NEW YORK — With "Breaking Dawn," the final installment of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" vampire series, set to hit stores at midnight (and the first night of the "Breaking Dawn" concert series set to premiere at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square), the city seemed to be filled with homemade Cullen T-shirts in support of the first vampire family of teen fiction.
And in the midst of all the excitement, one important question was on everybody's minds and lips: Edward or Jacob?
At noon, the TwilightLive! podcast began recording at the Borders in Columbus Circle. Various heads of the top "Twilight" fan sites — from Twilight Lexicon to Twilight Moms — discussed fandom, the "Twilight" movie and what readers would find in "Breaking Dawn." And, of course, most of the event centered on panelists and audience members speculating about whether series heroine Bella would choose the vampire Edward or werewolf Jacob. One Twilight Mom spoke up and said, "I have daughters, and I've been thinking about this a lot. And if they were faced with this decision, I decided that at the end of the day, I just want them to be happy." To which a panelist replied, "Do you think they'd be happy as part of the undead?"
After the podcast taping, which had almost 100 people in attendance and hundreds more listening online, the panelists gathered to talk to MTV News about how excited they were for the new installment and what they would ask Meyer if given the chance. Those questions included the expected "Edward or Jacob?" and the slightly alarming "Will you adopt me?" (Just kidding, NoMoreMarbles.)
Back in Times Square by 4 p.m., the line for the concert had stretched from the entrance on 44th Street to well around Broadway and continued on for blocks. Inside the venue, talent and crew gathered for rehearsals at 5, with Meyer and Blue October singer Justin Furstenfeld giggling together nervously as they ran through their cues and listened to the stage direction. Before the show started at 7 p.m., Justin told MTV News that he had finished "Twilight" and was working on the second book in the series, "New Moon." Getting to know Stephenie and her series had definitely influenced him, as he hinted at a "vampire love song" fans could look forward to on the forthcoming Blue October album.
The thousands of attendees who had bought every last ticket for the show were quick to pack the theater. A few minutes after 7, MTV News correspondent Kim Stolz took the stage to host the event, and her first order of business was introducing Justin, who came out and said that "this is the coolest thing I've ever done, by far." He performed three Blue October songs solo with acoustic guitar. Finally, the guest of honor was brought out. Meyer took the stage to thunderous applause that erupted with every self-effacing joke and sly spoilery hint she made. She answered numerous fan questions that had been submitted online at the MTV Movies Blog, including some insider ones like "What was Jacob's game plan that Edward admitted might have worked?" or more predictable ones like "If you were Bella, would you want to be turned into a vampire?"
After the show, audience members were invited to wait in line to have special "Breaking Dawn" bookplates autographed by Stephenie. Unfortunately, some of the members hadn't stayed adequately hydrated to remain in a packed audience and several fainted before getting the chance to meet their beloved author.
From the Nokia, fans headed 10 blocks down to the Borders at Penn Plaza. Based on the wristbands given, fans were either in the A line downstairs, B line upstairs, or C and D lines outside. To entertain the hundreds of eager buyers, the store provided Edward vs. Jacob debates, trivia contests and -- because, why not? -- snow cones and cotton candy.
After shrieking in anticipation for several minutes leading up to midnight, the patient customers stormed the cash registers to buy their just-unpacked copies of "Breaking Dawn." One girl was so excited to find out which man Bella chose that she immediately sat down on the floor by the front of the line and began reading. It seems fans will find out all the answers to their burning questions soon enough.
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