EW just released two gorgeous outtakes of Jackson & Ashley from their feature in the magazine this week. Enjoy!

Gallery Link: Photoshoot: Set 003

Ashley:
Alice doesn’t seem to fight like the other vampires. What makes her different?

”Alice is lithe, like a dancer, so we did much more of a Cirque du Soleil spin on Alice’s fighting, which was really cool. I grew up with a martial-arts background, plus I did acrobatics and tae kwon do. It was great to get back to that world.”

Jackson:
You’re Southern like your character, yet we didn’t hear much of the accent until this movie.

”In the first films he doesn’t have much dialogue, so we pulled it back since he’s supposed to be a high school kid [in Washington] and you can’t have a Texas accent. It’s only when he’s barking orders and leading an army that he’s comfortable and the accent comes out. It was definitely fun to be able to let down the blocks that Jasper puts up to keep himself sane in the vegetarian vampire way of life. I finally let the accent go a little bit.”

Ashley Greene has a way of making everything seem easy. Effortlessly chic, she possesses a raw acting talent that seems as natural as breathing. She advanced from total obscurity to the cover of Vanity Fair with such little fuss it’s as if it was delivered to her on a platter.
She was a complete unknown two years ago when she landed the role of saintly vampire Alice Cullen in Twilight, the first in a series of films adapted from the best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer, which has so far grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

She reprises her role in the third instalment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. At 23, Greene is poised to step up to the Hollywood A-list, and the world is about to start paying attention.

Tae kwon do, kick-boxing, baseball… I’m prepared for anything.

I never rely on luck to get where I want to be. My father taught me that good things happen to you when preparation meets opportunity, so nothing is ever left to chance. I believe in being prepared at all times. In 2007, when I landed the audition for the first Twilight movie, I made sure I knew Stephenie Meyer’s novel back to front and I had a firm handle on the character of Alice Cullen. For the baseball scene in Twilight I learned how to pitch convincingly by training with a professional coach for two weeks. For the new Twilight movie I’m involved in a few fight scenes, so I worked three days a week in Vancouver with a special team who taught me to kick-box. Having learnt tae kwon do in high school, I also worked on sharpening up my Korean martial-art skills. As ever, I was fully prepared.

I got my work ethic from the marines.

More specifically, my dad, who used to be a marine so he’s got incredibly strong discipline. Then he started his own concrete business, building it up from scratch. Like him, I can’t rest up for long before I feel the need to start grafting again. I like to take holidays, but rest is always more pleasurable after a long period of hard work

After a few days of doing nothing, with my phone switched off, I feel I’ve recharged my batteries and I’m ready to dive back into work. It helps that I love what I do, but I’d like to think I’d have a strong work ethic whatever I was doing. I can’t think of anything more boring than being on permanent vacation. I can be skiing in some of the most beautiful places on Earth, but I can only take a few days of that and I’m so ready to get back to work and be creative again.

Education is never wasted.

Before I started acting I studied psychology at public high school – I didn’t get to be a psychologist, but those lessons have been invaluable to me. When I first moved to Hollywood at 17, I was naive and inexperienced. I had to quickly learn how to read people and how to empathise with them. I don’t have my Twilight character’s gift for premonition, but I rely heavily on my own intuition. Psychology has also been useful to me in terms of being able to read a script and get to grips with the personality of the character I’m playing. Education is never wasted.
Read full article.

After playing the rigid vampire Jasper Hale in two Twilight films, Jackson Rathbone (Dread, S. Darko) finally gets to loosen up and rip heads off in Eclipse, the third film in the series. It’s a welcome change for Rathbone, who told me over the weekend how much he relished the chance to dive deeper into Jasper’s past as a human and his violent life with the vampiress Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno).

(Jasper’s present day scenes had their perks as well. Rathbone gets to spar with his fellow Cullens and make heads roll in the fight against the newborns — and though he wouldn’t disclose the exact terms, Rathbone let slip what he did to make sure his kissing scene with co-star Ashley Greene made it into the script.)

It’ll be a busy summer for Rathbone, who also stars in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, opening just days after The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theaters on June 30. But between promoting those films and reuniting with his cast mates to film Breaking Dawn this fall, the aspiring director hopes to shoot a short film and, one day, make his feature directing debut in the horror genre. In the mean time, he’s studying up. Read on to find out which recent gore-fest made Rathbone’s flesh crawl with approval.

So, Jasper Hale finally gets his moment to shine in Eclipse…

I don’t sparkle like a diamond in Eclipse, but Jasper gets to come out a little bit and do what he loves to do, which is to fight. To get in the middle of it all. It’s interesting, because filming Twilight and New Moon I was showing the darker side of Jasper; he seems withdrawn, like a pariah almost. In Eclipse you can see why — his back story is the reason for the way he holds himself, the way he’s kind of afraid of his own instincts.

