CNN: "Twilight" series movies among Five great movie locations to visit

1. "Field of Dreams," Iowa

Filmmakers built a baseball diamond in a Dyersville, Iowa, cornfield as a set for the 1989 movie "Field Of Dreams." An estimated 60,000 people stop by to visit, according to a spokeswoman for the "Field of Dreams" movie website.

2. "Harry Potter" movies, England

Many of the Hogwarts school scenes were filmed at Oxford University in Oxford. Travelers also can visit the Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester and King's Cross Station (which provided the films' Platform 9¾) and Leadenhall Market in London.

3. "Twilight" series, Washington state

The Forks, Washington, area has turned into "Twilight" heaven. Visitors can enjoy dinner at Bella Italia in Port Angeles, where Edward and Bella had their first date; stop by Forks Outfitters, where Bella worked; and travel to Forks High School, where the two first met (rumored to be the filming location for the school scenes.)

Additionally, the area boasts stand-in homes of the Swans and Cullens and motels such as the Dew Drop Inn, complete with "Bella's suite" featuring black and red bedding.

4. "Sex and the City," New York

Visit the Big Apple to follow in the footsteps of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda and view more than 40 locations from the HBO series and the movies. Among them are the bar Aidan and Steve opened on the show, Charlotte's gym and the bakery where Carrie and Miranda ate cupcakes.

5. "The Lord of the Rings," New Zealand

Travelers can visit a number of filming locations from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, including places used to create Hobbiton and The Shire, Mordor, Mount Doom, Rivendell and Fangorn Forest.

The Department of Conservation provides detailed information on "The Lord of the Rings" locations in New Zealand, including GPS coordinates, links to Google maps and information on scenes where filming took place.

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‘Twilight’ High School Facade in Forks to be Destroyed

The brick facade of Quillayute Valley High School in Forks, Washington — the real-life version of the high school in Twilight — is about to disappear.

School officials had hoped to integrate the original building’s main doorway and front into the new campus set to replace the leaky, recently demolished school.

The tentative plan would have used the facade as a stand-alone entrance to the new building.

But in the construction proposal accepted on Friday, it was revealed that saving the facade would cost $271,000.

It will be destroyed.

“We would have considered a lower bid, but that’s over a quarter of a million dollars, and we can’t afford it,” said school board president Bill Rohde.

What had been for locals a beloved place of learning that dates from the 1920s became in recent years a tourist destination for Twilight fans who wanted to photograph the place where Bella Swan and Edward Cullen (played by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the movies) first meet.

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'Twilight In Forks' Documentary To Be Distributed By Summit

According to MTV:

Over the last few weeks, the team behind the first-ever documentary on the "Twilight" phenomenon has come to MTV News to unveil the initial details of their movie, as well as its one-sheet and teaser trailer. Now, they have even bigger news for Stephenie Meyer fans eagerly awaiting their flick: In a surprise move, Summit Home Entertainment has acquired the rights to distribute "Twilight in Forks."

MTV News has learned that the studio behind the "Twilight" movies has spent the last several days negotiating with director Jason Brown and producers York Baur and Peter Cowles to distribute their independent film about the tiny Washington town that inspired a phenomenon. Summit plans to release the documentary in conjunction with the "New Moon" DVD release, both of which will hit stores in early 2010.

Although the news will postpone the film's release by a few months, it's a natural fit for the doc, whose full title is "Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town." Brown and Baur were very visible at June's "Summer School in Forks" symposium, where they shot many of the interviews for the film — a for-the-fans exploration into where "Twilight" ends, Forks begins, and an increasingly blurry line exists between the two.

"One of the things that you'll see in the film is how vampires actually relate to Forks, and whether there's some truth to the characters that you're familiar with," three-time Emmy winner Brown told MTV recently about the film, which was shot with high-definition cameras to capture the region's unique, rain-soaked beauty. "You'll see shots of the forest and some shots of signs about vampires. ... You'll meet a real-life Bella and a real-life Alice that are in Forks."

The "Twilight in Forks" team will be sticking with plans to unveil exclusive footage from the film on Saturday at a special screening in Forks to celebrate Stephenie Meyer Day, as previously announced. Keep checking back with MTV News for coverage of that event, as well as more upcoming news on "Twilight in Forks" and "New Moon." And don't forget to tune in to the VMAs on Sunday to see Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner present a never-before-seen extended trailer from the "Twilight" sequel.

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Video Tour of The Twilight Saga’s “Forks”

When it came time to bring Twilight to the big screen, Catherine Hardwicke and her crew couldn’t use Forks — the picturesque town in Washington State, with a population of just over 3,000, lacked the housing and infrastructure for a film crew.

Because not everyone can make the trip to Oregon — and because we fear the entire state lacks the housing and infrastructure for the sheer numbers that are the Twilight fanbase — we’ve put together a video tour of the movie’s locales. A big thanks to Portland Movie Tours for showing us around.

