Has Twilight shone a new light on female fandom?

It certainly made MSNBC take notice (well, technically Newsarama, but let’s take a wild guess at which version got the most eyeballs) that more women are flocking to geek fandom – or at least the traditional aspects like San Diego Comic Con.

“Hollywood is finally waking up to the fact that girls like a wide variety of things beyond Barbie and Sex and the City,” said actor Mike McMillian, who plays the Rev. Steve Newlin on the HBO television series “True Blood”, a sexed-up vampire show that has proven itself popular with both male and female fans. “The universal success and appeal of ‘Harry Potter’ probably kicked this off in some ways. There are obviously concepts out there that are more appealing to boys than girls, and vice versa, but things don’t always have to be organized into ‘pink’ and ‘blue’ categories.”

McMillian counts himself among the fanboy culture and is writing next year’s comic book series “Lucid” from publisher Archaia. But the actor said he thinks there have always been fangirls — Hollywood just never courted to them before now. “There are legions of women out there who love this stuff, but I think they’ve been largely disregarded up to this point,” he said.

Is it time to step back from the hate and take a look at the bigger picture here? (via)

A brief word on not being those crazy fans

I don’t know if I’ve made this clear or not, but I find people who take their fandom too seriously to be absolutely hilarious. As a Star Wars fan, I find it perplexing when other fans take up arms at any hint of irreverent criticism concerning the franchise. Are we not fans of the same fun, cheesy, flawed films? Because I don’t really have a problem admitting that the Star Wars movies (all six of them) are far from perfect. (And yes, the same goes – perhaps even more so – for the Expanded Universe. Embrace the pain! And chill out.)

So, naturally, I take great joy in Jezebel’s takedown of over-serious Twilight fans. Please, don’t let this happen to you. Do you see how ridiculous it looks? And while I’m not saying you have to lay down and take everything, it doesn’t hurt to laugh a little at the expense of what you love. Because, let’s face it – sometimes it just deserves it.

Does Stephenie Meyer have to cut a bitch?

THIS IS NOT OKAY. (And the photoshoping is bad, too.)Twilight fans, I’m sorry, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer that there is a deep vein of crazy running through your fandom. Hot on the heels of LadySybilla and her unending spiral of batshit, you now have a second person trying to sell their Twilight fan fiction – and this one is on Amazon.

Seriously guys, when your creator has a history of pitching fits in the style of a 16-year-old BNF who’s not getting enough reviews? It’s probably not wise to gleefully infringe on her copyright. One can be written off as just a random nutter, but two? That’s stupid crazy. Meyer has money, she has lawyers, and I don’t doubt that they will cut you – and maybe everyone else who’s doing their Twilight fan fiction without asking money for it as well.

Drive-by movie news: Benders, Fanboys, Terminators and Potters (oh my)

airbenderFirst Airbender pics are here. If you squint you can see Aang’s tattoo, but Zuko’s scar (and ponytail) seem MIA. Sigh.

Seriously, what if it sucks? Fanboys to head to Sydney for a sequel? Nice idea, but I’m not holding my breath.

You like Harry Potter, little fan? Have some Half-Blood Prince TV spots. Or perhaps a clip?

He’s John Connor. JOHN CONNOR! Terminator Salvation has already taken in $3 million, despite a a steady stream of bad reviews.

Obligatory Twilight news. Kristen Stewart looks thrilled to be in the New Moon poster. Meanwhile, poor Robert Pattinson confirms they’ll be taking the movies all the way through Breaking Dawn. I for one can’t wait to see how they handle the… Well, you know.