huffingtonpost:
Michael Hogan: I remember reading On the Road as a teenager, and the women didn't register for me so much as characters. So I wonder, as a teenage girl reading it, how the women seemed to you when you first read the book?
Kristen Stewart: Yeah, it's funny, they didn't really register with me, either. People do love to say that this is a boy book and that the female characters tend to be treated as play things and are peripheral. When you read the book, they tend to seem as though they're almost like a tool for Kerouac to show that life's crazy, that things are wild and sexy. That's why, playing the part, we were privy to information that made this thing so different. I think getting to know the women behind the characters and getting to know Jack's relationships with them and Neal's relationships with them, it made it easier to play the character.
Did you meet LuAnne Henderson, whom your character, Marylou, is based on? She had passed away, like, right before we started. But I met her daughter and there were hours and hours of tapes where she recalled her life in great detail, and very much within that time frame as well. When I first read the book -- I have brothers, and so I always felt like there wasn't a huge distinction. I kinda wanted to be one of the boys for a while, and in some cases still do, and I think there are a lot of girls who read "On the Road" who feel [that way]. I wasn't aware then that the females weren't at the forefront of the story. I was just so into the main characters, I was so enamored by them, I wanted to meet people in my life that were going to shock me and pull something out of me that I didn't expect --
Marylou's a little bit that way too, isn't she?
Oh, definitely. She was such a formidable partner for Neal [Cassady, the real-life inspiration for the book's Dean Moriarty]. Men, especially, love to identify with me and go, "Well, you know, it's kind of a misogynistic viewpoint. The book has a fairly chauvinist feel to it. How do you feel about that?'
Kind of like my first question.
No, no, no. Not at all. That was actually really different. Because their thing is, 'Oh, how could they have allowed all those terrible things to happen to them?' It's like, What makes you think that they were not absolute equal partners in that? What makes you think that they were taken from more than they gave, or more than they got back from the men that were apparently taking from them. I feel like getting to know LuAnne and who she was, and why she did the things that she did, and how she felt about them afterward, there was no thievery going on. She loved his life so much that she didn't want to deprive him of any of that life, and he felt the same about her, and she very, very much carved her own path.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned when you were talking to these folks and listening to the tapes?
I think the most surprising thing for me, given the way [Marylou's] storyline ends in the book and in the movie, was that [LuAnne and Neal] maintained their relationship in some capacity until his death. He could never stop going back to her. And that for me kind of was like the key. She wasn't leaving him. It was just this sliver of life that you see that's not expounded upon because it's not her story. Like, there's an entire "On the Road" for every single one of those characters. It's just that who you follow is Sal and Dean. [Sal Paradise is the fictional stand-in for author Jack Kerouac.]
Obviously, you're really asked to go places in this role. After I saw "On the Road" in Toronto, I wrote an analysis of it, and one of the things I focused on is that you're committing to the role to an admirable degree, with nudity, with sleeping with two men at the same time, with all this other stuff, and some people attacked me, saying, "Just because she takes off her clothes, you think that's real art?" But what I meant is that it's an actor's job to do the role she's given without holding back. Can you help me defend myself a bit here?
[Laughs.] Actresses love to stand up and say, after they've shown their tits in a movie, that it was done tastefully and that it was, you know, far from gratuitous. I mean, projects that really require it are really few and far between. And I think that in this case, it needed to be. This book celebrates being alive and it celebrates being human, and if you want to cover up and deny any aspect of that, you are denying the spirit of the book. I think that it would have been so wrong to shy away from anything in this movie. I think that I would have gotten flak for that. I think that it would have been that I was scared to disappoint my "Twilight" fans or something.
And I do hate also when people go, "Oh, wow, great performance. So brave." Oh, because I'm naked? That's very annoying. But at the same time, if that's what they're focusing on, then "On the Road" probably isn't for them anyway. Also, I understand when people are already successful, you try to control some perception or you try to choose parts based on some expectation of what people are going to think. You're clearly doing things because you want to be in some position of power and fame, which is not why I do what I do. And people, anyone that consumes that is then obviously going to think that you must have some consideration for those types of things, like what people are going to think.
But how hard is it ignore those considerations when you really are one of the biggest celebrities in the world? I mean, there's no way around that.
It's really not that hard. I can't pragmatically approach anything in terms of my career. I need to be so rocked by something, so moved by something that the idea of letting it down or ruining it is painful, and that's what gets you through the shoot. You read material and it provokes you on some level, and the reason you make the movie is to find out why it made you feel all those things. Those things are so rare to find that if you start also considering what people are going to think, you'll never make a movie.
At the Toronto Film Festival, you took a full hour to come out and be with all your fans, and that was at a difficult time. How important was it for you to come out for the film and reconnect with your fans that day?
