Intervija ir par filmu The Messsengers.
MoviesOnline: What attracted you to the role when you read the script?
Kristen: Initially it was the filmmakers that were attached. I was really eager to work with them, Danny and Oxide Pang. I loved their movie, The Eye. It’s just heaven. It’s eerie and just totally wigged me out and I wanted to work with them.
MoviesOnline: Can you contrast for me the use of daylight and sunlight and the beauty of nature with the darkness and horror of the film? Can you tell me how you approached that?
Kristen: The setting of the film is really beautiful. It’s a classically American setting, a really jovial, beautiful sunflower farm and at the same time these really incredibly terrifying, threatening events are taking place every single day that this girl is there. We only had a few sequences that were actually outside. The inside of the house was really dark so it wasn’t really much of a contrast. Most of our horror sequences are in the basement and the cellar and the house is dark itself. The Pang brothers also brought a lot of cultural influences. They were very involved in [the use of] colors. The colors that they chose had significant meaning to them which I wasn’t really privy to, but I know that definitely played an important role. They loved the green. The whole house inside was really green-toned. I think that actually meant something to them.
MoviesOnline: Does knowing that help you as an actor?
Kristen: No, not really. I just thought it was interesting. It’s just something that they did. It didn’t really affect my [performance].
MoviesOnline: Have you ever had any real life paranormal experiences that you were able to pull from to get more into your character in this film?
Kristen: Not at first, no. Ever since I’ve been a kid, I’ve been absolutely, totally scared of ghosts. Like whenever I would run around my house terrified when I was five years old, it was always because of ghosts. But I never saw anything like that. But it’s kind of interesting, when I was on the film about half way through, I had a really trippy experience in my hotel room which was an old hotel. I questioned the whole time I was doing the movie do people really scream when they get scared. And one night, it was insane, I opened my eyes and this image of this woman just filled my entire view. It was like I let out the most gut wrenching scream. I mean people called the hotel room to see if I was okay.
MoviesOnline: Do you think part of that’s your imagination from the film?
Kristen: That was what I was thinking. I was on the set the next day and I was telling everyone, ‘now I completely understand.’ I wouldn’t talk to anyone about it before I said ‘I totally get how you guys could think that I was just getting really into the movie and that this could be a reflection of what’s going on in my work and [projected] onto my real life but it’s not.’ Objectively, it was not. I mean it’s hard to explain.
MoviesOnline: It just felt really real.
Kristen: It did. It was just there. It’s not like I’ve ever had visions before. I don’t see things that aren’t there.
MoviesOnline: Did you come home and ever have a night where you just had nightmares and didn’t get to really sleep?
Kristen: No, not at all. It’s funny because that kind of stuff never happened to me. I’m making a movie.
MoviesOnline: I know that your younger co-stars, the little boys who played Ben, are very young. Did you ever explain to them during a scene that what you were doing was just pretend or were they conditioned to understand that?
Kristen: People were pretty on top of that but there were a lot of times where they really did get genuinely scared on set. Some of the stuff is pretty heavy to deal with.
MoviesOnline: Yes, they’re so little.
Kristen: Exactly. They don’t understand. I come screaming at them down a hallway and pick them up and throw them over my shoulder.
MoviesOnline: What is it like to work with a couple of directors who are twins and don’t speak the language?
Kristen: That was initially a big [concern]. I was very hesitant. I was anticipating a problem with that initially but it wasn’t ever a problem because they’re really smart and they know the language. I was told at first that they knew very little English but that’s not the case. And they’re also very communicative. They’re really emotionally in tune. Sometimes you know what they want just by the way they look at you. They’re really sensitive guys. It was cool because when I first started this horror movie I said, ‘Oh great. It’s going to be like a big scream fest.’ But there’s a lot of actual heart in the movie that they brought it. It’s really great.
MoviesOnline: Are you a fan of horror films, Kristen? Do you enjoy working in the horror genre?
Kristen: I love horror movies.
MoviesOnline: Do you have any favorites?
