When most blockbuster movie stars are asked about their films, they often go one of two routes: they go on about how great everything is without being really honest; or they would rather be identified as indie stars and get irritated when reporters pester them with questions about their more famous franchises. Kristen Stewart, the star of Twilight, is not one of those actresses. In an interview with MTV at Sundance, Kristen is very honest and candid about the good and the bad of the Twilight “machine.” She addresses questions raised about the new director, the first film’s instant success, and Taylor Lautner’s new buff body.

I’m really excited,” she beamed, happily offering some of her first public comments about the big-budget “Twilight” sequel since a number of controversies have simmered, boiled and then been resolved over the past few weeks.

Regardless of her excitement, however, the always-frank Stewart admitted that the film’s fast turnaround, higher visibility and directorial change still needs to serve as a caution to the “Twilight” crew. “It’s such a machine now. All of a sudden, this movie has become [something bigger],” she explained. “With all the expectations — usually, you make a movie and think, ‘If it touches people, great; if it doesn’t, then you move on to the next one, and no one’s personally affected by it.’ [But] everyone’s really sensitive with any changes right now.

“Everyone needs to be on the same page to make the same movie [as the original ‘Twilight’ was],” she said of the upcoming “New Moon” shoot. “Or else it will be a very disoriented project.”

One of the most dangerous changes in the eyes of many fans has been the swapping of directors, from Catherine Hardwicke to “The Golden Compass” director Chris Weitz. Stewart, however, is one of the few actors from the film who has actually met with Weitz, and she told us that her fears have been put to rest.

“Chris is — on top of him being a really sweet guy — he is entirely devoted,” she explained. “And he’s very clearly not doing the movie just because it’s the next big thing. He really likes it a lot.”

Another concern in Stewart’s mind over the past few weeks had been which actor will play the pivotal role of Jacob Black — and whether she and this mystery man would be able to establish the same sort of chemistry that she had with Robert Pattinson in “Twilight.” Now that Taylor Lautner has been re-cast in the role, however, she’s convinced that they can make it work.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Stewart said. “I’m so glad they didn’t have to find somebody else; we already had him! I didn’t understand all the deliberation on [whether to bring him back]. But now that it’s set, we can all rest.

“He’s really buff!” she exclaimed of Lautner, who’s packed on nearly 30 pounds of muscle so far to prepare for Jacob’s werewolf growth spurt. “He definitely is. It took him a lot of time.”

[from MTV]

Kristen strikes me as one of the most down-to-earth actresses in Hollywood. That phrase is thrown around a lot, but it really seems as if fame hasn’t gone to her head. A lot of Twilight fans were at first thrown off by her seeming apathy to the role in interviews, but she really did have to take back seat to her costar Robert Pattinson. She has also said that she didn’t know that Twilight would be as big of a hit as it became, and that amount of attention gets some getting used to.

It must be at least a little bit irritating for Kristen to be trying to promote her indie flick Adventureland at Sundance and have reporters asking her questions about Twilight, but she handles the situation with a lot of grace. She recognizes that Twilight is what has propelled her into the limelight, and she sounds honestly grateful. It also seems in the interview as if she, Taylor Lautner, and Robert Pattinson are all good friends, and have kept their heads on in spite of all the press – refreshing for young Hollywood.

Kristen Stewart is shown out in Park City, Utah thrilling fans on 1/19/09 and at LAX airport on 1/21/09. Credit: Splash News. Header is of a Twilight photocall on 12/8/08 in Paris featuring director Catherine Hardwicke. Credit: PRphotos