Is it then gratifying to be able to tell Jasper’s story more fully?

It is! I get to go back in time and show Jasper when he was a human in the Civil War era, and when he gets turned, what his life is like. It was a pleasure. It was fun. I got to ride a horse again; I haven’t been on a horse in like three years so that was pretty exciting.

Did you ride horses for fun, or did you learn for a particular role?

Just for fun. I’m from the South; we tend to ride.

Oh, right. You all have horses, don’t you?

Everybody in the South has a horse, didn’t you hear? [Laughs]

Speaking of the South, we hear Jasper’s drawl really come out more at times during Eclipse.

Yeah, at certain times — it’s one of those things, with Twilight and New Moon there was limited dialogue, and I kind of wanted to keep it to the way I would assume Jasper would carry himself at school, or around a new acquaintance such as Bella, where he wouldn’t reveal himself and would keep his accent in check. He’s already suspicious looking enough at high school to have a Southern accent in Washington. So the more relaxed and comfortable Jasper is, his accent comes out. That’s usually how I find most people’s accents come out, when they’re a little more comfortable and in a natural environment, and Jasper’s natural environment is… warfare.

That’s not the only perceivable change in Jasper in Eclipse — the way he carries himself once the threat of Victoria’s newborn army is known, he’s like a battlefield general preparing for war.

Yup, that’s another thing I was working on with David Slade. One of the things I tried to do in Twilight was to be more of an old school gentleman, the way Jasper carries himself. Very upright and proper, if you will. With the actual warfare on the rise, and having to step back into his old commanding shoes, it was even more upright and more commanding in body presence. It was fun to try to work with that.

Read the rest here

Busy day! Catching up with the various updates, here are photos of Ashley at the Kari Feinstein MTV Style Lounge yesterday. She looked gorgeous as always!

Gallery Link: Kari Feinstein MTV Movie Awards Style Lounge – Day 1- June 3

Ashley has also joined the mark family as their new ambassador. We’re very excited to see her campaign!

Gallery Link: mark New Brand Ambassador – June 4

NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire/ — mark, the beauty and fashion boutique brand of Avon Products, has announced that the brand has signed one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young film actresses, Ashley Greene, as its Brand Ambassador.

“I am thrilled to join the mark family,” said Ashley Greene. “mark has been on my radar not only because of their great fashion and beauty products, but because the brand inspires young women to feel beautiful inside and out. Through this partnership, I’m looking forward to empowering young women to feel confident, pursue their dreams and make their mark in the world — just like I’m making mine.”

In her role as Brand Ambassador, Ashley will represent the mark beauty and fashion portfolio and will appear in print and online advertising, in the mark magalog and on the mark website. She will also be a part of various initiatives in support of the m.powerment by mark campaign, including the brand’s philanthropic effort dedicated to breaking the cycle of dating abuse and partner violence against young women. Ashley’s first mark advertising campaign will be shot by famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier and will debut this fall.

“We are very excited to have Ashley join us as our Brand Ambassador and I look forward to introducing her to our mark Reps,” said Claudia Poccia, Global President of mark. “Ashley is a fashion-forward, beautiful young woman who has solid goals and perseveres until she succeeds. Ashley also shares in our mission to empower young women. It is truly a perfect partnership.”

Stay tuned for the Jackson updates coming up!!!

Here’s a brand new shoot of Jackson for Nylon — we’ll have scans ASAP!

Gallery Link: Set 012

You might know Jackson Rathbone from the Twilight series, where he plays Jasper Hale. And you might know Jackson Rathbone as the rock musician who plays in the band 100 Monkeys. But soon you’ll know him as something else – the sci-fi action hero from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, an adaptation of the Nickelodeon anime cartoon.

Does anyone call you by your real first name, Monroe? I still go by Monroe when I am in trouble with the law.

Which is… often? Very rarely; very rarely. I don’t get so much as a speeding ticket these days but I am a habitual parking violator.

I know M. Night Shyamalan is famous for his secrecy. But what can you tell us about The Last Airbender?
Well I can say it is going to be an amazing action film; it’s got the most incredible CGI. We got ILM working on it, which is Industrial Lights and Magic, and it truly is magic, honestly, at the end of the day. We are shooting on the green screen, we have a character called Appa? Which is a big bison kind of flying bear creature? And that’s me, I’m a big flying bear creature.

Nice try. Okay, no, but I get to ride it.

