Memo to Kristen Stewart: Cheer up.
Saw an interview last year at the Sundance Film Festival in which Kristen Stewart chewed gum, mumbled her answers and rarely if ever looked the reporter in the eye.
Now, if you’re an entertainment reporter covering Sundance, you pretty much have to put up with shit like that. A long time ago, I spent nearly every weekend for a couple of years on the junket circuit, interviewing everyone from Paul Newman to Meryl Streep to Julia Roberts to Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer. Most of the stars were gracious and accommodating. I got hammered with one of them. Okay, two of them. (I’m not sure if the statute of limitations has run out.) A few of them were, what’s the word?
Assholes.
But I was in my 20s and I was working my way up the ladder, and I’d just forge ahead with the interview, even when a Harrison Ford or a Charlie Sheen would make it clear they’d rather be undergoing a colonoscopy than putting up with my questions.
Now, though, if Ms. Stewart pulled that shit on me during an interview, I would have politely suggested she take the gum out of her mouth and do me the favor of looking at me during our interview, and if that was too much effort for her she could go ski down a mountain. I wouldn’t be able to stand there and let her attitude go without comment.
I don’t know this girl at all and I’m sure there are some days when she gets really, really, really tired of all the attention and all the “Twilight” madness and the paparazzi and the Internet comments and everything else that comes with the territory, but I’m still going to offer just a little bit of unsolicited advice for her:
Smile, for fuck’s sake.
Take a look around at the world, and realize you’ve been blessed with an insane amount of good fortune. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Embrace it.
Or quit the business and go to college or Costco or something.
Life’s too short. You’re going to wake up one day at 30 or 35 and think: I had no idea how great things were back in 2009.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:05 am
She auditioned for the role. She knew what she was getting into. She needs to stop acting like she’s doing people a favor by agreeing to be seen.
I am not a Twi-head, or whatever the fans are known as, but I’ve seen enough media coverage to know that she’s got a golden ticket to an upstart career. Especially since it’s not eight movies like Harry Potter, and it’s all in rapid succession. If she plays her cards right she could parlay her teen fanbase into adult fans.
I do want to see the Joan Jett/Runaways movie, but not if her acting repertoire consists of scowl, squint, scowl squint…
October 20th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. I understand completely what you’re saying about Harrison Ford, but I’ve seen those Kristen Stewart videos too, and it never seemed like she was blowing the reporter off. She seemed genuinely… awkward. She might have social anxiety issues. If that’s the case, she might deserve a little more sympathy despite the fact she’s a highly paid celebrity.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:37 am
No sympathy… She chose a career in the public eye and high profile projects. It’s not like Twilight is some little indie flick that garnered unexpected success.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I think it is a respect thing. You need to act like a grown up. She always looks bored and or completely out of it. She choose the job and the movies.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Can’t argue with really anything you wrote here. There are plenty of younger stars who were awkward in interviews (Heath Ledger especially comes to mind) and he never seemed to come off as an asshole in any interview I saw him in. I believe he gained fame around the same time as Kristen Stewart did.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Two things:
1.) Discounting the people who live in crushing poverty, pretty much every human being on the planet is guilty of not realizing that they’ve been blessed with an insane amount of good fortune from time to time.
2.) I’ve seen some tremendously horrible interviews in my life, conducted by people who were really, really, really bad at their jobs. I defy anyone to sit through 8 hours of that and not want to carry out a murder/suicide.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Richard, Kristen Stewart has borderline Asperger’s Syndrome. She’s very awkward, nervous, shy. I don’t know how you can misinterpret that when it’s so obvious. She’s even said so herself. Look at how nervous she gets on late night talk shows. I feel bad for her that everyone thinks she’s a bitch when she’s just a very awkward, shy girl. And someone can be happy without smiling like an idiot all the time.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:57 am
love it!!!
