Kellan Hosts iD Gum Launch Event in NYC (September 19, 2012)

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ESPN Playbook

ESPN Playbook NEW YORK -- Kellan Lutz performs some daredevil stunts as vampire Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" movie series.

But that's nothing compared to growing up in Iowa and attaching a lawnmower engine to a skateboard.

Lutz, 27, calls it "extreme skateboarding."

"This is pre-'Jackass' days. I just loved going fast. So I started out with Alka-Seltzer and soda water in a bottle and attached it to the skateboard. That didn't do much," Lutz said. "I would try a leaf blower. I was searching for anything that would go fast. Then, the lawnmower engine."

It was all such a rush, Lutz said.

"I lived in a tiny Midwest town, so I was always looking for adventure," said Lutz, who still loves skateboarding today. "I just embrace it all."

That's why Lutz is in such demand these days.

Lutz moved to California to study chemical engineering -- no surprise there -- at Chapman University but decided to pursue acting. He appeared on several TV shows before landing the role of Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" series, with its latest and last installment, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2," hitting theaters in November.

Lutz's character was mauled by a black bear and given a second chance at life after being turned into a vampire.

Lutz joked that while filming the movie he was contracted not to do anything extreme.

"And extreme to them meant running. I won't hurt myself, I thought," Lutz said. "I've never broken a bone in my body. I'm very capable of getting around!"

Playbook did a rapid-fire interview with Lutz, who was in New York recently to celebrate the launch of Stride Gum's new line for kids called iD Gum.

You have another movie, Java Heat, read to launch. How physical was that movie about terrorism?

"I loved it. I got very physical for that role. I was doing some of my own stunts. It was quite demanding."

All this talk in the press is about the on-and-off-and-on-again relationship of "Twilight" costars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. What has been your response when people bring it up?

"Ask them. You've got to talk to them. I don't know anything. It's not that hard for me say that. I honestly have no comment on that situation because I'm not there. Just go ask them."

You've been pretty good about staying out of the paparazzi's radar with your girlfriend, Sharni Vinson. How?

"I was never a wild guy. That's the thing. If you live in New York, and you have friends who have parties, you have to show up. But you won't see pictures of me intoxicated or anything. I sip on cocktails, whiskey and beers. But I never really party hard. You need to live your own life and stop trying to live the industry life."

OK!

Kellan Lutz is ready to jump from one franchise into another.

The affable actor, 27, who plays Edward (Robert Pattinson)’s adopted brother Emmett in the Twilight series, has been shortlisted for a role in the E.L. James erotic thriller that has captured the imaginations of women worldwide.

But first, he has to study up to learn whether he prefers to play wealthy businessman Christian Grey or his adopted brother, Elliot.

“I haven’t read the books,” he confesses this week during the iD gum launch event held in NYC. “I give it all to the fans. They’ve told me ‘you’ve got to be Elliot.’ I think that’s his name. I did some research, and that would be a fun role. I mean, it’s very similar. They told me he’s [got] blonde hair, light eyes, big build and young at heart.”

He adds, “It seems very easy, and very much like my Emmett character. If they want me, I would love to entertain it, and I probably should read the books. It would be fun.”

Luckily, he’s not shy about baring his bod.

“I started modeling, and when I did my Calvin Klein ad, I wasn’t embarrassed. I was more proud. That doesn’t really bother me. We all have bodies!”

Hm, does he prefer to show off his muscles?

“It’s not that I’m happy or into my body. Look, your body’s always going to fluctuate. Right now, I’m probably the skinniest I’ve ever been. I haven’t had time to go to the gym, eat right. I’ve never been on a diet per se, but your body fluctuates.”

He continues, “I just love who I am. I can’t complain, really. I’m healthy, and I’m able to be active.”

Kellan sees another potential bonus in taking on a role in 50 Shades of Grey.

“Hopefully I’ll book a movie where I get a trainer again. That would be great!”

Celebuzz



ShineOnMedia 
(Nothing new same interview as Extra and same footage as The Insider)




Hollywood.com

Hollywood.com Fans who worried that Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 might be the last time we would see a super-powered Kellan Lutz grace the silver screen may not want to throw up their arms in dismay just yet. Talking to Lutz at the iD Gum Launch Event in NYC on Wednesday, Sept. 19, Hollywood.com was assured by the star that his previously announced Tarzan movie is on track — and that he's having a ball playing the classic jungle hero.

Unlike his Twilight character Emmett Cullen, Lutz's Tarzan will be brought to life with performance capture, the same CG technology used to realize Lord of the Rings' Gollum and fully animated films like Polar Express and The Adventures of Tintin. 

