The A to Z Of Twilight

The A to Z Of Twilight

The Twilight Saga

When it comes to the dark goings-on in sleepy, creepy Forks, Washington, there's nothing you can tell a Twi-hard that they don't already know. Or is there?

Whether you've yet to develop the taste for blood or need to quell your insatiable thirst, here is an A-Z guide of all you need to know about The Twilight Saga.

A is for... Awards

We doubt there are Oscars in store for the Twilight Saga, but when it comes to awards this cast can't complain.

As well as being a bona-fide box office hit, the cast have nabbed countless MTV movie awards, Teen Choice awards, and Scream Awards - including a few gongs for best snog.

B is for... Breaking Dawn

The fourth and final installment in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn sees Bella immersed further in the vampire world as she ties the knot with true love Edward.

Robert Pattinson has revealed that filming for Breaking Dawn will begin in late 2010, but added: "they may well change that."

The actor also hinted that he'd like to see Milk director Gus Van Sant take the reigns for Twilight's final outing, while Jamie Campbell Bower prefers the talents of Tim Burton for the gig.

Twilight creator Stephanie Meyer, however, thinks the book should be split into two films a la Harry Potter. "I'm not a movie person, I don't know. I just think it's too long for one movie."

C is for... The Cullen family

'Vegetarian' vampire clan the Cullens are the heart of Twilight, having sworn to ignore their natural instincts and abstain from drinking human blood.

Peter Facinelli heads up the coven as Dr. Carlisle, a 362 year-old vamp and the inspiration behind the Cullen's commitment to protecting human life.

He's joined by wife Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), and 'children' Edward, Rosalie (Nikki Reed), Emmett (Kellan Lutz), Alice (Ashley Greene) and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone).

Like all Twilight vampires, the Cullens are strong, fast, impossibly beautiful - and deadly.

D is for... The Denali coven

Though they don't appear until Breaking Dawn, the Denali coven are old friends of the Cullens and fellow vegetarian vamps. They will appear to help the family in a final battle against the Volturi.

Though Summit Entertainment insist they're not yet casting for the roles, Rose McGowan and Isla Fisher are being touted by fans as likely candidates to play sisters Kate and Irina while Scarlett Johansson is firm favourite to play the role of prominent family member Tanya, who could be a rival for Edward's affections.

E is for... Eclipse

The third book in the series sees the Cullens and the Queilute werewolf pack join forces to protect Bella from an army of newborn vampires led by a vengeful Victoria.

Filming has already wrapped on the film version, directed by Hard Candy's David Slade who admitted the movie is "darker" and more action-packed than its predecessors.

Speaking about the film, Kristin Stewart commented: "What was great for me to explore was different levels of love and acknowledging that the ideals that maybe you had a little while ago aren't true.

"Bella is innately honest and in 'Eclipse' she lies to herself and everyone around her about the fact that she's in love in Jacob."

F is for... Fans

Films rarely achieve the levels of fan obsession that the Twilight Saga has managed. Wherever the cast go they are met with hoards of screaming fans desperate to get close to their idols.

"It's always completely insane," fan favourite R-Patz confessed in a recent interview with Sky News.

"I'm always overwhelmed. I always get like a deer in the headlights every time. It's kind of pathetic."

Many are tipping the franchise to become even more successful than Harry Potter, after Twilight achieved more that £300million at the box-office last November - a number New Moon is expected to smash.

G is for... Glitter

Unlike their traditional counterparts, the sun's rays are not at all deadly to Twilight vampires, but that's not to suggest they don't avoid direct sunlight. Meyer's vamps glitter like diamonds in the sun - which would clearly give humans a hint that something's not quite right.

Sadly, the special effects budget of the first film didn't quite do the job when it came to making Edward sparkle, but New Moon director Chris Weitz has promised better for the sequel.

"We've got a really good run at the sparkling," explained Weitz. "It's trying to do the same thing that they were trying to do in the first film, in that he shines like a diamond."

H is for... Catherine Hardwicke

Lords Of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke was the woman responsible for bringing Twilight to the big screen and had the honour of helming the biggest opening ever for a film from a female director. The decision to replace her was, according to studio Summit, down to timing.

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct New Moon," said Hardwicke at the time. "Directing Twilight has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel - it is a great story."

I is for... Isabella Swan

Better known as Bella, Isabella Swan is Twilight's unlikely heroine.

Clumsy, awkward and plain, Bella's world is turned upside down when she is thrust into the world of the supernatural by her dangerous and passionate relationship with Edward Cullen.

J is for... Jacob Black

Having featured as nothing more than a minor character in Twilight, Jacob Black comes into his own in New Moon, taking the male lead when Edward leaves Bella heartbroken. But Jacob's life is turned upside down when he discovers his true destiny as a werewolf - natural enemies of the vampire.

At just 17, actor Taylor Lautner showed amazing discipline to keep the part, piling on 40lbs of muscle to create a physique worthy of a wolf.

"I love this character, I love this story, and putting on the weight and not wearing much clothing was required by the role," said the actor.

K is for... Kristen Stewart

The first to be cast by Catherine Hardwicke for the original film, Kristin Stewart has at times seemed an unlikely celebrity, uncomfortable with her new found A-list status despite first finding fame after starring 2002's Panic Room opposite Jodie Foster.

"I have gotten more comfortable with it," said Stewart. "The whole rumor and tabloid stuff is so obviously false to me even before I became a part of it that I was sort of the star - it's like a show. It's like a ridiculous show.

"It doesn't bother me. I don't take it personally."

