When Stephenie Meyer released her Twilight books, a literary storm was released upon the world. The series won legions of passionate fans and garnered just as many ardent detractors who criticized its simplistic writing style and cliched themes.

There was a rarely a middle ground, as people either adored or loathed it. Like many popular novels, the tetralogy was turned into a series of movies.

The book's fans flocked to the theaters to see their beloved characters on the big screen, and the naysayers amplified their disdain for the stories with each subsequent movie release.

The franchise remained a financial success throughout its run, with the final movie in the series, Breaking Dawn: Part 2, grossing over eight hundred million dollars world wide.

With all of the kerfuffle that surrounds The Twilight Saga, a lot of misunderstanding happens to spread regarding the books, movies, and its creator Stephenie Meyer.

Its avid followers throw around wild, groundless speculation that gets taken in as fact. Haters, on the other hand, will often blow small trifles out of proportion or twist facts into a particular form that support their argument. No matter what side one is on, there are quite a few things that people tend to get wrong.

It has been about six years since the movie saga concluded, and many of these misunderstandings are still in people's heads.

Hopefully, this list will clear the air and paint a more accurate picture about the series. There will be no bias in favor or against the movies. As is usually the case, the truth is often found somewhere between two extremes.

With that said, here are the 20 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Twilight.

Robert Pattinson Dislikes The Movies

Robert Pattinson - Twilight

It's very easy to hate Robert Pattinson and his part in The Twilight Saga. His dialogue is trite and he is just so darn beautiful.

People who dislike the movies often point out his performance in their criticisms. If one asked Pattinson himself, he would agree with the haters one hundred percent.

Before being approached for the movie, the English actor had never heard of the books, which is surprising since they were already wildly popular.

In an interview after the first movie's release, Pattinson admitted to harboring extreme dislike for the series. It is not everyday hat one hears an actor throwing shade at a movie he is starring in-- a movie that probably paid for his house and car, no less.

The Movies Were Not Completely Derided By Critics

Twilight Breaking Dawn

People often like to point out that the only viewers who got any enjoyment from the movies were fans of the books. Specifically, they will claim that all of the films were lambasted by critics. However, a quick look at each film's reviews will say otherwise.

While none of the entries were stated to be the next Apocalypse Now or Goodfellas, they were hardly declared utter garbage.

The early titles were met with mixed reception, splitting critics between those who approved and disapproved of them.

Admittedly, the latter entries were less well received, but even then they weren't populating "worst of..." lists either. Unlike the casual hate watcher, a critic is obligated to look at movies objectively, pointing out all of the good with the bad.

For Blockbusters, They Had Low Budgets

One may think "of course the movies were successful, Hollywood can throw money at anything and people will go and see it." The truth is that the movies had fairly modest budgets, even towards the end of the franchise.

The first release had a thirty seven million dollar budget, and it certainly shows on screen.

As per usual, the costs increased with each movie, but even Breaking Dawn: Part 2 cost only one hundred twenty million dollars to produce.

If compared to other young adult novel adaptations, you can see just how small of a budget it is for what is set up as a blockbuster. It makes sense for the first few movies, since at the time they were not sure to be successful.

Kristen Stewart Is Actually A Good Actress

One of the less celebrated parts of the movies is Kristen Stewart's performance as the main character, Bella Swan. She was decried as emotionless and unenthusiastic.

These aren't entirely groundless statements, but what people do not realize is that Stewart has since become an accomplished actress.

In 2015, the actress won The Cesar Award for best supporting actress for her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria. This particular award is considered one of the highest honors for an actor to receive.

Stewart was only eighteen when Twilight was first released and still cutting her teeth in the profession. While her performance in the series is nothing to write home about, she did what she was paid to do and fans were happy the end result.

The Books Weren't Hated By Critics

Taylor Lautner as Jacob, Robert Pattinson as Edward, and Kristen Stewart as Bella in Twilight

One of the largest criticisms of Twilight in both its cinematic and literary form is that only teenage girls like it.

If you looks at the actual reviews, though, you can see that they were not entirely negative. Looking at the first entry's reviews are particularly telling because it shows a more honest opinion from before there was any hype or a rabid fandom.

The reviews do not lie about the writing style or the simple plot, but they do give praise to the fleshed out world and note how appealing it will be to certain audiences.

Similar to the movies, however, the books' critical reception became less and less positive, with Breaking Dawn being the least beloved by reviewers.

