Phoenix Music Blog

Last night, hundreds of teenage girls, moms with wistful romantic longings and a handful of dudes (most of whom were clearly dragged there by little sisters or girlfriends) gathered in Surprise for the Twifans.com and CullenBoysAnonymous "New Moon Rising Over Arizona" party and midnight premiere of the next film in the Twilight saga.

Psych!! They're just cutouts. But we still wouldn't mind taking them home...

​ ​The courtyard of UltraStar Cinemas was jammed with craft booths and Twilight merchandise -- and a red carpet heralding the arrival of the night's celebrity guest. About an hour into the party, we missed a call from a friend. "I'm sure you didn't answer because you couldn't hear the phone ring over zillions of little girls screaming 'Edward, Edward'," he quipped into the voicemail. Well, he was half right.

We promise this one's the real thing.

​ ​They were actually screaming Kiowa (KAI-uh-wuh), for Kiowa Gordon, the 19-year-old Cave Creek resident who plays wolf pack member Embry Call in New Moon. Gordon arrived early in the day for brunch and meet-and-greets with a few select fans, and "re-arrived" in a white limo to walk the red carpet a little before 8 p.m.  

Gordon was accompanied by mother, brothers and an entourage of security and personal staff. He spent so long mingling with fans and posing for photos that it took nearly a half hour for the entourage to get to the small stage set up outside the theater. How is it to be the sibling of a Twilight star? "It's exhausting," said one of his brothers. "But Kiowa always talks about his fans." Mom chimed in that she'd seen the movie three times already and "it was awesome."

A trio of cuties: Kiowa poses with two adorable fans.

​ ​You could hardly hear the poor guy over the crowd, a fact he didn't seem to mind. "Don't be shy," he told fans. When asked about his unusual name, Gordon responded that it's Native American (he's a member of the Hualapai tribe) and means "the courageous one." Well, we'll give him props for courageousness in braving this crowd. The celeb stayed around for several hours, signing autographs and chatting with fans.

Dedicated fan Allie Armas as Rosalie Cullen poses with her bro'.

​ ​ The pre-show also included a trivia contest, with questions like "What was Alice Cullen's full name when she was a human?" (we'll leave you to guess). A handful of fans like the woman above turned out in full Twilight regalia in order to nab some autographed posters and other movie swag in the costume contest. Her replica of the old-timey baseball uniform worn by Rosalie Cullen wasn't perfect, but it was pretty decent considering she pulled it together from thrift store finds.

The Cartoon Cullens, created by cullenboysanonymous.com.

And now the question on all of you die-hard Twifans' lips: How was the movie? Humorous, action-packed, a little heartwarming and much better than Twilight. No annoying close-ups, less pained looks from Edward (though still too many) and a much faster pace. The werewolf effects could've stood to be a little more realistic, but otherwise it was a pretty solid teen flick.

Now, that could be the sleep deprivation talking (New Moon started a half hour late and let out around 3AM), but you'll just have to go and see for yourself.​   

Click through for more pics of Arizona's New Moon Premiere Party.