Yahoo News Taylor Swift Was Turned Down as a ‘Twilight’ Extra for Being Too Famous
Taylor Swift almost met Bella Swan.
The “You Belong With Me” singer asked “Twilight: New Moon” director Chris Weitz to appear in the 2009 film as an extra. Weitz, however, turned her down, saying that Swift’s superstar presence would be distracting in the franchise installment starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
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“The craziest one of all those was to hear that Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard, and actually Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time and he said, ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie — not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard,'” Weitz revealed during “The Twilight Effect with Ashley Greene and Melanie Howe” podcast. “‘She would be someone at the cafeteria or the diner or whatever, but she just wants to be in this movie.'”
Swift was also dating “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner at the time before calling it quits in December 2009. The duo met while filming “Valentine’s Day.”
“New Moon” director Weitz continued, “The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift walks onto the screen, for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything. I kick myself for it too, because I was like, ‘Wow, I could’ve been hanging out with Taylor Swift. We could have been friends.'”
He joked, “She must have been like, ‘Who is this jerk?’ But sometimes you make decisions thinking this is for the best of the film.”
Grammy winner Swift went on to star in “Cats” and “New Girl.” The “Folklore” singer is also appearing in David O. Russell’s upcoming caper “Amsterdam” opposite Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Set in the 1930s, “Amsterdam” follows a trio of pals who witness a murder and become suspects themselves as they try to figure out what really is going on. A sneak peek at the feature showed Swift tearing up at a funeral.
Swift isn’t the only multi-platinum recording artist to be overlooked for a role given their off-screen gravitas. Harry Styles reportedly was “desperate” to portray Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” before Austin Butler secured the role.
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