twiiilight

USA Today has a new interview (along with a new picture!) of Eclipse stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner. The trio was previously in Chicago taping the special Oprah Twilight segment, when they sat down with USA Today and talked all things Twilight -

Casual yet cool Kristen Stewart can be a real chatterbox, unlike her moody Bella Swan, the high schooler in a romantic tug of war between these two supernatural objects of teen desire.

Lucky girl, right? “Yeah, but that’s in the movies,” Stewart says about bringing to life the modern-day Gothic heroine from the insanely popular Twilight book series (85 million copies sold so far). “I’m just the ultimate fan. If you read a story and you like it andconnect to it, it probably means you’ve inserted yourself in the story, and I get to do that on the most glorified level possible.”

“It’s so nice sometimes, preaching to the converted,” says Pattinson, 24, the London-born overnight sex symbol and primary reason for the screams. Thanks to his devoted worshipers, he has been elevated from a little-known Harry Potter supporting player to one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world in less than three years. They were out in force the night before at a Winfrey-sponsored screening of an unfinished print of Eclipse. Afterward, a firestorm of fan Tweets rife with “OMGs” gushed about the much-anticipated sequel to 2008’s Twilight and last year’s New Moon.

Their profiles have grown with each film, and celebrity status does afford them the chance to mingle with their own idols. Although, more often than not, the other stars are the ones bedazzled as they request autographs for their Twilight-crazed kids.

“I took a picture with Ron Howard last year at the Oscars,” Pattinson recalls. “I thought it was the funniest thing. I asked, ‘Is it for your kids?’ He said, ‘No, it’s for me. I want to have it on my phone.’ ” Making the situation even odder: Howard’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, is in Eclipse.

Alas, Pattinson has yet to run into his favorite, Jack Nicholson.

Stewart pipes up: “I have.”

Pattinson: “What? When did you meet?”

Stewart: “At a screening for Into the Wild,” her 2007 coming-of-age drama directed by Sean Penn. “He was exactly like you think he would be.”

Pattinson, sounding peeved: “You never told me that.”

Lautner joins in. “I didn’t meet him but I sat next to him at a Lakers game.”

Pattinson, utterly exasperated: “What?”