Latest news with #Yuknavitch
Kuwait Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
'Being a woman is a violent experience,' says Kristen Stewart
"I can't wait to make 10 more movies," Kristen Stewart told AFP the morning after making what Rolling Stone called "one hell of a directorial debut" at the Cannes film festival. Nor can film critics judging from the rave reviews of "The Chronology of Water", her startling take on the American swimmer Lidia Yuknavitch's visceral memoir of surviving abuse as a child. All the producers who Stewart said passed on her script, saying its subject matter made it "really unattractive" to audiences, must now be crying into their champagne. Variety called it "a stirring drama of abuse and salvation, told with poetic passion", while Indiewire critic David Ehrlich said "there isn't a single millisecond of this movie that doesn't bristle with the raw energy of an artist". The fact that she has got such notices with what is normally a no-no subject in Hollywood -- and with an avant-garde approach to the storytelling -- is remarkable. "I definitely don't consider myself a part of the entertainment industry," said the "Twilight" saga star, dressed head to toe in Chanel. And those looking for something light and frothy would do better to avoid her unflinching film. Stewart has long been obsessed with the story and with Yuknavitch's writing, and fought for years to make the movie her way. "I had just never read a book like that that is screaming out to be a movie, that needs to be moving, that needs to be a living thing," she told AFP. That Yuknavitch was "able to take really ugly things, process them, and put out something that you can live with, something that actually has joy" is awe-inspiring, she added. 'Book is a total lifeboat' "The reason I really wanted to make the movie is because I thought it was hilarious in such a giddy and excited way, like we were telling secrets. I think the book is a total lifeboat," said Stewart, who also wrote the screenplay. It certainly saved Yuknavitch and made her a cult writer, with her viral TED Talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit" inspiring a spin-off book, "The Misfit's Manifesto". "Being a woman is a really violent experience," Stewart told AFP, "even if you don't have the sort of extreme experience that we depict in the film or that Lidia endured and came out of beautifully". Stewart insisted there were no autobiographical parallels per se that drew her to the original book. But "I didn't have to do a bunch of research (for the film). I'm a female body that's been walking around for 35 years. Look at the world that we live in. "I don't have to have been abused by my dad to understand what it is like to be taken from, to have my voice stifled, and to not trust myself. It takes a lot of years (for that) to go. "I think that this movie resonates with anyone who is open and bleeding, which is 50 percent of the population." Stewart -- who cast singer Nick Cave's son Earl as the swimmer's first husband and Sonic Youth rock band's Kim Gordon as a dominatrix -- told reporters she was never really tempted to play Yuknavitch herself. 'We are walking secrets' Instead she cast British actor Imogen Poots, who she called "the best actress of our generation. She is so lush, so beautiful and she's so cracked herself open in this". She described her movie's fever-dream energy as "a pink muscle that is throbbing" and that Poots was able to tap into, channeling Yuknavitch's ferocious but often chaotic battle to rebuild herself and find pleasure and happiness in her life. "Pain and pleasure, they're so tied, there's a hairline fracture there," Stewart told the Cannes Festival's video channel. Yuknavitch's book "sort of meditates on what art can do for you after people do things to your body -- the violation and the thievery, the gouging out of desire. Which is a very female experience." She said "it is only the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive", and that art and writing helped liberate Yuknavitch and find a skin she could live in. Stewart said Yuknavitch discovered that the only way to take desire back was to "bespoke it... and repurpose the things that have been given to you in order for you to own them." "I'm not being dramatic, but as women we are walking secrets," the actor said. - AFP
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
'Being a woman is a really violent experience,' says Kristen Stewart as feature directorial debut screens at Cannes
"I can't wait to make 10 more movies," Kristen Stewart told AFP the morning after making what Rolling Stone called "one hell of a directorial debut" at the Cannes Film Festival. Nor can film critics judging from the rave reviews of The Chronology of Water, her startling take on the American swimmer Lidia Yuknavitch's visceral memoir of surviving abuse as a child. All the producers who Stewart said passed on her script, saying its subject matter made it "really unattractive" to audiences, must now be ruing their decision. Variety called it "a stirring drama of abuse and salvation, told with poetic passion", while Indiewire critic David Ehrlich said "there isn't a single millisecond of this movie that doesn't bristle with the raw energy of an artist". The fact that Stewart has received such notices with what is normally a taboo subject in Hollywood - and with an avant-garde approach to the storytelling - is remarkable. "I definitely don't consider myself a part of the entertainment industry," said the Twilight star. And those looking for something light and frothy would do better to avoid her unflinching film. Stewart has long been obsessed with the story and with Yuknavitch's writing and fought for years to make the movie her way. "I had just never read a book like that that is screaming out to be a movie, that needs to be moving, that needs to be a living thing," she told AFP. That Yuknavitch was "able to take really ugly things, process them, and put out something that you can live with, something that actually has joy" is awe-inspiring, Stewart said. 