Staff Photo by Allison Carter/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Officer Kevin Derry monitors Robert Pattinson fans on West Cove Road in Kensington, Ga. The fans wanted to get a glimpse of Robert Pattinson, the actor who plays Edward Cullen in the popular Twilight series."Water for Elephants," the film that partially was shot in the Chattanooga area last summer, will have its premiere here April 22 at the Majestic 12 Theatre on Broad Street.
The movie stars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. There is no official word whether either will attend the local premiere, but Melissa Turner, communications director with the Chattanooga Southeast Tennessee Film Commission, said city officials are trying to make that happen.
"The New York premiere is the week before, and we are hoping they will want to come here as well," she said.
Pattinson fans from across the nation descended on Chattanooga and North Georgia once it was learned the actor was to be here for filming. He spent almost a week here filming scenes at a house below Chickamauga, Ga., and at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
A red-carpet reception will open the evening at 7 p.m., followed by behind-the-scenes footage from the Chattanooga shoot and interviews with Executive Producer Kevin Halloran, according to a news release from the Film Commission.
Other festivities will include a Pattinson and Witherspoon look-alike contest, movie ticket and poster giveaways. A black-tie VIP meet and greet will be held at Bluewater Grille from 5 to 7 p.m.
Movie tickets, $9.50 for adults and $7 for children, should be bought in advance. For more information, call 826-2370.
"This film will showcase Tennessee's beautiful locations to the rest of the world, which is one of the reasons we fight so hard to bring productions to our state," said Nathan Lux with the Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission. "Fox didn't want to shoot this feature outside L.A., but our trains and landscapes were just too compelling."
