Since "New Moon" FEVER is sweeping the nation, here are a few odds and ends related to the chaos . . .

#1.)  Not that this will make the slightest difference to you if you're a fan, but critics are NOT being kind to "New Moon".  It's been panned by ROGER EBERT, the "Boston Globe", the "L.A. Times", "Variety" and "USA Today", just to name a few.

--The general consensus seems to be that it's too mopey and boring.  (--But like I said, the fan base doesn't care what critics say.  They're expected to propel "New Moon" to an opening weekend take of at least $85 million.)

#2.)  How many of you are checking out "New Moon" just to see TAYLOR LAUTNER with his shirt off???  Well, here's exactly what you're getting . . .

--The movie is a little over two hours long.  And one blogger who caught an advance screening says Taylor is in it for about 36 minutes . . . and he's shirtless for about 12 of them.

#3.)  KRISTEN STEWART and DAKOTA FANNING share the screen in "New Moon" . . . but you can see them share SALIVA in their upcoming flick, "The Runaways".  (!!!)

--The title refers to the '70s all-girl rock band that gave JOAN JETT and LITA FORD their starts.  Kristen plays Joan, while Dakota plays singer CHERIE CURRIE.

--And there's a scene in which their characters MAKE OUT.  Dakota says, quote, "They're best friends in the film and became really close in real life.  And that's something that went down back in the '70s."

#4.)  A trailer for ROB PATTINSON'S next movie, "Remember Me", has hit the web.  It co-stars PIERCE BROSNAN and "Lost" minx EMILIE DE RAVIN . . . and it hits theaters next March.  (--Check it out . . .)

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100772992