Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Episodic ChaosEdward Cullen, life, movies, music and finding the 'One'.
By Eric Yorkie
Edward Cullen's impending lead role in Liam Berty's next film project, has already been widely touted as destined for Oscar domination. Such is the power of social media and word-of-mouth marketing. The movie won't even start shooting until February next year.
'It's basically a movie studio's wet-dream,' Edward describes the buzz about a film that has everybody talking, as we sit in his Vancouver hotel penthouse suite.
Dressed casually in jeans and a brand name hoodie, scuffed Nikes and three-day growth, Edward Cullen would appear to be the least likely actor to play the character Nicholas Mason in Liam Berty's adaptation of the bestselling book written by Stefan Meister, Midday Moon.
Since Edward's first Hollywood film broke box-office records and firmly pushed his popularity to the top rankings on IMDB, every notable movie director has twenty-four-year-old Edward Cullen on their want list.
Liam Berty was no exception, and was quoted in Vanity Fair, stating 'Edward Cullen is the perfect Nick Mason. I would have shelved the film if he wasn't available. There's no other actor that could bring this character to life. The silver screen was made for Edward. I don't care about his previous films; he has a rare presence and a distinct masculine beauty. His acting talent will blow the audience away. He better clear a spot atop of his piano for his Oscar statuette and his Grammy!"
High praise from one of the top ten Hollywood Directors. Based on worldwide Box office earnings, Berty is on par with James Cameron and Peter Jackson.
But it hasn't been breezy for Edward Cullen. In fact, it's been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows over the past few months.
An accident on the set of the sequel to 'Cliff Diving' left him unconscious with a head injury and a broken leg. The subsequent paparazzi and media frenzy caused chaos at Vancouver General Hospital. The crazy Twitter storm caused a global panic. Then came the announcement that Edward Cullen had landed the lead in the most anticipated movie of the decade. Add a whirlwind, fairy-tale romance that—if you read any tabloid, gossip magazine, blog or fansite—seems either too good to be true, a cliche 'musician finds his muse' or simply made up 'Fake News'.
More recently, Edward Cullen confirmed his engagement and pre-released his song 'Episode'; which landed on the Billboard top 10 singles chart in the first week, an extraordinary feat for a ballad, considering the present Top 10 notable hits by Beyonce, Katie Perry and Justin Bieber.
His life is like a meteor, rocketing through the atmosphere at high speed. The man can do no wrong.
But isn't that just expected when you live the life of a Hollywood actor and you're a talented musician/composer as well? Seems like the lives of celebrities are as glamorous as we mere mortals believe?
Well maybe not.
When intimate pictures of Rosalie Hale were leaked by her talent manager, Royce King, and revelations were exposed of blackmail, abuse, embezzlement and secret, underhanded deals in the Hollywood movie industry, Edward Cullen was inadvertently pulled into that web. Scandals and sex-tapes get a lot of media attention.
Do you stay silent, or do you make your view known?
Edward Cullen didn't stay silent. He championed the shocked minority of fellow actors to stand with Rosalie Hale and rather than pity her, the victim, saw to hold the perpetrator accountable. The fallout has seen an irreversible blackening of several big Hollywood names and a global public shaming of those big names.
"I will always support Rosalie Hale and I won't stand by while the misogynist bullies in this industry try to get away with abhorrent behavior. We must keep exposing the systematic problems that enable gender inequality and sexual abuse. I've called on all States to support the amendments prohibiting the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual misconduct cases. This is someone's life we're talking about. The mental health of a person who was abused, should not be ignored."
With the Hale/King scandal still fresh, and multiple spotlights shined on gender inequality in Hollywood, not to mention skewed and distasteful agendas and underhanded tricks by movie executives to use any means possible to push the sale of movie tickets in this age of social media. The question remains; How far will they go and who will they hurt to line studio executives' pockets with filthy amounts of cash?
