NYFF Report: Kristen Stewart Almost Played a Tabloid-Hounded Celebrity in 'Clouds of Sils Maria'
Kristen Stewart in ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’
It’s been almost two years since Kristen Stewart put Twilight's Bella Swan behind. After some time away from movie theaters, the 24-year-old actress is re-emerging this fall with three new movies, all of which are noticeably (and almost certainly deliberately) light years removed from her vampire quintet.
On Oct. 17, Stewart will headline the Sundance-approved indie drama Camp X-Ray, playing a Guantanamo Bay prison guard. In December, she has a strong supporting role in Still Alice (a.k.a the movie that may finally win Julianne Moore her Oscar) as the youngest daughter of Moore’s Alzheimer’s-afflicted professor. And she’s currently making the festival rounds with Clouds of Sils Maria, in which she plays the personal assistant of an aging actress (Juliette Binoche) who goes above and beyond in helping her employer prepare for a challenging role, one that requires her to act opposite a wild-child young star played by Chloë Grace Moretz.
Premiering at Cannes in May, the Olivier Assayas-directed movie has also played Munich, Toronto, and Mumbai and now comes to the 52nd New York Film Festival. “When I read the script, I thought it was heady, and thoughtful and intellectual and I haven’t done much of that at all before,” Stewart remarked at a Wednesday press conference following a screening of Clouds, also attended by her director and co-star. Among the things we learned:
Stewart almost played the role of the paparazzi-hunted starlet
Although Assays says that he wrote the character of Valentine, the smart, savvy assistant of international movie star Maria Enders (Binoche), with Stewart in mind, the script somehow didn’t wind up in her hands until another actress had been cast in the part. Assayas offered her the part of tabloid-friendly star Jo-Ann Ellis (who Moretz eventually played) instead, but when they sat down to discuss the movie, Stewart revealed that she hadn’t given up on the idea of playing Valentine.
"I was tormented by the idea of not being able to play that role; [the Jo-Ann role] was something I knew so well, so I wasn’t interested in living it on-screen," explained the real-life paparazzi magnet, adding that the movie’s meta-commentary on tabloid culture struck her as particularly amusing. "I had to make sure my cheeks weren’t turning red when I said some of the lines that I do in the movie. Based on my position and experience, it gave those lines this irony and made it a bit more relevant and interesting." (Stewart’s character talks about "celebrity culture" and points Maria to an online video of Jo-Anne screaming at photographers who are following her.) Added Assayas: "[During shooting] I realized how much you, Juliette and Chloë gave of yourself to the film in the sense of your own identities. It’s a movie where you ultimately never forget that you are watching those actresses, and that’s part of what the film is about."
Binoche and Stewart didn’t bother rehearsing
Three decades into her career, the Oscar-winning French actress is still a stickler for rehearsal. But in the case of Clouds of Sils Maria, she and Stewart mutually decided to cut their prep time short. “We thought it wasn’t helpful, because Kristen’s way of working is different from mine. She takes the text in the morning, reads it two times and then goes for it. Whereas I usually ask for a month in advance of rehearsal, often working with a coach. In this case, not knowing how the other was going to act or react was more interesting.”
For her part, Stewart appreciated Binoche embracing a loose, instinctive way of working. “I don’t want to know the lines, I want to reach for them. I’m addicted to that ‘first experience’ feeling. I had so much fun with Juliette. She perplexed me in every way and got me going. I never stopped thinking about her. Anything you see in the movie is just what was happening in the moment. The relationship between these women is so unique…. You can’t categorize this relationship and I thought that was really cool.”
Watch the trailer for the movie below:
