The Twilight series has been a raging juggernaut, selling over 7.5 million books just in the U.S. alone. The story of teenage vampire angst has resonated with every young girl who has always fantasized about falling in love with some idiot who shops at Hot Topic.

Since everyone here at Latinoreview is 100% pure mancake, we hired our international super Asian reporter Christina K. to attend Stephanie's press conference and get the low down on her thoughts about the movie. And stay till the end for a funny diss Stephanie lays on an unsuspecting reporter. Oh, you celebrities kill me!

Why would you say is the reason for the incredible popularity of the series that you started? What do you think is the essence of why so many 12-14 year old girls cannot live without reading every one of these books?

Stephanie: I don’t know it’s hard for me answer that, because for me it’s an absolute mystery. I read a lot of books and some of them that I love are really popular and others I think why isn't everyone reading this book? Its so amazing, so when one book takes off its why…why does it ever happen I don’t know why people respond to these books they way they do. I know why I do cause I wrote it for me it’s exactly what I wanted to read. So of course I’m really hooked on it. For other people its kind of bizarre actually.

Did you write it with the idea that it was going to be preteens or a young teenage girl that was going to be your audience?

Stephanie: No I had a a very specific audience. It was a 29 year old mother of 3. No one was ever supposed to read this except for me and if I had any idea that other people would read it I never would’ve been able to finish it. Way, way too much pressure.

I’m curious about to how much input you had in the script and how much they listened to you as far as lines you needed to keep in or events?

Stephanie: It was a really pleasant exchange from the beginning, which is I think not very typical. I don’t know, they were really interested in my ideas. I really didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. I don’t know how to make a movie I didn’t want to get in the way or make it worse or screw it up somehow. So I let them come to me and they did. They kept me in the loop with the script. They let me see it and said “what are your thoughts.” And so they really opened themselves up there. So I sent them back the script with red marks on the whole things. It was stuff like, “Wouldn’t Bella say it like this, or more like this. Wouldn’t this sound more like her voice.” It wasn’t like this whole scene needs to go because it was in really good shape from the beginning, but they let me have input on it. And I think they took 90% of what I said and just incorporated it into the script.

There was a key line about the lion and lamb…did you insist they keep it the way it is in the book?

Stephanie: You know, that was an interesting thing, because I actually think the way Melissa wrote it sounded better for the movie. It really did. It was just a little bit more relaxed, but the problem is is that that line is actually tattooed on people’s bodies, which I don’t approve of by the way, but if you take that one and change it that’s a potential backlash situation. And if there’s a place where we can make it, you know, give a little shout out to the fans, do something for them. That is what I thought about.

Is it true that you didn’t want to commit to doing the film until they agreed that there would be no fangs?

Stephanie: Yes, it was an interesting thing because when we started out with this I actually sold the rights to another company. I got a look at a script that, objectively, probably a decent vampire movie. It had nothing at all to do with Twilight. You could’ve produced that movie and never given me any credit. It wasn’t anything to do with the books and that was a kind of horrifying experience, like I had realized that it could go wrong and they could do it badly. But that they would do something that had absolutely nothing to do with the story was kind of shocking to me. And I know that’s because I’m really naïve. So, when I went back into this and I had learned and Summit had said, “we really want to do this,” I was wary and I said, “You know, I’m just not sure.” And they said, “What can we do for you.” I said, “What if I give you a list of things that absolutely can’t be changed?” And I’m not talking like, okay you have to read…it has to be exactly like the book. It was very fundamental, outline things, like, the vampires have to have the basic rules of the vampire world that I created, which means no fangs, which means no coffins, which means they sparkle in the sunlight. The characters have to exist by their present names, by their present forms and you can’t kill anyone that doesn’t die in the book and just basic things like that that were really just the foundation of the story.

You got it in writing.

Stephanie: I got it in writing. That’s the nice thing about working with a new company is they’re really open to working with you. You don’t get that with a big, huge group.

How did you get the rights back?

Stephanie: The option period was up and they weren’t going to use it and that’s actually where Summit came in and said, “Can we roll over your option? Can we have it?” And I wouldn’t have done it because, you know, I’d learned my lesson. If I’d come to them and say, “Okay these are the things I want,” and they hesitated and put on the brakes and said, “Who, I’m not sure about this”, but they were like, “Oh, of course,” so I knew that they wanted to do it the way that it was in my head.

I know you were approached about the movie before you were actually published. Did that change the way you wrote the next 3 books? Did you write them a little more systematically because you knew they would be turned into films?

Stephanie: No. I wouldn’t have agreed to do a movie in the first place, because it’s a huge risk and it was that sense that this was a natural step for the story that made me feel like I could go ahead with it. With the others it was very similar, but I’d already had a movie…it was like a movie anyway with the first one and so the others were very similar, but it was the same experience.

Did you have any direct interaction with the actors and what did you think of Catherine? She’s kind of an interesting person as well as the director?

Stephanie: You know, Catherine’s fantastic. The first time we started talking to each other about things, I was surprised, because I knew this was the person who was focused, was going to shape this film. And so, if this person had a different idea from me it was not going to turn out very much like how I had pictured it in my head. And we were on the same page from the very beginning. The things I was worried about, she was already on top of. I’d be, like, “hey Catherine…about the wardrobe, I’m a little worried this is going to go all chokers and leather and everything.” And she was like, “oh no, I already talked to the wardrobe person and we’re thinking ice and this is what I want it to look like” and it was exactly what I wanted. And so, it was great, because she got it the same way I got it and I just really loved working with her. And you know, we’re kind of buddies. She’s really cool to hang out with. She’s just an awesome person. Tell me the first part of your question again, because I have lost it.

Did you have any interaction with the actors? Did you have any directions for Robert?

Stephanie: A little bit. A little bit. With Rob we actually sat down and talked about Edward’s character before the filming started…I had just come in and met everyone…it wasn’t an argument, but we actually disagree on his character and I’d be like, “no, this is how it is” and he’s like “no, its definitely this way” and the funny part about it, you know, here we are arguing about a fictional character and yet in the performance he did what he wanted and yet it was still exactly what I wanted, so that was really cool.

When you saw the finished film what was your most significant moment where you felt dislocated from the finished film as opposed to the world you had in your head. And was there also a similar moment where you felt “ah there it is” like the world in your head, in the film?

Stephanie: You know, it was a funny experience and its hard to pull out a moment, because as a whole it was just so overwhelming. I think probably, if you just said the first scene, because it took me a minute, you know, and I was so braced for it, because what if it was really horrid. So I was ready for it to be just bad. I was watching through my fingers and I had my little note pad, because it was a rough cut and I was going to give them the notes on what I wanted. So, after a couple minutes you started getting into this voice and you start hearing Kristen’s voice and you start hearing Bella’s voice and it got to where I completely forgot why I was there. In all of the scenes there was so many things that were like deja-vu to see them. So that when the movie was over and the producer, she said, “okay, lets have your notes,” I said, “you know, give me a minute,” I was so overwhelmed. I just, I had to have a moment where I could just sit and think, because it was so much to take in and it was so many scenes were the way I had envisioned them. It was partially creepy and partially wonderful.

Could you tell us a little bit, so you wrote the script, what was the day when you sat down and decided I’m going to do this? How did you get published? How did it all work?

Stephanie: I don’t think as many authors have as a specific answer as I do. It all started June 2, 2003. And I know the exact day, because I had all these other things on my calendar that I had to do that day and I had this really great dream. I tell this story a lot and I think it starts to sound like I’m making it up, but I’m not. I had an awesome dream and it was odd, because it was coherent, because it was a really complicated conversation, and because I don’t ever dream about vampires, so that was also very odd. And I woke up and I was just wrapped up in this idea of what was going to happen next. Was he going to kill her or were they going to be together, because it was 50/50 at that point and I wrote it down because there were a lot of nuances to the conversation and I didn’t want to forget and I knew they go…I forget everything. And once I got started, within that day I was completely hooked on writing. This was something brand new to me. I had no ambitions for a writing career. I had a career. I was really busy with it.

Being a mother?

Stephanie: Being a mother, which is about the most full time job you can have and I had 3 little boys and there was no time to do something else, but I was obsessed with it from the first day. I’d painted before. I’d done a couple creative endeavors that always…they were good…it felt good to be creative, but it wasn’t completely fulfilling, but with writing, it was like I had just found it. Like you had just found your favorite flavor of ice cream, and there it is. This is what I should’ve been doing for the last 30 years. What was I thinking? Then I was in. And I had to just keep going with it.

