Saw the movie over the weekend, and am on the 3rd book. I'm really enjoying them, but I'm getting to the point where I just want Edward to bite her already and get it over with!!!

So my colleague saw the movie, and someone let her borrow the 1st 3 books. She started Twilight yesterday and is almost finished. She wants me to start reading it tomorrow, and we'll go see the movie together. I sat here & read this entire thread (lol) to see what the hype is about. I'll get back to you guys once I start the book.

The plots do get more absurd, but for some reason I still got totally enveloped in them! The books provide such an easy, entertaining read & they are totally my guilty pleasure books. I was fascinated from start to finish, even during the most absurd plot lines that I totally hated. :p

I agree about the absurd plot lines. Then again, the whole concept of a teenage girl finding her soul mate in a vampire is pretty absurd to begin with.

Has Stephanie Meyers written any other books?

Though she might me done with the Edward/Bella storyline, I would love to read more of her writings.

I would love a story about Caralise......He is one my favorite characters.

The other one she has out is "The Host" - has nothing to do with the Twilight characters (that I know of, that is - need to add that to my wish list still :))

Saw the movie last Wednesday with a friend (she hadn't read the books) - she's thinking about trying them now, though :) I'm really glad my sister got me hooked on the series! (And I'm another "non-teen" who enjoyed them, along with many others here, I'm sure ;))

Okay, I read all four and watched the movie. The books I found insipid and predictable, and the movie was campy and unintentionally funny in all the wrong places. LJ Smith did this way better back in the 90s.

So WHY couldn't I put the books down?!?! I suspect secret mind control devices hidden in the books.

OMG! You read LJ Smith, too?? :D
I loved her! I have a few of her books leftover from my teen days and they're in my classroom library. A couple of my Twilight fans have started reading them.
I'm still waiting for her last Night World book to come out!!

As far as I'm concerned, the best thing about the popularity of Twilight is that the LJ Smith books have come back into print - as omnibus editions, two or three novels to one book. Maybe she'll finally write that last book!

(Although I won't be happy until Heart of Valor and Night of the Solstice come back into print - those were the BEST!)

I'll have to come back and post the link when I find it again, but Catherine Hardwicke will NOT be directing New Moon :(

ETA: I found it! http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/...or-cather.html

I still haven't made up my mind on if I liked Twilight in movie form. I felt like there was more dialog needed or less quiet moments or something. I need to see it again to really make up my mind. I think it is a little lame that they didn't want to spend as much time as the director. They probably want to keep up the excitement from the first movie but if the director wanted more time to work on it... I think that would be the better option to go. Granted I have never made a movie and would have no idea. I wonder what the new director will make.

I also watched the forth Harry Potter today for the first time. Holy Crap Robert Pattinson is gorgeous. I don't have celebrity crushes, well I didn't before him. If the boyfriend dies... I call dibs.

Movied sucked. Felt like 1:30 of my life wasted. It's number 2 in the worst movie I've ever seen, not as bad as Battlefield: Earth.

Razzie Award frontrunner

Some of the blogs are saying that the "timing" thing is just a cover, really she wanted more money and a higher percentage of the back end profits and the studio didn't come up with the offer she wanted quickly enough.

I'm not sure if that'll be such a big deal anyway if she doesn't direct. I like the movie but I think that another director could have an equally as good, if not better, vision for New Moon.

I finished the 4th book in a marathon reading session this weekend. It reeeeaally stretched all credibility (come on - Renesmee?) but I could not put it down.

At least I am over and done with it!!

As far as the movie, while I enjoyed it, I found myself recasting it in my head. I think Rosalie would be much prettier - like a fashion model, and I would have recast that guy from gossip girl to be one of the vampires - he looks like a bloodsucker. I also didn't like who they cast as Carlisle, Esme or Jacob. Maybe with the new director, they'll recast. The only two who are set in stone are Bella and Edward and they are ok, but not perfect (like Vivienne Lee and Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind-that is perfect casting..).

You didn't like Jacob? I sort of agree with you, I thought he was much too pretty in the movie. I didn't imagine Jacob (or Billy Black for that matter) to be as good looking.

Esme was alright, but I hated the casting of Rosalie. Seriously! Could they not get a pretty person (someone blonde, preferably) to play her? I always saw Rosalie as this gorgeous, model-thin person, that was definitely not the image from the movie. Carlisle was eh, I personally don't find Peter Facionelli (or however you spell his name) attractive. Plus he's too old, and Carlisle was always described as looking no older than 24.

But what can you do. I seriously still think they should skip New Moon and just go on to Eclipse. How interesting can they really make New Moon?

I completely agree with Rosalie. I felt like she needs to be a lot... prettier? She is pretty, but Rosalie was supposed ridiculously good looking (Zoolander anyone?)
Carlisle was casted wrong. He kinda scared me! Definitely agree that he was way too old.
I agree with the Jacob thing.
EP. I think we are pretty close to the same brain waves...

Could they skip New Moon? It explains the whole Bella/Jacob relationship and gives a whole bunch of back ground on the Volteri as well as the depth of the Bella and Edward relationship. Also gives us the entire wolf back ground. I liked the ending of the book but it was a tough one to get through. I feel like huge nerd to have written that paragraph.


P.S. I couldn't get over Esme! I saw her and thought of Ava from Grey's Anatomy.

Look at post above I agree.
About book four... The name was ridiculous. Her middle name was something like Carlie as in Carlisle and Charlie combined. It was a little stretch but for some reason I am reading it again...

Except the Volturi was explained (in depth I believe) in Twilight, so it should have been explained in the movie. The Volturi don't show up until the end of New Moon. The Bella/Jacob relationship could most definitely be combined w/ Eclipse. The Bella/Edward relationship? How do you figure? He's gone by like the second (or so) chapter, right after the birthday party. When he leaves, there is no Bella/Edward relationship, except Bella being whiny.

The only important things to take from New Moon:
--Jacob become a wolf (and Alice can't see them in her visions)
--The Volturi want Bella turned

New Moon was mainly chit chat and boring things (like Mike throwing up in the movie theater). Omit that you get probably a 30-45 minute movie. The only thing necessary to know in advance for Eclipse is that Jacob becomes a wolf. You don't need an entire movie dedicated to that. Include it into Eclipse and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am you've got a pretty awesome movie.

I agree and after seeing the movie, I think the remaining movies could definitely benefit from a different director. Surely, the decisions that were made (i.e. the ridiculously pasty white makeup on Carlisle or the letdown when we actually saw Edward in the sunlight - hello, special effects anyone?) were the director's. I thought the movie was a disappointment...but still enjoyed it just to see what ended up on the big screen. I, for one, am hoping that next movies are a big improvement in quality.

Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer! I do love the books!!

My understanding is that Catherine Hardwicke had an EXTREMELY limited budget for special effects given to her by the studio. Thus the subpar renderings of flight, climbing, diamond-like vampire skin, etc. I saw an interview with her about this somewhere.

Really? I had not heard that, but it explains a lot. I will have high hopes for movie 2 after the financial success of 1 (and yet, am really surprised that the phenomenal success of the books didn't spill over to the movie budget!) I hope whoever negotiates, etc on movie 2 can deliver!

Yes, it would be great if they were able to do a big budget Hollywood take on the Twilight books. It could be a wonderful movie!

I heard that too. It does seem a little unfair that with a bigger budget the new director will probably be praised for a better movie, but a lot of it will really just be improvements in the special effects.

The bottom line is the movie studios are in this for the money, so they are going to make as many movies as possible. Using that logic, I believe they will do New Moon.

What I think they should do for New Moon:
Show us Bella's 18 birthday party and everything with a little subtle foreshadowing of the Volturi.
Do the split with Edward
Explain the whole Werewolf thing and Jacob (Even as much as I loathe Jacob, you have to explain this if anyone will understand his relationship with Bella and Rensmee in the 4th book.)
Extend the whole Alice predicting Bella's death, trip to save Edward bit for the last 45 min of the movie....I know it is a stretch, but how else to make it work?

There's a good reason for that... it's because she IS Ava from Grey's Anatomy. :p

I just finished Twilight. I liked how they finally broke away from the love story a bit to show the hunt & give it a new angle. I will begin New Moon soon.

I think that would be good way to go.

I just finished Twilight and its so good. I did a no no and watch the movie before I read the book. The book is 100x better, in my opinion. I am reading New Moon and I am hoping to read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn before my break is over.

I have to see Twilight twice before I realize that it was Ava from Grey's Anatomy. My sister pointed it out.

I finished New Moon yesterday, so I'm moving on to Eclipse. I don't see why Bella wants to spend an eternity with Edward as a vampire, but is hesitant about his proposal.

That might have been the best way to do it
I always sit through movies like Twilight going , "Nope, that's not how it happened. THAT never happened!! Why didn't they include that? It was so important!"

I'm not sure if they've stated it in New Moon, but it's because the example to what "marriage" is, is her parents. That didn't work out well, so Bella doesn't have a high idea of marriage.

I finished the series today & loved it!! It may be because I read them all within a week and a half or two...

my oldest daughter has been wanting to read them - I vacillated on it, but finally [after a re-read] decided she could read them [she's 11]. She finished Twilight earlier today.

We're going to see the movie tomorrow, too :)

I read on Stephanie Meyer's website that she is mostly likely not going to release Midnight Sun which was the next Twliight book she was working on! This really bums me out!!!

I read it a different way. I don't know if this has already been said, but she also posted the 1st chapter of Midnight Sun on her site.

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

Oh, I forgot to add that Breaking Dawn was my favorite! :D

Oh, she posted more than the 1st chapter. It's the entire leaked draft.

I know that I'm responding to myself, but I guess it doesn't make much sense to publish Midnight Sun when half of it is posted on her website. It doesn't give us anything new, just more of Edward.

And more of Edward is a bad thing? :p

I liked reading those 12 draft chapters. There's a lot of those, "Ahhh now it makes sense" moments.

I just read the draft. And LOVED it.