Twilight is the 2nd episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Brett Weiner, Andy Signore and Alex Sargeant. It was narrated by Gannon Nickell. It parodies the 2008 supernatural romance film Twilight. It was published on March 22, 2012, and is 2 minute 28 seconds long. It was made in response to the moderate success of the previous episode in the Honest Trailers series, Phantom Menace 3D. Twilight was the first Honest Trailer to truly break-out. In the years since its initial publication, the trailer has been viewed over 14 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Twilight on YouTube
"Together, they will have the romance of a lifetime, expressed entirely in stares, and even more stares." ~ Honest Trailers - Twilight
Script[]
Based on the terrible books, from one of the shittiest authors of all time (Stephenie Meyer), comes a movie adaptation for teenage girls who aren't smart enough for The Hunger Games. You'll be on the edge of your seat as voiceover describes everything...
Bella: (narrating) I would miss my [...] harebrained mother. / I used to spend two weeks here almost every summer... / My first day at a new school.
...kind of... like a book, actually.
Bella: (narrating) My dad's Charlie.
This catatonic teenager (Bella Swan) will fall for the world's gayest vampire. (Edward Cullen) A film that teaches young girls that the only thing that matters is finding a man... a 100-year-old man.
Bella: So, how long have you been like this?
Edward: Since 1918.
But don't worry; it's not pedophilia, because he looks 17. Together, they will have the romance of a lifetime, expressed entirely in stares (montage of Bella and Edward staring at each other, set to "Great Ambition"), and even more stares. (another montage of Bella and Edward staring at each other, set to "Great Ambition")
A love challenged... by the fact that he might accidentally f*ck her to death, this special effect (shows Edward carrying Bella on his back while running at super-speed through a forest), and her inability... to pour ketchup. (shows Bella awkwardly struggling to pour ketchup from a bottle onto her burger) A film that conditioned a generation of girls to think that love is keeping tabs on each other at every waking moment...
Bella: Did you follow me?
Edward: I feel... [...] protective of you.
...and even non-waking moments. (shows Bella waking up to find Edward standing by her bed)
Edward: I like watching you sleep.
Bella: Do you do that a lot?
Edward: --just the past couple of months.
Uh, I know this looks creepy, but it--but it's really romantic in the movie; I promise.
Starring: Vanilla (Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan); Shovel Face (Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen); and Troy Polamalu (Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black).
Twilight
It's just a metaphor for abstinence; seriously, look it up.
Trivia[]
- After the success of the previous proof-of-concept video, Honest Trailers were released regularly starting with this video. In 2018, Signore claimed a crucial factor in this video's success was that it was shared by the website 9GAG, which resulted in it reaching 1 million views soon after release.
- In 2018, Signore credited writer Alex Sargant as playing a defining role in developing the series' style of humor. it was Sargant who came up with the joke "Shovel Face," which proved to be a defining moment for the series.
- Creator Andy Signore later expressed regret for being too mean in the early Honest Trailers. After Signore was fired, the vampires in Twilight were referred to as "pathetic" as opposed to this video, where they are referred to by the homophobic slur "gay."
- This is the first use of the "stares" running gag, and the first use of the track "Great Ambition" by Chappell music.
- Honest Trailers were released for every film in the Twilight franchise: New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
- Screen Junkies have produced produced Honest Trailers for many movies based on YA books including The Hunger Games, Mortal Engines, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Harry Potter. See list of Honest Trailers for more.
- In 2019, the Screen Junkies team produced a shot documentary about the Twilight fandom as part of their Fandom Uncovered web series. The documentary took a much more positive view of the fandom.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
- Despite his short tenure as narrator, Gannon Nickell later returned to provide narration for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi Honest Trailers.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Twilight has an approval rating of 97.7% by YouTube viewers. Horror-Movies.ca wrote that the Honest Trailer was "all sorts of awesome." The site also noted the video was "just a bit of fun, and I’m sure if you’re a fan of the series, you will also have a chuckle."
Production credits[]
Previous video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Twilight
Created & Directed by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Executive Producer Mitch Rotter
Written by Brett Weiner, Andy Signore & Alex Sargeant
Edited by Brett Weiner
Voiceover Narration by Gannon Nickell
External links[]
- A Fun Look At The Twilight Trailer - Horror-Movies.ca article