‘Twilight’ fans mob midnight release party

Leave it to “Twilight” fans to stand in line for hours until midnight to get their hands on the new release of the “Twilight” movie DVD. That’s just what happened Friday, March 20, as people from Sevier and Blount counties, along with several Seymour residents, waited for their coveted copy. “Break Dawn,” the DVD movie adaptation of the New York Times best-seller “Twilight” sold 1.3 million copies the first day of sales. The movie had a $70 million opening weekend when it was released in November.
The book series by author Stephenie Meyers is a tale of a vampire romance between Edward Cullen (the vampire) played by Robert Pattison and Bella Swann (his teenage love interest) played by Kristen Stewart.
Friday evening, stores around the area were busy holding “Twilight” parties full of trivia contests, merchandise giveaways and excitement known to only true and diehard “Twilight” fans.
The Hot Topic store at West Town Mall was no exception. Heather Ward, the store’s manager and Seymour resident, said they had preorders for more than 100 DVD’s. Ward, whose son attends Seymour Primary School, has worked for the chain for five years and says she just loves it. According to Ward, to get a DVD you had to come early and preorder the movie, then show your pass at the door at midnight to enter. An early line gave shoppers a chance to snatch up some “Twilight” memorabilia, which included everything from lunch boxes to pillowcases with “Edward’s” face on it.
Assistant store manager Jessica Land, a Seymour High School graduate, helped get the store ready for the big evening along with the rest of the staff. While the crowd was relatively small by some standards, (in Salt Lake City, 2,500 fans braved lines, while 2,000 attended in Los Angeles and about 700 showed up in New York), the West Town line was still strong and full of excitement. Stars from the show were making appearances at various stores around the country and rumors had spread that one might show up at this event. The only actor to be seen, unfortunately, was a cardboard stand-up Pattison.
The opening sales of “Twilight” make the DVD one of the five best-selling over the past two years. Others that made the top five include “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "The Dark Knight" and "Transformers."
The book was meant as a teen love story and was marketed to teens but that didn’t last long, as girls ages 10 to 90 began picking up the books. The impact has put the young-adult series and its author Meyers on the map with memorabilia, collectibles and fan sites showing up everywhere.
Since the book’s first release in 2005, the series' four books have sold 42 million copies and the "Twilight" movie has grossed more than $370 million worldwide. Courtney Caldwell, a student in Seymour, says she is enjoying the books. “I’m in the middle of the second book now. I think they are really good.” Mom Bridgette Caldwell has read all four in the series and said, “I liked the first and fourth books the best.”
The store had various items to give away including a limited edition “Bella” doll made by Robert Tonner that retailed for $129. The lucky winner of the doll was Seymour resident Courtney Caldwell. Alecia Haas who attends Seymour Middle School won a 3×4 foot cardboard sign display with a picture of Edward and Bella on it.
The next film in the series, “New Moon,” is set for release in the fall. The last two in the series, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn,” will no doubt follow suit.
Seymour resident Charlene Norris is a true “Twilight” fan with a collection of memorabilia to match. “I just love them. I think the books are great and its fun to collect the memorabilia as well. I’ve read all the books and my favorite is the first one.”
With three more movies on the way, Norris will have plenty to add to her collection as the series continues to take the world, and Seymour, by storm.
For more information on promotions that Hot Topic has planned you can go to myspace.com/hottopic445.