L is for... Laurent

Actor Edi Gathegi reprises the role of Laurent for New Moon, when the character returns to Forks with Victoria to wreak revenge on Edward for killing James.

Laurent is surprised to find Bella alone ... but not unprotected. Cue a spectacular bust-up with the wolves.

M is for... Stephenie Meyer

"I had a dream..." says author and creator of the Twilight universe Stephenie Meyer, and so it began. Having won multiple literary awards and sold over 70million copies of her novels worldwide, Meyer has gone from zero to the 26th most powerful celebrity in the world (according to Forbes) in a few short years.

Meyer's adult sci fi novel The Host is also set for a film adaptation, to be written and directed by The Truman Show's Andrew Niccol.

N is for... New Moon

The Twilight Saga's second instalment takes a dark turn when Edward, fearing for Bella's safety around his family, decides to leave Forks.

Her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested.

O is for... OME (as in Oh my Edward)

Rarely does a fictional character achieve the levels of adoration and devotion that brooding vampire Edward Cullen has achieved.

Described as "inhumanly beautiful" Edward manages to curb his lust for Bella's blood because of his undying love for her.

What else could a woman ask for?

P is for... Proposal

Fans will be happy to hear that the films stay faithful when it comes to Edward and Bella's impending nuptials.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenburg confirmed: "In Eclipse, the proposal when theyíre on the bed, to me, was a quintessential scene from the book.

"When Edward gets on his knees, with his motherís ring, and she says yes - that was one of the most romantic scenes that Stephenie wrote."

Q is for... Quileute

If the vampires had their moment in Twilight, New Moon is the turn of Forks' werewolves to come to the fore.

Far from being a bunch of ordinary guys, the lads of the Quileute tribe lead double lives - as shapeshifters who are duty bound to protect their people from natural enemies 'the cold ones'.

"Sam Uley, who leads the pack," explained Lautner. "He's the alpha.

"And then we've got Jared and Paul, Jared is a funny guy - a real jokester. Paul is the hothead. And then there's Embry - he's my best friend."

R is for... R-Pattz

He might have appeared in Harry Potter but Robert Pattinson was just another actor until he took the part of Edward Cullen and became an overnight teen sensation.

But fame comes with a price for the 24-year-old actor, including almost constant paparazzi intrusion and delusional fans begging for him to bite them.

For R-Pattz though, it's all about the 'art': I'm not really playing Edward. I'm playing a kind of disrupted memory, which is really strange." Indeed.

S is for... Swan, Chief Charlie

Forks' Chief of Police and Bella's father Charlie might be a minor character but he's integral to the Twilight story.

Billy Burke captures the character perfectly for the films, managing to remain quiet and understated, whilst providing some genuine laugh out loud moments.

Of his role in New Moon, Burke explained: "Charlie is, per usual, oblivious to what's going on. But his relationship with Bella gets a little deeper, a little darker. You'll see some of the same, but with thicker layers."

T is for... Twilight

Dracula meets Romeo & Juliet in the low-budget big screen adaptation of the first book in Stephenie Meyer's globally successful fantasy franchise.

When girl-next-door Bella Swann moves to a small town with her father she finds herself drawn to the boy next door.

However, this is no innocent crush as she soon learns that Edwardís not a boy at all ñ but a 108-year-old vampire who just happens to also be beautiful, boast a neat turn of speed, has the ability to read minds and finds Bella's blood almost impossible to resist.

U is for... Unrequited love

Inevitably, when dealing with a Twilight-type love triangle, there's always someone who loses out on the leading lady.

Sadly the loser in this case is Jacob who, despite doing his best to win Bella's affections can't compete with Edward's Eclipse.

But whether the werewolf will get his happy ending remains to be seen.

V is for... Volturi

A powerful and ancient coven whose job it is to keep the supernatural world a secret, the villainous Volturi are the essence of vampire kind.

Michael Sheen, of Frost/Nixon fame, plays Volturi leader Aro: "I like the idea of someone who thinks of himself as a nice, sweet grandmotherly type but who's actually a psycho killer underneath," he said.

Dakota Fanning also stars as sadistic sidekick Jane, While Jamie Campbell Bower, soon to be seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Gellert Grindelwald, plays the cruel Caius.

W is for... Chris Weitz

Having helmed The Golden Compass, Chris Weitz was perfectly poised to take the reins of New Moon, but his appointment was met with some trepidation from fans.

"I will devote myself to making the very best and most faithful version of New Moon that can be brought to the screen," claimed the director at the time.

It is not yet known whether Weitz will return to direct Breaking Dawn.

X is for... X-Rated

Admittedly, it's unlikely that a series as chaste as Twilight would contain any real x-rated content, but producers have been careful to maintain an air of innocence about the franchise.

The original scene showing Edward and Bella's first kiss was deemed too raunchy for the final cut of Twilight, while screenwriter Melissa Rosenburg admitted there are many things in Breaking Dawn which would be "inappropriate" for a young audience but added that she sees no problem in writing a PG-13 screenplay.

Y is for... Yellow eyes

Eagle-eyed movie goers will notice a difference in eye colour when it comes to comparing the Cullens with their Italian-based blood-sucking counterparts.

The vegetarian vamps have yellow-gold eyes from feeding on the blood of animals rather than humans.

Human blood, however, gives the Volturi vamps' eyes a terrifying blood red colour.

Z is for... Zafrina

Another new character too look forward to in the film adaptation of Breaking Dawn, Zafrina is one of three Amazonian vampire sisters who has the power project illusions into her enemies' mind.

The studio remains tight-lipped on who might be up for the role, but Thandie Newton is a firm fan favourite.

Source => Sky Movies