For better or worse, fans can get a bit carried away — especially when they're extremely enthusiastic about something.
And there currently are perhaps no other more enthusiastic fans than the devotees of LDS author Stephenie Meyer's best-selling horror/fantasy "Twilight" saga.
In fact, a Bay Area mall was nearly overrun by thousands of fans of the four books, who were there to see "Twilight" movie star Robert Pattinson. The 22-year-old British actor was supposed to appear and sign autographs when things got out of hand.
Ironically, Pattinson was a controversial choice for the part of the vampiric Edward Cullen in the movie version of Meyer's first novel. Especially since he had just finished playing Cedric Diggory in two "Harry Potter" movies.
"At first, I had a hard time with it. I kept seeing him as Cedric Diggory, which is not how I pictured Edward at all," said Utah County resident Melissa Clark.
A self-described "thirtysomething mother of three," Clark might not seem like the typical fan of the Meyer books, which look at the forbidden romance between a Pacific Northwest teen, Bella Swan, and the perpetually young Edward.
And at first, Clark says she resisted reading the books, though she eventually "fell under the spell of the story and these characters."
She's even organized events for fans, including hosting an "engagement party" for two of the characters when the latest novel, "Breaking Dawn," was released.
Fellow "Twilighter" Linnea Pugmire estimates she's read the Meyer books "dozens of times" and says she checks news at various fan Web sites daily.
The Orem teen also reports being "thrilled" once the movie version of the book was announced — even if she had her own ideas about how it should be done.
"It's hard not to have your own idea of what these characters should look like. That's part of reading," she said. "But you have to remember that a film and a book are not the same thing."
Pugmire calls herself a fan of 16-year-old actor Taylor Lautner and the similarly popular character he plays in the movie, Jacob Black. "He's perfect," she sighed.
Speaking of Lautner, he said he was "really glad once my name was announced in the cast and people didn't freak out about it."
"I try not to check those sorts of things, but it was impossible to avoid it," he said. "As soon as they said they were doing the movie, everyone and their dog had an opinion about what they should do with it, and who should be in it."
Meyer fan sites have been abuzz since, with fans debating about which scenes had to appear in the movie — such as a prom scene and the depiction of a fight between Edward and another vampire, James (played in the film by Cam Gigandet).
As one of the movie's stars, Lautner has obviously seen the final product and says he believes fans will be happy.
According to Lautner, Meyer visited the set several times and that she was "heavily involved" as one of the film's producers. But he added that "changes have to be made to fit a 500-page book into a two-hour movie." That includes combining a few characters and "moving a few things around."
At the same time, "there's a lot more action than people might be thinking," Lautner said. "Even I was a little surprised by how exciting it is."
Pugmire says she's sure she'll like the film either way. She and her younger sister, Lauren, have tickets for a sold-out midnight showing at Orem's SCERA.
They'll be accompanied by their 44-year-old father, Daniel, who's read the books as well. "I like to check on what my daughters are reading, and because of that I wound up becoming a fan."
He quickly added that he is "not nearly as carried away as they are about this, though." But Pugmire did let his daughters design a "Twilight" display at the Utah County Partyland store he manages.
As for Clark, she's seeing an earlier showing, arranged by a corporation. "I'm keeping an open mind, but I think it's going to be terrific," she said. "It's an event."
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com