Not a real flying bear? No, I rode a fuzzy saddle. It was about 15-20 feet off the ground. It’s on this kind of rocking thing… They were moving it, and there is a big green screen behind you. Night’s yelling, “Okay, you’re flying through the air now!” You’re like, “Okay, I am flying through the air now.” And oh yeah, I had to be flying through the air, and no, I wasn’t on any drugs.

Maybe there was good liquor on set? I can hold my liquor! I’m from the South, come on now. You know, I love Jameson Whiskey, and I love Bud Light, I keep it pretty simple. I was actually in a bar recently, and they only had three beers on tap, and it was Bud with lime on tap! I had to give the bar tender a little, you know, guff for that one. Are you kidding me? You don’t even have Bud Light on tap? You don’t even have Lonestar on tap? You only have Bud Light Lemon-Lime?!

I hope you lamented about your lime beer problems during your Last Airbender audition. Oh, I didn’t have to audition. I actually had my part delivered by an owl, followed by a list of magical school supplies… No, no, I did the normal auditioning process. Actually I had auditioned for M. Night’s The Happening before… then I met Night and we hit it off.

I heard in an M. Night movie, you don’t ever see the full script…. At the audition you only get the lines you’re gonna say, but this movie in particular based off the Nickelodeon animated series, so it’s a departure from Night’s thrillers. It’s about finding the hero within against all odds, and it’s got some of the most incredible action sequences, with all of these characters being able to manipulate the elements and being able to throw fire and throw water to block it… However, my character only gets to throw a boomerang. That’s not as rock n’ roll as being able to bend water.

So you can’t bend water. What else can’t you do? Iron. You want to watch me iron, you’ll see how bad I am. I like my clothes wrinkled anyway, so it’s fine. But one of my band mates taught me a trick; his name is Lawrence Abrams and he’s a jazz musician; he’s about 56 years old. He taught me the old put it on a coat hanger and put it in the shower and let it steam up a bit. First time I did it though, I put it in the shower, and that was wrong. You don’t put it in the shower because it gets wet. See? I learned.

You’re an actor with a band, 100 Monkeys. Do you think you’ll do anything to combine those two passions?
Obviously, I’m going to star in Twilight the musical. The scary thing is, I bet they’re totally making one, like, right now!

Source

Seventeen has just released outtakes from their cover shoot with Ashley along with some quotes. Enjoy!

Gallery Link: Set 048

Ashley’s Animalistic Side
“In Twilight and New Moon, Alice acts so human it’s easy to forget she’s a vampire. By Eclipse, she begins to show a darker side because — regardless of her demeanor — she’s still an animal and she’ll do absolutely anything to protect her family.”

Her High School Regret
“I wish that in high school I would have realized sooner that it’s not worth all the time and effort to hate someone or think about how you’re going to hurt someone’s feelings.”

Ashley Exposed
“My privacy was invaded and it was a hard thing for me to go through. There are all these girls that look up to me, so hopefully they will take that and look at it and learn from me that things can get into the wrong people’s hands and they can use them to hurt you.”

The Edward Allure
“Girls always want what they can’t have and what’s dark and mysterious.”

Her Dating Rules
“If something is bothering you with a guy, it’s better to say something and hurt at the moment then to stay in something and let someone treat you less than you should be treated.”

Movie Momentos
“I like to keep the first original script, the one I’ve destroyed, written all over and put notes on. It reminds me of where I was at the beginning of the film and where I was at the end.”

Make sure to pick up the issue when it hits stands!

Deals have been settled and both Jackson and Ashley will be returning for Breaking Dawn:

Los Angeles, CA May 19, 2010 – Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Elizabeth Reaser, and Nikki Reed will all return as members of the Cullen Family in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN. These cast members join Billy Burke as Charlie Swan.

Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. The project is currently being written by Melissa Rosenberg with Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer producing. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN is slated to be released November 18, 2011.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

The family of vampires, to which the leading male character Edward Cullen belongs, is comprised of Facinelli as Carlisle, Greene as Alice, Lutz as Emmett, Rathbone as Jasper, Reaser as Esme, and Reed as Rosalie.

The third film in the franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is due in theaters on June 30, 2010.

About the TWILIGHT film series
The TWILIGHT film series stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson and tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together…even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. The action-packed, modern day vampire love story TWILIGHT, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception. The second installment of the film franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON was released November 20, 2009. The franchise has grossed over $1.1 billion in worldwide box office ticket sales to date.

The cover is now up in the gallery, as well as a new BTS pic.

Gallery Links:
June 2010: Seventeen
At Seventeen Magazine

Ashley Greene is looking lovely on the cover of Seventeen magazine’s June/July 2010 issue, on newsstands Tuesday, May 25!

