Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

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"Twilight." The books are worldwide bestsellers and have made the name Edward Cullen synonymous with the ideal boyfriend. But now that the book is hitting the big screen, will the movie live up to fans expectations?

"Twilight" is based off the first book in Stephenie Meyers' series about an ordinary girl named Bella who moves to small-town Forks, WA to live with her dad. It's there that she meets and falls in love with Edward Cullen, a 107-year old vampire. As if their relationship wasn't complicated enough, the two have pressure from outside vampires, who see Bella as a lovely human snack.

The film is produced by Summit Entertainment and is directed by Catherine Hardwicke. In it, Kristen Stewart ("Into the Wild") plays Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") plays Edward. At first, fans were not too happy about the casting choice of the beloved vampire, but now adore the 22-year old actor.

Fans are counting down until the release, in hopes for that it will live up to the success of the book. And they're not the only ones.

Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the movie, is hoping to strike it big at the box office with the "Twilight" release. In the past 18 months, Summit has released five films, none of which has grossed over $25 million, according to "Entertainment Weekly." But "Twilight" might just be the ticket to box office gold for the company.

The "Twilight" series has four books. If the first movie did well enough at the box office, then that could mean the potential for three other movies. If all of them had large enough grosses, then Summit could become a Hollywood heavy hitter.

The movie also doesn't have to worry about competition from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." The sixth "Harry Potter" film was originally scheduled to come out November 21st, but because of the studio's decision to release it in July 2009, "Twilight" moved into the earlier release spot. Without "Harry Potter", "Twilight" looks to be the front runner for the holiday season blockbuster.

The only thing that worries fans, including myself, is whether or not the movie will live up to the book. Every person has their own idea of how scenes should be played out, how lines should be said and how characters are supposed to look; audiences might leave dissatisfied.

One thing the movie is hoping to do, however, is to broaden the fan base outside of girls. Director Catherine Hardwicke made sure to play up the fight scenes with special effects in hopes of attracting male moviegoers.

But will "Twilight" be hit with moviegoers?

I hope so. The book is loved by so many that the movie must do it justice. The main thing to keep in mind is that this is the movie version of the book meaning that there will be changes and not everything will be included. The important thing is that it stays true to the spirit of the book, not necessarily retelling the entire story as it's written in the book.

Either way audiences will find out Friday. Hopefully the movie will dazzle audience members and leave them wanting more.

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