TwiTour Experiences, Day 2

Saturday at the convention was much more crowded, and there were lots more teens in attendance on this day, I noticed. I'm sure the appearances of Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene had something to do with that.

The Hillywood folks were the day's hosts again, and Kellan was the first Q&A. When he came on stage, I thought my eardrums would burst from the deafening screams - much stronger than any from the day before. Kellan looked amazing in person. Very buff and very tall. After five minutes of listening to him talk, I was dazzled. Kellan really has an awesome personality. This guy is fun to listen to. He shared his love of The Lion King (he'd love to have been the voice of Simba), board games and his family, and I thought he gave a great answer when asked who, living or dead, he would most like to meet: he said he should pick Jesus, but he thinks he would be too in awe of Him. So, he'd rather pick Abraham or Paul or Job -- because he could actually ask them questions and learn something tangible instead of just sitting there staring at Jesus in amazement. He also talked about rescuing his dog, Cola, from a really bad animal shelter in L.A. and how much he loves taking her on hikes. He's very playful and quite the prankster and seemed to enjoy poking fun at Robert Pattinson. He said that Rob was such a quiet intellect that whenever Kellan would say something simple, like a knock-knock joke, Rob's response would be a confused look and "I don't get it." Kellan reminded me of a puppy - adorable, fun, and full of mischievous energy. He really won the crowd over when he said he wished Stephenie Meyer would write 20 more books so they could make 20 more movies because he loves playing Emmett that much. He said they all hope they'll get to film Breaking Dawn, but he's especially looking forward to filming the fight scenes in Eclipse most of all.

Next, Ashley Greene came on stage after an auction that saw someone bidding $500 on an autographed photo of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.$500!!! Wow! All I can say is, Ashley is stunningly beautiful in person. She also had her dog with her - although not on stage. She said Kellan was playing with her little dog upstairs while she did her Q&A, which I thought was awesome. She said her movie with Kellan, "Warriors," probably won't be ready for theaters until the end of the year at the earliest, and she talked enthusiastically about driving the yellow Porsche in New Moon. She really enjoyed taking driving lessons for it and almost drove the Porsche into a wall during one scene, but she said, "It looks really great on film!" She and Kellan both said they are very excited to begin filming Eclipse next month, and Ashley talked about how much fun they all had filming in Italy. She said those scenes are going to be action packed and that she gets to rumble with the Volturri a little. She joked that she will probably take another role someday simply because it films in Italy. She said her wire scenes in Twilight made her itch to do an action film, and that's the type of film she'd most like to do next. A parent also thanked Ashley for being a positive role model for her daughter, and Ashley later said that it was something she took seriously now that she's in the spotlight so much. She doesn't want to set a bad example for the young fans of the series. You go, Ashley.

After Ashley's Q&A, they began the autograph session with Kellan and Ashley. This time, our wait didn't seem as long -- only a 2 1/2 hour wait made more pleasant because we knew what to expect and were able to entertain ourselves better during the wait. First, Ashley was at the entrance end of the signing table. Her dog's little kennel was beside her, but he was sleeping (or seemed to be) so I didn't get to meet him. I think they draw out the autograph sessions so fans will be too tired to talk to the stars much when they eventually get up to them. I had a dozen things I wanted to say or ask both Ashley and Kellan, but when I actually got face-to-face with them I was both tired and nervous, so I only thanked Ashley for coming and told her I thought she was amazing as Alice, to which she shyly replied, "Awww, thank you." When I asked her to personalize my autograph, she said they'd been asked not to and handed it back to me, which bummed me a little, I admit. But while I was waiting on Kellan to finish with the fans in front of me, I looked back and saw Ashley watching me. She signaled me to return the photo and she signed my name without a word, only a little smile -- such a nice gesture that she didn't have to do. I will always be grateful to her for it though! Then Kellan was next. He too said he'd been asked not to personalize autographs or give hugs, but I swear he has so much charisma in person, it didn't matter one bit. He looked me in the eyes and thanked me for coming, and I swear his sexy smile made me feel special. I think it made my niece feel the same. When Kellan told her he really liked her shirt (it was a Dr. Seuss shirt), she got tongue-tied and said, "Um, it's a Dr. Hooose--" and Kellan smiled and said, "A Dr. Seuss shirt, I know. It's great." And then Brittney nearly tripped over me backing away, she was so dazzled by the amazing Kellan Lutz too. The boy needs to bottle that charm. He'd make a fortune.

Sadly, we didn't get pics with either of them, but I would have really loved to. Maybe next year. I'd love to get my arms around Kellan, even if its only for two seconds!