Stephenie Meyer Had A Lot Of Input For The Movies

Stephenie Meyer Signing A Book

It's easy to assume that once a studio buys a property, they ignore the creator's wishes and produce a movie that they suspect will return the biggest box office numbers. While this is sometimes certainly the case, the Twilight movies did not fall victim to this ploy.

Since the beginning, Stephenie Meyer was heavily involved with the films from the planning stages all the way through its conclusion.

She gave specific instructions on elements that could not be changed from the novels and was able to frequently visit the set during filming. The move paid off big time as fans praised the movies for their faithfulness to the source material.

It goes to show that keeping the spirit of the original will often yield a more successful movie.

Sequels Were Not A Guarantee From The Start

Twilight Eclipse

One wouldn't be too far fetched to assume the series was planned as a franchise from the get go. While this is somewhat true, what's often forgotten is that the film sequels were not assured from the beginning.

To make sure of its success, the following movies were not greenlit until after Twilight's release.

Once the reward was tangible, though, the studio jumped right on it, giving the go ahead for the rest of the franchise only a day after the first movie's theatrical release.

This brings to light one crucial point people forget, and that is that the first movie was a bit of a risk.

Would its targeted demographic rush to see the big screen version? Once the answer was yes, all bets were off and the flood gates opened.

It Might Not Be Good For Its Targeted Demographic

Bella and Edward play the piano in Twilight.

From the beginning, the Twilight franchise has mostly attracted teenage girls, though that is not to say it does not have fans outside that demographic. You could present a strong case that the messages in the stories are somewhat harmful to women, however.

The driving force throughout the whole series is the relationship between the vampire Edward Cullen and the human Bella Swan.

Their dynamic could be seen as resembling an abusive relationship, with Edward obsessing over his love and even stalking her at times.

While this behavior is undeniably creepy, the books romanticize them. If people get their idea of what love is solely from these movies and books, real life will sorely disappoint them-- or worse.

Christian Vampires

Peter Facinelli Twilight

Throughout history, vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings are often depicted as satanic or going against God.

As such, their suspected existence has often ended with innocent people losing their lives (we're looking at you, Salem). One may be surprised to learn, then, that Stephenie Meyer is a devout Christian.

What's more is that pro-Christian themes are present throughout the books and movies. Whether this is good or bad is entirely up to the individual.

Even for atheists or those with different beliefs, a story with religious undertones that conflicts with one's own does not necessarily make it a bad one.

On the other hand, if they are too heavy handed, it can get in the way of the plot.

Not Necessarily Anti-Feminist

Twilight

Fans and loathers alike have strong feelings about the central protagonist, Bella Swan. Even passionate followers of Twilight may admit that Bella is hardly a role model for young women. Others do not share this same viewpoint, such as Stephenie Meyer.

Meyer argues that the heroine's actions are all her own choices. While they may be ill advised decisions, she is not forced or coerced into making them.

She goes on to say that choice is one of tenants of modern feminism.

Whatever side you falls on, it is important to remember that good characters do not have to be role models.

It is better for a character to be flawed and more human than to be a shining ray of perfection.

Fellow Authors Like The Books

Orson Scott Card

Along with the movies, the book series has been decried as mindless schlock to shovel into your brain that has no real value. There are actual novelists, however, who would disagree with this assessment.

Orson Scott Card, the author of Ender's Game, in particular, has praised the franchise, saying "(Meyer) writes with luminous clarity."

Additionally, prolific author Jodi Picoult has been supportive of Meyer's work.

Adversely, world renowned story teller Stephan King has been less than enthusiastic about the vampire love story. He has not harshly judged only the story, but he has criticized her writing style as being poor.

Even writers have varying opinions about their peers' works. Literature, like many works of art, can be difficult to judge objectively.

The Series May Be Over, But The Fandom Is Still Alive

Breaking Dawn: Part Two came out in November of 2012. With six years having passed, many would assume that fans have moved on and nobody cares about the Twilight Saga anymore.

On the contrary, Twilight still has legions of follower and the world has been expanded upon passed the four main stories.

Forks, Washington still remains a popular spot for fans to visit, as it is one of the series' settings.

Stephenie Meyer has also written Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, which is a retelling of the first book with the main characters' genders reversed.

Finally, future movies and spinoffs are not outside the realm of possibility, but it has been said these would only go forward if Meyer approved of it.

Robert Pattinson Is Not A Bad Actor

Pattinson's performance in the movies has earned numerous jeers, but the truth of the matter is that the Englishman has earned some serious respect with his other performances.

Prior to Twilight, which was a breakout role for him, Robert earned indie cred with a starring part in How to Be.

After winning fame, a gripping performance in David Chronenberg's adaptation of Don DeLilo's Cosmopolis proved that he was not just a flash in the pan.

More recently, he starred in the crime drama Good Time that once again showed the thirty two year old has serious chops.

Maybe Twilight will always follow him around, but the actor is doing a good job at showing viewers that he is a disciplined actor with a ride range of talent.

They Did Use Real Babies

In a series filled with infamous moments, the one that takes the cake has to be the ridiculous digital effects used for Bella Swan's newborn in Breaking Dawn: Part 2.

It was a better alternative than the puppet they screen tested with, but it still left audiences scratching their heads as to why they did not use a real baby.

The thing is, though, that they did use a real baby sometimes.

The baby shown on camera was split between a real and an animatronic one.

They still put the CGI over the real baby's face, but it will be surprising to many that they used a real infant at all.

Kristen Stewart also said it was much easier to act with a real baby than with the fake one.

Stephenie Meyer Wasn't A Professional Writer

Stephenie Meyer

One of the most common gripes with Stephenie Meyer is her writing, which is often straightforward and lacking color.

It is seen as a negative element of the books, but it does make them more accessible. The reason why she writes in this manner is because, prior to Twilight, she had no professional literary experience.

This should not exclusively be seen as a bad thing, however. Many world famous bands and filmmakers do their first projects without any experience, so why should authors be any different?

Meyer had an idea and followed through with it, and that should be commendable enough. The fact that her idea earned her fame and enough money to make a good living is a huge bonus for her as well.

The Actors Still Took Their Roles Seriously

Twilight Cast

The two stars, particularly Robert Pattinson, always seemed uninterested in the whole series and the fame it brought them. However, despite their apparent indifference, and in some cases outright contempt, for the franchise, they still put in hard work to deliver the best performance they could.

Pattinson especially went the extra mile to become Edward Cullen. Once he was cast, the actor moved to Oregon and trained extensively in order to fully engross himself in the character.

He also learned Portuguese for one scene in Breaking Dawn: Part One.

He was not the only one to put in time though, as Taylor Lautner intensely worked out to prove to producers that he could get in shape for his larger part in the Twilight sequels.

It Might Not Be For Certain People, And That's Fine

Cameron Bright in the Twilight Saga

The Twilight Saga is frequently put down as being exclusively for teenage girls, as if targeting mainly this demographic is a bad thing that somehow makes it less than other stories by default.

However, ultimately, not every work of fiction was made for all audiences, and that is okay.

If certain people do not fall into that category, why do they feel the need to criticize the franchise so severely?

Just let people enjoy their stories, it does not hurt anyone else.

At times these ardent detractors are a part of other fandoms and would take serious umbrage at anyone else spouting negativity about their own passion.

Not only is it a waste of energy to throw be hard on Twilight, but it can sometimes be hypocritical.

Stephenie Meyer Wants To Move On From It

Stephenie Meyer Author

When a creator strikes it big with one of their works, they often milk that property for every drop that it is worth. Sometimes they take it too far until even the most avid followers grow fatigued from it.

Most would expect Stephenie Meyer to have this attitude with her creation, but evidence says otherwise.

In a 2013 interview with Variety the author expressed a wish to not return to the world that made her so famous in the first place.

Since then, she has decided to retell the first book with the swapped genders, but there have been no stories that have pushed the canon forward.

Fans may be clamoring for more, but Meyer wants to create and explore other worlds.

Splitting One Book Into Two Wasn't Just Greed

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2

When book series are adapted into movies, they sometimes have a nasty habit of making the final novel two movies. Famous examples of this are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and of course Twilight: Breaking Dawn.

This practice is often seen as a transparent attempt to milk more money out of audiences, but with Twilight, the move was logical.

Breaking Dawn is over seven hundred fifty pages, which is about as long Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. While the former certainly does not hold the same literary weight, it still has a lot of plot to jam into one movie.

Producing two movies may have earned more money, but it also was necessary to fit all of the vital plot points on the big screen.

The Movies Aren't That Bad

Edi Gathegi in Twilight

People generally love the series or passionately hate it, with people rarely falling in between. Those who disapprove of Twilight treat it as if it is one of the worst atrocities unleashed upon mankind.

In reality, the movies are not actually that bad.

The films are not perfect, but they are hardly the worst ever made.

Since the beginning, it has simply been an easy thing to hate because of its place in pop culture. If judged rationally, one can find good elements about the franchise.

As it is now, though, people take the bad parts of the movie and amplify them as if they are the whole movie, and that is just not true.

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Are their any other things that everyone gets wrong about Twilight? Let us know in the comments!