The movie Kristen Stewart wants to delete from history: “I hated making that”
When many of the goings-on in Hollywood appear to be smoke and mirrors, it is refreshing when artists are honest about how they truly feel about everything from fame, failure and their work. Some might attend press junkets and repeat the same sentence over and over again, reiterating tired promotional stories about their time on set or thoughts on the final film, and there are often moments where you can tell it is completely fake.
In a business that seems to thrive on inauthenticity, it can be surprising when people in the limelight are frank about their experiences in Hollywood, which hopefully normalises authenticity and allows people to hang up the act, something that Kristen Stewart has always done by reflecting honestly on her career thus far.
Stewart has had the kind of career that few people in the industry can say they’ve had – going from being a child star in huge commercial blockbusters to an indie star, working with niche auteurs like Olivier Assayas and Kelly Reichardt. The likes of Robert Pattinson, Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood have had similarly head-spinning careers, going from one extreme to the other and building a creative identity out of this brave pivot.
However, taking such huge creative risks can lead to wins and duds, with Stewart being met with huge success and acclaim for her portrayal of Princess Diana and repeated collaborations with Assayas, starring in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper. But among the many wonderful projects, there have been a couple that she confessed her true opinions about, describing her less-than-warm feelings towards her 2019 adaptation of Charlie’s Angels.
The film was a remake of the 2000 project starring Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz, a stellar movie only let down by Bill Murray’s appearance. It follows a crime-fighting trio of women who work together to defeat all the evil forces that come their way. The film was remade nearly 20 years later with Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska in the lead roles.
While it was met less kindly than the original film, many still enjoyed another movie of this genre with an all-girl cast, something that is still very rare these days. But this didn’t mean it was an enjoyable experience for Stewart, with the actor saying, “It was a good idea at the time. I hated making that movie. Honestly, the three, you can’t touch like Cameron, Lucy and Drew. I love that movie. I love that movie, if that says anything.”
While some stars might feel obligated to say nice things about their own work, it’s great that Stewart can be upfront about her experiences and shed some of the glamour away from the art of filmmaking. We might assume that each production is full of fun, but in reality, many of them are gruelling, and you might work your hardest only to watch a final cut completely different from how you imagined. Perhaps it will encourage others to be honest about their experiences in the business, and that all that glitters is not gold.
