The Morning After A New Moon In Knoxville

OH WOW! Yesterday was quite a day. On a "not-so-Twilight" subject to start. My day started with a black cat crossing my path as I was leaving to take my son Zane to the doctor yesterday morning. I crossed out the cat and went on my way. Luckily Zane was tested for H1N1, regular flu and Strep and tested negative for all three! They did a CBC and decided he just had a virus. I was so glad it was nothing serious, so that I was able to go about my day without worrying.

So then I was off to sit and wait for Taylor and Kristen to arrive at The Pinnacle 18 for the premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. I looked at my clock before getting out of the car and it was 11:40am. When I arrived, there were signs saying that the theater was closed for the special event and there were policemen and barricades. I freaked a little because I was afraid that they weren't allowing people who didn't have tickets. Luckily the cop looked through my bags and let me go up to the red carpet area. There were maybe thirty people there when I got there. I was going to sit behind group of ladies, but they pointed out that there was plenty of space on down where I could be up front. I thought maybe they didn't like the look of me, but I'm glad they said that, but more on that later.





I moved on down to my spot and set up my chair and prepared for the long haul...little did I know. SHEESH! I watched as preparations were being made and the red carpet, beautiful flower arrangements and lighting were being put in place. Anyway. Shortly after that, two young girls came to stand next to me. They were attempting to take a self portrait, so I offered to take the photo. I'm glad I did because we quickly struck up a conversation and bonded over our love of all things Twilight. Danielle was Team Jacob while Hannah and I are both Team Edward so we looked through the new issue of Vanity Fair and tried to convert Danielle. (In the photo left to right: Hannah, Danielle and me)


During the course of the next few hours there were lots of people who started filing in. Some girls in homemade t-shirts declaring their love for Taycob came to stand next to us. There were also tons of people with signs. I wish I had gotten a photo of one that said, "Save a motorcycle. Ride a werewolf!" It cracked me up! Another photo I wish I had gotten was of a man who had in red contacts! It freaked a lot of people out, but was so cool. We spent some of that time deciding what we would want to have signed if we got lucky enough to get autographs. Luckily I was prepared with 3 Sharpies that Danielle, Hannah and I split them and well, it's a good thing we did. ;o)



There were also tons of media outlets that were there conducting interviews. I was featured on a couple of local news channels, WATE 6 and WBIR 10, which was exciting for me. Also there were people from REELZ Channel and the Oxygen Network. I'm not sure when those things will be on, but I will definitely try to keep my eye out. There were people from Radio shows (Mark Anthony from Star 102.1's Mark, Kim and Frank: Such a nice guy) and websites (Adina from TayLautnerDaily) that conducted interviews with fans all around us. People were there handing out different things like coupons, lip gloss and Team Jacob signs.

There were people in place wearing tuxedos with tails to open doors for the attendees. There were also executives that were hanging out to speak to the fans and to keep us apprised of what to expect as the day went on. We went from thinking Kristen and Taylor would be there at 4pm to conduct an interview. Then we were told it would be 5:30pm, but it was at that time that the fans with tickets to the film got to enter the theater. We were informed that they had already arrived in a darkly tinted Chevy SUV and were greeting the V.I.P.s in the tent around the side of the building. and They would then get in the SUVs to come around the building for the red carpet event. THEN, we were told it would be 6:30pm or any time between 6:30pm and 7pm before they would come our way. While all of these times were thrown around the crowd all around began to grow and get closer and closer in proximity. I stupidly still had my chair set up, so I folded it up and tried to keep all of the crap I had out of everyone's way. I don't know what I was thinking bringing all of that junk...the mom in me trying to always be prepared, I guess.

Then, because we were all so close together we could hear what other people were saying about their prospective "inside sources". One said that she was told that Kristen had left her dress for the event on the airplane and hat someone had to go back to get it. The airport is close to where I live which is approximately 30 miles away from the theater. Then a girl who had the same "inside source" that I did, said that it was true and one of the executives said it was true as well. By this time my new friends and I had been standing for about 7 1/2 hours and had not eaten or gone to the restroom. We were all getting very impatient. Then the executives and the Knoxville Police officers began moving into position and we knew our wait was nearly over.

From where we were standing we looked to the right and saw a black Chevy SUV with darkly tinted windows heading our way. The crowd went wild! When the car stopped in front of where we were people got out and walked right into the theater. We were then told that the Executive V.I.P.s would arrive first in five cars and then Kristen and Taylor would come in separate cars. Not everyone knew this, so the folks further back and in trees freaked out each time. Then the two cars came around the corner and we knew.