Kristen: My all time favorite movie, and I’ve been asked this a thousand times recently, is definitely The Shining. Excellent film.
MoviesOnline: What was the most difficult scene for you to do in this film, either acting wise or physically?
Kristen: It was really one of the most emotionally and physically strenuous movies I’ve ever been on and I wasn’t expecting that at all. I thought it was going to be sort of a break like, you know, sort of a one dimensional horror movie. But it turned out to really not be like that for me.
MoviesOnline: Why did you choose this particular character? What interested you most?
Kristen: It wasn’t even really the character that drew me to it. It was more like the filmmakers and just the story. I thought it was really cool that it was set where it was and just the isolation of the whole movie. She’s really a desperate character and it’s nice because she really triumphs. It’s nice when you can see a young, teenage girl actually get up and kick butt and empower herself.
MoviesOnline: I noticed with a lot of the characters that you’ve played so far, like in Speak where you play a selectively mute rape victim, that the characters are seeking or looking for empowerment. You always choose those characters and I think it’s very interesting. Why is that? Are you looking to expand your repertoire of characters at some point?
Kristen: I’m just drawn to stories that I can personally connect with. I never planned it. I’m not saying anything like, ‘Young girls, stand up and yell!’ It’s not that I consciously sought after these roles but I’m naturally drawn to them though so I get it is sort of a [choice].
MoviesOnline: Well I think a lot of that had to have been from the Panic Room because you made such a huge splash then in the role you played and maybe that’s in your consciousness.
Kristin Stewart: Maybe.
MoviesOnline: What was the atmosphere like on set? Was it light hearted or was it scary to actually do it? I’ve heard horror movies can be really a hoot on set even if it’s a scary film.
Kristen: Yes, a lot of it was by myself unfortunately. When I got to work with John Corbett and Penelope Ann Miller, there’s a cellar scene which is this really long call (?), the notorious 191 or something like that, and the scene was just a turn on and it took us weeks to shoot and we were all in it. The whole cast was in it so we all got to be together. But a lot of the movie I’m by myself. But I never got scared on set. I loved the directors. They’re great guys. Both of them are really sweet. The whole crew was awesome. It was sort of a really typical movie on location experience. Everyone had a good time.
MoviesOnline: What was it like to work against the special effects, either practical or digital?
Kristen: One thing that was really awesome was that a lot of the things were practical but I didn’t have to make believe. Most of what I’m responding to was really there for me – even the ghosts – we had someone standing there. Even though it didn’t look like it looks in the movie, I didn’t have to turn around and scream at nothing. I sort of liked doing that. At first you feel totally absurd and ridiculous but you get into it and you start to feel less stupid.
MoviesOnline: How do you think teenagers will relate to Jess’s experience and her relationship with her parents in that movie?
Kristen: I think so many girls are still living with their parents and are fighting for a little bit of independence which most people are. I mean like you’re 14 and you’re like ‘Come on! Leave me alone a little bit.’ I think a lot of people have a lot of animosity in their families and you really do treat the ones that you love the worst. I think what’s great about this movie is that they all come to realize that the people that they really, truly need are each other, that it’s their family. You have to learn to accept it. You do treat the people that you love the worst. I don’t know. I think a lot of people go through that.
MoviesOnline: Do you think actually the setting helps to bring the family together?
Kristen: Actually at first it’s the worst thing for them because they want nothing more than to get away from each other. It totally works against my character because there’s nowhere for her to run and especially when nobody believes her, you know, that all these things are happening and she has nowhere to go. No, I think it actually works very much against them.
MoviesOnline: You mentioned the cultural influence of your directors. What do you think, just in general, of the influx of Asian horror into the American cinema and do you enjoy partaking in that trend?
Kristen: I do very much. I love those movies, the first few. I really loved The Ring. It scared the crap out of me.
MoviesOnline: What do you think makes them different?
Kristen: They’re not as heavy handed as American films. They tend to take their time a little bit and let you think for yourself before they hammer you in the face and smashing people’s brains in and dragging them off into the woods so they can just slaughter them. I think they’re smarter. I mean not to generalize about stuff like that but they tend to be really well thought out. I really like them. I like their slow deliberateness.
