“TWILIGHT” STILL GOOD FOR OLYMPIC PENINSULA TOURISM
Despite a sagging economy, Forks, Washington, set a record for tourism in 2010. The Peninsula Daily News reports:
“We broke a visitor record this year,” said Mike Gurling, Forks Visitor Center office manager.
Forks is where much of the “Twilight Saga” involving vampires, werewolves and a teenage girl is set.
Overall, Clallam County in 2010 collected $1,240,424 in so-called 10 percent “bed taxes” on hotel and motel room rents — a 10.86 percent increase over the 1,189.21 collected in 2009.
Jefferson County, which focuses on tourist attractions in Victorian Port Townsend, collected $613,668.17 in 2010 — a 6.16 percent decrease from the $653,921.26 collected in 2009.
Forks had the largest increase –12.36 percent, amounting to $150,092.36 collected in 2010 over $133,585.66 in 2009.
Gurling said the main reason is Twilight tourism.
“We had 73,000 people sign in at the visitor center,” he said. “That is over the 69,975 in 2009.”
Read more here
FAME SURPRISES TAYLOR LAUTNER
Taylor Lautner recently spoke about how surprising his rapid rise to fame was to him and that he has no regrets about anything in his career. He also shared that he still lives at home with his parents and is still expected to help with the chores around the house, despite his star status.
He said: “I help out with the lawn, garbage, dishes”.
Even when he is away filming, Taylor’s parents don’t let him off his duties when he returns to the family home.
He joked: “When I come back, I have extra mowing to do.”
Read more here
BELLA AND EDWARD DIE IN “BREAKING DAWN”?
Could Bella Swan-Cullen and Edward Cullen die in the last film? There are reports everywhere of a scene in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” depicting members of the Cullen coven and the Volturi meeting the end of their existence. If there is any truth to the rumor, it is a scene of a vision that Alice has and she shows it to Aro.
An inside source, who claims to have read the script, told Hollywood Life: “Alice touches that head [Volturi] guy. When she touches the [Volturi] guy he ‘sees’ what will happen if he continues his course. So, the first person whose head comes off is Carlisle. In the vision.”
“Then everything goes to s**t and all kinds of dying happens. And Bella and Edward kill Aro. Bella and Edward, they die too. All these other people die, too. Jane and her brother. Lots of deaths on both sides. Then the [Volturi] guy snaps out of it, says he’s sorry. Everybody makes up and lives happily ever after.”
ASHLEY GREENE ONE OF 10 YOUNG ACTORS TO WATCH
Coming in at number ten on the list, Ashley Greene has made the cut for Moviehole’s 10 Young Actors to Watch in 2011.
Like quite a few, young Ashley Greene earned her stripes as part of the ensemble cast of the ‘’Twilight’’ franchise. In 2011, she’ll again play sparkly eyed Alice Cullen (in ‘’Breaking Dawn’’) but she’s also the female lead in two incongruent flicks, ‘’Skateland’’ – a coming-of-age dramedy set in the ‘80s – and ‘’The Apparition’’, a new horror flick from producer Joel Silver. Beauty and Genuine Talent seems to go a long way in this industry, so expect to hear more from Ashley Greene over the next few years.
Check out the full list here.
MICHAEL WELCH CLOSE TO GOAL FOR THIRST PROJECT
Michael Welch (“Mike Newton”) recently tweeted an update on his progress with helping The Thirst Project. This is an organization dedicated to providing clean drinking water in developing nations.
If we can get 152 more donations at $5 over the next two weeks, we’ll be able to build a clean water well in Swaziland!
If you are able to help, follow this link to Give the gift of clean water w/Twilight’s Michael Welch & The Thirst Project from The Thirst Project.
Is anyone surprised by the tourism numbers for Forks and the other areas of the Olympic Peninsula? Have you been to Forks? If not, do you have plans to go someday? What do you think will happen to the fan interest in the area over time? Will it dwindle off, die off completely, or continue as new generations of readers discover the books and movies?
I love reading stories like Taylor’s where the parents don’t put their celebrity kids on a pedestal and treat them like they’re too good for menial things. It sounds like Taylor and his family all have their priorities in order and I seriously doubt that we’ll see the tabloids filled with stories of Taylor becoming the cliche child star in rehab or jail.
What do you think of the story of a fight scene in “Breaking Dawn”? It does sound like a slight deviation from canon with Alice showing Aro her vision of what would happen. I don’t know that I particularly like that plotline. I prefer Alice shutting him down by showing up with Nahuel near the end of the standoff and making Aro look foolish. I could very easily see this vision being the one that Alice has when she drops the vase – her first vision of the Volturi coming to Forks. What do you think?
Join us in the forum and share your thoughts on today’s Twilight news. We’d love to hear from you!
