They Scream, I Scream?

::thousands upon thousands of screaming fangirls:: "Ahhh. Shut it already!!!" Sorry readers. I've reached my Twilight fandom quota for the day. I can only take so much these days. "But Kate, the movie comes out at midnight Thursday. Aren't you going to that?" Ummm... yes. "Well, haven't you been to all the movies at midnight?" Errr... "Don't you have 'I <3 Edward..."

YES. Ok, I am going to the movie at midnight. It doesn't mean I like the movies. I own all the current movies, in 2-Disc Special format. So what. I will be waiting in line for about 8 hours. Who hasn't!?

It's time I faced the truth: Twilight is my drug of (non)choice. As Edward states in the book and movie, "“You're like my own personal brand of heroin." I see you Edward. It's awful; I know I should stop. I just can't. I ::gulp:: like these movies.

I've talked about this franchise before. The books are by far superior to the movies. When the trailer for Twilight originally came out it gave me shivers. This was going to be fantastic. What ensued was one of the biggest movie letdowns I have ever experienced. I was hiding in my hoodie and in the arm of my friend Sam. It was just awful. Vampires looked like they had sparkles dumped on them. The acting was... atrocious is the word that comes to mind. Am I being harsh? You bet. But when you get so invested in a book series only to be monumentally letdown on the big screen, it's hard not to be.

Two of my best friends and I decided to go see the first movie when it was in the dollar theater for a good laugh. Color us stunned when the entire audience acted like the movie was the greatest thing since Titanic. It took all of our willpower to not bust out laughing at the film and the serious movie watchers.

Now as the movies progressed, they did get better in all aspects. Acting was improved, special effects were mastered, and the directing changed and helped boost my approval for the series. One of my friends biggest complaints is that Kristen Stewart can't act. "Did you know someone cast Kristen Stewart in another movie!" was a legitimate conversation I had with a friend when they found out that Hollywood didn't expel Stewart from the acting world. My take- I don't really care either way about her. I hate her character to begin with so whatever she does is irrelevant to me at this point. I have proof of all the other actors/actresses acting ability so I firmly blame the directors on the failure to make the characters not a joke.

What I do like about this series is the tradition I have developed. I go see these movies with my best friends (lately kicking and screaming but they still love me enough to join.) and just have a good time. I'm young and I enjoy the friendships you develop with random strangers. After 10 hours together, they aren't strangers anymore. (Holla HP family!) And yes, I will probably do this when I'm an "adult" as well. (I say adult in quotes because I might be an adult in age or by society's standards, but in my heart I'll always be this obsessive and kid-like.) I enjoy the camaraderie that happens when hundreds of fans come together, even if they take it INCREDIBLY serious. (What else would I have for entertainment?)

So, I woke up today excited. Very excited. Will I only get 3ish hours of sleep tonight and then come to work? Yep. Will I sit in line and race into the theaters to get my prime seats? Heck yes. (I'll knock you down if you get in my way. Try me.) Will I argue for hours about the series with people I have never met before? Yes. Will I pick a team? Team Edward. Duh.

But more importantly: Team Memories for Life.


(Gotta throw this joke in here: Stephanie Meyer's boggart is logic.)

Happy Ever After... Psych!

I'm gonna get serious today guys. No, seriously. I mean it! See, this is my serious face.

How to begin. I'm just gonna come out and say it: I believe in happily ever after. That ending of a story that "doesn't happen every day." (Name that movie.) Why? Why not. Life is too depressing to believe that everything will never work out or that life is out to get you. However, the media, movies, and TV would have you believe otherwise.

I saw a great film last night. It is an independent movie and it was about two people's struggle to maintain their love in a difficult situation. Not the most unique story but the way it portrayed the actual relationship was refreshing. I know you can sense the "but" that is coming and I wouldn't want to disappoint you but... it doesn't end well. It ends honestly and to that I can at least be happy. (The movie became an instant hit in my mind and I can see why it won so many awards.) Like the rest of the audience, I spoke (out loud) my frustration as the credits rolled. "What?!" "That's it?" "Maybe they..." "But they were so in love."

That last one stuck with me as I left the theatre. I started thinking about how if you tell a romantic story these days, the result is people not believing the "happy ending". Why is that? Doesn't anybody, besides me, believe in true love and love conquering all?

I am constantly told that I am foolish for believing in these ideas and most times I just let it roll off my shoulders. Writers these days seem to follow the "real life" ending and are you honestly telling me that you can't write a story that's realistic and has a happy ending where the couple ends up together? Now some movies leave it up for interpretation and that at least allows the romantic viewer to say " Oh well, they end up together. Thank goodness."

In a college TV script writing class we had to storyboard one of six films. Dirty Dancing was an option and I practically did it right there. When the assignment was due, the teacher asked one person to come up and write it on the board and I was chosen to present my timeline. When I got the end, I said "And then they end up together." Dr. Dream Killer replied, "Well done Katelin. But they don't end up together." Stunned, I looked at her as she continued to speak to the class. "Of course they do. He came back for her." She looked at me kindly and continued on.

Ok, 1.) Baby and Johnny live happily ever after. There is nothing to suggest they don't. End of story. 2.) Why would you tell me that they don't? Did you write it? Do you have insight that I do not. (No, no one knows more about DD than I do. Just so you know.) 3.) If I believed something like that, why challenge it? (Clearly I never got over this moment.)

It's people like that that make me sad. No one believes or allows themselves to believe in a true love story anymore. Society loves to find the messy underbelly of love and exploit it for it's own disturbing purposes. (Wow. Sounding like an actual journalist. Better throw in a couple of ummm and likes.) I will even admit to my own doubt. I can barely watch a romcom without gagging or silently hating the happy couple on the screen with a passion of a burning suns for finding "true love" after a series of ridiculous plot twists.

So I hereby make a vow: I solemnly swear (that I am up to no good.) that as a writer and a believer to one day write a true love story that is believable and realistic. It's gonna be hard, especially with so few examples. But I feel up to the challenge. Now I challenge you readers; look for the happy ever after in your life and media and try to believe in it.

"I thought I understood it. But I didn't. I knew the smudgeness of it. The eagerness of it. The Idea of it. Of you and me." - Like Crazy