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'Twilight' Fans Celebrate With Saga's Stars At TwiCon
DALLAS --As fans learned from Bella's birthday bash in "New Moon," celebrations with the Cullen clan aren't always the best idea. But over the weekend, thousands of people attended a sold-out event in the Lone Star State, eager to prove that Twilighters know how to party.
"TwiCon '09 is a 'Twilight' convention," explained actress Christian Serratos, who plays Angela Weber in the series, looking around at all the Twilighters bearing "Team Edward" T-shirts, "I Drive Like a Cullen" bumper stickers and, most importantly, smiles. "We're meeting fans, signing autographs, taking pictures and doing all that jazz. And we're having a good time."
Downtown Dallas was transformed into Forks West during the four-day convention at the Sheraton hotel, across the street from a parking garage filled with cars bearing "TwiCon or Bust" scribbled on their windows. In addition to Serratos, "Twilight" saga stars Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Billy Burke and Alex Meraz (from November's "New Moon") made the trek from Hollywood, while beloved musical acts like the Twilight Music Girls, the Bella Cullen Project and the Mitch Hansen Band performed in front of some of the biggest crowds of their careers.
"People have flown in from Oklahoma, New York --somebody came from California," marveled Facinelli. "I was like, 'I could have met you on the corner at a Coffee Bean.' "
"We bought magnets for our lockers that say 'I'd rather be in Forks' and 'Team Edward' and stuff," explained 14-year-old Page Watkins from Lakeland, Florida, walking a huge convention floor that had vendors selling "Twilight" board games, action figures, hand sanitizer, "I Run With Werewolves" and "Spunk Ransom" T-shirts and Sweethearts candies inscribed with the words "Bite Me." "I read all the books in a week and a half and became obsessed. The story is really captivating. It's a little bit of everything."
"And we really love Robert Pattinson," added her 14-year-old friend Haley Oberhoffer. "A lot!"
But if you think this was just a bash for the braces-and-bicycles crowd, think again. "You're never too old for a love story," insisted Bonnie Newkirk of Salt Lake City, who would only give her age as "over 70" and has seen the "Twilight" movie 10 times. "We all love Edward!"
Newkirk attended with her daughter Karen, of Hurst, Texas, and her 19-year-old granddaughter. Pointing out the septuagenarian's homemade "Twilight" vest, Karen explained, "My daughter started reading the books, she got me to read the books and then I got my mom to read the books. ... [My mother and I] love the books because we're both widows --which makes us want love stories in our lives, because we've both lost our husbands."
"We love 'Twilight,' " she added. "Generation after generation."
"You establish a rapport with them. It's so sweet," Jackson Rathbone said of such fans. "[They] make us hats, give us blankets, cookies.
"I get the chance to connect with the fans, which is really great, because they're the ones that made this franchise what it is," added Rathbone, whose moonlighting career as a rock star was on display Friday night for a huge, shrieking crowd, as well as sold-out nightclub gigs in the area all weekend. "The band I'm in, 100 Monkeys, we're playing all over Dallas. ... They're so sweet, they support us in everything we do --and we love them for it."
When the Twilighters weren't attending photo sessions with the stars, watching the bands perform or shopping for merch, there were plenty of other fun options available. A Bella's Self-Defense class taught women of all ages how to defend themselves against evil vampire attacks, Alice's Makeover Room offered makeup and hair tips, Emmett's Arm-Wrestling Tournament gave fans the chance to channel their inner teddy bear, and Cardio With the Cullens got everyone's hearts racing faster than Bella in the ballet studio.
"We saw Jackson perform with 100 Monkeys --they were awesome," explained Nicole McDuffy, 29, of Alabama, who was attending with the teen daughter she turned on to Stephenie Meyer's series. "I actually let her stay home from school one day so she could finish --I wrote her a sick note and everything -- just so she could finish 'New Moon.' "
"This was our only chance to get here and meet them --especially Kellan," grinned Adrian Therrell, 36, of South Carolina. "I'll be getting his autograph later. ... I'm nervous; [my friends and I] didn't sleep well last night."
"This is the biggest one I've been to," marveled Facinelli when asked how the first TwiCon (it is planned to be an annual event) ranked with other conventions. "There was a moment when we were doing a Q&A panel, and the cast were signing our names and throwing paper airplanes out into the sea of fans. I thought, 'I want to get a paper airplane to the back,' but it was so far back that I took the paper airplane and ran it through the crowd. It was intense, running through a sea of 3,000 people.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I got terrified halfway through," laughed Facinelli. "Now I know how Rob Pattinson feels."
The convention reached a fever pitch Saturday night when an enormous ballroom was packed for the Volturi Masque Ball. Swapping their black T-shirts for ballroom gowns and their vampire baseball caps for Victorian-inspired masks, it was like a prom being held at that spooky party mansion from "Eyes Wide Shut," but with "Baby Got Back" and "Ice Ice Baby" blaring over the speakers and things like "Happy 14th birthday, Nicole!" being announced between songs. As multiple generations of Twilighters partied (some pushing babies in carriages), the fire officials had to warn everyone to stop dancing on the collapsible stage --and a handful of male Twilighters found themselves in a minority rivaled only by the dude who showed up inexplicably dressed as Harry Potter.
"This is what 'Twilight' is all about: beautiful vampires dressed in gorgeous clothes," explained Karen Bender, 21, from Phoenix, who peered out from behind her yellow contact lenses to describe her outfit as "a red, 1700s-inspired Gothic suit."
"I'm dressed as Tanya from the Denali clan," added her sister Katrina, 22. "We're friends with the Cullens. I went with yellow eyes, and I'm wearing a ball gown with a bustle --very Victorian-looking."