Twilight Weekly: Spotlight New Moon | Movie Trailers

1. Bella's House	6. Prom Dress Shop
2. "Forks High School" Parking Lot	7. Bookstore & Alley
3. Carver Cafe	8. Parking Lot Rescue
4. Sparkle Reveal	9. Italian Restaurant
5. Lion and Lamb	10. Prom Scene

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Eclipse Forks High Graduation Scene and Behind the Scene Pics

First look of Kristen Stewart's Graduation scene in Eclipse movie set. Sporting new long hair extensions, Kristen Stewart holds onto a fake diploma as she films the graduation scene in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in Vancouver on Friday afternoon (August 28).







Source: Vancity Allie and Just Jared Jr.

Economic Boom: How 'Twilight' Saved Forks

According to Hollywood Crush:

There are many who are thankful to Stephenie Meyer for writing “Twilight” and its subsequent sequels. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, for sure, who were catapulted into (almost) instant fame once they were cast in the roles of Edward and Bella. Summit Entertainment, most definitely, as the fledgling studio had their first blockbuster success last November with “Twilight.” Plus talent like Catherine Hardwicke and Peter Facinelli became household names. But none have been so affected as the town of Forks, Wash.

Just how much does the town of Forks appreciate what Stephenie Meyer has done? Enough to give her her own holiday, apparently. "That’s why we have on September 13 Stephenie Meyer Day — to honor Stephenie Meyer,” said Mike Gurling, the visitor center manager at the Forks Chamber of Commerce.

Forks, like many other towns on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, have been experiencing a state of depression over the past decade with the decline of the logging industry, Gurling told Hollywood Crush in a interview. He said other towns in the surrounding area are facing serious economic issues because they are not making the money from timber sales they need to be making. Gurling said Forks would have found itself in a similar situation if it wasn’t for the release of "Twilight."

Fans have been flooding into Forks to see the real life version of Bella’s hometown since the series boomed in popularity back in 2007 after the debut of Meyer's third book in the saga, "Eclipse." Though "Twilight" was released all the way back in 2005, Gurling said it wasn’t until 2008 that the influx of visitors really hit — and it’s only been increasing. In June of 2008, 1,731 people signed the visitors log at the Chamber of Commerce. Last month, 8,312 visitors signed the log. That’s almost five times as many people, and Gurling assured us the number of visitors was the norm and unrelated to last month’s Forks Summer School.

The mass amounts of tourism have raised local businesses to economic success. In addition to every store carrying some variation of “Twilight” merchandise — and a few newly opened shops (like Dazzled By Twilight, pictured above) that sell nothing but — local restaurants and lodging have seen a boom in revenues and even saved some, like the Forks Coffee Shop, from financial disaster.

"If it wasn’t for 'Twilight,' the Forks Coffee Shop would have closed," Gurling said.

In fact, it is so busy now at the Forks Coffee Shop that when we called the manager to ask her some questions, she said they were too inundated with customers to speak with us at that time.

With all the tourists flocking to Forks, Gurling told me the majority of lodging areas in and around Forks are booked full straight through the end of the summer. The vast amount of business has contributed to a 7 percent hotel/motel tax increase over the past year, whereas other towns around the area actually saw a decrease, he said.

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Forks Washington's Residents Invaded by Twilight Fame

Residents of Forks, Washington State, are still stunned by what a piece of assiduous Googling from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has unleashed on their town. Looking for the US's rainiest location in which to set her vampire series, she lighted upon the small town, population 3,221.

Fans of the books and film, based around Bella Swan and her dreamy vampire love interest Edward Cullen, began pouring into Forks. Today hundreds visit the town daily; its visitor count for June was more than 8,000 - around the number who used to come in a year. Restaurants have Twilight-themed menus with dishes such as Bellasagne, shops sell Twilight items, and tours cover the books' locations.

The logging town has been transformed, says Mike Gurling of the Forks Chamber of Commerce. "Two years ago we did not have a cash register or credit card terminal. Now our sales of anything that says 'Forks' have increased dramatically." A literary symposium was held last month in Forks high school, including - unusually for a symposium - "an actual, real Prom". Chris Cook, editor of the local paper and author of guide book Twilight Territory, says the school's principal was mobbed at a Seattle airport when a teenage fan spotted his Forks Spartan jacket and started yelling, "He's from Forks, he's from Forks!" The fervour is such, Cook says, that a local evangelist, Hallelujah Bill, has started preaching to fans about the dangers of becoming cult followers of the books.

While some don't like the attention Twilight has brought, others are enjoying the kudos. Cook says that "traditionally, Forks has been considered by Seattle folks as the sticks, the home of loggers and simple rural ways. Now it's a bit of a status symbol."

Susan Brager, who runs the Miller Tree Inn, now also known as Cullen House, says that although she isn't a huge fan of the books - "not great literature" - she definitely appreciates the tourists. "They like it when it rains," she says.

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Forks High School Real Principal Speaks

Let's hear it out from the real principal himself of Forks High School during the Summer School in Forks Symposium. After the movie debut of Twilight saga from the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's bestselling Twilight book series, Forks High School in Washington is dragged along with the fame of Twilight and became America’s best known, small town high school.The talk took place in the Forks HS cafeteria which also doubles as their auditorium.

