'Twilight': The EW Photo Album

Taylor Lautner (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D) plays Jacob Black, a member of the Quileute tribe and friend to heroine Bella Swan. Well, she thinks they're just friends, but Jacob's got other plans....

Though Lautner's role in the first of the Twilight flicks is small, it is integral: He helps Bella uncover vampire Edward's true identity.

Robert Pattinson's granite-bodied bloodsucker Edward Cullen craves Bella (Kristen Stewart) — in more ways than one.

Covens collide: Bella, Edward, and Jacob are joined by naughty vamps Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) and James (Cam Gigandet).

Edward sweeps Bella off her feet.

At first, Pattinson was unsure how to play the most beautiful creature on Earth. ''Here's this guy who seems to be the embodiment of every single perfect guy. Okay, I'm going to look like a complete idiot if I just try to do that — like give a half-Fonz, half-George Clooney impression,'' Pattinson says. ''But then I did it with Kristen and it was completely different. We had this chemistry that just worked.''

The chemistry between Pattinson and Stewart was largely what led Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke to cast the 22-year old Brit as Edward. ''It was electric,'' Hardwicke says of the now infamous bedroom screen test. ''The room shorted out, the sky opened up, and I was like, 'This is going to be good.'''

For her part, Stewart was attracted to the role of Bella because of the gawky teen's first brush with romance. ''What I love about the story,'' Stewart says, ''is that it's about a very logical, pragmatic girl who you think would never get swept into something that has this bizarre power.''

Twilight message boards initially lit up with criticism over the Brit's casting. But now, it seems, fangirls couldn't be more pleased. ''There is going to be a group of girls who will follow his actions from now on,'' says Twilight author Stephenie Meyer.

After seeing an initial cut of the film, Meyer only had one request: Tone down the kissing scene. ''You're not going to have anything to work with as the series continues,'' Meyer told Hardwicke. The director obliged. ''In a weird way I think it's better,'' Hardwicke says.

Though starring in one of the most anticipated films of the 2008 holiday season, Stewart shied away from declaring victory before Twilight's release. ''Everyone said this is a big-deal movie. But I hate when people celebrate before you have something to celebrate about.''

After Twilight opened at No. 1 with $70 million, there was cause to celebrate — and to greenlight the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which will hit theaters on Nov. 20, 2009.