The cars stopped in front of us and Taylor got out first looking amazing in a black suit. He walked up to the media area while the fans all around were screaming, myself included! Then we saw Kristen and she looked gorgeous She walked over to the media area and we couldn't really tell where either of them were. We saw Taylor to the side under the awning greeting some fans who had tickets to the screening. The crowd was so thick that it was so tough to tell where they were. Once we did figure out where he was, we were wigging out! Then Kristen walked past where he was and out to the fans behind the barricades. People were behind me pushing me against the railing and she wasn't even close to us.



I started snapping photos and wondered to myself, "Is she going to come all of the way down here? Oh please, oh please, oh please!" She kept getting closer. I had my hard bound copy of New Moon and my blue Sharpie and when I realized that she just might make it down to where I was, I quickly pulled the lid off of the marker with my teeth and tucked it into the binding. Next to me was a group that had four little girls that had their school notebooks for her to sign. She stopped and spent some precious moments with them. She gave hugs and signed the autographs directly to them. Then I realized I was next and all I could think was, "HOLY SHIT!"


She stopped in front of me and I held out my book and asked her to sign it. She grabbed my Sharpie and my book and began to sign. I had to think of something to say! UGH! So after hearing the of the dress complication I said, "Your dress is so beautiful." and gave me a sincere look and said, "Thank you." I just looked at her and said, "It is such an honor to meet you." She was so sincere and humble in her thanks. She was trying to hand me back my marker, but my hands were full, so she put the lid on it and put it back in my book. Then she moved on to sign a photo addressed "To" my new friend Danielle and I was kicking myself for not asking her to sign my book "To Amy". Oh well. She continued moving down from fan to fan and I continued to take photos and then I think I went into a bit of shock. Two of the up close photos were taken when she was signing my book. Plus her make-up looked so beautiful and her skin is FLAWLESS! By the way, her dress was Jason Wu Spring 2010 if you were curious. SO beautiful and worth the wait.





We began chanting Taylor's name in the hopes that he too would come our way, but apparently their time was very limited. He had gone to greet the fans further down from where we were behind the barricade. Shortly after that he retreated to have photos made under the awning and to do interviews. I was amazed at how much time Kristen spent with the fans. Then she was gone. She followed Taylor to the spot for photo-ops a few minutes later and I attempted, unsuccessfully, to take a great photo of Taylor from a distance. The only decent one I got was after they had gone inside the theater to greet that crowd. You can see the edge of Kristen's dress in the shot.

I was going from being in total shock to being completely giddy. It was such a surreal experience. We were told that they would not be coming back out the way they had gone in, so everyone decided to pack up and retreat. As I was leaving I was interviewed by a reporter from the local newspaper, The Knoxville News Sentinel. She addressed the idea that I didn't fit the demographic of a typical Twilight fan, since I am 32 years-old. I wish I had thought to tell her that there is no real demographic. Twilight transcends all of that and appeals to people of all ages. If I am in he paper though, I'll be sure to let you know. But, I digress...I was parked close to where the tent was set up outside the theater and there were fans waiting to hopefully see Taylor and Kristen as they were leaving to go back to the airport, but my car was parked so far away and my feet hurt so bad, but I was ready to get home to my baby. In the past 72 hours I had been so excited that I had only gotten about 9 hours of sleep altogether, so I got in my car, turned on my New Moon soundtrack and drove home in my beautiful haze. When I got home I took a photo of one of my most prized possessions.



The best thing of all is that the whole thing was for charity. I wanted to share a couple of professional photos taken at the even, too. They were both just so stunning in person! I always loved Taylor but I have had mixed feelings about Kristen for a while mostly caused by jealousy *blush*. She was so kind to the fans and the little girls that were next to me and had been so patient for so many hours. Now I have great respect for her and I am probably on my way to being one of her biggest fans. These two huge stars took time out of their super bust schedule to make an appearance to help raise money for Variety, which is a local charity that helps handicapped children to become mobile so that they can be more active participants in their daily lives. A great cause!

If you made it to the end of this blog today I want to thank you for reading. It was so wonderful to get to be around people who understand my love of Twilight! Plus, I am hoarse, can barely speak from screaming and I'm exhausted, but yesterday was in the top five greatest days of my life and I am so glad to have gotten to share it with you all. I hope you'll leave a comment and maybe return to read more in the future.

XOXO!
Amy

No Blog Today...

