British schoolboy Robert Pattinson became Hollywood's hot new star alongside Kristen Stewart in Twilight

Dec 31 2008

that he wear a brace to correct his wonky chops. Pro that he is, he didn't have to be asked twice.

Today, his teeth are Hollywood perfect.

With its pretty stars and gothic horror, Twilight seems a winning formula. The film is based on the best-selling teenage vampire chick-lit novels by America's answer to JK Rowling. Stephenie Meyer's books have already sold 25million copies here alone. The 34-year-old Mormon housewife says the plot to Twilight came to her in a dream, but she woke up before getting to the end-so she had to write it to find out what happened to the handsome vampire who falls for a beautiful virgin (played by Kristen Stewart) and is torn between his love for her and wanting to chomp her neck.

Meyer, who wrote the book to pay off debts on her mini-van, is now a multimillionaire.

And the sensation shows no sign of slowing. Her style has been described as Jane Eyre meets Dracula with a heavy dose of Romeo and Juliet.

Teenage girls, seemingly, just can't get enough of her lusty, yet thoughtful, bloodsucker. Nor, it seems, of Robert. There's no stopping the boy.

Beatlemania 'with fangs'

The mass hysteria which has greeted the release of Twilight has seen it dubbed "Beatlemania with fangs".

When the film opened in Los Angeles, hundreds of fans in fancy dress lined the street outside the cinema, screaming and chanting and crying. Many had camped out overnight. In San Francisco, a screening was cancelled after 3,000 turned up and caused a near-riot.

Robert has appeared on the cover of most supermarket tabloids in America and hundreds of internet forums are devoted to the film.

Not bad for a movie made for a modest Û38m. The vampire romance is based on a series of books by Stephenie Meyer. Her tale of a romance between high-school girl Bella Swan and teenage vampire Edward Cullen was rejected by nine publishers and ignored by another five. The 15th offered a Û750,000, three-book deal and the first book went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide over the last three years.

The film has also taken everyone by surprise. It opens in the UK on December 19.