In line for ‘New Moon’

By HANNAH SOUERS
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
It takes real commitment to sit outside in a fold-up chair in near-freezing temperatures, especially if the wait extends for more than five hours straight.
But 15-year-old Mariah Wildgen, a sophomore at West Valley High School, recently did just that.
For almost a year, Wildgen and a group of her friends had planned to be first in line on opening night for “New Moon,” the sequel to “Twilight,” the top-selling teenage vampire romance movie released last December.

So Thursday, they dedicated all evening — including several hours of sleep — in order to get a first look Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in the second film in the Twilight series.
Members of the first-in-line party  — including Nicole Schultz, Keely Hausken, Taylor Bobovsky, Rachel Roll and Sarah Joffs, all West Valley sophomores — wore orange tie-dyed shirts announcing their “team.”
Fans sided with the popular “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” and even “Team James” — all based on male characters in the film.
Wildgen wore a “Team James” shirt, despite the fact the character, played by Cam Gigandet, dies in the first movie, and never does return throughout the rest of the series.
“I don’t care,” Wildgen said. “James is still my first choice.”
Not far behind in line the West Valley sophomores was Justine Repp-Faith, a freshman at Perry Technical Institute.

The 19-year-old arrived at the theater at exactly 7:56 p.m. with three friends: Kelsey Berry and Amber Fernald, both 18-year-old freshmen at Yakima Valley Community College, as well as 19-year-old Chelsie Aucutt.
The four friends have visited Forks, Wash., the setting of the Twilight books and movies.
“We’re all die-hard book fans,” Repp-Faith said. “The movie is good, but the books are better.”
Repp-Faith became acquainted with the vampire series when a close friend gave her the first book. Within a week, she had read the final book in the four-book series and owned them all.
Some fans brought their copies of the books to the midnight showing. Other movie-goers managed to keep themselves entertained by playing games. And many came well-equipped with snacks, such as a gallon of Goldfish crackers and assorted Twilight-themed candies.

Wildgen and her friends were playing a game of “Twister” on one side of the cinema. Their group also stood out in the crowd also because they brought cardboard cut-out of Edward to wait with them in line.
Once inside the theater, the atmosphere grew from impatient to ready to race for the best seats in the house. And seeing the screen only managed to increase the excitement. The normal before-movie chatter was all based on a single theme.
“All I heard while we waited for the movie to start was people counting down,” said Makenzie McFeeley, another West Valley sophomore. “Everyone had their phones out, checking the time for the countdown to ‘New Moon’.”
As the lights dimmed and a gigantic orange moon engulfed the screen, several high-pitched screams shot through the audience. This reaction reemerged when Pattinson, who plays Edward, entered the movie for the first time.
Lautner, who plays Jacob, was a different story. His first sight on screen caused a unique-sounding sigh from seemingly every girl in the room. This was soon followed by an outbreak of embarrassed giggles.

And Hausken’s might have been the loudest.
“I was almost worried I was annoying the people around me,” Hausken said after the movie. “I was sure I was the loudest in there during the best scenes.”
Hausken claimed to be on Team Edward, regardless of the handsome werewolves. (The cardboard cut-out of Edward belonged to her.) Still, she couldn’t help but notice them.
“I was the closest I’ve ever been to being a Jacob fan,” she said.
Two more movie installments of the Twilight series remain. And fans are already planning to sit outside in line for hours again next year.
Only it should be warmer.
“Eclipse,” the third installment in the saga, is slated to hit theaters June 30, 2010.

— Hannah Souers is a sophomore at West Valley High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.