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Kristen Stewart is due at the Venice Film Festival tomorrow for the world premiere of Seberg, a political thriller inspired by true events and a movie that represents one of the boldest choices the erstwhile Bella Swan has increasingly made since she burst to worldwide stardom in the Twilight saga.<\/p>\n
Stewart has demonstrated an art house sensibility \u2014 even becoming the first American actress to win a C\u00e9sar Award, France\u2019s equivalent to the Oscar \u2014 showing range in a diverse array of films while not shying away from big studio fare either, with Charlie\u2019s Angels coming in November.<\/p>\n
She is passionate about her work, gender equality and telling \u201cconfronting\u201d stories. Stewart is also conscious of the reach and influence she has as a celebrity, particularly one who broke out in a global franchise. \u201cEverything that I do, every conversation that I have, the way that I vote, the projects that I\u2019m drawn to creatively\u2026 It would be impossible to go to bed without being really clear and open and honest in these times,\u201d she tells me below.<\/p>\n
Seberg (which previously went by the title Against All Enemies and is directed by Benedict Andrews) plays into that. The film is centered on Jean Seberg, the titular Breathless pixie, an American actress who spent half her life in France. In the late 1960s, she was targeted by Hoover\u2019s illegal FBI surveillance program COINTELPRO. Because of her political and romantic involvement with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (played by Anthony Mackie in the film), she was also a target of the FBI\u2019s attempts to disrupt, discredit and expose the Black Power movement. Seberg died at the age of 40 in what was deemed a probable suicide. That was 40 years ago tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Of the film\u2019s resonance to today, Stewart says, \u201cI mean, this is America and a bunch of dudes in power are never going to be cool with you taking it away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bearing a striking physical resemblance to Seberg in the Amazon Studios presentation, Stewart has more in common with the actress than a great haircut.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: In some of the acting choices you\u2019ve made in the past few years, there seems to be more of a European sensibility than where you started out. Was it a deliberate choice to go in that direction?<\/p>\n
KRISTEN STEWART: Well I started acting when I was really young and I definitely never got any commercial jobs (laughs). As a little kid, the first few things you audition for are commercial work or TV work or parts for children which tend to obviously be a little less complex. I was seriously, like, thrown out of every \u201ccute girl\u201d audition that I ever went to.<\/p>\n
At that time, there was no way for me to be aware of my sort of ultimate trajectory. But it makes total sense. I was always a very sort of over-serious thoughtful kid. I was definitely not afraid to tell confronting stories and was much more interested in that.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: You worked with Jodie Foster early in your career, how influential has that meeting been later on?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I think I grew up with this default admiration because of her, because I always felt a kinship with her. I sort of consistently used her as an example of something to strive for, so that detail was always very attractive.<\/p>\n
You know, there\u2019s just something classically more existential and realistic in terms of what it feels like to actually live a life and have a brain and live amongst people that might have different ones rather than telling these compact perfect stories. I was always into that.<\/p>\n
But (working with Foster) was like the coincidence that luckily put me in a few correct places. I definitely kind of aggrandized that whole world before I even knew about it.<\/p>\n
Les Films Imperia
\nDEADLINE: When I first moved to France 26 years ago, I worked at the International Herald Tribune and that famous photo of Jean Seberg from Breathless was a source of pride for us. But I was surprised how little I knew about her life and the circumstances this film reveals. What did you learn about her?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I really only knew her as the Herald Tribune girl as well. I hadn\u2019t seen anything other than Breathless. I knew the d\u00e9gueulasse moment (at the end of that film). I always found her to be iconically cool. I thought it was rad that this actress had been ingratiated into this culture that I also am really interested in, but I really never went into it any further than that. I read the script and was really shocked, I had no idea about the story about her sort of tragic end. I was interested in the complexity of her life, but I only knew her as an image before.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: Beyond being an American actress who has found success in France, were there any other aspects of Jean that you identify with?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I think Jean was really committed to telling not the most commercial stories, it was why she was attracted to the people she was attracted to creatively. It was why she was drawn to the causes that she was as well \u2014 they weren\u2019t digestible in the country that she was living in, they weren\u2019t something that people wanted to hear both creatively and politically. So I think it makes total sense that she found a more sort of welcome home in France.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: Jean was also a very strong woman, but one who had a tragic end. How would she fare in today\u2019s Hollywood?<\/p>\n
