TORONTO — Dozens of dedicated “Twilight” fans braved frigid temperatures to greet their idols at a Canadian premiere that featured co-stars Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone.

The 27-year-old Rathbone says Toronto is “the coldest” place they’ve brought “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ so far.

But he and Greene say they’re impressed with the enthusiasm of Canuck fans, who began showing up as early as noon to catch the evening red carpet and seek autographs.

Earlier premieres in London and Los Angeles featured hundreds of screaming fans who greeted superstars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ centres on the long-awaited nuptials of teenage heroine Bella Swan, played by Stewart, and her vampire boyfriend, played by Pattinson.

It opens Friday.

[..]

Greene, who plays the vampire Alice Cullen, said she was worried no one would linger outside the theatre because of the cold in Toronto, where temperatures hovered at 0 C.

Inside, the theatre was largely filled with contest winners and invited guests who were treated to an early screening of the movie.

The 24-year-old Greene said one of her favourite moments is the long-awaited wedding scene, which was shot outdoors in Squamish, B.C.

“We’ve been wanting to see this since we met Bella and saw how much Bella and Edward care about each other,” said Greene, adding there was another reason the scene was significant.

“But also we shot the wedding on the last day of filming and so we wrapped out the franchise with a scene from the wedding. Seeing it onscreen was very special.”

As for Ashley’s explanation behind the franchise’s popularity? There’s just something appealing about vampires, she says.

“I feel like they’re kind of that bad boy that you shouldn’t be with but you’re very intrigued with them. I think Stephenie Meyer really did a great job at kind of reinventing the vampire and it’s something you haven’t necessarily seen. They’re very humanistic,” says Ashley.

The 24-year-old says fans will love the big vampire wedding between Edward and Bella.

“I just watched the film – and I was even in the film – and I got emotional. I was like – are you kidding me? But I guess that’s a good thing. You want people to be affected,” she says. [..]

According to Ashley Greene, the newcomers appearing in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 were dead meat from the moment they were cast in the hit vampire franchise.

“I hazed them. I hazed them for sure,” the 24-year-old joked at The Cinema Society and DKNY’s special screening in NYC Wednesday.

All kidding aside, Greene says the cast was “so excited” to have new actors to interact with onscreen.

“Even though we all love each other and we are like a family, it’s so cool to have these different personalities and energy come in,” Greene told Us Weekly. “It was so huge! I think the whole cast is like 70 people this time. It’s cool to have different artistic personalities come in.”