You should never step outside of your life and look at it like it's this malleable thing you can shape so that people view it a certain way. I would never not have gone to something like that. I've been working on this for five years. I love this movie. I'm so proud of everyone involved -- I feel so strong standing next to them. I was asked a few times whether I was going to do it or, "Oh, was it difficult for you? What made you stand up and do this?" It was like, why wouldn't I? It made so much sense to me. I mean, the only time I feel comfortable being on TV or doing any sort of public appearance or anything, it has to have context. I don't like just being a famous person, but with "On the Road" it's so clear why I'm there. With the fans and stuff, it's just human energy that you simply cannot deny. People are standing there and sort of screaming for you and I'm not about to turn my back and walk away and go get warm inside, you know what I mean? So I didn't plan anything. I just went to the opening of the movie and there were a bunch of people there and it was really nice to see them.
Have you heard from your "Twilight" fans about this movie yet?
I mean, not really. "Breaking Dawn 2" just came out and we carted that one around the world for a bit. And there were a bunch of people in the crowd in Europe -- because the movie's out already in Europe -- who said, "Oh, my god, 'On the Road, we loved it." Everyone likes to think that we just have teenage fans -- we have girls, women in general, it literally is every single age, well into peoples' 70s. So yeah, people were into it, I think.
What's your feeling about awards season and all the events and interviews it entails? Is it enjoyable? Is it a nightmare? Is it somewhere in between?
I love talking about this movie and everyone involved and the book and everything I've been through since the start of it. I would do anything to get the word out. The fact that it has something to do with the Academy, I simply personally can't acknowledge it in any way because it's a ridiculous notion to suddenly go, like, "Yep, I'm really gunning. I'm really gunning for it."
There's a rumor that you're going to star alongside Ben Affleck in a movie called "Focus."
I can confirm that rumor. It's a comedy, I'm really excited about it, we start shooting in April.
Are there any other projects on the horizon?
Not yet. I would love to find some microproject before then, because April is kind of a ways away, but not yet, haven't been "taken" yet.
New York Magazine:
USAToday:
In On the Road, we see a far more mature side of Kristen Stewart -- and certainly more of her in general. She shows skin. She has sex. She does drugs.refinery29:
The Walter Salles-directed film is based on Jack Kerouac's book and co-stars Stewart as the on- and off-again love interest of troubled free spirit Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund).
Over wine at the Tribeca Grand hotel, Stewart, 22, was happy to discuss her career, the end of the Twilight film saga, her love of cooking and her discomfort with being in the spotlight. As for curiosity about her relationship with Robert Pattinson?
Stewart, never one to spill her guts in public, isn't about to start now, especially in the wake of photos that surfaced earlier this year of her getting frisky with another guy, director Rupert Sanders.
"People think they knew a lot about me before. They know even less now. People will project whatever. It's a huge form of entertainment. As soon as you step outside your own life and look at it like that and think that you can shape something -- you need to live your life. I'm just going to live my life, actually," she says.
A few highlights from the late-afternoon chat:
On the end of the Twilight franchise: "I never felt stuck in that. Not at all. I had so many opportunities in the midst of that to do a million things. If it kept me from doing other things, I still wouldn't resent it. You start a project to finish it. I was eager to get back and finish the story. (On the Road) wasn't me stepping out to do a different thing to liberate myself."
On her fame: "There are a few things that make it seem (expletive) real. It's all totally circumstantial. You sound like you're complaining. I sit in restaurants and the real normal reaction to seeing a famous person in a restaurant -- because it's so weird -- is that people laugh or smile or look over. I feel like I'm in the sixth grade and everyone in the room is laughing at me. Some people can come into a room and say hello to everyone and it's fine. I'm not that person. I don't think I'm very approachable. That's good, though. Rob is (noticed) way more than I am, especially if we're out together. He's so recognizable and I'm not. I put a hood on and I'm a girl with long hair. I can go out."
On the misconception that she's cold and unfriendly: "People think I'm fairly unapproachable, which is crazy. If I ever meet anyone who's into Twilight, there's nothing like having someone be like, 'I love that thing.' This is a very relatable feeling."
On being reserved: "My friends literally applaud me when I go ask where the bathroom is. Or if I'm like, 'can we get another round of drinks?' You really took the bull by the horns! I can't imagine a quality I dislike more in a person (than being entitled)."
It would be hard to end 2012 without a few final reflections from this year's most talked about young actor, Kristen Stewart. Luckily we caught up with her at the IFC Films/Sundance Selects premiere (presented by Grey Goose Vodka) of On the Road, the film adaptation of the beloved Jack Kerouac novel. Though our primary intention may or may not have been to see that dress up close, we chatted up the starlet, discussing her favorite On the Road scenes, the joy of showering, and more. We walked away thinking that, after a year of very public ups and downs, starring in this art-house adaptation might just provide her with a perfect capper to 2012 and a pleasant segue into a more stable 2013.