How’d you get it published?

Stephanie: Sheer luck…or fate…or what have you. I had the easiest publishing experience in the world. I sent out 15 quarry letters to agents, got 5 no replies, 9 rejections, and 1 I want to see it. A month later, I had an agent. Another month later I had a 3 book deal with little brown. And it does not happen that way. If you expect that going in, get ready for heartbreak.

Did you believe this was even happening?

Stephanie: No, I still don’t.

We had talked a couple months ago and you had just come from the set, the cafeteria scene, and you had touched on this earlier about how odd it was seeing everybody there. What I wanted to ask, was that I know you listened to Muse a lot when writing this, how much of importance was it that they be on the soundtrack in some form?

Stephanie: You know, I knew that was out of my hands, with the music. I think I would’ve always felt like there was something on the soundtrack if they hadn’t been a part of it and even more so, knowing what I know now, having seen how muse brings that scene to life, and that’s just a moment when everything music, action, atmosphere, comes together so perfectly. How could you not have that? It would just not be right if you didn’t have Super Massive Black Hole playing in that scene. It was so perfect. So, watching that, I think that was one of the most surprisingly enjoyable things. I knew I was going to enjoy it, but not that much. That was cool.

I’m curious, why this enduring curiosity in vampire culture because it’s been going on for centuries so I’d appreciate your views on that and how great was your own when you started this?

Stephanie: Well, my answer has to be hypothetical, because I am not a vampire fan and I never have been. I don’t do horror. I’m an enormous scaredy cat. Hitchcock is about as much as I can handle and I love it, but anything more than that and you’re not going to see me in the theater. I’ve never gotten it. Why are people so obsessed with vampires? And I know a lot of people that are. I’m actually surprised that now I know how many more people are. So, the fact that I would write about them is wildly out of character for me and bizarre and nobody who knows me believed it for a really long time. But this is my theory, having talked to a lot of people about “why do you like vampires so much?” Besides myself, it seems like everybody else really likes to be scared in a controlled environment. Horror movies do really big, you know, it’s a really big industry. People read a lot of really scary books. I’m missing that gene, but clearly we like to be scared and we look to the monsters we can scare ourselves with and most of them are disgusting and gruesome and they’re covered in nasty things. And we don’t want anything from them. We just want to get away from them. They’re just there to scare us. And then we’ve got vampires…who are often beautiful and eternally youthful and rich and cultured and live in castles. There are so many things that are ideals in our culture that we want that they have, so there’s this double edged sword. You’re going to kill us and are terrifying, and yet, maybe I want to be one. I don’t want to be a vampire. A lot of other people do and I think its that dual nature we have…terrifying, intriguing.

Have you had any other dreams that have fueled future projects? And now that you’ve had a taste of Hollywood system, would you think about doing a screenplay?

Stephanie: With the screenplay…you’ll have to remind me of the other one, cause like I said, I get going and I forget. I don’t think I could do that unless hollywood is ready for a 14 hour movie experience. I tried once to write a short story and it was a horrible thing. I don’t think in short. I have to explore every tiny, little detail of things. And I really admire people who can come in and streamline it and get all of the information across where they do it so simply and that’s not my talent. So, I can’t imagine doing that, although, my ideas are often very visual. I’d have to have a partner who would know how to do it. Now give me the first one again.

Have you had any other dreams that have fueled ideas for a story?

Stephanie: You don’t get a dream like that twice. I got my chance and I do feel like I was supposed to be writing and this dream was just my kick in the pants to get going. And once I started, I didn’t need another one, because once I discovered how wonderful writing was for me, I was ready to go with it.

What’s the difference between your vampires and vampires of yesteryear? What can your vampires do that are different?

Stephanie: Well, in general, because I know there are a lot of varying legends…there are the ones that turn into bats and mist and there are the ones that are more concrete…in general my vampires don’t have fangs and they don’t need them. Strong as they are its kind of unnecessary. They’re fairly indestructible. Wooden stakes and garlic are not going to get you anywhere. They don’t sleep at all. They are never unconscious. They have no period of unconsciousness. And the sunlight doesn’t harm them. It just shows them for who they are, because they sparkle in the sun.

