Kristen Stewart is an extremely talented young actress who may well get an Oscar nomination some day -- if she manages to appear in a successful movie outside the "Twilight" franchise.
Awards buzz surrounded her performance as a runaway-turned-hooker in "Welcome to the Rileys" when it opened at Sundance in January.
Nominations aren't going to happen, though. Because like a number of her non-"Twilight" films, "Rileys" is a challenging little indie getting only a token theatrical run prior to its DVD debut.
Stewart's ongoing performances as the romantically conflicted Bella Swan -- which have received much higher praise than the "Twilight" movies themselves from critics -- have made her perhaps the best-known actress of her generation, and she gets offered plenty of parts.
Nominations aren't going to happen, though. Because like a number of her non-"Twilight" films, "Rileys" is a challenging little indie getting only a token theatrical run prior to its DVD debut.
Stewart's ongoing performances as the romantically conflicted Bella Swan -- which have received much higher praise than the "Twilight" movies themselves from critics -- have made her perhaps the best-known actress of her generation, and she gets offered plenty of parts.
Just not in movies that turn out to be hits so far.
"Twilight" and its sequels aside, none of her films has done anywhere near the $80 million North American gross of "Panic Room" (2002), in which she first drew attention as Jodie Foster's diabetic daughter.
A long string of forgotten flops followed, including "Cold Creek Manor" (2003) as Dennis Quaid's daughter, a lead in the family flick "Catch That Kid" (2004) and a supporting role as the older sister in the fantasy "Zathura" (2005).
Stewart -- who is currently filming "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn," the final installment of the franchise -- drew notice for her one-scene role as a free-spirited teenager in "Into the Wild," which struggled to gross $18 million in North America. Her four other 2007 releases fared far worse.
"Twilight" (2008) finally made her a star, but it didn't help sell her two later releases -- "What Just Happened," and "Adventureland."
The release of the road movie "The Yellow Handkerchief" was delayed by more than two years after its debut at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival -- partly in the hope of cashing in on Stewart's burgeoning stardom. Her performance as Joan Jett in "The Runaways," also released this spring, was hailed as "brilliant" by several critics. But neither fared well at the box office.
Stewart's adventurousness as an actress may eventually pay off at the box office and with an Oscar . . . but it may take years.
It won't take THAT long.