'Book is a total lifeboat' "The reason I really wanted to make the movie is because I thought it was hilarious in such a giddy and excited way, like we were telling secrets. I think the book is a total lifeboat," said Stewart, who also wrote the screenplay. It certainly saved Yuknavitch and made her a cult writer, with her viral TED Talk The Beauty of Being a Misfit inspiring a spin-off book, The Misfit's Manifesto. "Being a woman is a really violent experience," Stewart told AFP, "even if you don't have the sort of extreme experience that we depict in the film or that Lidia endured and came out of beautifully." "I didn't have to do a bunch of research [for the film]. I'm a female body that's been walking around for 35 years. Look at the world that we live in," she explained. "I think that this movie resonates with anyone who is open and bleeding, which is 50% of the population." Stewart - who cast singer Nick Cave's son Earl as the swimmer's first husband and former Sonic Youth singer and bassist Kim Gordon as a dominatrix - told reporters she was never really tempted to play Yuknavitch herself. 'We are walking secrets' Instead, she cast the British actor Imogen Poots, who she called "the best actress of our generation". "She is so lush, so beautiful, and she's so cracked herself open in this," Stewart enthused. She described her movie's fever-dream energy as "a pink muscle that is throbbing" that Poots was able to tap into, channelling Yuknavitch's ferocious but often chaotic battle to rebuild herself and find pleasure and happiness in her life. "Pain and pleasure, they're so tied, there's a hairline fracture there," Stewart told the Cannes film Festival's video channel. Yuknavitch's book "sort of meditates on what art can do for you after people do things to your body - the violation and the thievery, the gouging out of desire. Which is a very female experience." Stewart said "it is only the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive", and that art and writing helped liberate Yuknavitch and find a skin she could live in. Stewart added that Yuknavitch discovered that the only way to take desire back was to "bespoke it... and repurpose the things that have been given to you in order for you to own them". "I'm not being dramatic, but as women we are walking secrets," Stewart said.
France 24
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
'Being a woman is a violent experience,' says Kristen Stewart
Nor can film critics judging from the rave reviews of "The Chronology of Water", her startling take on the American swimmer Lidia Yuknavitch's visceral memoir of surviving abuse as a child. All the producers who Stewart said passed on her script, saying its subject matter made it "really unattractive" to audiences, must now be crying into their champagne. Variety called it "a stirring drama of abuse and salvation, told with poetic passion", while Indiewire critic David Ehrlich said "there isn't a single millisecond of this movie that doesn't bristle with the raw energy of an artist". The fact that she has got such notices with what is normally a no-no subject in Hollywood -- and with an avant-garde approach to the storytelling -- is remarkable. "I definitely don't consider myself a part of the entertainment industry," said the "Twilight" saga star, dressed head to toe in Chanel. And those looking for something light and frothy would do better to avoid her unflinching film. Stewart has long been obsessed with the story and with Yuknavitch's writing, and fought for years to make the movie her way. "I had just never read a book like that that is screaming out to be a movie, that needs to be moving, that needs to be a living thing," she told AFP. That Yuknavitch was "able to take really ugly things, process them, and put out something that you can live with, something that actually has joy" is awe-inspiring, she added. 'Book is a total lifeboat' "The reason I really wanted to make the movie is because I thought it was hilarious in such a giddy and excited way, like we were telling secrets. I think the book is a total lifeboat," said Stewart, who also wrote the screenplay. It certainly saved Yuknavitch and made her a cult writer, with her viral TED Talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit" inspiring a spin-off book, "The Misfit's Manifesto". "Being a woman is a really violent experience," Stewart told AFP, "even if you don't have the sort of extreme experience that we depict in the film or that Lidia endured and came out of beautifully". Stewart insisted there were no autobiographical parallels per se that drew her to the original book. But "I didn't have to do a bunch of research (for the film). I'm a female body that's been walking around for 35 years. Look at the world that we live in. "I don't have to have been abused by my dad to understand what it is like to be taken from, to have my voice stifled, and to not trust myself. It takes a lot of years (for that) to go. "I think that this movie resonates with anyone who is open and bleeding, which is 50 percent of the population." Stewart -- who cast singer Nick Cave's son Earl as the swimmer's first husband and Sonic Youth rock band's Kim Gordon as a dominatrix -- told reporters she was never really tempted to play Yuknavitch herself. 