October 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Thanks Rich- I have thought the same thing every time I see a picture of this kid. She’s actually very pretty but always has such a sour look about her. If she didn’t want the attention then she should have chosen another career. If she really is unsure of herself, then hire a publicist or a coach or whatever.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Maybe she feels that she does not deserve her success. She may feel guilty for getting all this attention off such a BAD movie. It might be like a Jackson Pollock who never felt he deserved all of the praise for his “drip method” and later drank himself silly and drove his car into a tree, lets just hope my analogy is way off here.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I can understand your point of view as a journalist covering that beat. But as for me as a consumer of entertainment, I could care less if they co-operate with the press. i understand that doing so is very much in their interest, but if they choose not to – and are not personally giving of their feelings about the project, the game, or their personal life, WELL its their life and I respect that. I love watching Denzell Washington act in the movies, but since I don’t know the man, I could care less whether he’s a nice guy with an incaging personality or not. All I need to know about him is on the screeen, and it that performance that will determine whether I buy another ticket to one of his moview. I hear that Gilbert Arenas (NBA star) is botcotting the media. Am I offended? Hell know. The only thing i care about is his play when i tune into ESPN or TNT. That’s all he own me as a fan.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Every time I see these pictures, or watch the interview with Ben Lyons that you are talking about, I think she has turned to drugs. I watch her an Adventureland, and she seems like such a down to earth chick, but her tabloid pictures now a days, and that interview with Ben Lyons make me think she is on drugs. I hope its not the case.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I definitely see where all of you are coming from, BUT I personally don’t think her career will last long. I think to make it in Hollywood you have to have a “bullshit gene” to get ahead and just do the “work” involved with socializing and getting your face out there. I really think she is appreciating what’s happening right now, but she’s extremely awkward. She needs to start bullshitting if she wants to continue moving up in Hollywood. I think she’s talented and she’s uniquely beautiful. C’mon, let’s wake up.. lay off on the weed a little bit girl, and get involved in making your career how you want it! Maybe she wants it this way? Wants to seem mysterious? Well it’s not coming off that way……
October 20th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
“Asperger’s Syndrome”? Didn’t they use to play at the Thrisy Whale?
October 20th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
You think she’s awkward….Have you seen Johnny Depp on Letterman? Tons of dead air and Depp looked like he would rather be somwhere else. Seeing how he seldomly does talk shows one would think he could at least pretend to be interested in being there.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Smiling and such would totally undercut her appeal and marketability, that’s her persona.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Kind of reminds me of when I’ve seen young people get huffy and indignant when they are carded by the bartender or the liquor store clerk. The day will come where you’ll wish someone would card you!
October 20th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Having borderline Asperger’s Syndrome is no excuse. You’d think her publicist might ask the press to forego interviewing her since they already know she’s going to act oddly. Over the years, many intensely shy celebrities just didn’t grant interviews or let others promote their films, so she might try doing the same to spare herself the negative press. Actually the second photo (w/ the red rings around her eyes) looks like Stewart’s going for that “Heroin Chic” look. In the case of Johnny Depp, he always seems distracted because he’s always jonesing for his next cigarette. He’s handsome and a good actor but smokes like a chimney. As for rude celebrities, Richard, what’s your opinion of Robert Pattinson? Everytime someone puts a mic in his face, he’s either scowling or berating his Tween-er fanbase.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Saw Ms. Stewart on Letterman when the first Twilight film was about to come out, and even then she came off as bored with the whole idea of doing a talk show. She was aloof and downright snotty. So I don’t think her insolence has anything to do with her exasperation over the attention generated since being thrust into the big spotlight. It’s seems to just be a part of who she is.
Considering that on more than one occasion he seemed frustrated with his inability to engage with her, I thought Letterman was gracious to put up with her attitude.
I’m 55, so I’m not in the demographic being courted by the marketing powers that be for the Twilight films. But my 28 year old son and 26 year old daughter don’t find her even remotely cool, and as a result, they’ve avoided the production as well.
She’d better either have an attitude adjustment soon, or save the money she’s earning right now. Because with her approach to the business side of the industry, soon enough, she’ll trash her career and the only place we’ll be able to read anything about her is on the “What Ever Happened To…?” websites.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Oh boy, I wonder what Mary Stack, the great all-caps commenter from your previous article will have to say about this…
October 20th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Okay, Asperger’s is something I’ve been diagnosed with so I can offer some input here. Keep in mind that this is pure speculation based on the condition. Not having met her I can’t say how much this applies to her, especially since I don’t know how borderline Aspger’s compares with a full blown case.
