‘Twilight’: Stephenie Meyer lets her inner fangirl loose at the ‘Breaking Dawn’ concert series
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Well, it’s no wonder that Edward and Bella got their happily ever after. Turns out Stephenie Meyer is the biggest of the ‘Twilight’ fangirls.
And with ear-piercing screams from the crowd punctuating the night -- seriously, after every sentence, throughout the whole show, as if Meyer was a Jonas Brother -- that’s saying something.
The 34-year-old author was giddier than most of the ‘Twilight’ tweens that packed UCLA’s Royce Hall Thursday night for the ‘Breaking Dawn’ concert, a sort-of mini book tour set to the acoustic sounds of alt rock band Blue October, one of the author’s favorite bands. The Los Angeles appearance was the third in a four-stop journey for Meyer and Blue October front man Justin Furstenfeld.
‘The music is a part of (my writing process),’ Meyer said later in the evening. ‘I could not do without it.’
Before she took the stage, Furstenfeld, dressed in all black, eyes circled in black eyeliner, opened with three songs, ‘Fairy Tale,’ ‘Ugly Side’ and ‘Blue Skies,’ the last a new track from his band’s forthcoming album ‘Approaching Normal.’ Shrieks pierced through each of the performances, but the singer didn’t seem to mind, even playfully whispering to himself between numbers, ‘Please don’t mess up.’ He seemed content to get lost in his own music, even while understanding that these girls who’d been listening to him for years (thanks to the play lists Meyer provides to each of her books on her official site) were probably reading meanings about tortured vampires and perfect teen love into each song.
Afterward, Meyer, truly one of the most eager girls in the room, appeared for some Q&A (all sent in by fans online and all of which the author had screened). Here are the highlights:
- Even though ‘Breaking Dawn’ was billed as the last in the ‘Twilight’ saga, Meyer may revisit its world in future works. ‘I don’t know if I’m done with the Cullens universe. We’ll have to just wait and see,’ she said. There are other stories and characters ‘waiting in the wings’ that she’ll write about first. (She later mentioned that Leah is a character that she’d like to continue to follow.)
- Meyer has known where Bella and Edward’s story would go and end since the fall of 2003. In other words, disappointed or not, the ending of had been in the works for years. What’s more, there are hints scattered throughout ‘New Moon’ and ‘Eclipse’ that spell out Bella’s future pregnancy. ‘Oh it’s all in there,’ she said with a laugh.
- Her favorite Bella and Edward moment happens in the last two pages of ‘Breaking Dawn.’ ‘It’s the culmination of 2000 pages of getting there,’ she said. ‘The finally see eye to eye.’
- She’ll try to post extras and/or outtakes for ‘Breaking Dawn’ on her website, as she’s done with the other three books, but the truth is there just weren’t that many this time. She does plan to put up bits of the book’s original manuscript, ‘Forever Dawn,’ just so you can see how different it is.
- The chess-themed cover of the last book has special meaning: It’s supposed to show Bella’s progression from being just a pawn to ‘the most powerful player on the board.’
- In Meyer’s mind, Jacob and Renesmee get their happily ever after too, because as long as Jacob continues to phase into a werewolf he won’t age. ‘They’re both set up for immortality,’ she explained. (Charlie and Billy, however, still aren’t speaking. ‘But I’m sure they’ll get over it,’ she reassured.)
- Bella’s ‘before car’ in ‘Breaking Dawn,’ a Mercedes Guardian, does not actually exist. A Mercedes Guard does, but Meyer wanted to imagine an even more sturdy vehicle to protect fragile Bella.
- The author ‘burst into tears’ when writing the moment when Edward calls Jacob ‘my son.’
- The Volturi’s human receptionist Gianna ‘didn’t make the cut.’ Awwwww.
- Meyer has seen a rough cut of the ‘Twilight’ movie -- and she’s thrilled. ‘If I’d seen that in a theater, I would have bought another ticket and ran back in,’ she said.
Furstenfeld joined Meyer onstage for more music. Before he played the next song, Blue October’s ‘Hate Me,’ Meyer told the audience that whenever she listens to it, ‘I can see Edward walking away from Bella in the meadow ... Watch! You’re going to hear him walk way.’ A performance of another new track off of ‘Approaching Normal’ called ‘My Never’ chokes Stephenie up. Apparently, not for the first time. It’s a Jacob song -- best enjoyed to page 355 of ‘Breaking Dawn,’ she said -- and ‘it’s just going to make you cry.’ Here’s footage from the Aug. 1 concert in New York’s Nokia Theatre at Times Square stop:
‘You totally need a happy ending after that song,’ a breathless Meyer said. ‘The good news is that this next one is one of my favorite Edward songs.’ The audience screams. ‘Sound of Pulling Heaven Down’ is what she imagines the soundtrack for the moment at the end of ‘New Moon’ when Edward recommits to his relationship with Bella no matter the cost.
And then the night was over -- and the stampede of hundreds began, racing to be first in line to get Meyer’s autograph.
(The entire event was streamed live at iClips.net and EW.com, and that footage will eventually be available to view, but one crafty attendee happens to already have clips up from the L.A. show. But you didn’t get it from me.)
-- Denise Martin
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