MoviesOnline: Did you ever get to ask Oxide where his name came from?
Kristen: (laughs) You know what? I never went there. One way we could tell them apart was Oxide had dyed or bleached a little bit of his hair blonde so you know, Oxide like oxy, that’s how people remembered his name and could tell him apart from Danny. I’ve heard that they came over here and made them up because using their real name is a bit of a struggle for people. I think they just chose a name. I could be completely wrong but I think that’s what it is.
MoviesOnline: What is it like going from, in just a few years, being introduced with Jodie Foster in a movie like Panic Room – although you’ve done movies before that, but that was your first big movie -- to suddenly being the top billed draw of the film?
Kristen: It’s pretty phenomenal. I don’t even know how to answer that. I really liked the movie. It’s awesome. Of course, I’m excited about it.
MoviesOnline: You seem to be a very thoughtful, intelligent young woman. Do you have goals or things that you want to accomplish in the next couple years in terms of film projects you’d like to be involved with?
Kristen: Absolutely. I love what I do but it’s definitely not all that I want to do. I want to go to school. I’m about to be 17 so I have only a little bit more time before I’m off.
MoviesOnline: Is that tough thinking about that?
Kristen: Yes, a little bit. But not really though because I have a lot of freedom. The school that I’m involved in is an independent studies correspondence thing. You can move as far or as slow as you like. It’s actually really easy to get behind. I want to be a writer. I want to major in English and just go to school for a while. I’ve lived in L.A. my whole life. I want to go to Sydney University in Australia. My mom’s from there. And maybe get a transfer back to the East Coast, live there for awhile, and go somewhere. But that’s definitely the next couple years of my life.
MoviesOnline: What kind of writing do you want to do?
Kristen: My family has always been involved in films so I really feel like making movies. I want to make movies.
MoviesOnline: It’s in your blood, huh?
Kristen: I’m not as much of a storyteller as I am just a lover of words, putting them together, so I think I’d rather write short stories and maybe, who knows, I would love to write a novel.
MoviesOnline: That’s great. You’ve got to start somewhere.
MoviesOnline: Can you talk about your future films? What is The Cake Eaters and Into The Wild? Can you talk about those?
Kristen: The Cake Eaters is a movie that I did with Mary Stuart Masterson. She made her directorial debut with that movie. It’s great. It’s a small family drama. It’s about two families that are sort of intertwined very unknowingly and I play a character who has a disease call Friedreich’s Ataxia which is a total deterioration of your muscle control so it’s a very debilitating disease. There are a lot of stories but mine is she’s just about to be in a wheel chair and she’s just fighting for that last bit of independence from her mother and she wants to do one thing on her own before she dies and so she picks a guy. It’s a really nice, optimistic, triumphant story for her. I love it. Mary Stuart really did a phenomenal job. I love her. She’s amazing.
MoviesOnline: How does The Messenger differ in the treatment of the storyline compared to Cold Creek Manor?
Kristen: They’re completely different films.
MoviesOnline: The relocation of the family from the city to the country.
Kristen: I guess the families left for different reasons and they’re all different characters with completely different dynamics going on. I guess there is a similar story or plot point there but I think that’s about it.
MoviesOnline: When it comes to horror movies, what scares you in horror movies and what scares you about this movie?
Kristen: I like when all of a sudden you’re watching a movie and it slows down and you’re like, ‘oh my god, something’s definitely going to happen’ and you know it, but even when it does, it still scares you just as much. I like all types of horror movies. I definitely don’t exclude slasher movies. I love them also. There’s something nice and deliberate about this movie. The Pang brothers really take their time. There’s something about the pacing that’s just really unnerving to me, that’s kind of weird.
MoviesOnline: We sense that too as an audience.
Kristen: Yeah, totally.
MoviesOnline: Just like those three notes with Jaws [hums Jaws theme] and everything slows. I understand that completely.
Kristen: Oh cool.
