Author Stephenie Meyer says that shooting the "Twilight" films based on her books in British Columbia was key to making the movies "beautiful."
B.C.'s natural setting helped to evoke the images described in her teen vampire novels, said Meyer — who is on a press tour for "The Host," another film adapted from one of her books.
"We were able to really put the characters in a place that felt green and kind of private," she told The Huffington Post B.C. on Monday. "The secrecy of those thick trees, it felt really organic to the story. We got so many beautiful things we wouldn't have had somewhere else."
Four out of the five films in the "Twilight" series were filmed in B.C. "The Twilight Saga - New Moon was filmed in Tofino and New Westminster, while the wedding of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan was shot near Squamish.
Meyer said the series producers were scouting for the perfect locations after the first "Twilight" film and they found plenty when they went north.
"When we got up here, we just had a lot more, which was helpful because we jumped around with some flashbacks," she said. "It looked really great, there's just so much you can do here."
Meyer's comments came as the B.C. film industry, once referred to as "Hollywood North," has been embroiled in a political battle over tax credits.
Filmmakers want the provincial government to establish tax credits that would put the B.C. industry on what they say is a level footing with provinces like Ontario.
Meyer didn't say if governments should provide tax breaks to the movie industry, but she did say that a film's budget is a prime consideration when choosing where to shoot.
"I would love it if it was practical to come here because I love filming here," she said. "All I know is that when they say, our budget does not allow us to film in this place or that place, that is just not in the running."
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