On Wednesday, I was working with The Bonnie Hunt Show on in the background, when the audience went wild. I looked up and saw Peter Facinelli. Huh? He’s cute enough, I guess, but he’s not the kind of actor that attracts screaming fans. Silly me — I should have known. Facinelli plays Carlisle, patriarch of the Cullen family of vampires in Twilight.

Unless you’ve been cloistered, you know that Friday is The Day — the premiere of Twilight, the film based on the vampire romance that causes teenage girls (and, in some cases, their moms) to stop breathing. Literally. And part of the reason is that the fans are wondering if Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) will let vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison) take her breath away permanently. … continue reading

I've always had a bit of a thing for vampires. They're immortal. They're dangerous. They're night owls. Now, my vampire thing doesn't extend to putting on pointy teeth or biting the unsuspecting (well, not unless they ask). And I live in California, so I clearly love the sun. Still, I've watched way more than my fair share of sucky vampire movies. Which is why I was a little surprised I hadn't clued into Twilight sooner.

You can see why I might have missed the best-selling young-adult book series by Stephenie Meyer. Harry Potter notwithstanding, it's simply the wrong age bracket. While I'd heard chatter both on AfterEllen.com and elsewhere about the film, I hadn't paid close attention. I had my teenage vampire movie, thank you very much. It was called Lost Boys. But then, well, then I saw the teaser trailer.

Gulp. Now this might actually be something I could, pardon my puns, really sink my teeth into. The star-crossed lovers meets Buffy/Angel vibe is palpable. The film stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a newly transferred high school student drawn to her mysterious classmate Edward Cullen (Harry Potter alum Robert Pattinson). … continue reading

Or perhaps that should be "to glow in the moonlight." The protagonist is, after all, a human in love with a vampire. For those of you not familiar with the series, Twilight will follow in the footsteps of the Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia franchises in attempting to turn a bestselling young adult fantasy series into a multimillion-dollar cinematic spectacle. Kristen Stewart will star as Bella Swan, one half of the starstruck lovers.

She's done some growing up since playing Jodie Foster's daughter in Panic Room.

I've never read the Twilight series, which is a recent phenomenon (the first book came out in 2005), but here's the premise, according to MTV.com. Teenage girl Bella falls for what she thinks is a normal boy, but finds herself in an abnormal situation: The object of her affections is a vampire. But not just any vampire, according to Stewart:

“He's so good and he's so soulful and he's just not a liar — you can feel pain from him. The cool thing about the story is that it's a seemingly wonderful fantasy — let's fall in love with vampires and live forever — but it's so much harder than that. Imagine living forever. Living one life is hard enough.”

If you were paying attention to TV in the 1990s, you've got to be thinking the same thing I am. Is the author of this series paying royalties to Joss Whedon? … continue reading