. Kristen Stewart spoke of the wedding scene at Comic-Con, describing it as "insane." She also said that it was "secret service style.

The crew was incredibly inconvenienced. No cell phones, etc. They wanted to keep the dress secret." Filming wrapped on April 15, 2011, ending the franchise's three years of production since March 2008. However, on April 22, what is believed to be additional scenes that will fit into the honeymoon sequence were filmed on St. Thomas Island in the Caribbean.

Costume design
In October 2010, it was announced that Michael Wilkinson would be the films' costume designer. However, Bella's wedding dress was designed by someone other than Wilkinson. Stephenie Meyer's description of the dress was "a simpler style than the frillier Edwardian stuff. ...Elegant white satin, cut on the bias, with long sleeves.” At first, fashion designer Zac Posen was rumored to be the designer of Bella's wedding dress; however, these rumors were proven false when Posen tweeted: "Heard the bella/twilight rumor. It's just that. I design for real women like Kristen Stewart and Anna Kendrick." In April, Summit announced Carolina Herrera as the designer of the dress. Stewart described the dress as very tight, but still liked it and thought that it was "very pretty." Meyer told USA Today that the dress was "an interesting mix" and has a "vintage feel, but at the same time, there's an edge to it".

Concerning Alice's bridesmaid dress, its designer remains unknown, so, presumably, Wilkinson might have designed it. Ashley Greene describe the dress as "magical and beautiful" and spoke about the designing of the dress, saying, "We wanted to have all the bridesmaids fit together and also have their own identity. So, we took a little bit of Alice’s past and put it into her dress.” Corsets were added to all the cast's wedding dresses, but were removed during filming because the cast felt uncomfortable wearing them while dancing.

Alfred Angelo has been named the exclusive and official licensed manufacturer of Bella’s bridal gown. The gown is a replica of Bella's wedding dress and is marketed under the brand Twilight Bridal by Alfred Angelo. It was revealed in late November 2011, following the release of Part 1, and is currently available in Alfred Angelo Signature Stores and independent retailers worldwide.

Leaks
When the filming started on November 7, 2010 in the Lapa District and Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaked set photos and footage videos surfaced online. Summit Entertainment responded to the leaks by removing the photos and videos from YouTube, fansites, and gossip websites. On January 13, 2011, scans of a still of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in one of their honeymoon scenes in an Entertainment Weekly article ran online, prior to the magazine's official release of the still. On March 31 and April 1, 2011, a mass leak of a 14-second video and numerous low-quality stills hit the Internet, resulting to enthusiastic fan reaction and speculations that the film wouldn't be able to maintain a PG-13 rating. Summit Entertainment released an official statement saying:


 * As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage. The film and these images are not yet ready or in their proper context. They were illegally obtained and their early dissemination is deeply upsetting to the actors, the filmmakers and Summit who are working so hard to bring these movies to fruition to you in November 2011 and November 2012. Please, for those who are posting, stop. And please, though the temptation is high, don't view or pass on these images. Wait for the film in its beautiful, finished entirety to thrill you. Sincerely, Stephenie Meyer, Bill Condon, Wyck Godfrey and Summit Entertainment.

Additionally, the first teaser trailer leaked online hours before its debut at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.

Lawsuit
On August 1, 2011, Summit released a press release announcing the identification of some of the alleged people responsible for the leak of images and video from Breaking Dawn on March 31 and April 1 and the decision to take legal action. Summit claimed that the leak came from Posadas, Argentina, but due to the possibility that other people might be involved in the leak, the investigation is still ongoing. The only person Summit named was a woman called Daiana Santia, resident in Posadas, allegedly being involved in the group that stole the images and footage. Civil action has been filed in the U.S. and Argentina, while criminal action has also been filed in Argentina. Summit hired law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP to search four continents, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia, to find the other people behind the leak.

On the other hand, Santia hosted a press conference in her town and denied Summit's claims. She claimed that she only saw the images "while surfing the Internet" and didn't send them to anyone. She also stated that she didn't log in anywhere to see them and denies having the technical knowledge of hacking, specifically saying that she "in no way be considered a "hacker" because [she] has no computer skills other than simple user level". Her attorney confirmed that Santia and her family are considering a counterclaim against Summit due to defamation of character and continual harassment by the film's producers who kept requesting that she would let them check her computer to see if she still has the images on her hard disk, although she refused more than once claiming that she is innocent and her computer contains personal items. Her attorney called the situation "a harm to privacy and personal right".

