‘New Moon’ and 'Twilight' saga films - why so much attention?

May 28, 11:26 AMBooks on Film ExaminerConnie Ann Kirk

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Why does there seem to be so much attention paid to the movie called, New Moon, and the other Twilight saga films? Readers on the Internet can’t help but see the seemingly endless articles, videos, photos, blogs, etc. about the soon to be book-on-film, New Moon. New Moon is the second book in the popular Twilight saga quartet of novels written by Stephenie Meyer. Filming has taken place in the spring of 2009 with a release date scheduled for November 20, 2009. Is it the popularity of the book and series alone that is driving this intense interest in the films on the Internet and in popular culture, or might there be some other factor at play?

Certainly the Twilight saga’s popularity with readers plays a huge part. It could be argued that Meyer came to global prominence in the world of popular fiction about the time when J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was beginning to wind down. In the summer of 2007, for example, Meyer’s third installment in the series, Eclipse, bounced Rowling’s much anticipated seventh and final novel in the Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, off the top spot on some bestseller lists. This happened just a little over two weeks after the concluding Potter book was published.

Although some people want to call Stephenie Meyer “the next J. K. Rowling,” readers of both series know that, while the books share some commonalities (both are fantasies, for example), they are very different from one another and tend to reach out to different audiences. The Potter books have appealed to children, teens, and families, whereas the Twilight books tend to be most popular among tween and teenage girls and adult women. That doesn’t mean that men or boys don’t read the Twilight books, but if one sees people in line at the bookstore buying books from either series, the consumers tend to fall into those categories.

The Harry Potter books have been made into films for over a decade now; however, the day-to-day frenzy over their creation has not been part of the ether on the Internet quite to the extent of the Twilight films. The reason for the difference is probably more closely associated with the locations of the films being shot than it is on the respective popularity of the novels.

In the case of the Potter books, while some filming has been done on location in various spots in the United Kingdom, most of it is done within the confines of the sprawling Leavesden Studios northwest of London. The studio complex was built out of the old Leavesden Aerodome site used to build aircraft during World War II. Many of the familiar sets used in film after film in the Potter movies are located within the large buildings there. Unless they take part in a special tour opportunity or have some other means of access, the typical Harry Potter fan is not privy to most of the day-to-day filming that takes place at Leavesden.

Contrast that with the filming of Twilight and New Moon. Twilight was filmed not primarily in a studio but instead in various locations in the Portland, Oregon area.  New Moon has been filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and Montepulciano, Italy. Fans of the series are able to drive by set locations such as “Bella’s house,” the “Cullens’ house,” the restaurant where the prom scene was shot, the La Push Beach scene, the piazza grande scene in Italy, etc.

Not only are fans able to get up relatively close to the sets when they are not in use and photograph equipment, props, etc., but they have also been able to occasionally photograph parts of scenes from a distance while they are being shot, talk with the actors as they arrive or leave set, and generally interact with the crew and witness a large part of the filming process. Even the filming schedule of what scenes are going to be shot on which days has been leaked to fans.  It has been possible to follow nearly every day of filming of New Moon through close attention to various sites on the Internet.

Technology also plays a part in the expanded presence of the Twilight saga filming process on the web. Small video cameras, Twitter, and other technologies readily available to every day fans make video, news, and photos almost instantly available around the world.  Fans in Italy, for example, who are among the 1500 extras hired for the film's colorful piazza scene, are able to take and send their photos of sets there to fans in the United States and Canada, who then post them to their fan sites and send links to them to other fans in nearly real time via Twitter. In addition, they are able to share commentary of the goings on from an extra's point of view with fans all around the world almost as quickly as they are happening.

This level of access has kept interest high in the actual filming process within the fanbase of the Twilight series. It also generates more information for fan websites on the Internet. When one factors in the already keen interest among many teenagers in the series and the amount of time and tech savvy teens have to express themselves on the web, this explains a lot of why news of the filming of New Moon seems to be everywhere online. Later this year, it is likely the same thing will happen again with the next title in the series to be filmed, Eclipse. 

Do moviemakers count on this zest for the process translating into box office sales?  Well, seeing actors in costume, set designs, and shot scenes ahead of time certainly did not dowse box office sales in the case of the first film, Twilght.  With an opening weekend box office of nearly $70 million in the U.S., some may argue that access and interactivity with the filming process only increased fans' personal engagement with the film, rather than squash it.  In fact, what Summit is doing with the Twilight saga may translate into a new model for marketing and promotion of films in itself with the increasing interactivity of  television, radio, and other media.

Fans of the books who have watched nearly every step of the filming process, either by visits to the sets themselves or vicariously through the Internet, generate their own hype and advertising for the film.  This costs the studio nothing, it appears, other than patience and cordiality in dealing with enthusiastic visitors to the set vacinity, or to those who camp out on the road leading up to it who hope to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors arriving or leaving.

The ability to follow the day-to-day filming process is an interesting one not only for fans of the Twilight saga, but also for people who are intrigued by the creative process of filmmaking in general, how actors and directors live and work, and what generates and maintains fan interest in films that are made from books.

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