Interview with Laura Culpepper

Whom we've affectionately nicknamed The Culps!

When Meg wondered out loud where Laura Culpepper is now, at the end of this post back in October, we had no idea she would ever find our little blog and pop in to say hi...but she did! Laura won a chance to interview Rob via MTV and yet no one in the fandom had ever interviewed her about that experience! I mean, this lucky girl had the chance of a lifetime just getting to sit next to him and talk to him, not once, but twice!!  

The first interview was prior to the MTV Movie awards, circa 2009. So with the 2012 MTV Movie Award Show coming up, and Rob once again being nominated for The Twilight Saga movies, we couldn't be happier with how timely this is! Here's a look back, with bittersweet anticipation of the end.

We are also really grateful to have gotten her to answer some questions for us. Enjoy!

A few questions for Laura....

Before the interview...

How did the interview come about? Were your friends jealous?
Well, the first interview I did - the surprise in LA - was just that...a surprise.  I won a contest to be the MTV News guest blogger during the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.  In order to be considered, you had to write a short essay about why you are the biggest movie fanatic/best person for the job or something like that.  In mine I mentioned that I was a big Twilight fan, so they (they being Larry Carroll, Josh Horowitz, and Brian Jacks) reached out to Rob and asked if he’d be interested in doing a surprise interview with a fan and he said yes.  I found out later that the whole thing almost didn’t happen because my flight got messed up, but Rob was able to do it the next day.  Things were much simpler back then haha.  The second interview was completely by chance.  I was living in New York City at the time and Josh got in touch with me and asked if I’d be interested in coming back and doing a second, more formal interview.  All of my friends hate me pretty much.

Did you get to ask your own questions or did MTV prompt you?

I was pretty much on my own both times until things started getting weird every now and then.  Rob would often go off on something completely unrelated or I would do the same or we would just be sitting there talking about nothing basically and they would have to get us back on track.

Did you know you were going to get to interview Rob twice?

Not at all.  I was pretty shocked when they asked me back.  I thought I blew the first interview.

Was there more to the interviews that was cut?

Yeah, there’s a lot that didn’t make it.  A lot of funny moments.  Well, I thought they were funny anyway.  I always wished they would put out a full, unedited version.  Maybe they will if they run a Breaking Dawn Part II special.  I know they put some new stuff in the New Moon special they ran, but still not everything.

Were you originally a fan of Harry Potter and knew Rob as Cedric prior to Twilight?

I had seen the Harry Potter movies and recognized his name when I heard that he had been cast, but I didn’t automatically go OMG CEDRIC.  The only cast member I was really familiar with in the beginning was Nikki Reed because of Thirteen.

Were you an original fan of Twilight in that you had read the book prior to learning a movie based on the book was being made?

I started reading the books before the movie was even optioned the first time by MTV.

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During the interview...

When Rob came in with the exclusive clip, were you really surprised?
People always ask me this!  They think it’s fake and that I really fell down crying like someone on the Maury show or something and that we then did a second take.  The one you see is all there is.  I had no idea and they did a really good job of hiding everything.  I thought I was just filming some little intro video for the website that no one would watch or care about.  Which is why I kind of looked like I had just rolled out of bed in the video.  I don’t scream when I’m shocked - my brain kind of just shuts down.  You turn and see the face of someone you’re a genuine big fan of a few inches away from yours and you’re like...what is going on here?!  ARE YOU REAL?!  I tried to keep it professional, though haha.  My mind automatically went, "Okay, there is a Twilight cast member here.  This is obviously going to be seen by people.  I gotta keep myself together.”

Were you really that laid back in his presence or did you just cover up your excitement/nerves really well? Or was it because he was so unassuming and he just made you feel comfortable?

He’s a super legit nice guy.  Very laid back, very funny.  The first time I was very shocked and didn’t know what to think but I calmed myself eventually.  The second time I thought I was going to pass out before I went in to the studio, but he’s easy to talk to and remembered me from before so that definitely helped.

At any point did you think he was flirting with you? (We all kind of think he was!)

Hah, I don’t know.  I’m pretty sure he was a single man back then, but I think that’s also just his personality.  He’s a real jokester and can come off as flirty.  I think he just liked embarrassing me to be honest haha.

Were you distracted by his looks or by any of his famous mannerisms?

He’s very, very handsome in person.  Very tall.  I can’t imagine that any girl wouldn’t notice.  I didn’t really notice any of his mannerisms.  He’s just all over the place.

What were you thinking when Rob got all embarrassed when you asked him about stealing the clothes from the set? Were you embarrassed after you mentioned it?

I don’t know what I was thinking when I said that to be honest.  I wasn’t embarrassed because he had already embarrassed me earlier...like, I gotta get this guy back haha.  It was kind of a creeper thing to say because the movie hadn’t even come out yet, but oh well!  His response was hilarious.

Speaking of embarrassing... We certainly are not going to embarrass ourselves by asking you how Rob smelled, but feel free to volunteer that info.

I feel terrible for even remembering this, but the first time I think he smelled like some kind of Axe deodorant.  The second time, cigarette smoke lolz.  Gotta get your stress relief somewhere, right?

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Since the interview...

Have you been invited/gone to any of Rob's premieres?
Nope!  I was going to go to the LA premiere of the first movie with some friends, but it ended up that our trip dates didn’t coincide with it.

Have you seen Rob since the interview? Did he talk to you? Remember you? Ask you for your opinion on his next project?

No to all, except the evening after the interview in NY, I went to some event at Planet Hollywood and he was there.  There were a ton of people, though, and it was strictly an in-and-out type thing.  He also came up to me at the movie awards twice and we chatted.  He has remembered me every time I’ve seen him.  I’m not sure if/when our paths will cross again.

Which of his upcoming movies are you most excited to see?

Cosmopolis looks pretty rocking.

Any roles you would ultimately love to see Rob play?

I think it’d be cool to see him play a true villain.  He’d be great in a psychological thriller or something to that effect.  I think he could really pull something like that off.  Also, I just heard that Lionsgate is taking the Dirty Dancing remake to Cannes looking for money, which is sickening and I can't talk about it much without getting mad, BUT he would make a pretty good Johnny if he could dance.  That was random, sorry haha.

Do you still work for MTV? What do you do?

Nope!  I’m currently working a "normal" day job and also working on four feature length screenplays.  I eventually would like to get an agent, sell them, and make that my all the time job.  I’ve gotten pretty good feedback so far so that is very exciting.  And yes, hoping to give my input and maybe pull some casting strings if they sell thanks to past connections...

Have you met Josh Horowitz and is he really as Rob-sessed as the rest of us?

Josh was in the room during both of my interviews and I was with him, Larry Carroll, and Brian Jacks the entire time I was in LA.  Note: every time you see me look up at something behind the camera I am looking at Josh because I feel like the interview is tanking and I'm trying to telepathically say...HELP!  He’s a cool guy and I’m really psyched to see that he’s had so much success in the past few years.  I really miss Larry as well.  I think everyone at MTV is pretty Rob-sessed to be honest.

*******

Thank you so much Laura! I had so many giggles reading this, especially because I missed this whole portion of the fandom in the original Twilight days! So many of us discovered Twilight, the books, and Rob after the original movie was out.

But one more thing...Laura was actually an extra on the set of Twilight. We are going to have a part two to this interview where we delve into her experience with that--as much as she is willing to share!