"I went to Hawaii on vacation with my family, flew into L.A. last night and then got a red-eye straight from L.A. to Dallas. I literally have not slept at all," struggled Facinelli, moments before heading upstairs to get some shut-eye after a long day signing hundreds of autographs. "I feel bad for the fans who are meeting me. But the fans' energy wakes you up. I feed off that."
"I hope he gets some rest. That's incredible," said an appreciative Karen Bender, who had met Facinelli earlier in the afternoon. "Peter is so nice. One thing I've noticed about the 'Twilight' actors --more than other actors --is that they're so kind, generous and willing to give their time. And we really appreciate that."
NEWS & MEDIA
03.04.10 - IESB.net Exclusive InterviewIESB sat down with Facinelli to talk about the Twilight phenomenon, working with Eclipse director
David Slade and find out his feelings on a two-part Breaking Dawn, the next book to tackle after Eclipse
is released in theaters June 30th. You can read the interview here.
02.22.10 - Winners Announced! Coop's Video Contest
The contest is over, and the videos were great. Now to announce the winners! The top 5 entries
from each category are now available, with the top winner from each category to be notified tomorrow by Peter personally!
You can see the winners, as well as their entries by clicking here.
02.15.10 - Coop's YouTube Contest Enter for your chance to win!
For the DVD release of Nurse Jackie Season 1 available on Feb 23rd, I'm running a little contest.
I'm asking fans to create a video of their favorite "Coop" scenes and post it on YouTube. For the complete
listing of contest details, as well as the prizes, please click here.
01.31.10 - Associated Content Covering the Nashville Convention
Peter was a guest at the Q&A session this weekend in Nashville where he revealed
interesting facts about his life, career and the Twilight movies: Twilight, New Moon and the upcoming
Eclipse. So what Secrets Did he reveal? Click here to find out.
01.28.10 - Video Diary, Part 2 Get ready for round 2
Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie', Peter (Dr. Fitch Cooper) takes viewers behind the scenes
with him once again as they wrap up shooting for season two. You can view all the antics in
Part 2 of Coop's diary by clicking here.
01.27.10 - Prestige Magazine January 2010
A Twilight exclusive, Prestige Magazine brings us an interview with the vampire.
Uprising, unveiling, undead, Peter Facinelli tellls us why the family that drinks blood
together, stays together. Click here for the scans.
01.26.10 - The Tennessean Twilight star grateful for intense fans
He's a veteran actor with a career stretching over 15 years, and since taking on the Twilight role,
he's embraced the fan community by staying in contact with them through Twitter and online chats.
To see what he thinks about his loyal fans and the conventions, click here.
01.25.10 - Video Diary, Part 1 Coop takes us behind the scenes
In anticipation for season two of Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie', Peter (Dr. Fitch Cooper) takes viewers
behind the scenes with him during shooting, and covers everything from Coop's hair 'issues' to Peter's
attempt at beatboxing. You can view Part 1 of Coop's Diary here.
01.24.10 - LIVE Q&A Powered by CoveritLIVE
On January 23rd, Peter took part in a LIVE chat with his fans to discuss everything from the
Twilight Sage to his role on Showtime's Nurse Jackie. The full transcript can now be found in the media
archives section of the site. Click here to read it.
01.20.10 - LIVE Chat Brought to you by Showtime & TV.com
To celebrate the premiere of Twilight on Showtime, join us on Saturday, January 23rd at 7:30pm
ET (4:30pm PT) for a live Q&A chat with Peter Facinelli, who plays Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the vampire
series, For more information, click here.
01.09.10 - OK! Magazine & PopSugar.com Winter TCA & More!
Peter joins the panel at the 2010 CBS Showtime Winter TCA, courtesy of PopSugar.com.
Also available is Peter's latest interview with OK! Magazine, where he dishes on why 'Eclipse'
is his favorite book in the Twilight series. You can read both articles here.
12.29.09 - The Wrap 'Twilight' Star's App Has Bite
Peter Facinelli has swooped into the hearts of movie fans everywhere as Carlisle Cullen in
the 'Twilight Saga', and now he's developed an iPhone app that lets you become the bloodsucker
of your dreams. You can read all about his latest creation here.
12.23.09 - iVillage.com Peter's Dicusses New Moon & the Holidays
With the second season of 'Nurse Jackie' now wrapped up, Peter heads home for the holidays.
But before he does, he took a moment to chat about a beloved Christmas tradition, New Moon fan requests and why
he's in favor of a fifth Twilight movie. Read all about it here.
12.15.09 - MTV.com Peter's Breaking Dawn Wishlist
When MTV News spoke to Peter at Z100's Jingle Ball Friday, he shared a full wish-list of things he would
like in regards to the fourth (and, according to him, fifth) installments of the series. You can read all about what
he had to say by heading to the interviews section of the site.
12.07.09 - OK Magazine Peter Celebrates His Birthday
It's birthday season in the Peter Facinelli-Jennie Garth home as Peter and daughter Lola celebrate their
milestones just ten days apart. Read all about it by clicking here.
12.04.09 - People Solving the Christmas Dilemma
Although Peter admits that he and wife Jennie Garth disagree every year when it comes to picking the perfect
Christmas tree, the couple have landed upon a wise solution to their woes. Want to find out what it is, then head
over to the interviews section of the site.
12.02.09 - LA Times Peter Talks Twilight Saga & The Media Whirlwind
As "New Moon," the latest installment in the massively successful "Twilight" saga, continues its reign in theaters,
Facinelli, who plays Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the patriarch of the Cullen clan, still finds the frenzy daunting, but states that
having been in the business for several years now, it's easier to handle. You can read the interview
here