Kristen Stewart said she hopes that the first film she has ever directed will “crash and burn” when it’s shown at Cannes Film Festival.
The actress best known for playing Bella Swan in the Twilight franchise pushed back on a Hollywood Reporter interviewer who said she was hoping Stewart’s debut “would go smoothly.”
“Hopefully not smooth!” Stewart said. ”Hopefully, we crash and burn, but in a way that feels correct."
Stewart admitted that she and her team had “barely finished” making The Chronology of Water, which was presented at Cannes on Friday.
“It’s not even done,” she said. “This is my f---ing first draft.”
“I’m kind of happy to take on something vulnerable,” Stewart added. “I’m happy to take something with mistakes. Mistakes are f---ing hot. I love stories about movies and filmmakers that have taken their films to Cannes and had to come back and fix a few things and release a different movie. It’s all about revealing yourself.”
Stewart, 35, is a Hollywood veteran whose acting career has spanned big name blockbusters, like Charlie’s Angels (2019), and low-budget cult favorites, such as Adventureland (2009). She earned her first-ever Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Princess Diana in the 2022 biopic Spencer.
At the Cannes red carpet on Friday, Stewart showed off a pink-blonde punk dye job and a sheer pink lace dress over shorts while presenting The Chronology of Water.
The film is based on a 2011 memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch. It tells the story of a burgeoning writer’s self-discovery through encounters with drugs, bisexuality, and BDSM.
Stewart told The Hollywood Reporter that she has wanted to be a director since her early days in Hollywood.
“I think I asked a couple of actors on one of my very early projects [about] the youngest director they could stomach working with,” she recalled. “And I was sat down by most of them and asked, ‘Why are you even asking us that question?’”
The new director observed that her debut comes at an uncertain time for the film-making industry, with President Donald Trump turning an eye to Hollywood with a call for tariffs on foreign films.
“We discuss this every day, like, what’s gonna happen?” Stewart said. “[Especially] now that we’ve finally found our voices… Not that it wasn’t treacherous before but now, [it is] in a way that is so literal, so strikingly essential and vital than ever, but naturally terrifying. I think [Trump’s] shadow is bleak and very dark."
Stewart’s advice for dealing with the new climate: “Stay vigilant. Look alive.”