Live in Twilight World: Summer School In Forks, Washington

Larry Carroll of MTV attended Summer School in Forks: A "Twilight" Symposium, a real-life fan event that allowed Twilighters to attend classes, go to a prom and enjoy field trips around the real-life town that Meyer immortalized by making it home to her beloved characters, which took place June 25-28

"We're having Summer School in Forks right now," beamed Kaleb Nation, a.k.a. the "Twilight" Guy, a popular blogger/author. "We have all these bands up here for the 'Twilight' prom. I gave a speech earlier, and we have all these speakers that have been talking about the series. We have the woman who [voices] the audio books here. It's been an amazing event for a bunch of Twilighters to get together in Forks."

Driving into the small town (population 3,000), the first things you see are the enormous trees, the gorgeous beaches — and the pouring rain and overcast skies that make it such a perfect place for sexy vampires to call home. Then, when you pull into town, you see a quaint Disneyland for Twilighters: A motel sign screams "Edward Cullen Slept Here," a local Chinese restaurant features a "Twilight Dinner" and every third storefront sells Robert Pattinson cardboard cutouts, custom-made T-shirts and other "Twilight" trappings.

"I've had the flower shop for about 14 years — my mom owned it before me," explained Charlene Cross, owner of Lepell's Twilight Central (where an employee dressed as Alice sells lollipops that read "Bite Me" and bumper stickers that say "Warning: I Drive Like a Cullen"). "Business is three times what it normally would be. [Before the novels became popular], when I sold flowers strictly, holidays, funerals, weddings would be a good time. Now it's a daily thing, and I think it's only going to get bigger."

"The town was having some major economic issues, because their major export was logging — and then 'Twilight' came along," Kaleb explained. "And if you look at Forks now, Stephenie has transformed this town into a 'Twilight' tourism economy. It's crazy."

"None of our students are vampires — at least, not that we're aware of," grinned Kevin Rupprecht, the real-life principal of Forks High School, who promised me that he resists the daily temptation to call Edward Cullen to his office over the loudspeaker. "Thousands and thousands of people come through this town, just to see the 'Twilight' setting, every month. We do have a couple of lockers, for the fans, that are designated for Edward and Bella. People like that. And we do know which parking spot the almost-accident occurred in. So we direct fans to that; they eat it up."

Forks High was the site of the Symposium. And although it was fun to see all the fans wearing T-shirts that read "Jasper Says Relax" or fathers dressed up like Carlisle (complete with brown contact lenses), they were here for some serious business.

"We got to listen to a lecture by John Granger, who is the author of many [books about] Harry Potter," explained Maddi of "Bloodsuckers," a "Twilight" podcast, who attended Granger's class on religious themes within the pages of the popular novels. "Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon, and we didn't realize how much her religion played into the 'Twilight' series. ... He told us about how Bella and Edward, in the series, represent the relationship between man and God. Edward is God, Bella is man, and when he leaves she feels an absence in her heart. That was really interesting."

Another interesting part of the weekend was Saturday night's "prom" in the Forks High gymnasium. With attendees of all ages dressed in their best evening gowns and suits, popular "Twilight" acts the Bella Cullen Project, Bella Rocks and the Mitch Hansen Band sang odes to the Cullen clan. The YouTube sensation Hillywood Players walked amongst them dressed as Bella, Jasper, Alice and Edward — the latter had his shirt open to reveal his chest, naturally. After sniffing a few potential mates, "Edward" chose his dancing partner from among the blushing fans.

"It's been totally inspirational," Mitch Hansen said of his first time in Forks, saying that he was moved enough to write some new lyrics. "It's mind-blowing."

On Sunday, yours truly got to deliver the keynote speech to the "graduates" during a ceremony that saw them all receiving diplomas. As we stood in the real-deal Forks cafeteria, it was hard to deny the feeling that Edward could come strolling in at any moment, grab a tray of food that he would only poke at and stare longingly at Bella from across the room. As the line between fiction and fact continued to blur, the Twilighters exchanged hugs and phone numbers, taking home the memories of a lifetime along with their diplomas.

"We ended up taking the same flight Bella took to get to Forks in 'Twilight,' " explained Maddi, remembering the journey that she and her friends had taken to get to the tiny town Meyer selected for her novels despite the fact that she had never actually set foot here. "We went from Phoenix to the Seattle airport, then took a puddle-jumper from Seattle to Port Angeles and got to see all the beautiful scenery.

"We ate at Bella Italia, which is where Edward and Bella had their first date. It was pouring — just like it should be — when we got here," she continued, saying that even when there isn't a scheduled fan event, Forks is still a Disneyland for Twilighters. "Everywhere you go, you can just imagine Bella and Edward walking down the street in this cozy little town. It really is like being in the home of 'Twilight.' "

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Forks Washing ton

Forks is a city in Clallam County Washington, United States

The population was 3,120 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the forks in the nearby Quillayute River, Bogachiel River, Calawah River, and Sol Duc River. Nicknamed the lodging capitol of the world. It’s in Pacific Standard Time.