K. Stew Talks American Vs. French Filmmaking

We already know that Kristen Stewart is usually proclaimed as not being your "typical" Hollywood actress — whatever the societal construct of "typical" has led us to believe. And recently, actresses like Stewart have been bravely proclaiming their distaste with the Hollywood machine, and I respect her all the more for it. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kristen Stewart opened up about Hollywood and her film Clouds of Sils Maria, for which she made history as the first American actress to win at France's 40th César Awards.

The film portrays the story of an aging actress played by Juliette Binoche and Stewart as her loyal assistant. Binoche's character agrees to star in a theatrical revival in which she now plays the older woman, and a vapid younger actress, played by Chloe Moretz, is cast in her previous role. In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stewart shared her insight about the current state of celebrity, and how the film is bringing light to the strange world. She said,

That's what I like about the movie... Why aren't we [as a society] mentioning the fact that it's so crazy that there are so many people that are so full of it? Any why are we consuming them en masse?

One thing is for sure, Stewart will let you know when you are full of it. She's already proven to be a strong and outspoken feminist, and she continues to bravely make strides to separate herself from the crop of actresses that may only be seen as a facade of celebrity. Becoming a household name with her role in Twilight, Stewart wants to prove she is more than that, and her role in Clouds of Sils Maria does just that.

She told THR that playing an assistant was a great new challenge, saying, "I've seen so many of those scenes play out in real life...You know, weird stuff goes on behind closed doors, and we [Clouds' makers] sort of open them up and go, 'This is what might be going on in this woman's life.'"

That's what Stewart is about: telling true stories, and those about women in particular, which is a beautiful and inspiring thing to see. She said,

It's two women sitting in a room basically talking about being women and movies and their lives and their perspectives and it never really cuts away from that. That would never be greenlit in this country, especially at the level that it was [$6.6 million]. Maybe you could do that movie for, like, a million dollars [in the U.S.], but not with the honor that they [the French] give to the stories that they tell, and how indulgent but completely unfrivolous they are, and how willing they are to take risks. They make movies because they have a compulsion to tell certain stories, they don't make movies to become rich and famous, and that is a huge, massive divide between European and American cinema. The people who I'd like to work with in the States share that — but you have to find them.

Her thoughts might be controversial to American filmmakers, but as an American actress, Stewart knows first-hand the talks behind the scenes and what propels film in this country. As a woman, I am proud of the filmmakers and actresses in Hollywood who continually speak out about these stories and why they are important to tell. Stewart continued,

If you think about the source of it all... which is really the big, big, big green monster of cash, there's just no way that that's stopping. It's a new industry — celebrity news is a whole new form of entertainment — and it's a huge, booming, f---ing money-making industry, so why would it stop?

But still, Stewart will not back down and instead of cowering in the face of an industry that likes to attack her personal life, she chooses to fight for her voice within it saying,

I love what I do and so it's worth protecting... Hopefully, one day people's priorities will shift a little bit... As time goes on, who knows what my ambitions and objectives will be? Who knows how I'm gonna feel about what I do and what that's gonna turn into? I have a feeling that I'm gonna do this for a while...

I think the only way we can make a change is to celebrate, write, and share about the artistry and humanity that lies in film, and if we have passionate, intelligent, aware, and talented actors like Stewart leading the way, the positive changes will continue to come.

Images: Getty Images (3)