I apologize for not blogging. I am feeling extra tired lately. I don't know if it's because of the weather or what. Plus I have the day off today, so I've been trying to clean and watch Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen with Zane, so I promise to blog tomorrow. I will try to make it a really good one to make it up to you. ;o)

Fall Weather Friday

A writer for a celebrity website has written one of the saddest celeb-encounter stories I think I have ever read. Molly at popsugar.com was thisclose to being there before anyone else but passed up an interview with Rob Pattinson at the 2008 MTV VMAs. I won't tell you who she was interviewing instead, but let me assure you...it's sad. It is one of those times that a person wishes they could invent a time-machine or have Alice's ability to see the future. Personally, I have had times where I came in contact with celebs (one in particular that I LOVE) and luckily had someone with me to say, "Say something to her!" so I did. However there was one time I could have gone to try to meet another celeb (Brendan Fraser) but I didn't go and I really regret it. This trumps all of that though. If it were me, I would never forgive myself, but luckily this girl works in an industry where she will get other chances. Give it a read. Thanks to RobPattzNews for the heads up.
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Robert Pattinson Celeb Sighting! (AKA The Saddest Celeb Sighting Story Ever Told) by Molly

In September of 2008, I was still resistant to the Twilight phenomenon. It was idiotic, I know, but the movie hadn't come out yet and the books seemed a little too young for me (again...no need to say it, I KNOW). Considering what percentage of my day and job — PopSugar.com — is taken up by Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and all the rest of the cast now, it feels so silly. And thus begins the story of my biggest professional, nay...life, regret. My colleague and friend Becky and I were set to attend the 2008 MTV VMAs in LA. We were so excited for our first big red carpet together and got all gussied up for the event. During the red carpet the celebrities' publicists would come over to offer interviews for their clients "Would you like Kid Rock? Would you like Chris Brown?" Then, one came over and said, "Hey, would you ladies like to chat with Robert Pattinson? He's from the upcoming Twilight movie?"

I answered, "Is Kristen Stewart available?" since at that point, she was more famous to me (Panic Room being a classic, in my eyes, plus she had worked with Adam Brody...). The publicist said no, we gave a tepid "Sure, we could maybe talk to Robert..."

Right as Robert was making his way down the red carpet, closer and closer to us who did we see but Brody Jenner! Believe me, this hurts me to even talk about, but we let Robert walk right by. We were trying to talk to Brody. As you can see from this photo — we were SOCLOSE. Sigh, how much would I love to have that moment back? Since then, Robert has obviously blown up into one of the biggest stars in the world. There will be chances to talk to Rob on red carpets to come, but nothing like catching him right before the storm, right before everything changed in his quiet life. My celebrity sighting of Robert Pattinson is a sad, sad tale.

Lesson learned: Believe the hype and never question millions of teens. They're usually right.

Epilogue: At the InTouch Icons and Idols afterparty that night at the Chateau Marmont, Robert was alone smoking in the corner all night. Not even talking to anyone. I was busy making small talk with one of the kids from Greek. FML.
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Again, thanks to RobPattzNews I can report that Empire Magazine has a list of the 50 sexiest male movie stars and I am very glad to say that Rob is number 2 on that list. I replied to a comment that one of my readers (Casey) made yesterday, saying that Rob would always be my number one. I must go on record and say that as far as Twilight guys, Rob will always be number one. However, anyone who knows me knows who is truly my number one. Empire Magazine also thinks he's number one. Here he is and if you have a problem with it...you're crazy. I'll share two photos to make up for the suckfest above that is the photo of Brody Jenner.


Johnny Depp completes me, but here is a sexy picture of Rob, too...just for good measure. ;o)

Well, since the New Moon soundtrack hit stores today, you knew it would only be a matter of time before the soundtrack for Eclipse would be speculated about. The band Muse may become the "Twilight Band". In an article on MTV.com the band discusses how they are friends with Eclipse director David Slade because he has directed some of their videos. They also talk about how they have become a new band in the eyes of so many even though they have been around since 1994. They have a song on the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks so the odds look good, but nothing is set in stone. I would also like to repeat how much I love twifans.com for all of the dish.


Just one more quick bit of Rob related news thanks to robsessedpattinson.com. Rob will be featured in Joepie Magazine, which is a magazine from Belgium. He looks so young, but so sexy. I love the little bit of skin showing. It reveals one of those spots that I really love on a guy. I want to nibble it. *blush* Enjoy!


Oh my. Can I just say how much I have changed since 2001. Last night I read some entries in an old journal and I can't believe how I used to be. Zane's birth changed me so much for the better. Although, I used to get a lot of dates! Something has happened to my game. That and I have become a bit of a hermit and don't have as many friends as I used to. I have no desire to go to bars and I don't really have any friends to go with. My cousin Evan is so awesome and we go out on the town together every now and then, which is always fun. The only drawback is that I think sometimes people think we are "together". Now that my hair is brown, I feel a lot more confident. I am about to up my "game" a bit more, so hopefully there will be good news on the horizon.

