When the fantastical vampire world of Stephenie Meyer first came to life on the big screen
with 2008's Twilight, audiences clamored into theaters to witness the immortal love story
of Bella and Edward.
But how long has it been since you last visited Forks?
Watching the movie as an adult, there are some interesting details you probably missed
the first time around.
Hidden meaning
We're kicking things off with that baby deer intro:
"I'd never given much thought to how I would go… but going in the place of someone I
love seems like a good way to go."
At this point, we know nothing about Bella, so if you're like "whaaaat?", it's ok.
So was Stephanie Meyer.
The author admits that this hunting-themed passage was confusing even in the book, saying,
"Sometimes, things in the story are so clear to me that, when I write them, I don't flesh
them out or explain them well enough."
"So, to clear it all up: James is 'the hunter.'" "...in that moment, that is how [Bella] thinks
of him."
That guy from that thing
Shortly after Bella arrives in Forks, her dad's best friend and his son show up with
a truck they restored for Bella.
The son, of course, is none other than Bella's future imprinter-of-her-child, Jacob.
Bella's dad introduces Jacob's old man as Billy Black.
If that face now looks familiar, it's because the actor who plays Billy — Gil Birmingham
— has enjoyed regular roles on a few hit TV shows since Twilight.
If you're a House of Cards fan, you know him as Daniel Lanagin.
If you're a Banshee fan, you know him as George Hunter.
And if you're an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fan, you know him as Virgil.
Bad hair do care
Once you've watched the entire Twilight series, there's no doubt that the Most Improved Player
award should go to Jacob's hair.
Actor Taylor Lautner explicitly agrees, telling MTV:
"Maybe your most important co-star of course is gone.
The wig."
"There was hatred between both of us.
It did not like me, I did not like it.
Not fond memories."
If it weren't for Jacob going through "the change" — at which point he starting sporting
a shorter 'do — he may have been stuck with the wig for the long haul.
Apple motif
When Bella first sees the Cullens, Rosalie holds an apple in her hand much like the one
on the cover of the book.
Coincidence?
Probably not.
Choosing an apple for the book's cover proved to be part of Stephenie Meyer's grand design.
The author said,
"The apple on the cover of Twilight represents 'forbidden fruit.'
I used the scripture from Genesis...because I loved the phrase 'the fruit of the knowledge
of good and evil.'
Isn't this exactly what Bella ends up with?"
Real awkward
It's easy to look back on Edward and Bella's entire love story with starry eyes, but let's
be real: that first convo they shared in the lab was a disaster.
Stewart told MTV she felt the awkwardness too, saying,
"That [moment] really informs a lot, when they sit and they try to talk to each other
in the bio lab.
It's, like, impossible.
One thing I find interesting about the story is that it's not an easy love."
The Cullen crest
You may have spotted it first in the lab, on Edward's wrist.
But if you look really closely, all of the Cullens wear the insignia in one way or another.
So what does it mean?
The Cullen family crest was created specifically for the movies by director Catherine Hardwicke.
Actor Peter Facinelli told MTV:
"This is something that's not in the book… and each one of us carry it.
So mine is in the form of a ring, some of the kids have it on as a bracelet, some have
it as a pendant."
K-Stew's colored contacts
Sure, it's extremely noticeable in later movies when Bella has transformed into a vampire
and has blood red eyes.
But in this first film, Stewart simply appears to have big, deep brown doe-eyes.
But in real life, Stewart's eyes are green.
Co-star Robert Pattinson confirmed that both he and Stewart had to wear contacts for their
respective roles as Edward and Bella, confessing to MTV:
"She's like, 'I wear contact lenses.
Why are you always complaining about your ones?'"
But, as Pattinson pointed out, Stewart changed her tune once she had to swap her standard
brown contacts for the vampire-eyes version.
"So when she finally wore them and then was complaining about them every second of the
day, it was kind of satisfying."
Stephenie Meyer's cameo
During one of Bella's meet-ups with her dad at the cafe, there's a woman sitting at the
counter.
But she's not just any random customer.
Author Stephenie Meyer was not yet a household name — so it was easy to overlook that the
cafe writer was, in fact, Twilight's author.
Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett in the film, told MTV,
"It was a little Hitchcock moment…
I love his movies, where he throws himself in there as a small little speck.
[Meyer] did a great job, and I'm sure it's going to be cool for her to see herself in
the movie."
Thanks for watching!
Click the List icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus, check out this other cool stuff we know you'll love too!