Rising Star: Anna Kendrick

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Rising Star: Anna Kendrick
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Anna Kendrick in ‘Up In The Air’
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Anna Kendrick arrives to the premiere of Summit Entertainment’s ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ at the Mann Village Theater, Westwood, November 16, 2009
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Anna Kendrick in a pictured posted online by ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World’ director Edgar Wright
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Anna Kendrick gets glam at the Times AFI London Film Festival screening of ‘Up In The Air’ in London, England on October 18, 2009

FIRST PUBLISHED: November 19, 2009 4:34 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: November 19, 2009 5:39 PM EST

By Jeremy Blacklow

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. --

You’d think that 24-year-old actress Anna Kendrick would feel a bit of pressure, being in not one, but two, of the biggest films of the 2009 holiday season.

Rather, very unlike the hyperactive human Jessica character that she plays in “The Twilight Saga,” she is cool, calm and collected about the upcoming wave of publicity that she’s currently undergoing.

“Yeah, it’s strange, and I shot them both simultaneously, which was interesting as well. George Clooney would kinda give me crap every time I came back from the ‘Twilight’ set,” she told Access Hollywood when she sat down with us recently at artist Shepherd Fairey’s Love Unites project for marriage equality. “But I was treated like a traitor.”

The Clooney mention is in reference to her co-starring role in the sure-to-be-Oscar-contending-film, “Up In The Air,” which will come out on December 4. In it, Anna plays the hyper-organized character Natalie Keener.

Anna isn’t new to acting though – rather, she’s almost a seasoned veteran. At the age of 12, she was the second-youngest ever Tony nominee for a supporting actress role on Broadway, in “High Society.” She made her big screen debut in the 2003 musical theater indie film, “Camp.” And in 2007, she appeared in “Rocket Science,” for which she was nominated for a supporting actress Independent Spirit Award.

Even though she’s remaining calm in the face of the storm, Anna is still excited about her two big films. Her bottom line?… she just wants people to finally see the products of her labor.

“I am so excited for the movies to finally just come out,” she said. “Everything has been so exciting, but at the same time kind of stressful in the best way possible. And I will be so happy once people can just go out and see the film and I won’t have to keep talking about the film.”

But first up is “New Moon.” So what can fans expect from Jessica in the second installment of “The Twilight Saga” franchise?

“I mean, visually it looks very different and I think people are going to really like it and respond to it,” she explained. “But, it’s beautiful and the action is absolutely stunning. And you know the scene in Italy where everyone is in red - the Twi-hards all know about it - it’s absolutely beautiful.

“But my character doesn’t exactly grow that much. She doesn’t do that much self-reflection. So I just kind of give my monologue and she stays depressed. But I hope that the audience thinks it’s funny,” she added.

Up next for Anna in 2010 will be “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,” co-starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh and others, which some folks are expecting could be a new cult geek classic.

“I feel like it’s a ‘Ferris Buller’s Day Off’ with the action sequences from ‘Kill Bill,’” Anna explained. “But, it’s definitely crazy. I don’t think people are really going to know what hit them when they see it.”

Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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