FORKS — The West End is the star of a documentary that outlines the impacts of Twilight mania on Forks and the surrounding areas.
The documentary, “Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town,” includes interviews with more than 50 area residents and includes scenes from more than 30 days of shooting footage, said producer York Baur of Seattle.
“We shot many, many hours of footage,” said Jason Brown, co-producer, also of Seattle.
“About 30 days we were out here filming, and even this weekend, I shot some more,” during Stephenie Meyer Weekend, he added.
The weekend, named after the author of the best-selling four-novel series set in Forks, celebrated last Sunday the fictional birthday, last Sunday, of mortal Bella Swan who falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen in Twlight, the fist book of the saga.
Twilight, the basis for a movie by the same name released in 2008, is followed by New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
The documentary will be released in conjunction with the DVD for “New Moon,” the second movie in the saga. “New Moon” will be in theaters Nov. 20, but a DVD release date has not yet been set.
In addition to addressing the massive response to the books and movies — more than 50,000 people have visited Forks this year alone in response to it — the filmmakers also questioned residents about whether real vampires dwell in Forks.
“No, I don’t know any vampires. A vampire? No,” a Forks Outfitters employee is shown saying in the film, before giving the camera a sly smile.
In addition to interviewing business owners in town, the pair also interviewed loggers and others.
Baur has said he was inspired to film the documentary after seeing its impact on one of his favorite vacation places.
“I’ve been coming here for 40 years,” he said. “As a semi-resident of the area, when this phenomenon started to happen I decided this would be something good to do.”
The pair also donated $1,000 to Forks High School Associated Student Body, which purchases supplies and runs events.
“We are so grateful that you allowed us to film and get in the way and stick cameras in your face and answered our questions with smiles,” Baur said.
“This is just a token of thanks for all you’ve done.”
Forks High School Vice Principal Kevin Rupprech, who was principal at the time the documentary was filmed, was interviewed for it, and is looking forward to seeing it.
“Their donation was a really nice thing for the school,” he said.
The documentary was originally to be released in DVD form on Oct. 15, but on Friday, Baur and Brown received word from Summit Entertainment — which is the studio for the “Twilight” saga films — that it would like to distribute the documentary in conjunction with the release of the second movie.
The details on how that will happen is still unclear, Baur said.
The documentary could be included as a special feature in the DVD or it could be distributed with some special edition DVDs in 2010, he said.
Baur said it was essential to him and Brown to show what Forks is really like as well as the transformations as a result of the phenomenal response to Twilight.
To see a sneak peek of the film visit tiny.cc/forksfilm
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