We left the hotel and convention exhausted and wishing we'd planned to attend Sunday's events too, but sadly, we had to return home. I'm already looking forward to next year!

My TwiTour Atlanta experiences, Day One

We got to Atlanta a little late on Friday, but it was all good. As soon as I walked into the hotel, I felt I had finally found a place where I belonged!! Sad, but true that my 19-year-old niece was not nearly as enthused as I was to be there. I have to say, most of the fans who attended seemed to be around my age, with a few preteens and teens thrown in for good measure. Everyone was decked out in Twilight t-shirts and carrying Twilight bags and books and talking about my favorite subject of current -- Twilight! We visited the vendors on hand -- a photo/poster booth, a t-shirt booth, the Hillywood folks, Kimbra (the model whose hands were used for the Twilight book cover), and a Twilight props exhibit.

The Hillywood folks opened the convention by showing their online parody. If you're a fan of Twilight, I'm sure you've seen it by now, but here's the link. They talked later about the parodies they film and how they got started. They put a lot into their shows, and they all impressed me, especially Hilary and Hannah, who are sisters pursuing this filmmaking venture using their own money, time and talents. And the guys look waaay cuter in person as Edward and Jasper than they do in the parody video. Let me just say that. :)

Billy Burke was the main reason I wanted to attend Friday's events. I looooove him as Charlie Swan. Love him! He came on stage and looked way hotter in person, although he was wearing a hat and sunglasses during most of his Q&A. He seemed very much a doting dad, talking about his 1-year-old daughter. A fan asked if he would want his daughter to date Edward or Jacob, and he analyzed them both and said, "Neither!" and "I want her to be a nun" (because he knows how boys that age think). Awww. He joked about going out for drinks with Rob, which "was an experience," and being irritated that the press hadn't turned that outing into an affair between the two of them since Rob seems to be dating everyone from the cast but him. Other tidbits he shared: he’s starting to grow his stache out for Eclipse, which indicates he has it in New Moon too. He thinks the Twilight cast is made up of very genuine, nice and talented people. He spoke very highly of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and said he did not envy Rob the attention he’s been getting.

Peter Facinelli came on stage for his Q&A to deafening screams, and wow, did he look HOT! I always loved Carlisle in the books more than I was a fan of Peter Facinelli, but Friday's experiences turned me into a diehard Peter fan. During his Q&A, Peter’s cell phone kept ringing, and he kept answering it. One time his wife called. That’s right, Jennie Garth herself was on the phone. Their exchange – which Peter put on speakerphone – was pretty hilarious. Prior to this Peter spoke often of his daughters and wife in nothing but glowing terms, and it was obvious he’s very much a family man. He did share the fact that the Cullens had filmed all of the Cullen scenes from the New Moon book and said he’s very proud of the stitching scene between Carlisle and Bella. He said he practiced stitching on a chicken for days and even took the chicken to the set. When he bragged about stitching the chicken to Kristen, she took one look at it and said, “Yeah, I’d never let you near me with a needle.” He thought this was hilarious. He also spoke very fondly of Rob and Kristen and cleared up a magazine report that claimed he’d made fun of Kristen. He said the magazine had taken what he’d said out of context and that he adores Kristen because she’s such a sweet kid. He also joked that Rob hadn’t returned his text from last week because “I guess he’s with his new dad now, Pierce Brosnan.”

Taking a photo with Billy and Peter. This was definitely a highlight of the trip. My niece and I waited in line and, although it was a bit rushed because of the number of people waiting to take pictures, I was quite dazzled by them both. I asked to be in the middle, and when I walked up, Billy murmured that I was very tall but beautiful and said that our picture was going to turn out beautiful. My niece, on the other hand, said Peter squeezed her close to him and said, “Hey, sweetheart, how are you doing?” to which she was speechless because he is 10 times hotter in person than on TV, after all. I HAD PETER FACINELLI and BILLY BURKE’s hands on me!!! I am still burning from the sensation.

The ladies from the Twilight Lexicon were also on hand all weekend, and I really enjoyed their panels. I wanted to thank them for the awesome website they offer, but I didn’t. My biggest regret from the weekend, probably.

Oh, autographs!! We waited almost FOUR HOURS to get Billy and Peter’s autographs. I think the reason why is because Peter was talking to everyone, personalizing all of the autographs and giving hugs to anyone who asked. When I say Peter is gracious to his fans, I can’t stress the meaning of that enough. Billy was also very nice, but I’m sure he was very tired by the time we made it through the line. After meeting Peter, the FOUR HOUR wait seemed like nothing. I totally love Peter Facinelli now. I hope to get to meet him again someday. To see my autographs, visit my autograph blog here.

Coming soon: Day Two, Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz.