Rob Pattinson Hasn't Arrived Yet, but Eclipse Fans Already Line the Street

In downtown Los Angeles, 500 or so fans are already awaiting Thursday's big event

By Marc Malkin Jun 23, 2010 12:15 AMTags
Twilight, Eclipse, FansE! Networks

Think people only travel the globe for the World Cup? Nope, an international assembly of Twi-hards has begun to descend on L.A. for Thursday's premiere of Eclipse.

We took a trip downtown earlier today to the L.A. Live entertainment complex to meet some of the 500 or so fans who started camping out yesterday morning to secure a prime viewing spot for the Los Angeles Film Festival red carpet premiere.

And you won't believe what we found...

Shani Duncan flew an incredible 19 hours from Perth, Australia, to set up camp—and this wasn't her first time making a trek for Twilight. "I was here last year for New Moon," Duncan told us. "I camped out for four days as well."

Close by was Carla Preciado from Baja California, Mexico, who displayed a Mexican flag with a homemade sign that read, "Mexicali N' Tijuana ♥ Eclipse."

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Megan Walter, 30, from La Quinta, Calif., and Puneet Chawla, 27, from Winnipeg, Canada, have reunited for Eclipse after becoming friends when they made similar pilgrimages for New Moon. "We talked all year long on Facebook and kept in communication with all the girls from last year's premiere," Walter said.

Dawn Sirtak, who lives just six blocks away from L.A. Live, described the atmosphere as a big "slumber party."

"We get to grab a few of our friends, talk about something that we really enjoy and are passionate about [and] have fun," Sirtak said.

Monica Siegel, a 22-year-old from Michigan, admitted Edward Cullen & Co. are more than just fictional characters to her and many of her friends. "It becomes a big part of your life when you get into the series," she said. "You start really caring about the story and really relating to the characters in it."

Make sure to come back here on Thursday. E! Online will be all over Eclipse!

—Reporting by Brett Malec

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