I am so glad that it is the weekend. My mother, my step-dad and I are planning to take Zane to Boo! at the Zoo tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it. Zane is going to be Snake Eyes from G.I Joe! It's a little creepy, because the mask looks like a man's face and it is weird to see on Zane's little body. He loves it though. His dad usually takes him every year and I think that might be in their plans for next weekend, but it is the sort of thing that I think will be enjoyable more than once. I have never been, but apparently the kids get to walk around the zoo at night and get candy, and it's not scary. It sounds like a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it. Hopefully I will have a couple of pictures of Zane in his costume to share on Monday.

I am also extremely excited that the weather is going to be very Autumn like. This is my favorite time of the year. I know I've said it before, but I love wearing boots, scarves, coats and hats. I love to drink cider and mulled wine and curl up with a blanket and read. It's just cozy to me and I am glad that we will have the chance to get out and enjoy it.

I just wanted to let my readers know that I have decided that I will no longer be blogging on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course I haven't blogged the past couple of weekends, so this isn't much of a departure. Everyone pretty much has their own things going on during those days and the hits to my blog are typically very low on those days. Therefore, I will continue to do my best and bring you my Twilight tidbits and personal musings Monday through Friday.

Be sure to comment if you want to, 'cuz it completes me.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Blogger Burnout

I want to apologize, but I am on blogger burnout. I am really exhausted today. I took Zane on his first field trip today and we had a really good time. I promise to blog tomorrow and to fill you all in on the field trip. I hope that my lack of blogging won't keep you all from coming back to read. Until I see you all tomorrow...ENJOY!

Beautiful Music?

On September 15, it was announced that The Used will have a song on the soundtrack for New Moon. Bert McCracken told take40.com that the title of the track is "For You I Would" and that Nine Inch Nails musician Danny Lohner produced the song. The song has not been released yet, but according to McCracken (heheh) they wrote the song especially for the film and it is going to be the title track for the album. I look forward to hearing the song. Well, really I look forward to anything having to do with this movie. As we all know Paramore hit it big after their song 'Decode' was chosen as the title track for the Twilight soundtrack. It's getting exciting! Thanks to newmoonmovie.org for the heads up.


The lady in charge of putting the songs together for the soundtrack for New Moon, Alexandra Patsavas, revealed some awesome news to Ben Sisario of The New York Times yesterday. The track list will be complete and released on Friday (tomorrow)! Of course we already know that Deathcab for Cutie and The Used have a song on the album, but all we have really heard in the past few months was speculation. Patsavas didn't care to say for sure who would be on the soundtrack, other than Deathcab, but she did say that she is confident that it would include Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Bon Iver and Band of Skulls. I do believe that those three artists had been previously confirmed, but it is not know which songs by those artists will be used. I am so excited for this album. I have complete faith that, much like the film New Moon, the soundtrack for New Moon will be better than the one for Twilight. I liked most of the tracks for the Twilight soundtrack, but there were a couple that I just did not think fit the "feel" of the story. I think the two songs that were from probably the best know artists (Perry Ferrell and Collective Soul) were the ones I liked the least. However, it did open me up to some "new-to-me" artists that I have really come to like. May I also just go on record and say that I DO NOT care for Bella's Lullaby. The more I have listened to it the more I think it sounds like the instrumental soundtrack for The Sims. When I hear it, I feel like I should be building and decorating my virtual house. Anyway. I think that the appeal of the New Moon CD will definitely come from the emotional tie it will have with the fans, so it is sure to be a hit regardless. Tune in tomorrow and I will hopefully have the whole list for you.


Newborns arrived in Forks the other day. According to eclipsemovie.org there are two set reports from fans who went to watch the whole thing go down. In seeing the photos and reading the descriptions, it is evident that David Slade, the director, is taking this film in a much darker direction. This is pretty exciting to see. Of course this part is not in the book, but I think it will be a nice addition. The photos that the two fans shared show some spooky looking newborn vamps walking out of the water very slowly. You can also see Xavier Samuel (Riley) and Jodelle Ferland (Bree) although she was not filming at the time.Spooky...I LOVE IT! Follow the link to read the full reports and see more photos.