In Edward's words:
"We've never been more able to make our distaste at something heard, and the consensus is that the twisted media cycle that has evolved with the prevalence of social media is a necessary evil. It seems we're constantly bombarded with information and not much fact-checking. Yet with any industry, when there's demand, there will be a product. Gossip sites are fed because the public demand to intrude upon the private lives of actors, musicians, and politicians. They feel that they have ownership of them. They are voyeurs with a smartphone and a social media app. They want to share, post, status update and comment. The Paparazzi reforms in L.A. have been necessary, but even those amended changes really don't go far enough. It's the power we have at our fingertips. I am very conflicted in my views about social media. If someone wants to call out corruption or call out to the Global community to act against Climate Change or something that is constructive and essential to help humanity, I'm all for it. If it's a troll commenting or deriding someone about a personal relationship, that is none of their business, I can't really get my head around it. Why? Why do people feel the need to make comments about other people's lives if that person doesn't live up to perceived expectations? People follow celebrities with a kind of motherly or fatherly concern, or in some cases, like a jealous lover. That's the terrible fact of today. I'm an actor and I have to be in the spotlight as part of my job, that's true. However, I don't abide that paparazzi photos of me are used to sell fake stories to my fans. I think I'm entitled to some privacy. My fiancé and I deserve time to be together without the prying eyes of the media."
Edward Cullen's fiancé is Isabella Swan.
So who is she, and why—out of the hundreds of requests for media interviews—was I chosen to get the first official interview with Hollywood's 'it' couple?
I fully disclose that our meeting was not by chance. This interview was not a deal between a journalist and an agency for publicity or a scoop guaranteed to allow a magazine publisher to triple advertising space in its issue. Rather, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen agreed to speak to me, because I became Bella Swan's stepbrother when my mother married her father in a ceremony in a sleepy logging town on Thanksgiving weekend.
I also need to point out that the reason you are reading this story on the internet and not in a glossy, overpriced magazine, was because Bella Swan stipulated that this article should be available for free, online. The images are taken by photographer Angela Weber, a friend of Bella and Edward. Angela has gifted these photos under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License (cc-by-sa), royalty free. No slick production values, no advertising, no paid advertorial from clothing, makeup, or fragrance sponsors, no snazzy graphic design, nothing to dilute what needs to be shown. Simply some images of these two extraordinary people.
Bella Swan is an author, she won a writing prize, based on her writing talent, and will be published. She will sell her book of fiction; she will collect royalties from the sale of that book. The more copies she sells, the more money she makes, and the more money her Publisher will make.
Edward Cullen gets paid as well. He takes a role in a movie project and gets a fee, and some of his contracts state he will get a percentage of the box-office takings. That's not hidden information, that's out there and yes, both Edward and Bella will also receive mechanical royalties from the song they wrote together; Episode, which has already achieved multi-platinum status. In record industry speak, that means it's been streamed more than 15 million times on music streaming services and that figure doesn't include the millions of people who have paid for a permanent download.
Bella Swan greets me with an excited hug. Her cheeks are flushed pink and her hair a mess of curls haphazardly pulled up into a bun. She was running late to our meeting, having spent the day with a friend, a mom with a newborn.
To meet her is like a breath of fresh air, for want of a better analogy. She's just a normal, unaffected girl. She's different from all other women I've ever met and presents as an intensely private person. She has a quiet, kind of shy nature. She's not all up in your face. She's petite, she has a luminous yet pale complexion that seems at odds with her upbringing in sunny Sydney, Australia...there's something about her that just sits with you. I'd love to get inside her head because I think she thinks differently to most people. You can almost see her analyzing things, yet she's creative and articulate. It's very easy to see how any person would instantly connect with her openness and honesty and yes, her altruism. It's that simple.
So how does a young woman from Australia, who never lived in the spotlight, and has never been a co-writer on a song before, cope with the intrusion of privacy impeded upon her by the celebrity life of her Hollywood-actor fiancé?
"I hate that Edward has to be on show all the time. He can't even go to the beach without being photographed. I think he handles the attention so very stoically, but I've been with him when there was no chance of a camera for kilometers, and I can tell you, he's a different person altogether, and that person is the one I fell in love with."
Any publicity is good publicity, right? I mean, celebrities in the movie business know what is expected, they shouldn't be entitled to a private life, right? When we discuss the fact that Edward has to be in the spotlight and his fans do expect some level of perceived access to his life, Bella laments:
"In the words of Madonna 'We are living in a material world'... people work, they create, they get paid, or they provide a service. We'll just say they make a living. So, about that...because they are in the public eye, or choose not to be as may be the case, is any one person not entitled to privacy over another person? Should some people be subjected to ire and slander, simply because their job choice puts them in the spotlight? I accept that Edward is famous, but he totally gives his time to legitimate media for publicity under contractual agreements. His profession is in front of the camera, he has a right to disconnect from that and not have to live his job 24/7."
Some celebrities have been able to deflect, yet some choose to openly engage with their audiences on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Well, you already know that's not how Edward Cullen feels. He claims he is entitled to a private life, and he has decided to not engage with his fans on social media.
