Kristen Stewart Shares Harsh Truth of Hollywood’s Treatment of Women

Kristen Stewart has come a long way since soaring to A-lister status with her lead role in Twilight, but only when she became a director did she discover that she was finally being spoken to “like someone with a brain” and not being “treated like sh-t.”

Stewart has never been afraid of speaking her mind when it comes to subjects important to her, and while speaking with The Times, she took aim at the terrible time many actresses have before they can “prove” themselves to their peers. Stewart said:

“Actresses get treated like shit, I’ve got to tell you. People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, I thought, wow, this is a different experience, they are talking to me like I’m somebody with a brain.”

Stewart went on to add that male directors have “perpetuated” the idea that there is something special about being a director. She continued:

“There’s this idea that directors have otherworldly abilities, which is not true. It’s an idea perpetuated by men. Not to sound like I’m complaining all the time, but it’s worse for female actors than male ones — they get treated like puppets, but they are not. Imogen [Poots] put her whole body and soul into this movie.”

Would Kristen Stewart Return to ‘Twilight’…as a Director?

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in the movie Twilight.

Summit Entertainment

Just like her Twilight costar Robert Pattinson, Stewart has spent many years breaking free of sparkly vampires and supernatural teen love triangles. Despite that, she made the surprising confession that she would consider dipping back into Stephenie Meyer’s saga if she was behind the camera. Speaking at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Creative Impact Awards, Stewart said:

“I would love — look. I love what Catherine [Hardwicke] did, I love what Chris [Weitz] did, I love what all of the directors did with the movies. They were so themselves and weird and kind of like, squirrelly, and just so present in that time when they didn’t really know what they were yet, like before they blew up. Imagine if we had like, a huge budget and a bunch of love and support. I don’t know… I would love to re-adapt.”

Just like the Harry Potter saga, it is hardly any time since the franchise ended, so the idea of rebooting it already seems a little unnecessary. However, again, just like Harry Potter, there is a TV show based on Twilight in development, this time looking to adapt Meyer’s additional novel, “Midnight Sun,” which tells the story from the point of view of Edward Cullen rather than Bella Swan.

This makes it pretty unlikely that Stewart will be returning to the Twilight Saga in any capacity in the near future, but she probably won’t be too disappointed. As well as celebrating the response to her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, Stewart’s recent acting roles in movies like Spencer, Love Lies Bleeding, and Crimes of the Future, have continued to show off the kind of range she has shown since her time in the world of angsty teen fantasy.