"I needed a sort of radical detachment"- Kristen Stewart explains why she is making her first movie in Latvia instead of Hollywood

"Love Lies Bleeding" Photocall - 74th Berlinale International Film Festival
Kristen Stewart is making her directorial debut with The Chronology of Water (Image via Getty)

Kristen Stewart has emerged as one of the foremost stars in Hollywood in recent years and is now looking forward to making her directorial debut. But there is a catch. Her directorial debut will not be in Hollywood. This would shock any Hollywood fan who has grown up watching stars start their directing/producing careers in the comfort of Los Angeles.

However, the Love Lies Bleeding star wants exactly the opposite. She is in the process of adapting Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir The Chronology of Water for the big screen. As revealed by the actress in a recent interview with Net-a-Porter, she wants to enjoy the creative freedom that comes from not staying within the confines of glamorous Hollywood.

Kristen Stewart told the publication:

"It’s a fledging film culture there [in Latvia]... Look, I’m all about the way we make movies here [in the US], but I needed a sort of radical detachment. I am not a director yet. I need to make a student film. I can’t do that here."

Her film will be set in the United States but she chose to transform places in Latvia into US cities instead of shooting in the States itself.


Kristen Stewart explains why she does not want to make her directorial debut in Hollywood

In the same interview, Kristen Stewart continued to explain her decision to move away from Hollywood for this project.

She is going to make a movie that will be primarily set around New York and San Diego, among other US cities. So, it seems like a task to move away from Hollywood and set a movie in the States. But Stewart has various reasons for doing this apart from creative freedom.

She spoke about the culture that exists in Hollywood, which she would not want her first movie to suffer from.

"[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it," Stewart said. "It’s easy for them to be like, ‘Look what we’re doing. We’re making Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie! We’re making Margot Robbie’s movie!’ And you’re like, ‘OK, cool. You’ve chosen four."

She added:

"And I’m in awe of those women, I love those women [but] it feels phony. If we’re congratulating each other for broadening perspective, when we haven’t really done enough, then we stop broadening."

Apart from talking about her decision to not shoot in the US, Kristen Stewart also expanded on the movie itself. The Chronology of Water is a memoir of author Lidia Yuknavitch and deals with her troubled early life that was filled with abuse and addiction.

Kristen Stewart remarked in the interview that the movie will be hard to watch. She said:

"My movie is about inc-st and periods and a woman violently repossessing her voice and body, and it is, at times, hard to watch...but it’s gonna be a fucking thrill ride. And I think that’s commercial, but I don’t think that I have any gauge on what that means...I think people would want to see that, but then… I think maybe people wanna watch movies about, like, Jesus and dogs."

Anyhow, this seems like an extremely interesting project that will have the attention of fans and critics alike. There is still a long time to go before this movie premieres, as it is still in the early stages.

Quick Links

App download animated image Get the free App now