I will forever be kicking myself for not taking my camera to the premiere. It was that impressive! I've been to a couple of huge movie premieres whilst on the air with various radio stations, but I was always working and wasn't really "part of it" nor was I really aware of the atmosphere. I wasn't prepared for how huge the Twilight phenomena is.
As I sit here and type this I'm listening to the soundtrack for Twilight so that should tell you a little about how I felt about this movie. However, I do have some major quibbles with the soundtrack. More on that, later.
If I go into too much detail about the movie itself, I'll spoil it for those who haven't yet seen it and are chomping at the bit to get into a cinema and drown themselves in all things Bella, Edward and the Cullens.
I was pretty nervous heading into this whole thing because, HELLO!!!! I pretty much hate people right now...or at least those outside of immediate family and the closest of friends and on the occasions I do head out, it usually ends up in a massive panic attack and the rest of the day spent at home crying or vomiting. Fun times. A movie premiere for something this big? Yeah, wasn't really looking forward to it. Well hell, let me backtrack a little more.
I wasn't looking forward to the cinematic adaptation of a series of books that surprisingly has become one of my favourites. Sure, I have been reading vampire lit since I was a little kid, but something that's geared towards teens? Not so much. But just like Harry Potter sucked me into its world of wizards, witches, muggles and all things Hogwarts, so it was with Stephenie Meyer's world of vampires, werewolves and a girl named Bella, hopelessly caught between the worlds of both and endlessly in love with the a vampire.
When I first heard about the book being filmed and researched the cast, I blanched at who they picked for Edward. Cedric Diggory? Are you bloody kidding me? That's all I could see, was Rob Pattison's character in the Harry Potter films, Cedric Diggory. The others, except for Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Reaser were unknowns to me. It wasn't until I started watching the trailers for the film and became a tad more interested. Just the same, I'm forever disappointed in the theatrical interpretations of books I love, especially vampire and horror books. Normally before I watch a movie that was based on a book, I always read the book right before I see the movie. I'm OCD like that. Then when I'm watching the film, I sit there and pick apart the flaws of the film. Thankfully I didn't do that this time around and over the course of the last six weeks or so, I have been sucked, body and soul, into the Twilight vortex.
Fast forward to Thursday. Megawatt and I decided to make an evening of it, knowing we really didn't have a choice because the lines for the premiere were bound to be long and the temp on Thursday night/Friday morning was going to be down near the single digits.
We ended up deciding to see another movie before Twilight, to kill some time and to avoid waiting outside in the long line of girls (a lot of which I was surprised to see, could not have been more than 11 years old!) snaking around the cinema. Much to my regret, we decided on the 9:10PM showing of The Haunting of Molly Hartley. We should have noticed the huge red flags when we walked into the theatre it was showing in and it was dead empty.
About 10 minutes before the movie started I ran out to the loo and decided on the way back in to scare Megawatt. I opened the door quietly and crept along the hall and slowly, ever so slowly, turned around the corner which faced the seating and jumped out and yelled, "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!" at Megawatt. What I didn't intend on doing was scaring the shit out of the other three people who had walked in and were seated about ten rows above us, whilst I was in the loo. Everyone screamed and jumped and I felt like a huge ass. I apologized profusely to the folks above us, who were by that time, laughing and told me it was cool, and then I sat down and remembered the look on Megawatt's face and watching her jump out of her seat and I started to laugh uncontrollably. By the time I got it under control the previews were starting and Megawatt was pelting me with popcorn.
I can never ever get those 95 minutes of my life back spent in what had to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen...The Haunting of Molly Hartley was one of the lamest, most insipid films ever to hit the big screen. Fifty minutes into the film I sent out an Amber Alert in search of the plot. It was that bad!
With 15 minutes left in the film I got up to use the loo again and was dumbstruck by the hordes of teenage girls everywhere! There was a huge group of young teenagers sitting in a circle just inside the velvet ropes. All of them were wearing Twilight tees and one of them was sitting in the middle of the circle reading aloud from the book. The rest were in some sort of trance.
Megawatt and I finished the film and left the theatre and were steeling ourselves to stand in the massive line of those waiting for Twilight seating to begin. It was about 10:45PM by this point and there were people everywhere. 90% were female and most had some form of Twilight memorabilia on their bodies, or with them. We had been told that theatre staff was, 'NO WAY - NO HOW!!!! seating anyone for Twilight until 11:35PM!!!!" Period. Ha! Megawatt and I followed a couple of girls into theatre number two (where Twilight was showing) after hearing them talk about how many other people were already seated. Sure enough, there were at least 100 people in there. So much for not seating anyone prior to 11:35PM.
Once we found comfy seats...oh and can I just say, I love stadium seating! Cinemagic cinemas are the best I have ever been to. High back seats which recline and are spaced far enough apart so my industrial size thighs don't encroach too much on anyone else. Megawatt and I also were in a section where there were only two seats in that row so we wouldn't have to put up with anyone else coming and going. Anyhow, we found seats and settled in and started to people-watch.
I think the best way for me to describe the rest of the evening leading up to the quashing of the lights and the deafening screams when Edward first appeared on screen is to share the text messages I was sending KD, my mom and little sister, Moosey, all at the same time, before the movie started:
KD initially texted me asking me how I was holding up with all the people, to which I replied:
- I am kinda excited but way nervous about all these people. Oh and the movie is SOLD OUT!
