The recent situation between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart is just the latest in a string of big headlines surrounding the Twilight Saga over the years. Here's a look back at ten of the other biggest stories involving the series, its cast, and the fan community.
Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer was working on a version of Twilight told from the perspective of Edward Cullen as the first film went into production. That story was called Midnight Sun. Meyer handed out copies of the story to a select few who she thought it would help in making the movie, and somehow her unfinished draft was leaked online. Meyer, obviously, was devastated. In fact, she stopped working on the project altogether and put the leaked version on her own website for fans to access and read. The question of whether she'll ever finish it is still looming (she gets asked about it all the time, up to and including during her recent Comic-Con appearance), but so far, she's not reported any progress or interest in the manuscript. The leak did, however, influence a later project. During filming for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Jodelle Ferland was given a copy of Meyer's The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella to review, but the copy was guarded and later burned to prevent any repeat occurrences from the Midnight Sun experience.
The Tale of Two Victorias - While Taylor Lautner was able to muscle his way back into the role of Jacob Black for The Twilight Saga: New Moon, one major cast replacement did end up taking place for Eclipse. Rachelle Lefevre, who portrayed the villainous Victoria in Twilight and New Moon was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for Eclipse due to scheduling errors. Lefevre, of course, was none-too-thrilled about the news and spoke out to say she was surprised the ten-day overlap led to her replacement, which in turn resulted in a point-by-point explanation from Summit Entertainment about the firing decision.
Robert Pattinson gets mauled in NYC - While he was filming Remember Me in New York City in the summer of 2009, Robert Pattinson was, well, ambushed by fans on the scene. One fan in particular was photographed with her arms wrapped around his neck on the street. It was, um, a special moment.
Fans on the set - There were two occasions during filming for The Twilight Saga when fans were literally on the set watching the action go down. First, it happened in Montepulciano, Italy for New Moon, where thousands of extras were on-hand for the Volterra Square scene and captured the reunion of Bella and Edward with their mini-cams. Then, for Breaking Dawn - Part 1's honeymoon sequence, the filmmakers tapped Lapa, Brazil for the arrival scene and Paraty, Brazil for Isle Esme scenes. Fans in the area were able to take photos and video of production and share the experience with the world.
TwiCon - Before Creation Entertainment became the official Twilight convention company, there was a major unofficial convention set up for Dallas, Texas in the summer of 2009. It promised to be a giant and epic occasion for fans, with an impressive line-up of cast talent on-hand and a bunch of other panels of interest and musicians galore. However, it was one of the biggest disasters in Twilight convention history. Having experienced it myself, I cannot express how slack that operation was. Even the cast seemed annoyed. Needless to say, a lot of us are still waiting on our refunds from that nightmare.
Leaks - Almost like clockwork, just about every installment of the Saga post-Twilight seemed to endure some sort of leak. The two biggest instances came with legal repercussions. With Eclipse, several images were leaked ahead of schedule by Twitterers, and it led to a drawn-out lawsuit by the studio against the "hacker." With Breaking Dawn, not just photos but video from the film was stolen from the production dailies, leaving the studio no choice but to go after the thief. In a wild turn of events, the leaker was not only identified, but she also held a press conference on the subject declaring herself the victim of studio oppression, which in turn warranted a long, explanatory response from the studio. Needless to say, both situations were messy for all parties involved.
New Moon breaking records and taking names - While Twilight was impressively successful, New Moon positively catapulted the Saga into new territory after kicking butt and taking names at the box office. While the records have since been affected by subsequent film releases, New Moon claimed the record for highest midnight ticket sales ever and ranked among the top three opening weekends of all time. This success pretty much ensured the full Saga would come to film fruition (a result which will be completed, of course, this November with Breaking Dawn - Part 2).
Awards zone - For the past few years, the Twilight series has dominated the awards shows it's been nominated in, including the MTV Movie Awards, the People's Choice Awards, the Kids' Choice Awards, and the Teen Choice Awards. This year, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 earned the series its fourth consecutive wins for Movie of the Year and Best Kiss, and the TCAs even doled out an Ultimate Choice Award specially designed for Twilight and its 41 wins at that event over the years. Golden popcorn trophies, surfboards, and more every which way!
Gisela G. - It was a sad, sad day in July when Twilight fans mourned the loss of one of our own, a woman named Gisela G. who tragically passed while in San Diego for Breaking Dawn - Part 2's panel at Comic-Con. Remarkably, the fan base was energized and extremely united with condolences for that loss, and Gisela was given a tribute during the panel at Hall H.
Immortalized - Twilight vampires can live forever, and now so can the Saga's cast. Both Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are immortalized in wax statues at Madame Tussauds and they - along with Kristen Stewart - were given a special hand and foot print ceremony outside of Grauman's Chinese Theater last November, making them a concrete fixture of Hollywood.
Remember any other big moments in Saga history that deserve to be on this list? Share away in the comments below!
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