Summit's official response to the press conference said, "First and most important this is NOT about greed or the Studio wanting to bully a woman from a small town in Argentina – rather, it is about stolen material that is private and sensitive which was obtained by illegally accessing private/secure servers as well as personal email accounts." Summit gave details about the case stating that the studio has been in contact with Santia since May 2011, but "with no resolution or further good faith efforts on their part, thus the only alternative left was to pursue legal action to ascertain that Ms. Santia no longer holds the images and video in any shape or form". In the response, Summit announced the following claims:


 * Specifically on June 8, 2011 Ms. Santia confessed in the presence of her attorney that she accessed servers and email accounts via a systematic attack — stealing photographs, unfinished images and video footage over several months. Additionally there is indisputable evidence linking her directly to IP addresses that were used in the unauthorized access. Her actions appear to be premeditated and not done on a whim, but rather using technology and tactics that require thought as well as time and skill. Because Ms. Santia decided that she does not want to cooperate, Summit has been unable to settle this matter privately with Ms. Santia and her representatives in Argentina.

Music
On January 6, 2011 it was announced that Carter Burwell, composer of the Twilight film, will be returning to score both parts of the final installment. He later posted on his Twitter account that he would be composing "Renesmee's Lullaby." The first part is scheduled to be released on November 8, 2011.

In the teaser trailer, the music was "Love and Loss" and "Infinite Legends" by Two Steps From Hell.

In July, Bill Condon said that they are still under negotiations for the soundtrack and have 15 songs to choose from, but no deals have been signed with any artists. He also hinted that there's a good chance that the cast's musically-inclined members would feature on the soundtrack, which leaves chance to Robert Pattinson, Jackson Rathbone, Boo Boo Stewart, Tinsel Korey, and Jamie Campbell Bower. American rock band Evanescence has expressed interest in landing a song on the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Will Hunt, the drummer of the band, said, "I've been screaming for [new song] 'My Heart Is Broken' to land in that, because I think it would fit the story so well". The lead singer of the band, Amy Lee, agreed, adding, "I think that would be awesome, actually". It's notable that the band had attempted to land songs on the Twilight soundtrack, but Summit didn't approve of the songs they presented.

On September 22, 2011, "It Will Rain" by American recording artist Bruno Mars was announced the lead single from the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 soundtrack.

The Breaking Dawn - Part 1 score was released on December 13, 2011.

DVD and Blu-ray
DVD special features include:
 * 6-part making-of documentary (viewable in both standard and PIP modes)
 * Bella and Edward's Personal Wedding Video
 * Jump to... (character specific favorite scenes).
 * Audio commentary by Bill Condon
 * Jacob's Destiny

Second Release
Around the same time of the second Breaking Dawn film came out on DVD and Blu-ray, the first one was re-released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Copy. Unlike the first released Breaking Dawn - Part 1, this one includes seven minutes of deleted scenes.

DVD includes:
 * Both extended and theatrical version of the movie
 * Audio commentary by/with Bill Condon
 * Digital copy of the movie

Trivia

 * Breaking Dawn is the only two-part movie in the series.
 * All the films have all been in a certain tint. Twilight: blue; New Moon: gold; Eclipse: gray; Breaking Dawn Part 1: red; Breaking Dawn Part 2: yellow.
 * Both parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn were filmed as one whole movie over several months.
 * Robert Pattinson described Breaking Dawn - Part 1 as "very, very strange" in the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 special of Entertainment Weekly.
 * According to the wedding invitations, the address of the Cullen house is 420 Woodcroft Avenue, in Forks, WA. Also according to the wedding invitation, the wedding took place on August 13, 2011 at 5:00pm.
 * Kristen Stewart claims that she "would have loved to be puking up blood" during the birth scene.
 * New scenes of Part 1 premiered on July 21, 2011 at the San Diego Comic-Con 2011. The scenes are of Jacob, Carlisle, and Esme talking, Jacob with the rest of the wolf pack, and Bella and Edward on their honeymoon.
 * Sofia Coppola was very interested in directing this project, but she was only willing to direct one part of Breaking Dawn, which Summit Entertainment wanted to split into two parts.
 * A Summit studio official and Stephenie Meyer met with Mark Waters and Gus Van Sant to discuss the possibility of directing.
 * The Twilight franchise is unique in that it prefers using social media for its pre-planning ticket-buying and moviegoing activities. Using the energy of already ongoing conversations, the Twilight franchise is able to generate buzz, and thus Breaking Dawn - Part 1 opened with a strong first weekend.
 * Both an animatronic baby and a three-week-old baby were used in the film. Kristen Stewart preferred working with the real babies because she felt they helped her give a better performance.