NOTE: This post discusses Twilight, the movie, and the Twilight book series (particularly the latest book, Breaking Dawn), and is SPOILER HEAVY. If you've not read the books and don't want to read spoilers, do NOT read this post until you've read them. It's also longer than my usual column, as I had a lot of ground to cover, so if you hate reading long pieces, skip it. Thanks.

You're probably aware, even if you're not into books about vampires and clumsy, average teenage girls falling in love with one, that there's a popular book series called the Twilight Saga, and the first book in the series, Twilight, is being adapted for the big screen by director Catherine Hardwicke. What you may not be aware of is the little undercurrent of female writers decrying the series as inherently anti-feminist.

The Twilight series grew in popularity, mostly off the radar of the feminist set, until it got so popular that the feminists started to take notice -- and offense. I first became aware of this anti-feminist backlash when Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries (among other girly books) responded on her blog to readers writing her to ask what she thought of the series, thusly: " I didn't take my husband's last NAME when we got married. Do you honestly think I'd like a story about a girl considering changing SPECIES for a guy? No offense to any of you, but as a feminist, I just can't go there... "

I found Cabot's take interesting because I'm a feminist myself, who also didn't take my husband's last name when we got married, but I don't happen to find the series inherently anti-feminist. Nonetheless, since the release of the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, on August 2, the feminist mutterings have started to escalate to a dull roar.

Twilight fans can almost universally agree on one thing: the book's single most romantic moment is the first time Edward plays the lullaby he wrote for Bella on the grand piano in his home. It's a lovely scene, partly because it's the first time Bella has been invited into the home of Edward's vampire family and been accepted into their midst, and partly because, well, what girl wouldn't swoon having a guy like Edward compose a beautiful song, written just for her?

Twilighters have discussed endlessly which song should be "Bella's Lullaby;" now, via MTV's blog, which has an excellent piece full of yummy interviews with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Catherine Hardwicke and Stephenie Meyer comes word that Pattinson himself may compose the lullaby.

I have never been all that keen to read Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance, Twilight. That is probably because I'm just a little out of the prescribed age range, plus, I'll always be an Anne Rice girl at heart. So like a lot of other people, I'll just catch the movie. Back in February, Monika brought us the first photo from the film set, and now ET Online has behind-the-scene video and interviews with cast members Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Nikki Reed.

In Twilight, Stewart stars as Bella, a young girl who moves to a dreary, rainy town and finds herself drawn to her mysterious (and plasma-challenged) classmate, Edward (Pattinson). The two begin to fall in love, and if all those years devouring anything remotely 'vampy' have taught me anything, it's that there probably won't be a happy ending for these two. When a coven of vampires that doesn't follow Edward's example of eating only wildlife comes through town, Edward and his 'family' band together to protect Bella.

Twilight has been filming on location in Portland, Oregon since February, and the production is scheduled to finish shooting later this month. Fans have had mixed reactions to the film (mainly over casting), but Summit is hoping that they can get enough of them into theaters for at least two more installments of the series. Twilight is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 12th. Twilight fans, sound off with your thoughts on the casting, and what you hope to see them do with the film.

[via I Watch Stuff]