‘Twilight’ Director Says Cast Surprised Him with Musical Number (Exclusive)

There might not have been any singing and dancing in Twilight, but that doesn’t mean the cast can’t bust a move.

Bill Condon, who directed the Breaking Dawn movies, shares a fun memory from working on the iconic franchise while speaking with PEOPLE at the New York City premiere of his new movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman. 

The filmmaker directed the final two flicks in the series, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and Breaking Dawn – Part 2, about the love story between a high schooler and a vampire.

The Dreamgirls director recalls filming “that big battle” scene in the final movie for “like a month.” During that time, the whole cast, which consisted of “dozens of great actors,” surprised him with a choreographed dance number. 

“Suddenly the speaker started, and there was music from West Side Story, and they all had created a dance for me because they knew I love musicals, and that’s something I’ll never forget,” he says. 

The film franchise, based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer, had a starry cast, including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, who played Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black, respectively. Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed were also in the movies. 

Condon recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the controversial scene in Breaking Dawn – Part 2 that saw the brutal killings of multiple beloved vampire and werewolf characters, including Facinelli’s patriarch, Carlisle Cullen, in a vision sequence. 

“There [was] such a dedicated audience waiting for it, and you’re in dialogue with that audience knowing that we were going to do this incredibly cruel thing of killing off all of their beloved characters,” the director said. 

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“That, to me, was like, ‘Oh, I have to, because I just want to be there the first time we show it.’ I’ve never, ever heard a scream as loud and last as long as when we cut off Carlisle’s head,” he continued.

Condon also directed 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, and penned the scripts for 2002’s Chicago and 2017’s The Greatest Showman. His latest movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman, sees Jennifer Lopez starring alongside Diego Luna and Tonatiuh as a “silver screen diva” named Ingrid Luna.

The musical movie is an adaptation of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Terrence McNally’s stage musical that first starred Chita Rivera on Broadway in 1993. 

Speaking about Lopez’s performance in the movie at the premiere, Condon said, “The thing about Jennifer is she keeps revealing new things about herself… I think her superpower is that if there’s one person out in the world who has underestimated her, she’s going to grab them and say, ‘Look at me, I can do this too.’ Well, you’ll be amazed at this ‘too’ that she’s added to her resume tonight.”

Kiss of the Spider Woman hit theaters Oct. 10.