[November 20, 2009] 'Twilight' sequel brings out fans hungry for more Tweet Nov 20, 2009 (The Beaumont Enterprise - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Four hours before the movie started, Janet Spears and her daughter were camped out on the floor of the lobby at Hollywood Theaters Star 12 on Dowlen Road. Decked out in Team Edward T-shirts, Spears and 15-year-old Kailyn sat on a blanket watching episodes of "Ally McBeal" on a portable DVD player as they anxiously awaited the next film installment of the "Twilight" saga. They were surrounded by dozens of other fans -- many in their early teens -- as they awaited the midnight screening of "New Moon," the second in a series of movies based on the Twilight young adult book series. The two said they fell in love with the books a few years ago and since then, they make it a point to see each movie installment the night it opens. "It's very intense," Janet said of the "Twilight" saga's storyline, "but it's just such a great love story." TWILIGHT, page 9AContinued from page 1A Her daughter nodded vehemently in agreement. "It is very intense," Kailyn said, equating it to a modern-day "Romeo and Juliet." Earlier Thursday afternoon, Parkdale Mall's Hot Topic was bustling with "Twilight" fans itching to get their hands on New Moon merchandise. "It's huge," said Jacob Good, assistant manager of the store. "It's taken over 'Harry Potter' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'" Hot Topic -- which billed itself as "'New Moon' merchandise headquarters" -- is selling everything from "New Moon" T-shirts, lunch boxes and iPod covers to replicas of jewelry and clothing worn by characters in the movie. The biggest sellers, Good said, have been T-shirts, many of them "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward" in support of the film's two main male characters. "Everybody wants the guys," Good said, adding that "Team Jacob" items far outsell "Team Edward." "Oh, Team Edward all the way," 26-year-old Lumberton resident Jaclyn Bacchiocci said as she stocked up on a "Twilight" T-shirt and a Team Edward key chain before catching the Thursday midnight screening of the movie in Silsbee. Bacchiocchi said she had bought her tickets that day but that many of her friends had bought theirs weeks -- even months -- in advance. "I'm surprised it didn't sell out long ago," she said. The "Twilight" saga's status as pop-culture phenomenon is due in no small part to its massive online buzz. The official "Twilight" Facebook page boasts more than 4 million fans. A live Web broadcast of "New Moon's" Monday premiere in Hollywood drew more than 3 million viewers to MySpace. Read more in Friday's Beaumont Enterprise. To see more of The Beaumont Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.www.beaumontenterprise.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]