'We are walking secrets' Instead she cast British actor Imogen Poots, who she called "the best actress of our generation. She is so lush, so beautiful and she's so cracked herself open in this". "She has this big boob energy in the film -- even though she is quite flat-chested -- these big blue eyes and this long hair." She described her movie's fever-dream energy as "a pink muscle that is throbbing" and that Poots was able to tap into, channelling Yuknavitch's ferocious but often chaotic battle to rebuild herself and find pleasure and happiness in her life. "Pain and pleasure, they're so tied, there's a hairline fracture there," Stewart told the Cannes Festival's video channel. Yuknavitch's book "sort of meditates on what art can do for you after people do things to your body -- the violation and the thievery, the gouging out of desire. Which is a very female experience." She said "it is only the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive", and that art and writing helped liberate Yuknavitch and find a skin she could live in. Stewart said Yuknavitch discovered that the only way to take desire back was to "bespoke it... and repurpose the things that have been given to you in order for you to own them." "I'm not being dramatic, but as women we are walking secrets," the actor said.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Being a woman is a violent experience,' says Kristen Stewart
"I can't wait to make 10 more movies," Kristen Stewart told AFP the morning after making what Rolling Stone called "one hell of a directorial debut" at the Cannes film festival. Nor can film critics judging from the rave reviews of "The Chronology of Water", her startling take on the American swimmer Lidia Yuknavitch's visceral memoir of surviving abuse as a child. All the producers who Stewart said passed on her script, saying its subject matter made it "really unattractive" to audiences, must now be crying into their champagne. Variety called it "a stirring drama of abuse and salvation, told with poetic passion", while Indiewire critic David Ehrlich said "there isn't a single millisecond of this movie that doesn't bristle with the raw energy of an artist". The fact that she has got such notices with what is normally a no-no subject in Hollywood -- and with an avant-garde approach to the storytelling -- is remarkable. "I definitely don't consider myself a part of the entertainment industry," said the "Twilight" saga star, dressed head to toe in Chanel. And those looking for something light and frothy would do better to avoid her unflinching film. Stewart has long been obsessed with the story and with Yuknavitch's writing, and fought for years to make the movie her way. "I had just never read a book like that that is screaming out to be a movie, that needs to be moving, that needs to be a living thing," she told AFP. That Yuknavitch was "able to take really ugly things, process them, and put out something that you can live with, something that actually has joy" is awe-inspiring, she added. - 'Book is a total lifeboat' - "The reason I really wanted to make the movie is because I thought it was hilarious in such a giddy and excited way, like we were telling secrets. I think the book is a total lifeboat," said Stewart, who also wrote the screenplay. It certainly saved Yuknavitch and made her a cult writer, with her viral TED Talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit" inspiring a spin-off book, "The Misfit's Manifesto". "Being a woman is a really violent experience," Stewart told AFP, "even if you don't have the sort of extreme experience that we depict in the film or that Lidia endured and came out of beautifully". Stewart insisted there were no autobiographical parallels per se that drew her to the original book. But "I didn't have to do a bunch of research (for the film). I'm a female body that's been walking around for 35 years. Look at the world that we live in. "I don't have to have been abused by my dad to understand what it is like to be taken from, to have my voice stifled, and to not trust myself. It takes a lot of years (for that) to go. "I think that this movie resonates with anyone who is open and bleeding, which is 50 percent of the population." Stewart -- who cast singer Nick Cave's son Earl as the swimmer's first husband and Sonic Youth rock band's Kim Gordon as a dominatrix -- told reporters she was never really tempted to play Yuknavitch herself. - 'We are walking secrets' - Instead she cast British actor Imogen Poots, who she called "the best actress of our generation. She is so lush, so beautiful and she's so cracked herself open in this". "She has this big boob energy in the film -- even though she is quite flat-chested -- these big blue eyes and this long hair." She described her movie's fever-dream energy as "a pink muscle that is throbbing" and that Poots was able to tap into, channelling Yuknavitch's ferocious but often chaotic battle to rebuild herself and find pleasure and happiness in her life. "Pain and pleasure, they're so tied, there's a hairline fracture there," Stewart told the Cannes Festival's video channel. Yuknavitch's book "sort of meditates on what art can do for you after people do things to your body -- the violation and the thievery, the gouging out of desire. Which is a very female experience." She said "it is only the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive", and that art and writing helped liberate Yuknavitch and find a skin she could live in. Stewart said Yuknavitch discovered that the only way to take desire back was to "bespoke it... and repurpose the things that have been given to you in order for you to own them." "I'm not being dramatic, but as women we are walking secrets," the actor said. fg/ah/tw/rsc
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kristen Stewart's ‘The Chronology of Water' Is One Hell of a Directorial Debut