"It’s kind of like acting in live theater, so you have to be expressive," says Lutz. "Normal acting, you can be somewhat expressionless, [but] that won’t register. You have to be bigger. You have to take your beats. If I’m wrestling an alligator… 'Grab the knife!' — STAB! Versus like doing something so quick and fluid." 3D animated performance capture also speeds up the acting process. According to Lutz, the experience is "like having 60 cameras at one time, so when you do a scene, you only do a scene twice because they have every angle.”

While Lutz loves the technology-infused style of acting, he didn't audition for Tarzan knowing he'd end up in a one-piece, swinging from vines that would only be created after the fact. "When I auditioned, I wore my Conan wig, because I was testing for Conan the Narbarian at the time," says Lutz. "So I had this wig that I made for that so I wore that and then I walked into the audition in my underwear." (Remember his 2010 Calvin Klein X underwear campaign?) Only after his audition was he told the film would be animated. Unfortunately, his beefed up physical presence — what you might expect from a Tarzan — wouldn't work. "They’re like, ‘No can you actually slim down so you can fit in the suit,’" Lutz explained.

Lutz has moved on to his next project, but he'll always be game to talk about his time on Twilight. Like most of the cast, he's tight-lipped on what we'll see in Breaking Dawn — Part 2's grand finale, but he didn't reveal how he passed the time on set. Inspired by a scene in Part 2 where Emmett arm wrestles a newly-vampiric Bella, Lutz held a few strength competitions of his own. "When you are on set, you kind of get bored easily and I arm wrestled everyone, even Ashley [Greene]. She’ll kick me in the shin to beat me. We have fun. It’s a really tight-knit family.” From the sound of it, Lutz didn't have a problem besting his costars (sorry, Mr. Lautner).

As with most young stars, Lutz is already looking ahead to the future. With a vampire and a classic literary figure under his belt, the actor dreams of playing a superhero. “There’s Aquaman. There’s Flash," says Lutz. "Honestly, He-Man. I just grew up with my He-Man tighty whities. Or Aquaman because I love being in the water.” Any could be a perfect match for the physical star — just as long as he remembers to check if they're animated before beefing up.

Extra

 The Insider

The Insider caught up with Kellan Lutz in New York City last night at the launch event for iD gum, a new gum from Stride made just for teens. The gum comes in a magnetic closing folding pack, each pack featuring one of 18 pieces of original artwork from young emerging artists.

"What really is captivating is the artists who have worked hard hours and really showed their creativity in making the packs of gum," Kellan says. "There's some really cool designers."

Of course, Kellan was also happy to talk about the highly anticipated final film of the Twilight franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, where he confirmed that there will definitely be a bonus scene for fans following the credits of the movie!

"They're gonna love it, and Bill [Bill Condon, the director] even told me that, stay for the credits -- there's a really special thing happening."

 He also dished that Condon took some liberties with the original book written by Stephenie Meyer.

"Every film's been building and building, and Bill Condon really had a great idea with ending the series with Breaking Dawn 2, and just adding a little more flavor to parts of the book that weren't there, but he elaborated more on," he says. "I think the fans are really going to enjoy it."

Clearly, he could only be talking about Breaking Dawn's original ending -- i.e. the most anti-climactic battle in the history of literature.

 Check out the video to hear which Twilight cast-members Kellan still remains close to, nearly two years after filming has wrapped.

 E! Online

Twilight may have made Kellan Lutz a household name, but that doesn't mean he isn't looking forward to the end of the blockbuster franchise.

As you all know, the last Twi-flick, Breaking Dawn: Part 2, will finally hit theaters on Nov. 16.

"It's bittersweet," the hunky actor, 27, told me yesterday while he was in New York hosting the launch of iD gum. "I'm really excited for it and I always enjoy doing the premieres and the press junket.

Which other Twilight stars are "really sad" about end of franchise?

"We worked our butts off, but it's great to close a chapter on one franchise and hopefully I can start a new franchise with Tarzan," Lutz added.

Lutz stars in an upcoming motion capture 3-D reboot of the classic tale of a boy raised by apes in the African jungle. Spencer Locke, best known for playing K-Mart in the Resident Evil franchise, costars as Jane.

And while we've long admired Lutz for his muscly bod (can't wait to see him in the loincloth!), he may not be in as fine form these days as he usually is. Paparazzi have regularly snapped him shirtless near his L.A.-area home. "I live at the beach and I go to the beach so I'm going to be topless," Lutz said. "But if anything now, I haven't worked out in months. I'm the skinniest I've been in years."

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