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'Twilight" vamps it up at Premiere-USAToday.com


Team 'Twilight' vamps it up at premiere

Sharon Knolle,Special for USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Let this be a warning to all teen girls: Vampire love can make you go deaf. Or lose your voice.
At Monday night's world premiere of the movie Twilight, hundreds of fans, the vast majority teen girls, roared, cheered and swooned as stars of the film, opening Friday, made their way down the red carpet at the Mann Village and Bruin Theaters in Westwood.

The most deafening cheers burst forth for star Robert Pattinson, the British actor previously known as poor, doomed Cedric in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The actor plays brooding "good-guy" vampire Edward Cullen in the film, based on a best-selling books series, and has become the heartthrob of the moment.

"Oh yeah, they flip over him," said Kristen Stewart, who plays Edward's mortal love, Bella. "All he has to do is run his hands through his hair."

Pattinson, 22, looked more than a little dazed, being pulled from screaming admirers to demanding photographers and reporters.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Harry Potter | Target | Alice | Jacob | Westwood | Thirteen | Goblet of Fire | Cedric | Stephenie Meyer | Twilight | Catherine Hardwicke | Kristen Stewart | Robert Pattinson | Edward Cullen | Taylor Lautner | Rosalie | Mann Village
"I've signed billions of autographs in the last week," he said. "I go to different towns, people scream at me and stuff, but in my head, I haven't changed at all. At least, I hope not."

Though the squeals for Stewart, 18, were nearly as loud, the actress realizes the fans' fondness for her is different. "Pretty much every one of these girls feels like they are Bella; that's how you experience the story," said the actress.

"It's crazy when you see people crying, it's just bizarre," she added. "It's a whole different level, but it all feels very fleeting. I love this movie, that's the only reason I would have ever done it. I had no idea it would blow up like this."

Though the fan base is teen girls, there were a few boys in the crowd. And grown-ups, too. A professionally printed banner hoisted by the "Twilight Moms" stood out amid a sea of hand-drawn "Team Edward!" signs.

Ashley Greene, 21, who plays Edward's sister, Alice, marveled at the fans' fervor: "It's a dream. It's like a fairy tale. I was an unknown, you know?"

Though Pattinson and Stewart are generating the most attention, other Twilight stars are beginning to get noticed, too:

•Taylor Lautner, 16, who plays Jacob, Bella's sensitive best friend, has noticed he can no longer go unrecognized anywhere teenage girls gather. "It's a little different if I were to just walk into a Target,'" he laughed. "Those fans are EVERYWHERE."

•Cam Gigandet, 26, who plays evil vampire James, was nearly dragged over the barricades by eager fans. He smiled, "I have no idea what to expect, so I'm just kind of going to deal with it as it comes. I thought it was just this small, intense group (of fans) but it kept getting bigger and it just didn't stop!"

•Kellan Lutz, 23, one of the "good" Cullen clan, also appears in CW's 90210 and has learned how to tell the Twilight fans from 90210 ones. "The ones who are running up are usually Twilight fans, while 90210 fans are more like, 'Hey, you're George, right? You're a jerk!' "

•Nikki Reed, 20, who wrote and starred in Thirteen, plays vampire Rosalie. Twilight fans aren't recognizing her on the street, but that could be a good thing. As one of the few characters opposed to the Bella-Edward romance, she gets her share of fans who tell her, "Leave Bella and Edward alone!"

Among the red-carpet frenzy was talk of possible sequels. There are three other novels in the Stephenie Meyer series.

Pattinson said that a script for a second film has been written, and Stewart heard the cast might reunite to film the second and third sequels at the same time, but now they might be filmed separately.

"It has to make a certain amount of money, like $150 million, to be able to afford the sequel," said director Catherine Hardwicke. "So we really don't know yet."

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