People with Asperger’s do not have a friendly relationship with non-verbal skills. We don’t always “red” when we are being offensive, and aren’t that aware of our own non-verbal cues, beyond what we practice; in fact non-verbally we may give off mesages which aren’t intended and/or not accurate. In terms of the gum thing specifically, at age 38 I know it’s a bad idea to chew gum during an interview. In my 20s I don’t know that I would have. People with Asperger’s also are prone to anxiety and depression, which may explain the smiling thing. Even now I have trouble smiling for a photo without it seeming a bit forced.
Again, I don’t know her personally so I can’t say for sure that all this applies in her case. I’m merely inviting everyone to consider the above as possibilities given her condition, since unless we end up working with her regularly or otherwise get invited into her personal life, we’ll probably never know for sure what’s going on inside.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:21 am
Even if she is very shy and feels uncomfortable being interviewed, can’t she pretend not to be? Isn’t she supposed to be an actor? I’ve never understood why actors such as Warren Beatty and Robert DeNiro give the worst interviews. Can’t they play the role? Not to be comparing Stewart with those guys but you see my point?
October 21st, 2009 at 9:21 am
Richard,you are hilarious.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:17 pm
John Kong:
Intially I felt bad about what I had posted about Ms. Stewart after having read your post about her claim of borderline Asperger’s, so I did some checking.
I’m a very resouceful user of the internet, and the only mention of Stewart having Asperger’s is yours.
I checked IMDb, Yahoo!Movies, Wikipedia (which has a couple dozen links to interviews and bios, many of which I accessed as well), and Google. Not one other mention.
Until someone can show me otherwise, I’ll just chalk her self-diagnosis up to a young person having a “drama” moment.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I’m 55. When me and my significant other watched Twilight on DVD last year, all I could think about during the WHOLE movie, was that not one character smiled in the movie!! They looked like they were all depressed. My 23 yo daughter and her friends loved the movie tho. Go Figure. Maybe it’s my age??
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
The “they chose a career in the public eye” people can blow me. It’s such a stupid thing to say, I have to wonder if their day job is paparazzi.
A lot of people are actors because they love it and if they manage to be successful, why should they be penalized?
I went to high school with about 30 other kids in the drama club. None of us became famous and I bet none of us even stuck with theatre, but, if one of us *had* been discovered and got famous, I think it’s insane that we would have been told “we chose this” if we didn’t like that part of the job. I wouldn’t like that part of the job. Who would?
October 25th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I don’t know much about Kristen Stewart and many of today’s young stars. I can say that Kristen Stewart should be tied to a chair, eyes propped open (Clockwork Orange style), and forced to watch Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Maybe then she will learn to cheer up.
October 30th, 2009 at 4:30 am
[...] a new blog bitch slapping Kristen Stewart film critic Richard Roeper said, “Saw an interview last year [...]
October 30th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
“Asperger’s Syndrome,” never heard of it until a couple of years ago. A new buzz term to garner attention. Sure some people do actually have this affliction, yet there are a growing number of melodramatic actor wannabes that have their own private stage drama going amongst their circle of friends and family. Feigning ADD, Asperger’s, manic-depression is appealing to some young people. It is the same attraction that inspires cigarette smoking, drinking and drug experimentation. Kids want to shed their youthful squeaky clean innocence because it is taken for granted while the darker side of life is appealingly adult-like.
I have never seen this girl before this blog entry. Some of these pictures look like she is at some stage of drug influence. That it takes some blog reply defense based on her Asperger’s claim only supports my suspicion that this is just gossip swallowed by her crazier fans. Asperger’s or not, her future is doomed. Hollywood has a long list of people that became impossible to work with. It doesn’t matter who or what you are if people can’t stand you no amount of money is going to put you together with a group that will produce something worthwhile.
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
This is common among actors who are more into their acting than their stardom. Stewart’s the best actor of her generation right now because she takes the craft seriously and seems to have far less interest in the spectacle that people like Roeper make a living off of.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Rich,
Gee, with the language you used in your article, it seems like this girl must have done a lot more than just give you a lousy interview. What happened, did she turn down your advances? I think she’s a little young for you. And you, of all people, telling her she should appreciate how lucky she is. It seems to me, you got a golden ticket in your life, given to you by Roger Ebert.