'I want to protect Bella from the yelling and shouting that comes with the paparazzi following me around. It's intimidating, and sometimes it's really scary. This kind of intrusion happens online as well, not directly, because I try not to look at it all, but I know it's there. I'm in love and there are things I want to do with Bella, like take her to my favorite bar in L.A., or walk with her along Venice Beach. Each time I've tried, we've been followed and harassed, not just by the paps, but by people who recognize me and post it for the World to see. I hate it. I shouldn't have to hide her away to protect her. The online abuse is just as unacceptable. I can't allow that negativity to constantly bombard us. I won't.'
I should also state that I met Edward Cullen before he was an actor. We attended the same High School. We were not in the same social circles, but I did work on the Yearbook with him all those years ago. I remember I thought that Edward was a lucky bastard. He's the guy at school that you couldn't really dislike. He was handsome (cool hair, no acne, bright smile). He was courteous to the teachers and athletic without being a jock. He wasn't overly popular, but all the school knew he was a competent baseball player. I also think many of our cohort would remember the novelty of Edward having a fraternal twin. I asked him, why become an actor?
"I fell into acting because I wanted a job where I could 'pretend' to be someone else. A job where I could act out another life, and at the end of the day, walk away. On reflection, I always knew I was looking for something. You know the feeling...like you forgot your keys, your phone, or your watch…but something more profound.'
I didn't really become an actor for fame. It was the lure of money and to challenge myself, see if I could hone a craft. I was always so in awe of my dad because he spent years of study to become a doctor. I'd like to think my acting was my study and it's evolving based on the character I need portray. Acting is a fun gig most of the time. I do get to travel. I get to pretend. I also spend my downtime writing music, and I'm constantly surrounded by creative, inspiring people."
Whether for money or fame, the drive to succeed was surrounding him since he went for his first audition. In fact, Edward's star quality has seen his career just go from strength-to-strength.
With the pre-release of the song Episode, which is the feature song from the highly anticipated soundtrack to 'Cliff Diving 2', co-written with his now fiancé, I talked to Edward about his life now, and how the early release of the song has affected him, if at all:
"My life is like a television show. Each episode a balance of drama, miscommunication, money, sex, music, movies, celebrity. But the credits are going to roll one day, and at the end of it, I'll have my family. Meeting Bella has changed my focus. You only get one life. I can honestly say that mine will be as authentic as I can make it."
When I ask if the name of his song 'Episode' was chosen in reflection, or in comparison to how he views his life as a soap opera, he states.
"Bella named the song. Before she wrote the lyrics the music was just 'composition number one'. Back then I never really dissected the lyrics and the meaning in detail. I just knew that they complemented my music perfectly. It's only been the last few weeks that the actuality of the words Bella wrote have resonated so much with how our lives have changed. Bella still gets embarrassed when people tell her how amazing the song is, her words are. She's just a genuine and humble person. I can't imagine my life without her."
When I asked Bella, "Why 'Episode'?" she replied:
"The moment I heard the piano, I was entranced, kind of in a surreal state of consciousness. I'd had some wine, and I'd had a few late nights writing, so I thought my mental and physical exhaustion had some type of effect on the way those words came out and onto the page. The way I heard the piano, how each note mirrored my emotions. It was sad, but...hopeful. I think it reflected the way I was feeling. I was jet-lagged, away from home, in a strange and completely opulent environment. I was so far out of my comfort zone. I felt the beauty of the song. I felt the inspiration in each shiver that traveled up my arms in goosebumps. I didn't even know it was Edward at the time. I didn't see his face. I was completely blown away by the song. 'Episode' was a great description of how I felt the next morning when I transcribed the words. Edward's music had such a profound effect on me."
And this is the core of what you feel whether in the same room as Bella and Edward or talking to them independently. There is this bond between them. You can almost sense it, like a ribbon of ethereal unseen light. I can't accurately describe it, but it's there. I've been in a room with people who are in love. You can witness love between two people, but with Bella and Edward, it's something more intense and a little disconcerting. I suppose to quote Edward Cullen, 'it's what two people feel and project when they're 'soulmates'. That's how he describes his love for Bella, and he does it completely unapologetically, like he's talking about the Yankees game. Fact, plain and simple.
And while that may sound strange, and if I was reading this, I would probably scoff as well, but no. I believe it, because in a weird way I can sense it and absorb it when I'm in a room with them.
Originally, my interview was going to be a profile piece, digging into every detail of their lives, and interrogating them about what they will do now, moving forward to Edward filming with Liam Berty and Bella finishing her novel and having it published. I wanted to delve into their day-to-day lives, what they talk about, what they do, how they cope.
