His Dark Media
HisDarkMaterials.org
SherlockChronicles.orgWednesday November 11th saw the Twilight: New Moon UK Fan Party at Battersea Evolution, organised by UK distributor E1. This was a great attempt to reach out to fans disappointed by the cancellation of the London premiere of the next installment of the popular fantasy series.
Of the tens of thousands of people who entered online for a chance to win tickets to the event, only two thousand tickets were handed out. However, this did not put off fans who didn't win, with some showing up as early as 3am and travelling from all over Europe. In total over three thousand people showed up at the venue in Battersea Park in order to get a glimpse of their favourite Twilight actors.
Security was notably tight, and we were only let into the VIP section after 8 security checks; a new personal record. With all the high pitched screaming going on, I wasn't too surprised. Although I'd heard of the phenomenon, Twimania only became real for me as I was walking down the red carpet, looking at girls who had been standing out in the cold all day, branding big signs stating 'Bite me', and featuring exclamations about Robert Pattison's pulchritudinous eyes.
The event's boyish presenter kept the crowd entertained by voxpopping the fans with the quintessential Twilight questions: 'Team Edward or Team Jacob?', and 'Would you rather be a human or a vampire?'. No prizes for guessing the results of that poll. The many fans were clearly enjoying themselves, despite the dreary weather, as expressed by their earsplitting yells and screams. The lingering ringing in my ears testifies to their love for Twilight.
During the wait for the red carpet arrivals the captive audience was treated to anecdotes about the warring factions, the vampires and the werewolves. Suitably creepy people in red capes with matching lenses showed up, followed by a veritable 'pack' of shirtless young men who, after a spot of parkour, took to doing pushups on the stage; judging by the sighing and the swooning the organisers obviously hit a chord with the overwhelmingly female audience.
When Chris Weitz, Wyck Godfried, Taylor Lauter, Kristen Stuart, and Robert Pattison arrived the crowd went wild; security kept eyeing the dangerously enthusiastic teens as the cast kindly signed autographs and did the red carpet press rounds. All the while the tension inside the hall was tangible, with every glimpse of Lautner or Pattison triggering outbursts of yelling and crying.
After getting rushed inside Weitz took the stage to introduce the bands. He mentioned how pleased he was with the fact that he got to "work with so many amazing artists on the soundtrack", with many of them writing custom material for the film. Although he mentioned Tom Yorke, Band of Skulls, and Magic Numbers, he failed to mention Alexandre Desplat. Seriously, the audience might not have understood, but if you're working with one of the world's leading composers a shout out is never amiss! Various bands then took to the stage, including Band of Skulls, Goldhawks, and Magic Numbers.
The Q&A started shortly thereafter, and the thirty minutes saw a number of varied questions, ranging from Kirsten getting asked about filming in Italy — it was great — and Robert getting asked about his hair... which lead to him asking to crowd to what they preferred. Apparently short got slightly more decibels than long, so "short it is" he joked. Transcribing it was pretty much impossible, but someone seems to have had some luck.
Finally the cast bade their adoring fans goodbye, and the evening concluded with various clips and scenes from New Moon. As far as I could tell, there was nothing there that we hadn't seen before. However, I think the evening can be termed a success, as although the film wasn't screened, that isn't the point of the première for fans. It's all about giving them the opportunity to feel involved, and connected to the production they love.
Comments (0) — Add Yours
There are no comments yet. Please add yours below!
Post a Comment
You need to be logged in to post comments.
No account? Feel free to register an account.