The Teen Queen talks about her new film, Herbie: Fully Loaded

Let the 'Herbie' love fest begin! It's been 23 years but the 1963 VW Beatle is back in Walt Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded. Lindsay Loahan plays the car's new owner, and definately plays to the targeted audience.

I had a chance to speak with the teen actress at a press event for the film. It took place only days after her car accident with a group of photographers and the day after she took home two awards at the MTV Movie Awards.

Here's what she had to say:

Q: Why the attraction of doing the Disney movies; how many have you done?

Lindsay Lohan: This is my third. I feel very safe doing them with Disney at this point; they've been very good to me and I really felt the character in this movie has a good message and it's very empowering for women. It's a male dominated sport in NASCAR and especially now with Danika Patrick coming out. It's perfect timing.

Q: Does this parallel anything in your own perspective being a woman in a male dominated industry?

Lindsay Lohan: No, I don't see any issues there, but I feel like – I see some parallels in my character in that she is going into womanhood. She's kind of going on her own and discovering what she wants to do in life and kind of following through with that.

Q: How was getting the NASCAR tie in there? Did you get to enjoy that and do something you wouldn't get to do on a normal basis?

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, I probably wouldn't have done it actually. But yeah, it was fun! I took lessons, kind of scary but I'm a more cautious driver now, or I try to be.

Q: Were you a fan of cars before you did this?

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, I don't know that much about cars, and I was aware of NASCAR. But I have two brothers, so they knew more about it than I did. When I met Jeff Gordon, they were like 'OOH you get to meet Jeff Gordon.'

Q: What was it like acting with the car?

Lindsay Lohan: I don't know. When I did "Parent Trap," I had to act with not getting anything in response when I was in character. So it was kind of similar to that in a sense.

Q: Did you talk to the car? It seems like everyone talked to the car and bonded to the car?

Lindsay Lohan: I feel like the way the movie came across which is why I was really happy with it. It didn't come across cheesy and you really do form a bond with the car. Everybody, you kind of cheer for the car, so you're cheering and routing for Herbie.

Q: You had to learn to drive stick?

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, that scared me. But I was good. I picked it up pretty fast.

Q: You've done a lot of different roles; have you ever thought of doing a sci-fi or fantasy, 'Wonder Woman'-type role?

Lindsay Lohan: 'Wonder Woman' would be cool! I actually met with someone there at one point. But yeah, I would never cancel anything out. I need to have other places to go and explore. I'm trying to find things that are different than anything I've done just to show my abilities and so I can have some kind of stretch. Cause most of the things Ive done are still similar to me. They're still younger girls and they're still light-hearted.

Q: What are you looking for?

Lindsay Lohan: I think everyone's looking for that role where it's a stretch where you can kind of push the envelope a little bit.

Q: Is that why you're working with [Robert] Altman next time [in "A Prairie Home Companion"]

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, it's not like it's a horror. It's a drama and it's an amazing cast and that's why I'm proud to be a part of it. And not have to work every single day on the set. So that's exciting and it's Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Kevin Kline so it's probably going to be an acting class for me just being there. It's going to be nice.

Q: Being with Jeff Gordon; what was that like? He's been compared to the Michael Jordan of his sport.

Lindsay Lohan: You know I didn't realize that until I was there and when we were there, they had 250 thousand fans when we shot there at the race which is just incredible. And they're all really nice guys, it was very brief. And they were acting in the movie so they were like 'we don't act, what are we supposed to do?' I was like, 'I don't race, but Im saying I do.' They actually announced me as a driver.

- They announced you as a driver or your character?

(continues answer):

Well, my character, but still I'm sure people were like Lindsay Lohan's racing?

Q: Why do you think your character fell for the guy in this movie?

Lindsay Lohan: Well, I think he was there for her when she was going through a hard time. She wanted to be a race car driver and her father wasn't being very supportive and he was the one who pushed her. She shut him down at the beginning and she lied to everyone and didn't tell them what she was doing. But his character was very sweet, funny, and charming. They had a history of being friends. I think there were a lot of elements that led to her liking him. It's a Disney romance, so.

Q: With your music coming along, how do you see yourself separating from other women your age?

Lindsay Lohan: Well, I have a single for this movie. I just did the video for it recently. That was fun to do, and Herbie's in it. Yeah, it's cool; we have a lot of race cars, cars racing in the video and I'm singing.

Q: Have you seen yourself deciding, making a decision on the acting or the singing?

Lindsay Lohan: Acting is what I mainly focus on, but at the same time I love singing as well. I'll probably be starting another album eventually. My first album was rushed; I practically recorded every song in a trailer doing Herbie. So that's why I got sick at the time, I was running myself down. I was running from set and singing. First to sing the verses and then we were writing, everything. I was working so much and go home and record in my bedroom.

Q: Why not take a break for a while?

Lindsay Lohan: I can't now, I have a movie coming out. I think after the Altman film, I'll probably be down for a little bit. And I'll take a break until I start working on press for that.

Q: Is there anything you'd like to do during that break? Any trips you'd like to take?

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, there's things I like to do. I want to get into starting a charity; there's a lot of things I'd like to do. I don't want to jinx anything.

Q: What kind of charity work?

Lindsay Lohan: For abused and underprivileged children so we'll see. It's hard to get into now, cause I'm working and I can't focus really.

Q: The boys were saying they played some practical jokes on you, specifically something about a fake rat.

