Interview: Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz

Interview: Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz

M. Night Shyamalan, the director of such films as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, has a new film out this week: The Last Airbender, based on the hit Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The Daily had a chance to sit down with two of the film’s stars, Jackson Rathbone (better known as Twilight’s Jasper) and Nicola Peltz. Rathbone plays Sokka, a teenage Water Tribe warrior; and Peltz plays Katara, Sokka’s younger sister.

Peltz is still a young actress. She has only appeared in two films so far: 2006’s Deck the Halls, and 2008’s Harold. Rathbone, on the other hand, has been seen in a number of films, most notably in the Twilight movies as Jasper.

Rathbone, who has been compared to Orlando Bloom by many critics, is tickled at the association. Before he made his break into acting, Rathbone made a living busking on the beaches in California.

“I consider myself blessed to be doing two series,” he said, referring to the Twilight series and The Last Airbender, the first film in a projected trilogy. “It’s a dream come true, and a far cry from my days in California.”

The Last Airbender’s source material is a family show on Nickelodeon and therefore has its share of juvenile humor thrown into the mix. Rathbone wanted to assure fans that the humor was not entirely gone, but it had certainly changed.

“We talked about growing up the film versus the series,” he said.

There are moments of levity in the film, but a goal of the production was to ground it more in reality and to mature the humor.

The movie features a number of action sequences, and to prepare the actors for their parts, they were sent to a boot camp to learn their characters’ style of fighting.

“It was pretty intense,” said Peltz.

Airbender was shot on location in Greenland. The cast and crew were often flown to set by helicopter, since many of the locations were in remote areas. As it turns out, Rathbone was especially popular with the Greenlandic children on set.

“They loved him so much,” said Peltz. “I have so many great pictures.”

During the production process, Shyamalan told reporters that he did not want to make The Last Airbender without Peltz. This was the first time he had made such a comment since casting Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense.

“It means the world to me,” said Peltz about the comment. “For him to say that is so amazing.”

When speaking of Shyamalan, both Rathbone and Peltz were impressed by his directorial style and command over the set. Rathbone, who hopes to direct his own films someday and is currently planning on filming a short this summer, considers himself a cinephile and even compared Shyamalan to the great Stanley Kubrick.

“It was great how Night [Shyamalan] brought the crew together,” he said. “It was kind of Kubrickian. I really admire how it all worked out.”

“The energy on set was amazing,” Peltz said. “It felt like a family.”

Added Rathbone, “Everyone formed special bonds. It was intense at times, but also really fun.”

Their praise for Shyamalan continued when they discussed their favorite scenes.

“Night likes to hold these long shots,” Rathbone said. “There was an eight-minute scene with lots of dialogue and then some action. To be in a shot like that was a dream come true.”

Peltz was also nervous about the scene, even though her part was minimal.

“There’s a lot of people in this scene,” she said. “Not just one or two. I had, like, one line, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, don’t mess this up.’”

Peltz’s choice scene is one that is also featured in the film’s theatrical trailer.

“My favorite scene was one in Greenland with lanterns,” she explained. “There’s no dialogue, and I thought it was beautiful.”

When asked how fans of the series will react to the film, Rathbone was enthusiastic about its reception.

“I think they’ll be really excited,” he said.

Peltz, who has seven siblings - two who are younger than her and love the cartoon - was equally excited.

“At the end of the film,” she said, “you really can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Source => Daily UW / Via =>Jackson Rathbone Source