Was On the Road influential for you as an adolescent?
"I read it for school. I'd always really done well in school and enjoyed it, but I was never floored by it, in that way. Up until that point, I did it because I wanted to be a good kid, and then it sort of kickstarted something in me. It probably coincided with the age that I was — it's a moment when you look up and actually choose your surroundings, you actually choose the people that you're going to call your friends. At that time, I thought, 'I need to find people that are going to really push me.'"
How did you get the get the rough look of your character, Marylou?
"She was just really simple. One really remarkable thing about her is she's so completely un-self-conscious. Vanity was the last thing on her mind.
She was a beautiful girl, and everyone who talked about her said that. She was infectious and disarmingly present. I wasn't going for rough. I was going for real."
Do you have any favorite looks that you've gotten to wear this year?
"I liked everything I wore this year…I think. I don't want to offend any of the dresses."
What aspects of the film did you relate to?
"I think I always really identified with Sal Paradise [played by Sam Riley]. As much as Marylou offers so much of the vitality, so much of what you are hungry for during the read, I didn't really identify with her initially. It took a lot to pull it out."
What was your favorite on-set moment with your co-stars Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley?
"I think probably at the end of the shoot. It's funny, one of my favorite moments is Garrett not being there. He had to go do something and I had finished doing a scene that his character was not present for, and it was just kind of perfect. His absence was very poignant. The fact that it was my last scene in the entire the movie, saying goodbye to Walter [Salles, director] and taking a picture in the middle of a completely empty road in the desert. It was excruciating, but at the same time, kind of what I instantly think about."
Everybody on the set was smoking and drinking, did you look forward to showering at the end of every shoot?Newsweek:
"I did enjoy showering at the end of the day. If we were actually taking that trip, it would be the grimiest. I used to think about that all the time. So, I was glad to not go there."
“It’s not a terrible thing if you’re either loved or hated,” says Kristen Stewart, seated in a cozy little bistro on the outskirts of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz, far removed from even the most penetrating telephoto lenses. “But honestly,” she continues, “I don’t care ’cause it doesn’t keep me from doing my shit. And I apologize to everyone for making them so angry. It was not my intention.”
So says the most vilified—and highest-paid—actress in all the land. Her role
earlier this year as a sword-wielding firebrand in Snow White and the Huntsman, a sinister reimagining of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, was quite apropos, given that the 22-year-old starlet is, in many ways, the tabloid media’s Joan of Arc. Her refusal to kowtow to the celebrity-industrial complex, whether through her steely-eyed gaze on the red carpet or nervous fidgeting during televised interviews, is seen by many as an entitled A-lister putting on airs.
But in person, Stewart comes off like most 20-somethings might—a compelling mélange of pensiveness interrupted by sudden pangs of excitement. Clad in jeans, sneakers, and a loose-fitting sky-blue shirt, she fiddles with her greasy reddish-brown hair—the color’s a byproduct, she says, of not filming a movie for a year.
She has, however, kept busy making the grueling publicity rounds—health-permitting. “Last night I was sick with the flu and couldn’t go to this On the Road screening,” she says, sounding contrite. “Normally, I wouldn’t feel too terrible about missing a press event, but I felt awful because I’d do anything for this film. It holds a special place for me.”
Developing a cherished novel into a film is always a tricky endeavor, but Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, a beatnik-era classic about a group of youths in the ’40s and ’50s, provides an even greater challenge than most. Based on the author’s real-life pals, including Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, the road-trip saga was hell-bent on upending conformity as it attempted to capture the spirit, not just the events, of the time.
Stewart committed to the film at 17, even before shooting on the first Twilight movie began. It was Sean Penn, Stewart’s director for Into the Wild, who recommended her to Twilight filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke for the role of Bella Swan, a chaste teen desperately in love with a vampire. And it was Penn’s 21 Grams director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, who suggested to director Walter Salles that he cast Stewart in On the Road.
She discovered the novel during her freshman year of high school and says it “changed her life.” To prepare for the role of capricious nymphet Marylou, Stewart spoke with the daughter of LuAnne Henderson, the woman on whom the character is based, and went on a road trip from Los Angeles to Ohio with two of her friends just prior to shooting in the summer of 2010.
“There was a lot of skirting of little girls at rest stops. Like a volleyball team would pull up and I’d dive behind a bush,” she says with a laugh. “But we stopped at a Hooters in Amarillo, Texas, because there was this huge horse statue in front of it. We bought a lot of beef jerky. And seeing the landscapes fade from orange to green is the coolest thing.”