Lindsay Lohan: Yeah, they tortured me. But it was fun; at least we had a fun set to be on. We were shooting late one night and they shut the power off in my trailer and then put a vacuum on outside that kind of sounded like a chainsaw and they were jumping on my trailer. Breckin [Meyer] was underneath and Justin [Long] was on top.

Q: So why didn't you retaliate?

Lindsay Lohan: Um, I think I did, but I don't remember what I did. We had a water fight. I don't know; I was pretty good about it. I kind of felt like the more I did in return and exchange for what they did, then they would just keep doing more. But yeah, they did mess with me a lot.

Q: What keeps you grounded in your life?

Lindsay Lohan: I think the people around me, my family. Cause I have friends who would say something if I was out of line in any way. They're like 'Lindsay, cool it.' But I watch people and I just observe what's going on and I see if other people have changed I know what that looks like and I don't want to be that type of person.

Q: If there's a message you'd like young ladies to take out of this movie, what would it be?

Lindsay Lohan: If there's something you want to do, you should go for it and not let anyone tell you not to. As cheesy as it sounds, follow your dreams.

Q: Last night at the screening, at the big race, at the end, there was a little girl in the aisle cheering. What's that like for you knowing these little girls look at you and say 'Oh my gosh, that's so great!'

Lindsay Lohan: It's incredible cause I took my sister to see the movie a few weeks ago in New York and my little brother, too. And they were cheering too. I was watching them the whole time and it was the cutest thing.

Q: How old are they?

Lindsay Lohan: My sister is 11 and my brother is 8 years old and he's going to be 9 in, oh my gosh, a week and a half.

Q: How good are you at determining when you're at burnout when you're working too hard?

Lindsay Lohan: I'm a work-a-holic so I tend to just keep going. I'm so used to working at this point and when I don't have anything to do, I kind of go crazy and I'm like 'I need to work more.' So I surround myself with people who make sure I say 'no' more than 'yes' at this point.

Q: Are you 'Type-A?'

Lindsay Lohan: I don't even know.

Q: Why do you work so hard and what makes you a work-a-holic?

Lindsay Lohan: I think I work so much because I've been doing a lot at once. You get to a point where you want to please everyone and that's difficult. You have to take the time; it's difficult for me. It's all been a learning experience for me. So I've been learning to say 'what does Lindsay need, what do I need to do for myself.' I'm growing up and working with Michael [Keaton] and Matt [Dillon], you get advice from those people and it's nice to hear that. You have to take care of yourself and make sure you're doing what you want to do.

Q: How important is romantic chemistry within the two characters?

Lindsay Lohan: Oh, it's very important. Justin and I were very much like brother and sister so everyone thought it was so strange for us to kiss. Everyone was kind of creeped out by it.

Q: What's your favorite past Michael Keaton film?

Lindsay Lohan: Ah, "Beatlejuice" and Batman. I'm a big Michael Keaton fan, and also was it "Multiplicity?" He's great in that and I did something similar to that in "Parent Trap" so that's why I really like him. I'm a big Michael Keaton fan and Matt Dillon. I loved him in Wild Things.

Q: Do you think the media has given you a short trip as far as giving you credit for being an actress and putting too much emphasis on the celebrity aspect of it ?

Lindsay Lohan: I think there's become an obsession with the celebrity right now and just buying the tabloids and reading into it. It's hard cause people who don't necessarily know me as a person, on a personal level, they're going to believe whatever they believe, which is understandable. They say I was in New Orleans and they said I was in LA out till 4 in the morning and that's like physically impossible. What did I do, clone myself? So I just learn to ignore it.

Q: So do you read what's written about you?

Lindsay Lohan: If it's there, I'll read it. I grab it

Q: What's something that has been taken away that is who you are?

Lindsay Lohan: I feel like I'm an honest person and I feel like I'm very sincere and I won't take anything for granted. I feel blessed, I'm appreciative, I'm thankful. I'm not some crazy, Tara Reid-esque party girl and I want to be in this for the long run.

Q: Jennifer Lopez had a situation about a month ago in traffic similar to what you had a few days ago. At that moment, she said her driver had no control.

Lindsay Lohan: Well, I was driving, so I didn't have a driver. I had my friend in the car and it happened so fast and I really didn't believe it actually happened and I couldn't get out the side door and my door was jammed shut. I know a story of someone who was close to one of my family members who was packed away in their car. Someone hit their car and then he couldn't get out of his door. So all I was thinking about was 'I can't get out of my door, I'm going to die in this car.' My door was jammed, and then my friend was panicking and just wacked herself of her window, so she couldn't find the unlock switch. So what was going on was incredible. And then I got out of the car and they continued to take my picture. I said 'what are you doing, uh, I , uh, uh.' I was in shock; I did not know what to do. But thank goodness no one was seriously injured. I still have to go to the doctor. I still haven't gone yet.

Q: How do you go through your day and the day to day driving?

Lindsay Lohan: I have Dean with me to help me, and I snuck out without Dean and that's probably why it wasn't safe.

Q: Did your driver training kick in at some point?

Lindsay Lohan: That's probably why I made the u-turn cause I thought I was a race car driver. I should have known better.

Herbie: Fully Loaded also stars Matt Dillon as Lindsay's rival. And also includes Michael Keaton, Breckin Meyer, Justin Long, and Cheryl Hines. It's rated G.