MoviesOnline: Can you talk a little bit about this class that you worked with? Is there anyone that you’ve learned from more than another? Did anyone give you particular pointers on your strategy?
Kristen: I’m sorry I only got the tail end of your question. You don’t normally get directed, pointed advice from people and usually that’s not the best advice that you get. I think being 10 years old on one of my first movies and spending a month on it with Jodie Foster had an enormous effect on the way I work probably unbeknownst to me at the time. At least in retrospect, I noticed it but definitely Jodie Foster. She was the only one who totally shines out in my mind who really taught me a lot.
MoviesOnline: Wow, you’re very lucky to have had that. Do you keep in contact?
Kristen: No actually. She’s really awesome. She came to one of my premieres one time and I’m sure she was there for other reasons, but I saw her and it was awesome and she’s like, ‘You know I thought I’d come down to see your movie’ and that was the coolest thing ever. I’m sure I could absolutely call her if I needed anything but I don’t like hang out with her.
MoviesOnline: What would be the ideal role for you to play in the future and why?
Kristen: That’s a hard question because I’m not attracted to specific genres or anything like that. When I read a script, I don’t necessarily know exactly why I like it. I mean there’s a few things I haven’t done. I would really love to do a period piece. I haven’t really done one yet and it would be very cool.
MoviesOnline: I noticed your films are often very intense and dramatic. Is there a screwball comedy anywhere in your future?
Kristen: I would be so down for that. I’d love that. The closest I ever came to anything funny at all was Zathura and I had a great time on that but I was sort of a straight man. I never really got to play comedy because even though that movie is sort of a comedy, I was always really scared in it or over the top. It was really fun working with John Favreau. It was awesome, but it didn’t really feel like a comedy. I would love to do one.
MoviesOnline: Of the roles that you’ve already had, what’s your favorite?
Kristen: That’s really hard because each one of them is so… I definitely have my least favorites. But the ones that I have just really invested in, that have taken over months of my life, I can’t choose between them.
MoviesOnline: Did you do any work with the ravens on the film? They’re very smart birds. I’m just curious if you worked closely with them or had any interesting experiences with them on set?
Kristen: Well, no, not really. I got to go over and feed them a couple times. The guys who brought the birds over were really nice guys but I never really worked with them directly, so no, not really. I was always really fascinated by them. They’re huge. In the movie they’re supposed to be crows but those are not crows. They’re ravens and they’re like more than twice the size. They’re just a lot bigger. But they’re fascinating. They’re a trip to look at.
MoviesOnline: How did you enjoy working in Canada?
Kristen: Canada has become like my second home. I’m there constantly. I love it there. The one thing is I’m very thin blooded and it gets a little chilly up there -- not my favorite thing. I’ve worked in L.A. once or twice. It would be nice to work here more but if we’re going to go anywhere, I’d really [like Canada]. It’s a pleasant place to be. I have a lot of friends there now.
MoviesOnline: Are you dating?
Kristen: Typically us teenagers get around to that but I don’t really date.
MoviesOnline: How do your friends in your personal life react to you having such a high profile job at 16 or is it just sort of ‘whatever’ to them and it’s just very normal?
Kristen: I stopped going to school when I was in seventh grade and it’s an interesting sort of reality check when you stop going to school that I’m sure people have when they graduate from high school and stop going to school. That whole hierarchy just sort of comes crumbling down and it doesn’t mean anything anymore and you find that you don’t know a whole lot of people anymore because you really don’t care to know them. You just circumstantially saw them every single day. In doing that at a really young age, I cemented relationships that really are pretty solid and all of them have known me since I was pretty young and so they’ve grown up with me. I don’t really have a whole lot of friends that I’ve met recently. They’ve all been there through my first movie and the initial craziness of everything that’s kind of happened to me.
MoviesOnline: As far as your latest releases, In the Land of Women, what type of character do you play in that film?
