Reading rumors about herself is ‘like a soap opera that seems real, but you’re not quite sure.’

With “New Moon” nearing its third weekend and looking to keep the streak alive as the top movie in the nation, we’ve spent much of the week publishing interviews with Robert Pattinson as he discussed Taylor Lautner’s bod, failed romances and his scary future beyond “Twilight.” But what about his leading lady?

With help from our friends at MTV Radio, we’re happy to bring you the unfiltered thoughts of one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars, Miss Kristen Stewart. Read on for her take on directors who don’t do their jobs, Bryce Dallas Howard joining “Eclipse” and her take on starring in a real-life tabloid soap opera.

MTV: Kristen, you’ve said in the past that “New Moon” was a tough film to shoot. But now that it’s done, was it worth the pain?

Kristen Stewart: I had a really good time on this movie. It was really intense, just because of the nature of the story. It goes in a completely different direction. We undermine the first. We establish a very ideological idea of love and basically tell our main character, our main protagonist, that she was wrong. And it’s like, “Where is our story going to be left if Edward’s not there?” That’s what I really love about “New Moon,” is that you see this girl build herself back up, and by the time she makes this rash decision to spend eternity with a vampire, she’s in a position that you believe her. It’s like, “OK, you’re old enough and mature enough now to know. You’ve lived life.” She grows up.

MTV: How about all the media attention that comes along with starring in movies this popular. Is it getting easier to deal with?

Stewart: I’ve gotten more comfortable with it. And the whole rumor/tabloid stuff, it’s so obviously false to me. Even before I became a part of it, once I was sort of the star of that, it’s like a show; it’s like a ridiculous show. With false realism, like a soap opera that seems real, but you’re not quite sure. It doesn’t bother me; I don’t take it personally.

MTV: In “New Moon,” we see Rachelle Lefevre’s final performance as Victoria. You’ve finished filming “Eclipse.” What can we expect to see out of Bryce Dallas Howard as she takes over the role?

Stewart: It was really good [working with her]. Bryce is scary. She is really oddly sweet as well, so it’s weird to see her switch back and forth. Victoria, for Bella, is an ever-present fear — even when Victoria isn’t around, she is scared that she is coming back. Bryce is such a good actress, and it was easy to be scared of her.

MTV: The fans had some doubts about Chris Weitz when he was first announced as “New Moon” director, but obviously he was able to win them over. Why do you think he was the right filmmaker for this particular installment of the series?

Stewart: I think, to be a good director, you have to be a good person and you have to care about people. And I don’t know a more compassionate human being. I couldn’t have done this unless I had such a believable, comfortable, safe environment to be so vulnerable in — and he provided that, tenfold.

MTV: What can you tell us about the now-legendary “orientation guide” he gave you guys when you came on set?

Stewart: Chris did a very different thing that I’ve never had a director do. He put together a syllabus of what we were supposed to achieve and how he was going to make it easier for everyone — sort of an introduction to how he likes to work. It not only introduced the idea of collaboration but said, “Please, everyone, love it and be invested and work hard.” It was very encouraging. It had technical aspects of [the shoot] — how he was so sorry that so much of the movie was going to be CGI stuff that we would have to react to — but that he was going to always make us aware of what we were acting with and never leave us high and dry like a lot of effects movies [do], because you don’t know what you’re reacting to. It was a full rundown of how he planned on making the movie. Most directors are like, “Have you put together notes for our meeting?” and it’s like, “No. That’s your job.”