From THR (Via):
How did Kristen join the project?
Kristen was it was a fairly long story because originally she couldn’t do it because of scheduling conflicts. She loved the screenplay but the timing wasn’t right so we moved on and had Mia Wasikowska, but then she had a contract with Disney for the Alice sequel and the minute the movie got moving she was not allowed to be in any other projects during that time period. By then Kristen’s schedule had cleared and so instantly we sent it back and she was able to do it. That’s the technical side of it but the more exciting and human part of it is that she’s amazing. I hope everybody will share my enthusiasm of what she did with the part, the freedom she found in her acting and a humor that we hadn’t seen much of just came out, I don’t know how or why. It’s really very exciting when you are filming a young actress and see her respond to your material and grow right before your eyes.
What was it like working with two very strong actresses on set?
It’s really a danger zone and in the end I was just amazed. Kristen was very much a fan of Juliette. She loves her work and she felt that she had something to learn from her, and I think Juliette loved that position of being able to pass on something to another actress. Juliette has invented a style and her own way of transforming into a character that is spontaneously part of her language. Kristen watched her a lot and learned a lot from her and used it. It was absolutely not competitive, it was something symbiotic.
Having said that, any ambitions to get out of France and shoot a big U.S. or someday make a Hollywood film?
Actually, well I can’t really discuss it much because it’s not locked or finalized, but my next film will be in the US. We are shooting in Chicago and it’s a genre movie based on a real story, called Idol’s Eye, the name of a famous diamond. If everything goes according to plan it should be shooting by late fall.
From AP (Via)::
CANNES, France — Olivier Assayas says moviegoers will see Kristen Stewart like they've never seen her before in his Cannes entry "Clouds of Sils Maria."
"It's really something that you have not seen her in," says Assayas. "She's warm, funny, witty."
The film, which debuts Friday at Cannes, stars Juliette Binoche as a popular actress who's shattered by the competition of a young rival (Chloe Grace Moretz). She and her assistant (played by Stewart) withdraw to Sils Maria, Switzerland. For both Assayas, the French director of the Carlos the Jackal miniseries "Carlos" and the family drama "Summer Hours," and Stewart, it's an atypical collaboration connecting European art house and Hollywood.
"Actors are actors," says Assayas. "They are more or less the same in any culture."
Stewart was first suggested by "Sils Maria" producer Charles Gillibert, who produced the Jack Kerouac adaptation "On the Road" — which brought Stewart to Cannes two years ago. The "Twilight" star was unavailable, so Assayas and producers then cast Mia Wasikowska. But Wasikowska had to drop out, at which point Stewart's schedule opened up.
"Kristen, whatever image one has of her, ultimately she's just a great actress by any standard," says Assayas. "I was just completely amazed by the range of Kristen. I'm so honored to be working with her at this moment when she's blossoming."
