Whether you side with Team Edward or Team Jacob, die-hard Twilight fans are unanimously excited for the upcoming release of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1."
"I'm definitely going to go see it," said Katherine Dunnigan, 21-year-old engineering junior at UF.
Dunnigan is one of many who will venture out to local theaters to see the new movie, which premieres Nov. 18. A few local theaters are already selling tickets for the film's midnight release.
"Tickets are currently on sale at our box office," said Rami Badawi, the general manager at Gator Cinemas, located at 6741 W. Newberry Road. "We're expecting to sell out."
The last midnight premiere of the previous film, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," which was released June 30, 2010, sold out. The venue hosted a later 2 a.m. showing to accommodate customers, Badawi said. Gator Cinemas will most likely be having a 3 a.m. showing for this release.
The Regal Gainesville Cinema Stadium 14 will also be participating in "Breaking Dawn" midnight premieres. It has also been hosting "Twilight Saga Tuesdays" every Tuesday leading up to the premiere. It showed the saga's movies as well as cast interviews and sneak peeks from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1."
Bryant Rafferty, an assistant manager at the Regal Gainesville Cinema Stadium 14, said the premiere will be one of the busiest midnight premieres it has all year.
"Breaking Dawn" is the fourth movie of the saga based on the book series written by Stephenie Meyer. The series consists of four fantasy teen novels that follow the lives of a human, Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart; a vampire, Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson; and a werewolf, Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner.
"‘Twilight' is a classic love story," said Melissa Ramsey, a 22-year-old nutrition and food science senior at UF. "Most people are interested in the idea of fate and true love, and ‘Twilight' portrays that very well. It doesn't hurt to have a cast that includes Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, either."
Dunnigan said the books are better than the movies, but she still watches them to see how they compare.
"The movies are pretty good, but they're no ‘Harry Potter,'" she said.
This story encompasses not only love but also a rivalry between Jacob and Edward. Fans are faced with the tough decision of choosing between the two, as Bella often is.
"I don't know if I could pick between Edward or Jacob," Ramsey said. "This movie gives you the choice to take sides and hope that your team wins. We like competition, so the rivalry is normally taken very seriously."
"I'm team Jacob," said Allison Karnbach, 21-year-old dietetics junior at UF.
Despite her loyalty to Team Jacob, she will be standing alongside Team Edward fans at the midnight premiere. Fans hoping to attend a midnight premiere of the film are encouraged to preorder tickets, because when the sun sets tonight, all fans of the series, regardless of team affiliations, will come out to watch more than just the usual break of dawn.
