::Team New Moon:: 2009 The Year of New Moon

For Twilight fans at least, the year 2009 was invariably the year of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Of course, in the beginning, there was still a fair amount of Twilight excitement lingering, what with fans continuing to see the film in theaters (or, let's be honest, on the internet) time and time again and DVD release parties across the country. Yet, the principle attention-grabber in our world was New Moon.

At first, it was casting. There were quite a few roles to fill for New Moon, and we anxiously waited for those announcements to trickle down the pike. It started with Bronson Pelletier, who was rumored to have scored a part in the wolfpack. Then there was Dakota Fanning, who her co-stars were supporting for the part of "Jane." Then a few photos of the current wolfpack out and about led to even more rumors. Finally, the announcement came out and it was time to inspect. At first, everyone was pretty skeptical about the selections. When you have literary characters whose make-up becomes so ingrained in your own minds, theirs become difficult shoes to fill. So, we worried that Jamie Campbell Bower was too young for the part of Caius or that Michael Sheen wasn't old enough . . . etc. This, in turn, led to discussions about what scenes, quotes, and details absolutely had to be in the film. Whether fans were complaining or not, the excitement was still there. The movie was on its way.

So when the announcement came down in the spring that production was kicking off, things got really interesting. On-set photographs from various days of shooting surfaced, interviews with the cast started to come out here and there, and everyone looked toward Italy and how they were going to handle one of the collective favorite moments from the story. Of course, a few set pictures (thanks to the Twilight fan community on location) set everyone's mind at ease, as yellow Porsches, red capes, and, well, a touching embrace between Bella and Edward were witnessed from across the very large pond.

Shortly thereafter, the first teaser for the film was released. It was watched once, twice, three . . . let's just say countless times by each and every one of us. It was the growl heard 'round the world. On the same occasion as the teaser's release, the MTV Movie Awards, the Twilight cast was raking in awards - to the extent that the event is rightfully referred to as the 2009 Twilight Movie Awards.

At that point, filming was complete. Though the "big three" would be scattering across the country to film three different summer pictures, the world would still be watching them. Daily, information and photographs from the set of one of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, or Taylor Lautner's movies (Remember Me, The Runaways, and Valentine's Day respectively) would come about - to the point, mind you, that at least one of the films was practically revealed in total (thank goodness for indoor shoots, eh?) before our eyes.

In August, though, Vancouver was poppin' with Twilight stars once more as they got to work on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. While there were still paparazzi photos from the area once in a while, the on-set experience differed greatly from New Moon. Thus, the atmosphere was a bit unchanged in the fandom as New Moon's theatrical release neared. A full trailer, quite a few TV spots, unbelievable press and globe-trotting for the cast, and so many still frame images (primarily stemming from the Official Companion) later, the New Moon premiere was upon us.

There were some who camped out for days and others who relaxed in their PJs to catch it on MySpace. Nevertheless, most Twilight fans watched as the cast for New Moon trekked down the red carpet, one by one, into what was the first screening of the film for many of them. Soon enough, the film would be released, and Twilight fans would make their ultimate mark on film society with historical opening night numbers and a stellar showing at the box office. Even those who'd never uttered the word Twilight had it on the brain as a consequence of New Moon's opening (for better or for worse).

A few weeks later, and everyone's beginning to look forward to the DVD release. Nearly the entire year - to this day - held The Twilight Saga: New Moon as a focal point for Twilight fans. It was exciting, nerve-wracking at times, and completely overwhelming at others, but the mood was New Moon from start to finish. As the year comes to a close, one can't help but remember all of the fun we had in anticipation.

With The Twilight Saga: Eclipse right around the corner, 2010 looks to be pretty good for Twilight fans as well . . .


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