Kristen Stewart has recently expressed her desire to direct a film and self-release without any studio backing. The actress’s recent script choices and career decisions - like directing the unvarnished, unconventional memoir adaptation The Chronology of Water and appearing in queer, anti-capitalist films like Love Lies Bleeding - reveal a purposeful shift to challenge conventional Hollywood structures, oppose commercial conformity, and support radically unfiltered feminine viewpoints. 

This same change is reflected in what she has said in a recent interview with Variety from an airport lounge in the Canary Islands. The interview detailed her current Cannes Premiere title, Full Phil, with Woody Harrelson, directed by the French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux. But the focus eventually shifted to the choice of scripts she likes to work on and the type of story she wants to tell. And along the lines, she just blurted out her goal for the year, which is to make a movie by the end of the year.

Kristen Stewart just wants to make something with her friends for absolutely free and post it on YouTube. And there will be a cascading effect because she will use the money she makes from the movie to fund her next project, and the process will go on. She acknowledges her love for big Hollywood films, but she realizes that she does not want to make those movies. She wants to work on some crazy ideas, and she does not want to wait around for that.  

“I don’t want to do the thing where I wait five years for someone to give me $1 million to make something. I’m going to make it f****** tomorrow,” Stewart said.

She has the next two projects she wants to work on clear in her mind, and the only thing now keeping her from doing that is her upcoming show with Amazon. After she is done shooting for that, she will hopefully shoot her first venture by the end of the year and the next one the year after.

Kristen Stewart also delves into her divergence from the big studio movies and her quiet shift to more independent and artistic films.

Kristen Stewart’s annoyance with Hollywood’s restrictive approach

Kristen Stewart also discussed her dissatisfaction with Hollywood's corporate structure, contending that the business has grown more restrictive for directors looking to produce unorthodox work. The actress criticized what she called a profit-driven strategy that restricts artistic risk. She continued by saying that she has been forced to work on smaller, independently produced projects due to the current status of the industry.   

While she is not surprised by the absence of big Hollywood movies from the Croisette, Kristen Stewart is almost hopeful that this is a signal for a new change, and it comes bearing new opportunities. Right now, Stewart is filming Flesh of the Gods, a vampire thriller directed by Panos Cosmatos and starring Wagner Moura alongside the actress.  

What do you think of Kristen Stewart's bold resolution to direct and self-release her own film? Share your thoughts. 

Written by

Harshit Kumar

Edited by

Hriddhi Maitra