Kristen Stewart believes filmmaking has become “capitalist hell” and lacking in diversity.
The Twilight star — who has made her directorial debut with The Chronology of Water — has called for a “full system break” that steps away from the “unbelievable barriers” preventing self-expression in the industry because she feels at the moment it is “too hard” to make anything that isn’t a “proven equation”.
She told the New York Times newspaper: “We’re in a pivotal nexus, because I think we’re ready for a full system break. I mean that across the board and also specific to the world that I live in, the entertainment industry…
“We need to start stealing our movies. I’m so appreciative of every union. Trust me, we would not survive without them. But some of the terms and rules and structures we’ve set up have created unbelievable barriers for artists to express themselves.
“Without being ungrateful, we need a workaround. Having it be so impossible for people to tell stories is capitalist hell, and it hates women and marginalised voices, and it’s racist.
“It’s too hard to make movies right now that aren’t blockbuster-y, proven equations.”
The 35-year-old star wants to make her next movie “for nothing” and is happy to reach just a small audience.
She said: “The next movie I want to make, I want to do it for nothing and I want it to be a smash hit. People can think, Of course this psycho is saying that, but I think it’s possible…
“It depends on what you mean by huge hit. Marvel is the tent-pole reference for big movies, but pick another one, because I’m not coming for that.
“But if you do something for nothing and you reach even just a small number of people, that’s enough for me. And also, we could totally make a huge hit!”
Kristen blasted the process of test screenings and executives “completely sucking out” elements of films to improve their wider appeal.
She said: “Literal on-paper numbered equations that tell you whether or not a joke is funny.
“Ten people who are over the age of 50 and male weighing in on what my queer character’s hair should look like. Completely sucking out the colloquialism, anything specific.
“Day to day, you watch something with detail and colour become grey. It’s dispiriting. It’s demoralising.
“It’s also entirely misogynistic and chauvinistic and not the realm that creates an environment for me to want to be vulnerable in, and that’s my whole job as an actor.”
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