Lincolnites excited for 'Twilight' debut
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BY MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star
So, are you excited about this new “Twilight” movie?
“Believe me ... yes,” said 16-year-old Lincoln Southeast High School student Lesley Darling. “I’m amazingly excited for it.”
Because for Darling and the rest of a millions-strong fan base, the long-awaited film adaptation of the teen vampire romance is more than just a movie. It’s an extension of a white-hot cultural phenomenon.
Despite conventional wisdom, some "Twilight" fans are not in high school or middle school.
Lincolnite Shannon Binkley, 31, for example, loves the book series and is ecstatic about Thursday's midnight screening at Southpointe because she might have helped it happen.
About two weeks ago, Southpointe Cinema manager Jessi Sumner was still on the fence about running a midnight screening of "Twilight." But then call after call, people started asking about the movie. The tipping point was perhaps Binkley's phone call.
Sumner told Binkley she didn’t know if Southpointe would carry a midnight show.
“So I said, 'What do I have to do to get you to do this? How many seats do I have to fill? How many people do you need committed to buy tickets?’” Binkley said.
At that point Sumner said she made up her mind.
If it weren’t yet obvious, this movie is “kind of a big deal,” Binkley said. “It’s got a huge following everywhere, especially in Lincoln.”
The number of “Twilight” books at Lincoln Public Libraries perhaps illustrates this best. Nearly 200 hardcover copies of the series’ four books are spread out through the libraries, and every one of them is checked out. That doesn’t even take into account paperback copies, compact discs and downloadable formats of the books, which are also all checked out.
“The books are huge,” said Vicki Wood, youth services librarian at Bennett Martin Public Library, “some of the most popular we’ve seen.”
More on 'Twilight'
Look for a story about Lincoln's midnight showings of "Twilight" on Friday at JournalStar.com. Also, read more about the movie in Friday's Ground Zero and more on our culture's adoration of vampires in this weekend's Sunday A.M.
Stephenie Meyer’s four-book series, which follows the tricky relationship of a high school couple, one of whom is a vampire, boasts an intensely devoted following, mostly (but not entirely) composed of teenage girls. The “Twilight” books have sold 17 million copies worldwide.
In terms of popularity, “Twilight” is no “Harry Potter,” a series that has sold 400 million copies and generated $4.5 billion in worldwide box office. But it’s the closest modern equivalent.
The film, which opens Friday on 3,200 screens nationwide, has already sold out hundreds of showings, according to online ticket sales site Fandango.com. “Twilight” will play at all four Lincoln movie theaters, and three of them (Southpointe, Edgewood and the Grand) will offer four midnight screenings Thursday night. At least three of those have either sold out or are expected to.
Just how big a hit will “Twilight” be? Early box office projections expect a $60 million to $70 million opening weekend. Most movie trackers are expecting it to outperform the weekend’s other big movie, Disney’s “Bolt,” although you should never underestimate a family-friendly talking dog movie.
The biggest factor going against “Twilight” is that almost no one has seen it yet. Early reviews have been mediocre at best.
Which brings up an interesting question: Is “Twilight” going to suck? (Yes, pun intended.)
“I can’t see it sucking,” Darling said. “It’s just such a good story.” The appeal of the “Twilight” phenomenon, Darling said, is that Edward Cullen (the vampire Romeo of the story) “is the ultimate boyfriend, for anybody. He’s got all the perfect qualities ...”
But he’s a vampire who might kill his girlfriend at any time.
“But he gets around it,” Darling said, “because he loves her so much that he’s determined not to bite her. ... It’s weird talking about this out loud.”
Darling is so smitten with Edward that she’s part of the Facebook group, “Because I Read Twilight I Have Unrealistic Expectations in Men.”
Norris High senior Amanda Hegstrom, 17, agrees the movie should be good, “definitely not as good as the book, but hopefully decent.”
However, she noted, some will surely be disappointed.
“Everyone visualizes the story and the characters in a different way. And it’s hard to get everyone’s view perfectly. So you’ll always have unhappy people.”
Reach Micah Mertes at 473-7395 or mmertes@journalstar.com.
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Q wrote on November 19, 2008 12:23 pm:
CS wrote on November 19, 2008 12:48 pm:
twilighter wrote on November 19, 2008 12:48 pm:
CS wrote on November 19, 2008 12:50 pm:
mitchy_v wrote on November 19, 2008 12:52 pm:
Outside the Box wrote on November 19, 2008 1:50 pm:
Ummm wrote on November 19, 2008 2:40 pm:
Q wrote on November 19, 2008 4:37 pm:
K wrote on November 19, 2008 11:43 pm:
Q wrote on November 20, 2008 11:54 am:
1. $
2. $
3. $
It happens every week. I hope I'm wrong on this one, but it isn't looking that way. "
A wrote on November 20, 2008 1:31 pm:
and if your wife read all four books and couldn't believe she wasted her time- my only question for you is- Why did she even read all four if they were sooo boring- furthermore why did she read them back to back within two days...hmmmmm? "
CS wrote on November 21, 2008 7:32 pm: