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One bite leaves local 'Twilight' buffs enthralled

November 20, 2009 12:36 am

By LAURA L. HUTCHISON

They're called "Twihards"--the major fans of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" saga.

And there is no shortage of them in the Fredericksburg region. Many anxiously awaited the opening of the second movie of the saga, "New Moon," at 12:01 this morning.

It's playing at both the Marquee in Massaponax and the Regal in Central Park. The screening at Regal gives the theater a chance to show off its recently completed renovations.

Mindy Goodin, 36, of Stafford County became interested in the series fairly recently. She read the first book in April, after a suggestion from her principal.

"I thought, 'I'm not really into vampires,'" she said of the series, which features a love triangle among Bella Swan, the vampire Edward Cullen, and the werewolf Jacob Black. "But I was begging, stealing and borrowing copies from people at work. I read them all in a week. It was pretty crazy."

The first movie was on pay-per-view, and she watched it that weekend-for the first of probably 50 times. "There was no turning back," she said.

Goodin's 10-year-old daughter, Cydney, will watch the movie with her and is in the midst of reading "New Moon." Goodin has bought several "Twilight" shirts featuring Edward. She also has a "Twilight" key chain, an umbrella, books about the making of the movies, a lunchbox and Band-Aids.

She doesn't take the lunchbox to her job as a teacher at Dale City Elementary School.

"It's only for special occasions," she said. "The Band-Aids, too. You have to be hurt really bad before I'm going to let you use one of those!"

Goodin said she can't say what's drawn her to the series. "It's hard to pinpoint," she said. "I guess it brings you back to that feeling for first love. Then you throw in the action."

There's also a little bit of female self-esteem, she said. "Bella starts out insecure and weak," she said. "By the end, she is strong and sure of herself."

And then there's the boys. Goodin first fell in love with the vampire Edward.

"He loves Bella so much," she said. "He's so strong and protective. And sparkly."

When she saw the movie, her affection grew to include Robert Pattinson, who plays the centuries-old vampire.

"I've typically been an older-men type of girl," the 36-year-old Goodin said of the 23-year-old leading man. "But Robert Pattinson is really hot. I mean, that man is just beautiful."

As for Taylor Lautner, who plays the werewolf Jacob, who pines for Bella, Goodin's not interested.

"He's not legal!" she said of the 17-year-old Lautner.

Like Goodin, most fans fall into two categories: Team Edward or Team Jacob.

But Mayjean Deem was one of three people last night sporting black T-shirts with "Team Charlie" spelled out in red plaid flannel. They wanted to make known their affection for Bella's father, Charlie, who they said was the most realistic character in the series.

Deem, a King George County native and senior at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, said she resisted the "Twilight" craze for a while. But she saw the first movie last year, then read the books. She drove up from college yesterday to see the movie with her mom, Lori, and her friend Ashley Addis, a senior at the University of Mary Washington.

"We fight for the underdog," Deem said. "Charlie doesn't get any credit."

Courtland High School seniors Nicktoria Palmatier and Emily Claus fall into different camps on the Edward vs. Jacob debate.

Nicktoria is a Jacob fan, saying he's "not as lovey-dovey" as Edward. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," Emily said. "I think I'm a Bella fan. I just can't choose between the boys."

For Lori Deem, it's all about the love story. "It's love conquers all. It comes out right in the end."

Courtland High School business teacher Lyn Mills agreed. She has posters of Edward throughout her classroom. "The intensity of the love between Edward and Bella, their strength," is what makes the books appealing, she said. "I see young love all the time, and it's wonderful. There's violence, love, chase, and just a good story. The vampire thing is really secondary."

While Nicktoria and Emily said the first movie was "a letdown," because "you had to read the book in order to know what the movie was about," they're going with friends this evening to see "New Moon." And they've still seen the original about 10 times each.

"We're devoted fans," Emily said.

Mills, however, may not see "New Moon" for a few weeks.

"I'm crazy enough to go and be tired [Friday], but I don't want to spend my money to be surrounded by screaming in my ears all night," she said with a laugh.

The Team Charlie trio said reading the series together has been a nice escape from reality. They've traded links to movie clips on Facebook, tried to avoid spoilers, and anticipated spending a fun night together at the theater. They bought their tickets back in September.

"We laugh at it," Addis said, "and then we laugh at ourselves."

Laura L. Hutchison: 540/374-5485
Email: lhutchison@freelancestar.com