The countdown is on until the opening credits for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 finally gives us our first taste of Twilight since Eclipse left theaters. Bring on the Bella and Edward wedding! Bring on the birth scene! Bring on shirtless Taylor Lautner. Yeah baby!
Alas, we are still two full days plus too many hours (check the official countdown clock for just how many). But do not fret my fanged pets. There's plenty of time to brush up on your Twilight Saga trivia so you can be the Bell(a) of the ball ... or your girls' night get-together for the midnight show anyway. Get ready to wow your friends with knowledge that will make your brain sparkle brighter than a Cullen in the sunlight:
1. Author Stephenie Meyer had never written anything before Twilight. The stay-at-home mom spent most of her free time scrapbooking until she had a dream that turned into a portion of the first of the four books!
2. Kristen Stewart snagged the role of Bella Swan in a completely impromptu screen test. Catherine Hardwicke, director of the first film, showed up on the set of Adventureland where KStew was working, and the 17-year-old had to learn the lines right then and there.
3. The Edward Cullen we know and lust after almost wasn't. Hardwicke was underwhelmed by Robert Pattinson's work on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But she changed her mind when he practiced a love scene with his future girlfriend on Hardwicke's own bed.
4. Taylor Lautner almost lost his gig to Michael Copon in the second film in the saga -- New Moon. But the teenager literally ate every two hours in addition to working out to bulk up to play the wolf version of Jacob Black. Fortunately his abs look a lot better after all that eating than mine!
5. Twilight the book only took three months to write from the time Meyer had her dream until she left us hanging, waiting to read New Moon!
6. Twilight was rejected nine times by folks in the literary publishing world, and Meyer had five more people simply ignore her when she sent it in. What did they know?
7. If the Volturi seem to take a parental role over the vampire role, perhaps it's because Meyer's mom is the one who suggested her author daughter amp up the action at the end of New Moon.
8. On Forbes' list of the richest fictional characters in history, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (played by Peter Facinelli) falls right behind Scrooge McDuck. Sure it was an April Fools' joke, but their assessment of how he keeps hold of all that cash makes for interesting reading!
9. Forks, Washington is the town where all the magic happens, but Meyer didn't actually set foot there until 2004 -- a year after the dream that set her writing.
10. Nikki Reed kills as Rosalie in Twilight. But before she was Edward's ice cold big sister, she was just an actress who happened to have an in with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke ... the director once dated Reed's dad and directed Thirteen, which Reed both starred in and co-wrote.
11. It took studio executives less than 24 hours to realize Twilight the movie was a hit. The morning after it hit theaters, there was already an announcement out to the media that the sequel, Eclipse, had been greenlit.
12. Breaking Dawn the book broke records on the day it was released, selling 1.3 million copies in one day!
13. Baby name Renesmee doesn't just make regular folks cringe. Author Stephenie Meyer would prefer people stick to more standard fare for naming babies (even though her own name has an unusual spelling) ... outside of vampire/human couplings anyway.
14. Taylor Lautner brushed up on some real Quileute phrases for his role as Jacob Black, learning from one of just a handful of people left on the planet who speak the language.
15. Robert Pattinson isn't the only talented member of his family. Sister Lizzy Pattinson is the girl heard singing in the cafeteria scene in Twilight.
16. Stephenie Meyer had a cameo in the first Twilight at the Forks diner, and now she's back in Breaking Dawn. A waitress made it super obvious by calling her "Stephenie" the first time, but will you be able to spot her at the wedding?
17. Technology moves too fast for even people like the Cullen clan. In the book, Bella uses a CD player. By the time the movie came out, it was updated to an iPod.
18. Forks High School is a real place, and you can order memorabilia emblazoned with the Spartan logo!
19. Kristen Stewart celebrated her 19th birthday by shooting the scenes in New Moon that mark Bella's 18th birthday -- the day she officially became older than her beloved Edward!
20. Robert Pattinson is a Brit by birth, but he didn't have a lick of training to play the American Edward. He really is that talented!
Are you ready for Breaking Dawn: Part 1? Who is going with you to the show?
Image via Summit Entertainment