Cross-country trip aside, the role required Stewart to plumb more emotional depths than some of her previous films. The result is one of her most uninhibited performances yet. In On the Road, which is in theaters Dec. 21, she engages in an orgiastic dance-off and plenty of onscreen sex with the gang of young vagabonds, led by charismatic womanizer Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his introspective writer-pal, Sal Paradise (Sam Riley).
Stewart is no stranger to Hollywood. Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a respected script supervisor and her father is a stage manager, so she grew up on movie sets. “I remember being on the set of Little Giants when I was a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing ever,” she says. “I totally had a crush on Devon Sawa.”
Although she never possessed the desire to perform, Stewart was discovered when she was 8 years old during a “Dreidel” song in a school play. An agent in the audience approached her after the show and asked if she wanted to act. She said yes. After one year of auditions, however, the only thing the fledgling actress had booked was a Porsche commercial.
“I decided a year after not getting any commercials, ‘F--k it. I won’t make my mom drive around Los Angeles anymore,’ ” says Stewart. “I also got so nervous for every single audition. I was just dying. I had one appointment left and my mom said, ‘Have a little integrity and go to your last one.’ And it was The Safety of Objects. If I hadn’t gotten that, I would have been done.”
The next year, she received a crash course in acting, starring as Jodie Foster’s epileptic daughter in David Fincher’s noir-thriller, Panic Room. The filming lasted eight months and the director made a young Stewart shoot a pivotal seizure sequence so many times that she burst several blood vessels in her eyes. A few indie films followed, and, in between shoots, the actress earned her high-school degree. Then Twilight was unleashed in 2008—and everything changed. The vampire film franchise, which has spanned five films and earned more than $3.2 billion worldwide, transformed Stewart into a global superstar.
But with great fame comes great scrutiny.
This past July, Stewart was photographed kissing and embracing the married director of Snow White, Rupert Sanders. The resulting outcry was so fierce it culminated in death threats over Twitter and an emotional public apology to her boyfriend, Twilight costar Robert Pattinson. Even comedian Will Ferrell got in on the act, jokingly dubbing her a “trampire.”
The media’s intense scrutiny of the actress has practically driven her into hiding. “It’s a little annoying having to be so compartmentalized,” she says. “I go from box to box to box. Like right now, this is so crazy ’cause we’re out at a restaurant.” She pauses. “But I’m going out a lot more now. I was starting to get closed off and self-conscious, and I’m trudging forth into the world more often.”
Now that The Twilight Saga has come to a close, Stewart is keen to direct her attention to future projects, including a movie she’s shooting in April called Focus. Directed by the team behind Crazy, Stupid, Love, the comedy stars her and Ben Affleck as a pair of con artists who, she says, continually screw each other over—in love and in work. When asked if she feels pigeonholed as an actress by the role of Bella, she takes a long pause.
“The only relief when it comes to Twilight is that the story is done,” she says matter-of-factly. “I start every project to finish the motherf--ker, and to extend that [mentality] over a five-year period adapting all of these treasured moments over four books, it was constantly worrying.” She pauses. “But as long as people’s perspective of me doesn’t keep me from doing what I want to do, it doesn’t matter.”
This sounds very Kerouacian of her. After all, it was the author who wrote, “Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.”
Stewart, wearing a sheer Erdem dress and hot pink Christian Louboutin pumps, said she first read the book “as a freshman in high school and it really kick-started something for me.” She relished the opportunity to bring Marylou’s character to life: “One really remarkable thing about her—she’s so completely un-self-conscious and so self-aware at the same time, and for a teenager, those are not common attributes,” she said. “She was a beautiful girl and she was infectiously, disarmingly present.”
WWD:
“I think it was a slightly more thoughtful time,” Kristen Stewart said at the premiere of her movie On the Road, based on the Jack Kerouac novel set in 1951. “It’s obviously an incredibly different lifestyle [from today.] There’s not this constant stimulation. I think you’d get to know yourself a little bit better, a little bit faster,” she added, thoughtfully. “That, I was into.”
Showing some major skin in a sheer Erdem number, Stewart recalled her first time reading the novel, as a freshman in high school. “I’d always done well in school, but I was never fueled by it. I just wanted to be a good kid,” Stewart said. “[Reading ‘On the Road’] really kick-started something for me. It probably coincided with the age for me as well. It’s that moment when you look up and realize that you actually choose your surroundings.”
[At the after-party] Stewart chose an even more surprising — albeit, less juicy — party companion: Patti Smith. The pair stayed under the radar at a table overlooking the Hudson River, where the actress appeared all smiles, predictably trading in her hot-pink Louboutins and red-carpet frock for some sneakers and a well-worn hoodie.
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