It was nearly 11 p.m. and only one hour remained before the latest installment of the Twilight saga, Eclipse, was set to begin. And as I waited in line, semi-patiently, there were several items worth noting about the crowd that assembled at my theater. Sure, we were all there for one solitary purpose — to swoon over Taylor Lautner to watch the words on the page unfold onto the big screen — but we most certainly weren’t all of the same “type.”
I could bore you with details about the film versus the book, reviewing the two-hour movie as many others have done. Or maybe I could even carry on, and on, and on, and on about my over-the-top infatuation with the character of Jacob Black*. But instead, let me rattle off the strange and electic various groupings of people I saw among the nearly 1,600 — that’s right, more than 1,500 tickets were sold among eight theaters at the movie complex in Mooresville, NC — in attendance late Tuesday evening.
- Tweens and teens — As this is the target audience for both the books and films, an abundance of way-past-their-bedtime children was to be expected. Some donned their favorite “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” T-shirts for the midnight showing, while others arrived in pajamas, escorted by mommy dearest. Either way, this particular group comprised the majority. And they were undoubtedly the loudest and most excited. Jake appears on the screen? Giggling and wooing erupt. A glimpse of Edward? Faint clapping from the 12-year-old in front of me. Clearly they are quite a marketable and ideal audience for these saga installments.
- Parents — Some children were simply too young to attend alone. Boohoo. But I must say, it takes a rather awesome parent to tolerate a movie of this nature — unless, of course, they are parents who enjoy Twilight — at midight just for his/her child. Kudos to those parental figures, indeed.
- Twihards — While only a few were to be seen throughout the night, several individuals arrived in full costume, displaying their favorite Twilight character. Apparently they didn’t get the notice that this isn’t Harry Potter, Batman or the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Those movies, they understandly see dozens upon dozens of folks in attire resembling the cast, but Twilight? Aside from jeans, a flannel shirt and some sneakers, the only real accessory differentiating these people from the rest of us were fake droplets of blood, fake tattoos, pale makeup and ridiculous wigs. A bit much, if you ask me.
- Weirdos — This is broad, as clearly the Twihards could fall into this category, but I saw some chick last night with pink hair and kitten ears on. She was also carrying an Edward blanket… Enough said, I hope.
(TEAM JACOB...!!) Posted this photo before, but had to again. Why? Because my old blog using this picture comes up on the second page of "Team Jacob" Google image searches. How awesome is that? Ha.
- “Adults” — My friends and I were among this group. You know, those of us who are in our 20s, 30s and beyond who read the books and absolutely felt a need to watch the tale leap off the pages. We were also the ones who overtook the nearby Applebee’s in the hours before the movie for a few pre-Twilight cocktails. Oh, and the ones cursing the kiddos in front of us at the snack line who just kept allowing their friends to cut in line and prevent us from enjoying both popcorn and previews prior to the movie’s start.
- Dudes — Boys and men were few and far between at the Twilight premiere. Those in attendance were likely a) dragged there by a significant other, b) at the movie simply to impress a girl or c) gay. I cannot imagine a straight, single male sitting through two hours of love triangles, teen drama and semi-science fiction for any other reason than the three listed above.
And there you have it, a short and sweet breakdown of the crazy characters at last night’s Eclipse premiere. I’m probably missing one/two/a few so please add to the list and let me know what interesting folks you encountered as you ventured toward Twilight.
* I’m pretty sure I already did that before though in another blog. =P
