In case you haven’t heard, "Twilight" is out on DVD and Blu-ray today. The vampire movie, based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer, tells the story of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her love for sultry vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

The filmmakers and cast of "Twilight" have been showing up at DVD release parties around the country. ETOnline was at a release party in Los Angeles when Ashley Greene, who plays vampire Alice Cullen in the movie, surprised fans. Check out the video below.

The sequel, "New Moon," arrives in theaters on November 20, 2009.

Millions of "Twilight" fans are happy, because the DVD and Blu-ray hit store shelves today! The 3-Disc Special Edition is on sale at Target for $17.99, which seems like a heck of a deal. Also available at Target is a 2-Disc Blu-ray version for $24.99.

A bunch of stores, including Target, Best Buy and Borders all have "exclusive" editions, so I guess if you want ALL the content available, you’ll have to buy them all!

Read my review of "Twilight" here. And here’s the scoop on the DVD and Blu-ray sets from Target:

"Twilight" 3-Disc Special Edition DVD includes:

• An iTunes download of the film and bonus content, including a conversation with Stephenie Meyer and Edward’s piano concert
• Features Robert Pattinson on "Becoming Edward," Kristen Stewart on "Becoming Bella," Catherine Hardwicke’s vampire kiss montage, and Bella’s lullaby remix music video
• Commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, 5 extended and 5 deleted scenes and introductions
• A 7-part documentary, "The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen" and music videos by Muse, Paramore and Linkin Park
• A Comic-Con fandom piece, a Comic-Con NY sneak, 3 trailers and a Penelope sneak

Buy the "Twilight" 3-Disc Special Edition DVD at Target.com.  

After the jump, the Blu-ray features…

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Apparently, the rift between Catherine Hardwicke and Summit Entertainment has been healed. The "Twilight" directed has signed to direct Summit’s fantasy-drama "If I Stay." That’s interesting, because I heard last week that she was tapped to direct a teen series by James Patterson.

Even though "Twilight" was massively successful and grossed more than $380 million worldwide, Summit and Hardwicke parted ways in December. Chris Weitz was chosen to direct the sequel "New Moon." 

Based on Gayle Forman’s novel to be published this spring, "If I Stay" centers on a gifted classical musician and her indie rockstar boyfriend. She’s forced to choose between life and death when she’s in a car accident with her family.

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Is Catherine Hardwicke bitter about not directing “New Moon”? Apparently not, at least not in this clip from the launch party of her book, “Twilight: Director’s Notebook.”

Hardwicke says that while she was attached to the series while directing “Twilight,” she appreciates the idea of new people like Chris Weitz coming in and directing other movies in the franchise, much like the “Harry Potter” series. Take a look:

Catherine Hardwicke is in talks with Sony’s Columbia Pictures to develop and direct a film adaptation of "Maximum Ride,” a teen fantasy series with a few similarities to “Twilight,” the vampire flick that made Hardwicke a household name.

Written by James Patterson, the 5-book series follows the lives of six teens, known as the Flock, who are genetically altered to be part human and part bird. They escape the lab where they’ve been kept and are chased by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf.

Hmmm … beings that fly, chased by wolves, teenagers … maybe Hardwicke is building a career bringing these fantasy books to life. I haven’t read much James Patterson, but maybe it’s time to check it out. Here’s the list on Amazon.com.

Patterson will executive produce the movie; Don Payne, who wrote “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” is writing a screenplay. Let’s hope it’s better than “Silver Surfer.”

Image: Newscom

Lindsay Long has graciously volunteered to be a Film Gecko field reporter at SXSW 2009, currently the happenin’ place to be in Austin, Texas. That’s Lindsay pictured with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke. More on that later!

Lindsay attended two panels on Saturday. Read on for her report:

Jeffrey Tambor: "Break the Rules"

The first panel was Jeffrey Tambor’s Acting Workshop. For the first part of the workshop, Jeffrey took two actors, Jess Weixler ("Alexander the Last") and Mark Reeb (John Bryant Productions), and directed them through a scene. The two actors had only memorized their lines and the context of the scene they were doing.

More after the jump…

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The directing aspect of the "Twilight" series has certainly taken a lot of twists and turns, hasn’t it? First, we had Catherine Hardwicke for "Twilight," and I think she did a great job.

A lot of us were surprised to learn that Hardwicke wouldn’t be directing the second movie, "New Moon." That task went to Chris Weitz, who promised fans that he’d do a good job. I believe him.

Now we’ve got several names swirling around for the third movie, "Eclipse." Drew Barrymore had been rumored, but now it looks like Chris Weitz‘ brother, Paul Weitz is the chosen one.

So if you were in charge of the world, who would YOU choose to direct "Eclipse"? Vote in the poll, and tell me your reasoning in the comments below!

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Image: Drew Barrymore, Lucky You, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007

If you’ve been wondering about the behind-the-scenes details of how Bella and Edward came together in "Twilight," there’s good news!

A new book by director Catherine Hardwicke, "Twilight: Director’s Notebook," is scheduled for a March 17, 2009 release.

The book will go into all the details about the casting process, shooting locations, and wardrobe details – all from Hardwicke’s perspective, of course. It will also include lots of behind-the-scenes photos from the vampire romance.

The "Twilight" DVD will be released on March 21, 2009. Sounds like a great week for "Twilight" fans!

Image: Summit Entertainment, 2008

"Twilight" 2-Disc Special Edition will be out on DVD March 21, 2009. Yay! You can pre-order it on Amazon.com, and I’m sure I’ll have giveaway copies as the release date grows closer, too.

I loved the movie (read my "Twilight" review here), and can’t wait to get the DVD. Especially looking forward to the documentary, as well as the commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson. Here’s what’s on the DVD:

• Presented in widescreen format only
• Audio commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson
• Muse music video: "Super Massive Black Hole"
• Paramore music video: "Decode"
• Linkin Park music video: "Leave Out All the Rest"
• Five extended scenes with director introductions
• Five deleted scenes with director introductions
• Seven-part documentary: "The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen"
• Comic-Con "fandom" piece
• Comic-Con NY sizzle reel
• Three trailers
• Penelope trailer

Image: Amazon.com

Yep, "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson says he’s dreading his blood-sucking role in the film’s sequel, "New Moon." But it’s not for the reason you might think. He hates the contact lenses he has to wear for the movie!

Pattinson is onboard as vampire Edward Cullen in "New Moon," scheduled for a Nov. 20, 2009 release date, but he’s dreading those topaz-colored contacts he has to wear.

He tells Britain’s Ok! Magazine, "Wearing colored contact lenses … It was like I constantly had sand in my eyes. I was wearing them for three months constantly, and my eyes never ever accepted them! It took me 20 minutes per eye every single day, and I ended up having to literally fold it into my eyeball."

Not only that, he says the lenses inhibited his ability to portray Edward’s emotions. "It was frustrating, as well, because normally your eyes are saying something, but if you’ve got two orange blobs in your face, it’s so annoying!"

"The director (Catherine Hardwicke) would say, ‘Look at her (Kristen Stewart) like you love her,’ and I’d be like, ‘I’m trying!’ I’m going to have to do it again, because we’re making the sequel next year."

Image: Robert Pattinson, Twilight, Summit Entertainment, 2008; Source: Wenn News