Kristen: I play a girl who, it’s nice, I can absolutely relate to her in every way. Her story is really a triumphant coming of age. Something crazy happens to you when you’re 13. All of a sudden you have these really bad, weird, foreign insecurities and you’re like, ‘Where did this come from? Why do I feel this way?’ You just go a little crazy. I think you’re really your true self when you’re a little kid and then you kind of get that back in different stages and I’ve just gone through that. I turned 16 and I was like ‘Wow! I feel so good. Why have I been feeling so stupid and insecure?’ I think everyone goes through that to a certain extent and in her case, that’s what the story is about. It’s really just a triumphant little coming out.
MoviesOnline: What are the best and worst things about being a 16-year-old celebrity?
Kristen: I’m not really a [celebrity]. I just work. My life has really not changed a whole lot. I just sort of go away every couple months or for a month or two and then I come back. I have brothers and I have best friends. I don’t know. Ask a celebrity. I mean people don’t recognize me on the streets ever. It hasn’t changed.
MoviesOnline: What made you want to become an actress? You’ve been acting since you were 9 or 10.
Kristen: I was about 9 or actually I was 8 when I first started auditioning. I auditioned for about a year before I got anything.
MoviesOnline: Was that your idea?
Kristen: Yeah. I mean I definitely agreed to it. I don’t even really remember. We got a call from an agent that was in the audience at my school for my Christmas performance and my parents were both in the business so they were like, ‘We don’t want to be stage moms.’ My dad was a stage manager and he’s like, ‘Oh my God. I don’t want my kid…’ We were just sort of reluctant and I think I just remembered thinking ‘Actually that might be really cool. I might want to go on a few auditions. I might work.’ It took a really long time until I was totally over it and the last audition I went to which I didn’t even want to go to it and my mom said, ‘Well, this is the last one. You don’t have to go to anymore.’ And that was the first movie I got.
MoviesOnline: What kind of things do you do in your off time if you have any?
Kristen: I do have a lot of off time. A lot of people are like, ‘Ah, you must be so busy. What do you get to do in your rare minutes of alone time?’ I have so much time off. I’m such a home body. I’m pretty boring. I read a lot. I watch a lot of movies. I hang out with my brother.
MoviesOnline: Are you doing any writing?
Kristen: Yeah, absolutely. I always do. I write with a friend too which is awesome. It’s like the first time that I’ve ever been able to. I don’t really want to get into it, but it’s awesome. I sort of have a writing partner and I also do it by myself. I kind of always have.
MoviesOnline: Do you enjoy writing as much as acting?
Kristen: It’s so different. They’re two completely different releases – like rushes. There’s something really instantaneous the second you do a scene and you feel it and it’s so real for you and you know it’s down and you nailed it. It’s so amazing just because you’ve told the story and you did it. The worst thing is to walk away and go, ‘I did not do it justice. It was just horrible.’ But when you nail it, it just feels so good. It’s just like a relief. And with writing, it’s like really self indulgent. It’s hard for me to explain.
MoviesOnline: Do you ever want to get behind the camera? Do you ever want to direct or take your own product under your wings like that?
Kristen: When I was little, I thought if you had asked me that, I would have been, ‘Absolutely. For sure. I’m going to direct a movie by the time I’m 16.’ And I obviously did not. I changed a little bit. Maybe. But it’s so much work and it’s so much more than just standing on set and making a movie. There’s so much more to deal with other than that and I don’t know if I would want to do any of that. I’m way more into just the creative… I would write movies. I think that’s it. I couldn’t see myself doing that, at least not now. Ask me like in a few more years and it may be a completely different answer.
MoviesOnline: Well it seems pretty deadly some of the behind the scenes stuff like budgeting, producing, and getting people to fund money.
Kristen: Oh yeah, the politics of it and then if you don’t have control of your own movie. Oh man, it’s so much work and dealing with hundreds of people. I don’t want to deal with so many people.
MoviesOnline: You don’t get as much time off. That’s for sure.
Kristen: No, definitely not.
MoviesOnline: What kind of music are you into?
Kristen: I’m into a lot of different kinds of music. It’s funny. Recently I love forties Big Bands like swing music and I started taking swing lessons and I go to Arthur Murray dance studio and learning how to swing which is awesome. I love music. That’s why I’m doing it. But I don’t know, I listen to a lot of different music. But my favorite band? It’s really hard to say.