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
I caught Kristen on a recently aired rerun of Jimmy Fallon (promoting New Moon, can be seen on youtube); I’ve seen her on a few interviews and simply cannot STAND this girl; she always appears impatient, irritated and “put out” by having to do an interview and answer questions. She’s completely sarcastic and unapproachable when the interviewer attempts to have even casual friendly conversation with her. On Jimmy Fallon, he played this game where Kristen had to hit plates he was holding with a football, there were 5. After the 3rd, she complained, in the rudest tone, “do you really expect me to throw ALL of them?” She’s an ungrateful, mean spirited little girl. A BITCH.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
I’ve seen a couple of the interviews with Stewart, and it seems glaringly obvious that she’s just a naturally shy person. I don’t know how anyone else can think otherwise, unless, of course, you’re jealous of her extraordinary amount of talent (and no, I’m not a huge fan). Sometimes we have to realize that just because someone is socially awkward it does NOT mean that they’re being intentionally rude. From what I’ve gathered, Kristen seems like a very elegant and articulate young woman, albeit she may be rather introverted and anxious during interviews, but none the less she seems really sweet and down to earth.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Richard,
Did it ever occur to you that this girl might have Asperger’s? You jumped to some mighty big conclusions because she didn’t smile ‘for fuck’s sake,’ as you so eloquently phrased it. Here’s a news flash: people with Asperger’s suffer from paucity of expression and as such, do not express emotion like ‘the rest of us.’ People like you who judge someone because she didn’t smile when you thought she should, need to step back and understand what Aspy’s go through. The biggest problem they encounter are others who become deeply offended when the afflicated person doesn’t ‘offer emotion’ on the spot–just because you want them to or think they should. Read a book for a change. I’d suggest Tony Attwood. He’s the accepted authority on Asperger’s. Quit thinking like a movie critic and understand that underneath her ‘non-smiling’ exterior, I’d lay you a dime to a doughnut that she is an Aspy. A very talented, beautiful Aspy who doesn’t need to satisfy your insecurity. Nuff said.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:33 am
What a lovely reply. “Read a book for a change.” I’ve written eight books and yes, I’ve even read a book or two. I’m aware of Asperger’s. I don’t “think like a movie critic,” I think and feel as a human being. If Ms. Stewart has some kind of condition, of course that’s another story. If you have evidence that she has Asperger’s, please share.
In the meantime, here’s a thought: when you’re telling someone not to be so judgmental, it always helps if you don’t come across as, well, judgmental. And hostile. “Read a book for a change”? What an incredibly smug, condescending thing to say to someone.
Best,
Richard
February 13th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Daniel:
Yes, I was given a great break when I was named as Roger’s co-host. I’ve also worked my ass off since I was 15 years old. Roger didn’t co-write any of the 4,000-plus columns I’ve written, he didn’t publish any of my eight books, he didn’t co-host the radio shows I did for years, he wasn’t a part of the other TV work I’ve done. I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career, but the idea that someone gave me a golden ticket and I’ve been able to glide through life is nonsense. I’ve always said I’ve been blessed to be paid for doing things I love, but I DO work, anywhere from 60-70 hours a week, every week.
Cheers,
Richard
June 11th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Aspergers my arse. So you guys are saying she can’t smile because she has aspergers – does this mean on her resume it says ‘cannot and will not act happy or smile in any movie’. What a talent.
August 4th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Having raised a child with a mild form of Asperger’s Syndrome, I can honestly say that Kristen Stewart and my daughter display many of the same awkward mannerisms. Lack of facial expression, frequent depression, nervous habits (rocking) while in conversation, missing social ques etc. Personally, I think that Kristen does remarkably well in dealing with what must be an absolute horror show of attention and expectations. I don’t think that Kristen will or should reveal anything about herself that is uncomfortable to share. I am only speaking of my knowledge on the subject as it relates to Kristen’s public appearances and interviews. I wish her all the success in the world.