STEWART: We\u2019re living in such a polarized time I think, that luckily there are fewer \u2014 I mean I can\u2019t justify this because there are some people functioning in order to preserve their careers and not necessarily reflective of how they feel as a human in a compassionate sense or in a political sense \u2014 but I do think that people are less afraid in a way because it\u2019s just so pertinent right now. Not that it wasn\u2019t then. We were just out of the \u201950s; there was more of a cookie-cutter conformist mentality especially in the States and especially for someone who wants to maintain their success.<\/p>\n
But I think now, I don\u2019t know, Jean currently would probably have more of a crew to substantiate these ideas. I think that now the political climate doesn\u2019t leave much room for middle ground, so I\u2019d like to say she would fare better.<\/p>\n
I would like to think there wouldn\u2019t be a f*cking oppressive conglomerate out there to destroy her life. But at the same time, that\u2019s absolutely the world that we\u2019re living in. I think it would depend on what she was getting mixed in with.<\/p>\n
Cautiously optimistically, I would like to say it would be better. But at the same time, the reason it would be is really jarring right now because I think we all feel like there is probably someone over our shoulders ready to take us down if we say the wrong thing.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: There are indeed parallels to today. Sort of a meet the new boss, same as the old boss?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I think this oppressive energy is so ironically the foundation of our politics now. I mean, what was happening then is happening now and it\u2019s gonna continue to happen. I mean, this is America and a bunch of dudes in power are never going to be cool with you taking it away \u2014 I don\u2019t think they really care who they bowl over to maintain that.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: How important do you think it is today, and in a position like the one you occupy, to take a stance and speak out and use that celebrity to get a message across?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I feel quite strongly. Everything that I do, every conversation that I have, the way that I vote, the projects that I\u2019m drawn to creatively \u2014 I think that I wear my feelings and my stance and my politics. I think that some people are really inclined to stand on soap boxes and I think that they should, and some people are more inclined to do it quietly, but with intention and wield your power in different ways. But, yeah, I think it\u2019s absolutely essential that you represent yourself, knowing your influence and the reach that you have. I think that it would be impossible to go to bed without being really clear and open and honest in these times.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: There was a perception about Jean that audiences wanted \u201cthe girl in the T-shirt.\u201d As someone who was so closely identified with a role early in your career, do you feel like you\u2019ve shed that connection? Would you want to?<\/p>\n
STEWART: I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going anywhere. I think every step I\u2019ve taken to this spot on the now I can say I feel lucky that some of the footprints are gouged out, I\u2019m proud of that. I\u2019m cool with that.<\/p>\n
I think the whole Twilight thing is pretty entrenched, which is funny and kind of crazy for me to think about now because it has been a really long time. I remember it like it was yesterday and at the same time it was another life. So it\u2019s funny to have it consistently be the foundation of who I am in a cultural sense. But in a literal one, I couldn\u2019t be further from it. But I\u2019m down with it. It\u2019s so trippy. I\u2019m so proud to be part of it, I like the crew. I look at it really fondly and endearingly and silly, sort of like opening a sophomore yearbook, like, \u201cOMG! Wow!\u201d<\/p>\n
Shutterstock
\nDEADLINE: You were on the jury in Cannes in 2018, which was a pivotal year there in the fight for gender parity. What was that like?<\/p>\n
STEWART: It was such a good year for me to be there. I\u2019ve attended the festival a couple times with films and, oh man, I don\u2019t know, it digs up feelings that I hold in such reverence and ones that not everybody does, quite rightfully, because that would be strange \u2014 the world is a lot more than just movies.<\/p>\n
But being there the year that it became really undeniable and really buzzy and fervently activated in terms of being a woman, I\u2019m so lucky to have been there in that energy.<\/p>\n
Cate (Blanchett) was the president of the jury, and honestly I think that if we had to represent the earth and send one of ours out to an alien race and be like \u201cHey, this is us,\u201d I think it would be Cate. So I was just so completely activated that whole time, I went home so inspired and turned on. My on switch was just slammed, so it was wonderful.<\/p>\n
DEADLINE: Venice is getting some heat for a lack of female directors in competition. Would you sit on a jury here?<\/p>\n
STEWART: Obviously I am a huge proponent of having more women and making films that are accepted\u2026 I guess if they asked me to be on the jury in Venice, it would be a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
Sometimes if you act selfishly, your intentions and your politics sort of are in tow, so selfishly I would want to do that because I have everything to learn from that experience \u2014 and I think it makes a really solid statement.<\/p>\n
View this article at Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kristen Stewart is due at the Venice Film Festival tomorrow for the world premiere of Seberg, a political thriller inspired by true events and a movie that represents one of the boldest choices the erstwhile Bella Swan has increasingly made since she burst to worldwide stardom in the Twilight saga. Stewart has demonstrated an art
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