Bryce and R-Patz talk about their Fight!

Howard has wisely refrained from reading Internet chatter ever since.

"One of the slight misconceptions about these films is that they're these huge-budget blockbusters," explains Eclipse director David Slade. "These films are made more like independent films. Our schedule — not just for money reasons but also for actor availability — was so tight. We shot Eclipse in 52 days; most action movies are shot in double, triple that.

"When Rachelle became unavailable three weeks out from shooting, we had to react very quickly," adds a grateful Wyck Godfrey, one of the series' producers.

Howard more than understands some fans' displeasure with the casting change.

"That attachment to Rachelle is absolutely warranted, because she is the character for TwilightNew Moon," Howard acknowledges. "What occurred is not ideal in so many ways and really, really unfortunate and devastating for everybody involved. and she is the character for

"That was part of the nervousness I felt about getting into this. The question was, how can one navigate this in some kind of a way so that the movie is what it is meant to be at the end of the day."

Indeed, when Howard joined the vast but tight-knit Twilight cast for the Eclipse shoot in British Columbia, she wasn't expecting open arms.

"Because I wasn't a part of what happened to Rachelle, no one put blame on me or anything," she was relieved to discover.

Too bad she had to try to kill so many of them. The Victoria story arc climaxes in Eclipse, as the vengeful vamp sets off something like a monster war in order to get back at her lover's killer, Edward Cullen, by destroying his human girlfriend, series heroine Bella Swan.

"It's really hard to fight with Bryce because she's, like, the gentlest person," Robert Pattinson reveals. "She was afraid of hurting me, for some reason. So most of the really vicious-looking stuff I did with her stunt double, who was really, really tough."

Howard actually had a very practical reason for pulling her punches: survival.

"Actors are always nervous about not only hurting each other but maybe, perhaps, hitting each other's face and ending one's career," she says with a laugh. "I just knew that if I rustled Rob's hair, perhaps millions of young women would want to kill me. So I was quite cautious for that reason."