E! Online has a story about Eclipse newcomer, Jack Huston. Jack plays the role of Rosalie's fiancee during her human life, Royce King II. It is assumed that this will occur in a flashback in the film. Huston goes on to talk about his brief stint on the set of Eclipse. He did not have the opportunity to work with Rob Pattinson (Edward Cullen) or Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), which sounds like he feels is a good thing. He talks about how he might not have gotten the gritty role if David Slade had not been willing to meet with him. Sound like Slade is a nice guy, at least. Huston goes on to state in the interview that he only worked with Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale) and that she made him feel welcome and that they had fun. I'm not really sure how I feel about him saying that it was "fun", since Royce basically gang rapes Rosalie with a group of his friends and leaves her for dead. I guess with a heavy scene like that, it would be important to try to keep things light.


It has been discovered that Booboo Stewart (Seth Clearwater) is to start shooting this morning. He sent out a message via Twitter stating that he was headed to set after breakfast. Seth is my favorite of all of the werewolves (shape shifters), so I hope this kid is good. Also, makes me curious which scene they are filming. I can't wait to see the pivotal battle between Edward, Bella, Seth, Victoria and Riley. I think Slade will keep things dark and ominous and I can't wait until June, 2010!



One last quick bit of Twilight news. Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen) and Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) were spotted out in Vancouver yesterday. They looked unbelievably gorgeous, but what is up with the glasses that Kellan is wearing? They look good as sunglasses, but when he has them flipped up "Dwayne Wayne" style he loses me. I love that Kellan is into fashion, but I'm not too sure about that particular fashio statement. What do you all think about these photos courtesy of laineygossip.com? Follow the link for more photos.




Today has been a more relaxed day at work (CRAP! I probably just jinxed it!). Yesterday was a different story. Sarah had the day off and Roger was in meetings so I manned the box office alone with Jimmy Brimer to keep me company. Of course that was when I wasn't on the phone taking orders. The bright point of my day was a phone call from Mary Costa, the voice of Walt Disney's: Sleeping Beauty. I knew her years ago when I worked for The Disney Store and she would come in to sign animation sericels and lithographs. I also had the pleasure of working with her and several of my fellow Cast Members when Disney hosted the premiere of Sleeping Beauty at The Tennessee Theatre several years ago. When she called, I told her who I was and she got very excited and said that she did remember me. I don't necessarily believe that she did, but it was so nice of her to say so. I just think that it is amazing to have a Disney Icon in our town. I mean she knew Walt Disney and was chosen by him to be the voice of Aurora! It's just a real honor to get to interact with her, whether she remembers me or not. :o)


One quick Zane anecdote. Last night we were being silly and I don't really remember what we were talking about, but I started talking in a more effeminate voice than my own. Zane said, "Mommy, you sound like those guys on that show." I wasn't sure what show he meant, so I asked. He said, "The one where they make the clothes and the girls walk down the runway." I said, "Project Runway?" He said, "That's it!!" I cracked up. I didn't mean to sound like one of those guys, but it was funny that he thought about that particular show.

Well, I took Zane to school this morning and let him walk about half way to his classroom without me. As we were walking in, one of the Kindergarten teachers was walking a group of kids out of the gym. Zane said he saw one of his friends from his class, so I asked him if he would like to walk to class with his friends and the teacher. The teacher looked at Zane and asked if he would like to walk with her. He gave me a sceptical look, but I assured him he would be fine and that I didn't mind, so he gave me a hug and walked on with the teacher. I stood and watched him until he went around the corner. It is just such an amazing thing to watch your child grow. When he was a little baby, I never really thought about all of the small milestones that he would accomplish in a mere five years. Each one is small, but so wonderful. Just seeing my child walking down the hallway of his school without me...it made me proud, but a little sad. It is amazing how many times, as a mother, those two emotions occur together.

Rainy Day Enjoyment

It's a rainy day here in Knoxville and there is very little in the way of "news" today, so how about some nice photos to brighten this gloomy day. The last 3 photos are for my sister. She might need some cheering up. ;o)

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Today was the craziest of days at work, so this is all I really had time for, but I hope you all enjoyed the blog today!

One quick Zane anecdote. Last night we were watching the news and they were talking about a serial killer and Zane asked me what a serial killer is. Then he jumped right in and said, "It must be a guy who kills the people on cereal boxes. The Lucky Charm guy comes off of the box and some guy attacks him with an axe?" I have no idea where that idea came from, but it made me laugh.

Also, when I walked him to his classroom yesterday morning, I was walking down the long hallway, working my way back out of the school and I passed these two little boys that I didn't recognize. The smallest one said, "That's Zane's Mom!" and I absolutely loved that. That little guy knew who I was because of Zane. I really feel like he is going to be a popular kid and hopefully that will stick with him as he grows. He is a precious and kind boy and I hope people continue to discover that.