'I bled, I peed, I cried, and vomited.' This sentence comes at the end of the second paragraph of The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch's extraordinary, extraordinarily raw 2011 memoir about growing up, nearly giving up, and straining to getting a grip on a traumatic past. It follows one of the most striking openings of any autobiography — an extended description of her holding her daughter moments after the stillborn baby has been delivered. Kristen Stewart has been talking about bringing Yuknavitch's book to the screen for years. But she wasn't interested in playing this survivor so much as directing this adaptation and, to quote this cover story, 'make something subversive and beautiful and true.' Should she ever be able to bring to life the vision she had of this woman's life, Stewart told anyone who asked (or didn't ask), it would do justice to the horror and poetry of that moment. It would not shy away from the blood. Stewart has accomplished what she set out to do, with honors. And were blood all that her take on Chronology delivered, this free-form biopic would still feel radical, bruising, aggressive in its honesty. But there's a brief declaration that comes right after that liquid inventory: 'I became water.' The breakdown to the elemental state that Yuknavitch, a champion high school swimmer, mentions in the face of experiencing such a tragedy suggests a complete meltdown. But it also hints at liberation, and while the movie showcases its hero numbing herself with sex, drugs, booze, and various other forms of self-destructive behavior, images of pools, rivers, lakes and cleansing baths are never far behind. Stewart opens her film with blood slowly entering the frame and mixing with the remnants of a shower swirling down a drain. But the shot favors what's washing it away. You can't accuse her of burying the lede. More from Rolling Stone That Doc on Shia LaBeouf's Acting School Is Even Crazier Than You've Heard Pedro Pascal Speaks Out at 'Eddington' Premiere: 'Fear Is the Way That They Win' 'Eddington' Is the Perfect Conspiracy Thriller for a Broken, Brainwashed Nation Even nestled in Cannes' Un Certain Regard, the sidebar the fest reserves for first-time filmmakers and 'non-traditional stories seeking international recognition,' Stewart's directorial debut was going to have beaucoup eyes focused on it. Curiosity over what the former Twilight star and Oscar nominee would do behind the camera had been rampant in the days leading up to its premiere late Friday night at the Debussy Theater, and many would have considered anything that wasn't the avant-garde equivalent of a vanity project to be a victory. What she's done with this source material is, we have to say, incredible. There's an almost punk sensibility behind showing the gauntlet that Imogen Poots, playing Yuknavitch from her late teens to her thirties, is forced to run. It's obvious that Stewart aims to push envelopes, get in your face, make everything feel extra unvarnished in the name of being real. Yet there's also a sensitivity to what the writer has endured that balances out the more outré flourishes here, and you feel like Stewart and Poots are working in tandem to not reduce Yuknavitch to the sum of her painful memories. Lidia's older sister (Thora Birch, whose quiet work here is equally as gutting) manages to get out from a household dominated by their sexually abusive father (Michael Epp). Lidia, however, is still stuck dwelling in the monster's lair. Mom (Susannah Flood) numbs herself with liquor, a trick her youngest daughter will soon replicate. Even swimming, the one thing that offers her salvation from a terrible home life and possible ticket out of town, is tainted by violence; a coach promises 'one lick [smack] for every pound you're over' to his young female athletes, and makes good on the promise. She can't escape the devil or her personal demons. College life, chronic casual sex, bad decisions, the opportunity to collaborate with Ken Kesey (Jim Belushi), two ill-advised marriages and liberation through BDSM — courtesy of a dominatrix played with extra deadpan irony by Kim Gordon — await Yuknavitch on the other side of her tale. So does literary acclaim, a patient and handsome bearded stranger (Charlie Carrick) and something approaching peace. We've seen this story many times before. Still, given how Poots commits to the headfirst descent from one rock bottom to the next, as well as keeping the writer's pain consistently simmering below the surface, you are relieved to see the tide of agony recede for the actor as much as you do for the character. It's that kind of all-or-nothing type of performance. The former option wins. What's interesting is that while Stewart doesn't sublimate her own artistic tendencies and reservoir of rage in telling Yuknavitch's story — and what we can imagine is the shared narrative of a lot of women, creative types or otherwise — she's keenly aware of the responsibility of making sure she gets the perspective of her subject right. That's what most impressive about her debut, even more than the faded Kodachrome aesthetic of the 16mm cinematography, the elliptical editing style, and the favoring of the lyrical over the linear here. (If you had to locate a point of comparison for the movies overall aesthetic, the early works of Gus Van Sant would be the most likely option.) But if there is personal expression abound in Stewart's debut, there's also precious little ego. Nor are the tics that too often prick or sink the work of actors feeling out what it's like to call the shots. We'd hate to see her give up acting altogether — she's too good at getting under the skin of too many different types. If this is the first of many filmmaking endeavors from Stewart, however, we welcome everything that is to come. She's proven that she's not afraid to draw blood. And that, in the end, she understands the art of making images flow together in a way that feels just south of transcendent. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