And here are the rest...
- Haunting of Molly Hartley dumbest movie ever. Don't waste your $$ on it. Dont even rent it!
- Theatre packed to the gills already! Teeny boppers everywhere! Giggling girlies abound.
- KD I have never seen so many 11-15 yr old girls in one place. More than an hour to go. It's insane!
- OMG there are some what have to be 9 year olds too! WTH? Tomorrow's a school day!
- Wow, there are a bunch of girls in homemade Edward/Twilight shirts taking pictures with apples in their hands. The Twilight pose I guess. Wish I brought the camera. Dammit!
- There are a ton of mothers and daughters here in Edward tees and jammie bottoms. KD u should tweet my texts! *lol*
- Doing OK Mom. Took a Xanax before we came and its mostly all female here. No men to make me wig out. I'll be OK.
- About 10 grls just walked in, really young, all wearing Edward tees. They just yelled " Are you ready for Edward" and theatre ERUPTED into screams!
- Wonder if some of these girls realize Edward is FICTIONAL?
- This is madness! But glad Megawatt made me promise to take her.
- Just saw the first little boy. Maybe 8 yrs old. Yikes. Looks like mommy and big sis are dragging him here. *lol*
- OH MY GOD! A gaggle of grannies just walked in! All wearing TEAM EDWARD tees!!! OMFG this is insane!
- ***my mom texted me back saying "Thanks, I think I'm flattered!" ***
- This is crzr than any Potter or LoTR premiere I have been to or anything I ever did when I was on the air. Wowzers!
- The air in here in supercharged and the excitement is palpable!
- If anyone ever tells you Portland Maine is boring! Tell them to talk to me! I just can't get over this. It's like the Beattles or something.
- I sure hope the gaggle of grannies can stay awake through the entire film!
- ***my mom texted me back, and as this is pretty much a family blog, I can't really post what she said in reply to that last text!***
- Older gentleman in Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt walking around with a dazed look on his face. Something tells me he's in the wrong theatre. Looking for Quantum of Solace maybe?
- 10 minutes! I can't believe how excited I am! I hope these damn kids sit down and shut up soon!
- OMG another eruption from the Estrogen Enterouge! There was a shot of Edward in one of the ads running before the previews. I am going to be deaf!
- Despite the hormone turbo charged atmosphere Megs and I are loving this!
- OMG OMG OMG! Previews starting. Cell off! TWILIGHT!!!!!!
By this point, the previews had started and I shuttered my cell in my handbag. When the opening shots of Twilight started another eruption from the entire theatre! And then when Edward finally appeared on screen for the first time the theatre went insane.
I loved the film. Loved it! I have a few issues with Rob Pattison and the way he delivered some of his lines - he seems a tad wooden at times, but overall, the movie was how I envisioned it in the books. Having lived in WA state for nearly a decade and being very familiar with Forks as well as the WA coastline and OR coastline (where a lot of the movie was actually shot) there was a lot of deja vu, but it was exactly how Meyer portrayed it in the books.
Normally I am always incredibly disapointed in how casting directors cast characters from books. This time I wasn't. Catherine Hardwick, the director, bent over backwards to make sure the characters were as depicted in the book. Reading the books I developed a wee crush on Jasper. When I saw him on screen for the first time (yes, Edward is hot, won't deny that - he oozes sex, but I'm all about Jasper!) my heart skipped a beat! Here was Jasper, just as I'd pictured him from the books.
The other thing that totally made the movie for me was the scoring of the film. Perfect! Without spoiling too much of the film for those who haven't seen it yet, my hands-down favourite scene was the baseball game in the meadow with Bella and the Cullens. It couldn't have been scored any better with Muse's Supermassive Black Hole as the background music for the game. MAJOR SCORE.
Yeah, OK Muse is one of my favourite bands and I love that song. Just the same, the film score was beautiful. And there's my issue with the "official" soundtrack which I bought on I-Tunes today. One of my favourite pieces of music from the film was "Bella's Lullaby" which, in the film, is a piano piece. Not so much on the album. It's this embellished orchestration of it and I was a tad heartbroken.
Also, and I know I'm gonna catch some flack from Team Edward for this, but Rob Pattison has two songs he sung, on the CD and um...how do I put this politely? For a man who is so beautiful, I mean strikingly gorgeous, I can't stand his singing voice. It's like he struggles to get the words out. Constipated singing is what I call it. It's too folksy and Bob Dylan-ish for me. His voice is the total oppsite of his face. I just can't put the two together. Not only that but he doesn't clearly articulate his words and I had a hell of a time trying to figure out the words of the song. But hey, don't hate me, it's just my opinion.
I know it's going to seem odd, coming from a 40 year old (Oh God, I'm having the hardest time getting used to saying that), but I fell in love with the movie and with the characters and can't wait for the next one. It's looking like there is indeed going to be a next one after all! There was some doubt initially, but I don't see how they can't complete the series. Critics might be giving it a lukewarm reception, but they aren't the one spending their allowances and $$$ from part time McDonalds, Wendy's and retail jobs to go and see it, now are they?
