FOR the past few weeks, blogs have been filled with the smallest tidbits about “Twilight,” the movie based on the first book of the bestselling series by Stephenie Meyer—fan art, trailers, music clips of “Bella’s Lullaby,” you name it.

Rabid (or shall we say, delusional) fans go as far as airbrushing their faces over Kristen Stewart (who plays the lead role of Bella Swan) so that they appear to be kissing Robert Pattinson (a.k.a. Edward Cullen, the “vegetarian” vampire who falls in love with Bella).

It’s hard to explain the “Twilight” phenomenon to people who haven’t read the book—especially if they’re male. Edward Cullen, a fictional character that many girls would gladly swap their boyfriends for, is the epitome of the tragic but mind-numbingly perfect hero. Meyer depicts him handsome, conflicted, brave and overprotective of his ladylove in consistently purple prose. (Men would do well to use Meyer’s books as a guide to win over the women they want, even if the books are sappy to the point of overkill).

But we digress. The movie is slated to show here in less than two weeks (five days later than the Nov. 21 showing in the US), and fans are excited. In the US, tickets for the movie have been sold out in some theaters, while in the Philippines, movie posters and standees have been hanging out in theater lobbies for months. Twenty-two-year-old Pattinson became an overnight sensation, with teenage girls obsessively discussing his good looks and musical ability (he allegedly helped compose “Bella’s Lullaby” for the movie).

Movie fans might remember him as Cedric Diggory from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” However, Edward Cullen has pushed away Harry Potter from the top spot on teenage girls’ bookshelves because well, compared to the classically handsome Edward, the scrawny, bespectacled Potter doesn’t seem to compare.

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, which published an exclusive interview and shoot with the cast, Pattinson says, “As [the book] is written from Bella’s perspective, she describes him in this obsessively lustful way. She does not see a single flaw in him at all. It’s a very traditional aspect of first or young love. So, it took me ages to think of it, but it ended up being really simple: if you are in love with someone, you can’t see any flaw in the other person. So I finally figured out that I didn’t have to play the most beautiful man on the planet, but just play a man in love.”

He adds, “He doesn’t think that he has a soul. Then he meets Bella, who makes him feel like a human and feel alive again. At the same time, her human vulnerability makes him incredibly vulnerable, because even with his super speed and his super strength, he still can’t fully protect her. Whenever she is in danger, he is in danger. If she dies or goes anywhere, then he is gone, too.”

Eighteen-year-old Stewart, who is probably currently one of the most hated females on earth (thanks to the fangirls), was immediately cast as the clumsy Bella, who comes to Forks High and meets Edward.

“I thought it was really ambitious, this portrayal of the ultimate, most epic love story that could be,” says Stewart. “Also, Bella is not a typical female lead. The power balance between her and Edward is really skewed. Edward is this confident, perfect, idealistic man, although deep down he’s actually really afraid. Bella is naïve but also sure-footed. Whatever it is inside of her that drives her is stronger than she is.”

Majority of the fans immediately approved the casting for the movie, which also stars Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Edi Gathegi as Laurent, Cam Gigandet as James, Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Elizabeth Reaser as Esme, Kellan Lutz as Emmett, Nikki Reed as Rosalie, Kristen Jackson Rathbone as Jasper and Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria.

“They’re so perfect, I can’t wait for the movie,” one fan gushed on a forum. Whether or not the movie is better than the books remains to be seen in two weeks.

That is, if the fans can contain their excitement.

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com