MoviesOnline: Do you think you’re going to join a band or create a band since you play guitar?
Kristen: No, I don’t think so. I totally wanted to do that when I was little, but I think that would just be…. No, I would rather just play with my friends.
MoviesOnline: It sounds like you like to do your creative stuff with a partner but a very small crowd.
Kristen: Yeah, absolutely.
MoviesOnline: You mentioned that you would like to do a period film. Do you have any favorites from the period movies that you’ve seen?
Kristen: Yeah, oh man, I loved V For Vendetta last year! I loved that movie. What else? So many movies. One of my favorite movies ever is Immortal Beloved with Gary Oldman. I love that time period. So many movies I could just sit here and rattle them off.
MoviesOnline: How much do you know about black and white films that were done over the years? Do you ever get into that?
Kristen: It’s funny you ask that. Recently just now I’ve stared to watch old slapstick comedy but no, my knowledge of that is quite [limited] but I’m really getting into it. One of my friends is really into it so he’s showing me a bunch of stuff.
MoviesOnline: Which of the slapstick comedies are you talking about?
Kristen: I just saw Buster Keaton. I forget which movie I saw of his though. It was sort of a collection and I saw one whole feature. I really want to see more of that stuff.
MoviesOnline: Yes, and you see the different acting styles over the years. I would think that would be interesting for you.
Kristen: Yes, absolutely.
MoviesOnline: After doing a movie like The Messengers which has such a dark and spiritual tone to it, do you have any interest in looking more into ghosts and the supernatural in just your sort of personal research or reading about it?
Kristen: (laughs) Uh, no. I’m not inclined to do that.
MoviesOnline: That was a little bit too much for you, huh?
Kristen: I think so. I definitely haven’t been inclined to sit down and type ‘ghost’ into Google.
MoviesOnline: Do you have any directors or producers that you want to work with in the future?
Kristen: Yeah, there are so many. I think my favorite director that I could work with now, it would definitely be Martin Scorcese. I’m sure everyone says that.
MoviesOnline: It may happen.
Kristen: It may happen. I would also… I would love to work with… Jody directs films. I would die to be in a movie directed by her. I’m trying to think. There’s so many. I don’t know. I’m actually really excited. I just found out I’m going to do a movie. I’m probably in the movie for about 7 minutes. I’m going to play Robert DeNiro’s daughter in the Art Linson movie that he wrote based on a book that he did. I’m so… I’m beside myself about that. I can’t wait.
MoviesOnline: What is the name of it?
Kristen: It’s called What Just Happened.
MoviesOnline: Wow! Well he’s good friends with Scorsese so there’s your ‘in.’
Kristen: Yeah, I know.
MoviesOnline: Do you have any actors that you would like to work with specifically?
Kristen: Again, there’s so many actors. They are so amazing. There are a few young actors – one of them I actually got to work with. I worked with Emile Hirsch on a movie called Into The Wild which was really a great experience. There are a few others that I think are really just great. Finally we have some really amazing talent to look forward to. I think Evan Rachel Wood is phenomenal. She blows me away. There are so many others. I love Natalie Portman.
MoviesOnline: And Paul Dano from Little Miss Sunshine?
Kristen: Oh yeah, he’s so good. I loved that movie.
MoviesOnline: And the guy who played Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder?
Kristen: Oh my God, he’s so hot. He’s a crack up. It would be fun to work with him.
MoviesOnline: Do your parents have any advice for you on going into this business?
Kristen: Yeah, I guess a lot but they don’t sit down and give me pointed advice like ‘Kristen, you should do this and this.’ They’ve always been really supportive in that you can drop out of this at any time you want. Basically you just have to make yourself happy and you’ve got to do what you want to do. And they’re just really motivating, sort of a driving force, which is something I really need.
MoviesOnline: Thanks very much, Kristen.
Kristen: Thanks you guys very much!
Saturs 