Do they have reflections?

Stephanie: They totally have reflections and you can take pictures of them. All of that are these myths…in my world, these are myths that vampires anciently spread around so that people would say, “Oh, this person can’t be a vampire because I can see them in the mirror so I’m safe.”

Was the fan base built for the series and it became more of a phenomenon and had that changed the way you wrote the books? And also, what was your response to the fan response to the fourth book?

Stephanie: As far as changing things, I couldn’t because I actually had the first 3 books and a rough draft of the 4^th one written before twilight even came out. So the story was there and its funny cause I had this conversation with a friend of mine who wrote non-fiction, obscure historical stories and she was saying how it must be so hard for you because when my editors come they can’t change anything, this is what happened, and it kind of clicked in for me, that’s exactly how I feel…like it’s historical. This is what happened. It’s not like I can just change things. This is how it went down. And that’s a kind of awkward position to be in when your editor does want you to change things. So the fan expectations…I already knew the story. It did have a little bit of pressure and it was particularly difficult when I’m writing, I tune that out and don’t think about it at all, but when I’m editing I get online and see online one blog that says if A and B don’t happen, I’m burning this book. And then on another page, if A and B do happen this is going to be the worst book ever. So, you know going in, “there’s no way I’m going to please everybody.” I can’t even please half the people, because everyone wants things a different way and they’ve written the stories in their heads to a way that they are happy with. I read an interview that George Lucas did about Indiana Jones and all the fans had already written their sequel and if they don’t see that sequel, they’re really going to be upset. And I really found myself in that same position. And, so, I was braced going in. I knew that this was going to be bad. And it was also good. That was the thing about the fourth book, it was so much more in every aspect. It was bigger than I ever would have dared to imagine. It was better in a lot of ways and it was worse in a lot of ways and it was a lot of overwhelming stuff that I couldn’t really take in. I found that it’s easier for me, when I’m at home, when I don’t have to talk into a microphone in front of hundreds of people I just forget that this is all going on and I just live my life. And writing is a part of it, but I don’t think about this part because it’s too hard.

What did you think when you went to the set? How often did you go first of all?

Stephanie: I think I went about four times. I was in Portland about four times in and out, probably a total for two weeks altogether.

And what did you think about the film making process?

Stephanie: That was one of the coolest things that a green to do movie gave me. I’m right in the middle of this, I have two book tours this year, and all kinds of crazy stuff going on…the movie was just fun. I find it just fascinating. One time I had my brother with me for a couple days and I know he was bored stupid, that poor kid he was just like “ugh, how can they say the same line again for the 16^th time?” And for me, everytime…I was with the humans that week…and everytime Anna Kendricks said it, she added a new little twist, or her eyebrow raised just a little bit differently. And the nuances were fascinating. I guess that’s just because it was mine. I don’t know if I’d be that way on another film, but I was riveted, at the edge of my seat, looking at the monitor and, “oh, I love that,” just thrilled.

Do the actors embody what you envisioned for the most part? Could you see everybody, “that’s Bella, that’s Edward?”

Stephanie: Yeah, if someone had pulled me in there and said, “okay, we’ve got a room full of your characters, lets see if you can pin the names on them,” it would’ve been cake. It would’ve been so easy. They were so clearly who they were. And really, I think the acting in this movie is something special. It’s amazing. There’s all these people that people really haven’t heard of yet, I mean, some of them, to an extent, but a lot of these kids are new. And they’re so good. I mean, they’re just so believable. You feel like, yeah, you’re sitting with a bunch of kids in high school and this is how they sound. It didn’t sound like people acting, it sounded like people being people.

So what is the status of Midnight Sun?

Stephanie: Midnight sun is not on my schedule right now. Its part of my writing story, like what I was saying before, I cant think about what other people want and what other people are thinking and what the editing is going to be and what the expectations are when I’m writing, because it’s paralyzing to do that. You really can’t put a word on the page. I have to be very alone with a story. It has to just be me and what’s happening and I just can’t feel that way about it right now. And it’s a weird thing and I’m not sure what its all about, but I think this is all going to die down…this is like what, two months old…people are going to forget about it. And its going to go away. And that’ll be the time when I sneak back in and give it a try again, but its going to have to be when I’m not writing in a fish bowl cause I can’t work that way.