Here’s what the 23-year-old actress had to share:

On whether she was ever attracted to Robert Pattinson: “When I met Rob, I didn’t think twice about him. He’s really attractive, but that chemistry wasn’t there. He also doesn’t understand girls. He gets a lot of attention from them, but he doesn’t quite understand it because before Twilight, he was just a guy from Harry Potter.”

On whether she and co-star Kellan Lutz have hooked up: “I’ve definitely thought about it. He and I met through our agent five years ago, and we’ve been best friends ever since – and filming together has made us even closer. He’s one of my best friends, but if we were going to be romantic, we would have done it years ago! I like having him to talk to about other guys to get that male perspective. I really cherish our relationship, so I wouldn’t want to mess that up by dating.”

Thanks so much to our affiliate Nikki Reed Central for the heads up on this new Q&A with Jackson. Enjoy!

Gallery Link: Set 014

While Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are wrapped up in the Twi-limelight, their co-star Jackson Rathbone is zooming along under the radar, carefully crafting his career as an actor, producer and musician. We sat down with the 25-year-old rising star to talk about his roles in not one but two of this summer’s biggest movies. First up, he reprises his role as Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and then stars in M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasy adventure, The Last Airbender.

SNMag: Tell us about your role in The Last Airbender…
Jackson Rathbone: I play a young warrior named Sokka who, along with his sister, discovers a mysterious boy trapped in the ice; they free him and end up on a quest to save the world. It’s a very fantastical story that originated out of the Nickelodeon cartoon and now it’s a live action epic fantasy.

SNMag: Did you have to do any training or physical prep for the role?
JR: There was a good two months of kung fu training in LA and then continued training while we were filming. But it was really fun, I loved it. That’s one of the really cool things about being an actor: you get paid to learn kung fu!

SNMag: What kind of stunts did you have to do?
JR: Mostly it was hand to hand combat. My character doesn’t have any special abilities…so I’d do a lot of scenes where I fight off guys with swords and spears and all I had to fight with was the boomerang. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, even when it’s a plastic sword coming at you.

SNMag: How was your experience working with M. Night Shyamalan?
JR: It was amazing. The Sixth Sense is one of my favorite thrillers and I love Night’s other work. So it felt like great as an actor to be working with somebody I’ve respected and admired for years.

SNMag: What was your initial reaction when you were cast in Twilight?
JR: It’s a great book series and Jasper has such a lush backstory so I was just really excited. But then I started getting calls from my cousins and they were even more excited than me so that kind of upped the ante – playing a character that my family knows and are excited about seeing me portray on the big screen.
Read full article.

The family that slays together, stays together.

At least that’s the case for the Cullen brood.

In “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which hits theaters June 30, Seattle is ravaged by a series of killings caused by an army of newborn vampires controlled by revenge-seeking bloodsucker Victoria. To combat the threat against Bella ( Kristen Stewart) in this third installment of the franchise, the Cullens must band together and join forces with their sworn enemies, the wolf pack.

“The whole family is in a vulnerable position because of the love we have for Bella,” said Elizabeth Reaser, who plays matriarch Esme Cullen. “If she’s not OK, we’re not OK.”

In the past, we’ve seen the clan hit baseballs so hard that they can play only in a thunder storm, to block out the sound. And we’ve watched the buttoned-up human imposters welcome Bella into their home as the human girlfriend of one of their own — the handsome Edward.

“This time around, you get to see their true vampire-ness,” said Peter Facinelli, who plays head vampire Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the series based on the bestselling books by Stephenie Meyer.

What can we expect from the pale-faced Cullen family (which includes the Hale siblings) this go around? Here’s what the actors say audiences can expect from the story and their characters:

Facinelli: “For me, as Carlisle, it’s an exciting portion of the series. Carlisle is very compassionate and he has a lot of killing to do in this movie. I joke, after he kills the bad guys, he says he’s sorry in his head. And, you know, he’s calm and level-headed. He’s the rock of the family. He usually has a lot of information to draw from because Alice can see into the future and Edward can read minds. In this third movie, he’s not getting that information. Neither one of his sources are working, so he’s kind of flying blind.”

Ashley Greene (as Alice Cullen): “Yeah, she’s delicate and prissy at times, but Alice gets a little edgier with each installment. And with these vampires messing with her family and the people she loves, you’re going to see a bit of her toughness. It’s a reminder to the audience that even though we restrain ourselves at times, we’re still vampires and we’re dangerous. You’re going to see the dark, dangerous side of Alice.”

Jackson Rathbone (as Jasper Hale): “You’ll get to see a little bit of the root of what makes Jasper so withdrawn and quiet in the Cullen family. Fans will get some of Jasper’s back story in ‘Eclipse.’ I got to wear the whole Civil War gear and everything. There’s a bit of the softer and darker side of Jasper in this film.”

You can read the article in its entirety here at the L.A. Times.