In the end I couldn't really do that type of a piece, because in asking those questions, knowing how much they value their privacy, it felt weird and intrusive of me, and maybe, speaking to them helped me to firm up my resolve, because let's face it, even though I'm not a teenage fangirl of Edward Cullen, I have a perverse curiosity when it comes to the lives of celebrities.
Will you read every word I write? I fear not. In this day and age, if I'm not communicating what you want to read your eye will travel (or scroll) until you see what you want to read about, the name Edward, am I right?
This doesn't offend me. But it does point out how fickle we all are. Does anyone remember a time when they would read each word, re-read, reflect, think?
Now it's all rush, a scramble for information, move on. The reason why the paparazzi are making a literal 'killing' in this world, is that visually, we can dissect a photo in less than 13 milliseconds. Yes, that quickly; with the swipe of a finger - NEXT! The written word has lost its appeal unless it's 280 characters or less.
However, if I was to provide a picture now, say of Edward Cullen, how long would you stare? Five, fifteen, twenty seconds, before you tweet, share, copy and save, or Pin it? Edward's looks are beyond the average, and that is one of the reasons we don't question his suitability to be up on the big screen, regardless of his impeccable skills as an actor.
Same goes for my description of Bella Swan. Maybe 99% of you have already made a judgement about her, love her, hate her, envy her? What I say, will that make a difference to your perception? Would that love or hate be tarnished with jealousy (she is going to marry Edward Cullen after all), or hate, unjustified, for any number of reasons; you don't like her hair, you've never seen a picture of her smiling. Ironic how so many of us can be so quick to judge and dismiss.
Bella Swan knows. She knows what she's getting herself into, but how can she not. Since her sudden appearance and statement that she was Edward Cullen's girlfriend, outside Vancouver General Hospital all those months ago, the media have tried to find out more about her. They published her high school pictures, they interviewed her closest friends and tracked down her high school crush.
No one that knows Bella Swan has had a bad thing to say about her. Words like lovely, compassionate, talented, humble… then there's beautiful, complex, whimsical.
Jessica Stanley (proclaims herself as Bella's life-long friend), was quoted in the Australian media as saying "Bella is an adorable dag**. She can be a bit nuts sometimes. She has weird ideas, but she's harmless. For as long as I can remember she would always be living in her head. Thank God she started writing, or she would have been carted off to the looney bin years ago!"
** a 'dag' in Australian slang is an 'affectionate' insult for someone that's unfashionable, amusing, quirky and a likeable type of person.
Bella laughs at that. "Jessica was my sounding board when—as a teenager—I had an unreciprocated crush on the handsome, popular boy at school. Hormones and peer pressure, what teenager didn't experience that?"
That popular boy was artist Riley Biers. He credits Bella Swan as the reason he's still alive today, after a horrific motorcycle accident that nearly cost him mobility.
"Bella's belief in me gave me the strength to recover. You'll never meet anyone like her. I hope Edward Cullen realizes what he has." - Riley Biers.
Whether you agree or not, whether you want to know someone, or you are happy with the fact that they can be whomever you choose to believe them to be. Social media can make us all judge, jury, and executioner at the expense of someone's well-being.
I wanted to share with you my thoughts about a twenty-four-year-old woman, currently engaged to the most sought-after actor on the planet.
I see Bella Swan as the little sister I never had. Her cute insecurity contrasts against the fierce nature she shows, protecting her fiancé. Bella shows unbelievable courage in the face of adversity, all for the incurable sake of love.
Edward Cullen is exactly how he projects himself in interviews. He's funny, intelligent, and attentive. He has a way of making you feel seen and heard. He has a rare physical presence, let's say the combination of his calm voice, confidence and articulation is out of the ordinary. He has a masculine tenderness that can be unnerving and yet fascinating. He is clearly in love and it's unpretentious and authentic.
And love is the key point here. To be cliché, the power of love, in all forms, is truly a gift to be cherished and yet, it seems people have lost their ability to see love, respect love, embrace love. It's what we all need to experience in our lives. Humanity without love, is a sad and lonely place. Is it only those that have not experienced this type of connection to another person, the ones that troll, deride, and negate the experiences of other people, either because they are jealous, sad, or alone?
Judge or don't, read or don't, dismiss, share, rubbish, or praise, take to social media and write what you will.
Believe or refute.
That is the power you yield as a reader, a fan, or a hater, but please note that reader comments for this post have been disabled.
~THE END~