Since it’s a given that the rest of the books are going to be made into films, which one do you expect to be the most challenging to adapt?

Stephanie: That’s a given, huh? We’ll see…if it were a given that every one of these would be made, book four without a doubt is the hardest thing to do. There’s a really simple reason for that. You have a character in that, you almost have to do with CGI. And CGI can do dragons, it can do almost anything in the world, the one thing I have never seen is a completely realistic CGI human. So that’s something either ground breaking technology will have to develop within the next couple years or it will be impossible. One or the other.

Which character is that for the CGI character?

Stephanie: Nessie.

There’s a very graceful moment in the film when Bella’s going through possible explanations she says, “I’m thinking radioactive spiders and kryptonite” and Edward has a really nice counter to that, did you think it would be tough to switch the teen pop culture that gets away from the super hero that gets back toward the supernatural? Did it feel like something kids were going to be in to?

Stephanie: I never really worried about that for a second. I was into it and I am much more drawn to superheroes than I am to vampires. And I really think there is a closer connection with my vampires between superheroes and them than traditional vampires and who they are. Really, with my writing, what it comes down to…was I getting a kick out of this, then okay, we’ll go with it. If somebody else, it’s not clicking for them, you know that’s why there’s 40 billion books in the world cause there’s something for everybody.

Has your writing process changed dramatically since your first post dream attempt at writing?

Stephanie: It has. Its gone through some evolutions as I experiment on how to do things. Twilight, I didn’t know it was going to happen when I wrote it. It was just writing to find out the answer. With the others I had to start outlining. I had to be more careful, because I knew when I started the sequel, New Moon, where it was going to end, so that takes a lot more work to tie up the threads. And an experiment with a couple of other things on the side, so I haven’t really consolidate what I do, but the biggest change is that when I started writing, I had 3 kids under the school age at home with me all day. All of my kids are in school full time now. So that really has been the biggest change in my writing style.

How old are your kids now?

Stephanie: My kids are 11, 8, and 6. And if I could freeze them there, I would… cause they’re perfect.

How did you find the time to write this book?

Stephanie: I lost sleep to write. I mean, you had to give something up and I wasn’t giving my time up with my kids and I couldn’t give up the things I had to do, so, it was sleep.

Was there a certain song on the soundtrack that spoke to you. They’re all fantastic, but was their one specifically that spoke to you that really inspired you?

Stephanie: Aside from the muse song, which was already part of what I listen to all the time, these songs were all new for me. And I have to say that the Iron & Wine song made me an instant fan. Probably because the first time I heard it was when I watched the movie and in that scene, it’s just so perfectly melted in with the feeling. So, that was the one that got me.

Can you talk about shooting your cameo in the movie?

Stephanie: Yes, but it was painful. It was not my idea to do the cameo. They talked me into it. They thought it would be cute for the fans, because most of them would recognize me. I thought it was going to be more of a where’s waldo thing. Like, I walk by for 1 second in a crowd and if they can find me…cool. That is the one scene in the movie I would happily cut. The first 5 seconds and the one I had to watch [through my fingers], “is it over yet?” It was really hard for me.

How many takes did you do?

Stephanie: I did how ever many takes they were doing. It wasn’t about me, it was about the actors.

What was your cameo for those of us who had no idea?

Stephanie: Oh, didn’t you recognize me? Really?? It was in the scene where Bella and Charlie are at the diner and the waitress is asking them, “what’s the news about Waylan’s murderer?” There’s a woman sitting at the counter and for some reason the camera focuses on her, for like, a good 5 seconds and you’re like, why are we looking at this person? And that was me.

Is the series over now, with the 4 books? Are you done?

Stephanie: It’s done for now. I can’t promise that I won’t get lonely for the Cullen’s and come back to them in 10 years, but for right now I feel really satisfied with where it is, so I’m not planning on doing anything with it, but you know, no guarantees.

The interview was now over, but the recorders were still going when this dude who was also attending the press conference came up to Stephanie. I just thought it was kind of funny so I'm leaving it in...

Can we get an autograph?

Stephanie: I have to do more interviews, I’m sorry, I have to keep going.

My poor little niece will be so disappointed...

Hahaha! Way to ruin that kid's holiday, Steph!