A lot can change in a week's time.
In preparation for my New Moon coverage I saw the first Twilight movie on Sunday and was not that impressed. Still, I dove head first into the Twilight pandemonium Thursday night thanks to a fan meet-and-greet with actor Charlie Bewley at the AT&T store off of Park Lane and Central Expressway.
Of course I've heard about and covered the Twilight madness for nearly a year now, but with the new movie I figured it was time to investigate more into what's surely a moment in pop culture history. Thankfully, Bewley's sort of new to it all as well, and the fans weren't hesitant to let me know what they loved about it.
]]> Mendy Patel and Stephanie Marquez could possibly be called cougars, but had their excitement levels made them appear to be schoolgirls."Our husbands are so jealous right now," Marquez said. They came to the store on their own, leaving their families at home to meet Bewley - who plays Demetri in the films - and attend an early screening of New Moon at the Studio Movie Grill up Central.
Although everyone was happy and or giddy in meeting Bewley, all had allegiances to other teams - Edward or Jacob.
"I'm Team Jacob, all the way!" said 17-year-old Adrianna Silva, with friends. One, Nicholas Campos, 18, was not ashamed to be there at all. Nor was he the only other male fan in the building.
"It's a good movie," Campos said. "It's something new, set aside from all the action and everything else you see a lot."
Bewley himself said he thought the new flick would usher in more male audiences, thanks to a bigger budget for CGI scenes and more. He said women will continue to talk it up, and the men will follow.
Of course it does seem that the target audience is teenage girls, and there were plenty smiling in Bewley's face. Harper Ramsey and Chloe Conner, 13 and 14, actually came up from San Antonio to meet the actor and see New Moon a couple of hours before their friends.
"I've read the books. They're more real, where Harry Potter is more fictiony," Ramsey said
I interviewed newcomer Bewley for a video on our Web site, and he is well aware how lucky he is to get such a "wonderful first role." And in addition to looking for more male audiences, he thinks his character can pull in a more specific crowd - gay men.
"Demetri is a very flamboyant character," Bewley said. "The way he is, the way he stands ... he's definitely a little sexually ambiguous. If there isn't anything out there for gay males now, this may be it (chuckles)."
Bewley also said that the fans don't really differ across the world, except that some of the New Jersey girls were more aggressive than others. And while this may be his breakout role, he's already trying his hand at writing, currently at work on three other projects. But he plans to focus on New Moon now and Eclipse, which comes out in June, he said.
At an almost-packed Studio Movie Grill, Bewley introduced the New Moon before heading to the next stop on his PR tour. After the movie, Campos and Silva both gave it two enthusiastic hands up. Ramsey and Conner were also happy, even with the long trip back home for school in the morning ahead of them.
"It was better than I expected," Conner said, "and it really leaves you hanging, wondering what happens next. Can't wait for the next one."
As for me, I thought New Moon was sooo much better than Twilight. I also found myself more connected/ involved at the end - go Team Jacob. So don't forget to chat with us about it Monday here.
Photo: Nicholas Campos gets an autographed picture from actor Charlie Bewley of the Twilight saga movies Thursday in Dallas. (Anthony C. Williams)
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