Things have been a bit quiet for Kristen Stewart after a pretty loud 2012. Of course the “Twilight” saga came to an end, “On The Road” hit the festival circuit, was sorta released in December and then sorta re-released again this past spring and then there was messy situation surrounding “Snow White And The Huntsman” and tabloid-fueled scandal regarding her dalliance with Rupert Sanders. All of this goes to say there are good reasons for her to have kept a low profile. While 2013 has seen her exit a couple projects — Warner Bros. con-man rom-com “Focus” and “Lay Down In Darkness” (which Scott Cooper asserts she was never really attached to) — now she’s ramping up for two new movies.
The most intriguing of the bunch is a role in Olivier Assayas‘ next effort, “Sils Maria.” The project will see Stewart joining Juliette Binoche and Chloe Moretz, in the story of an older actress (Binoche) who gets obsessed-over by a younger thesp (Moretz) taking on a role the older actress made famous. Stewart will be playing Binoche’s assistant. As far as arthouse moves go, this could be a great fit for Stewart, who we think is a solid actress. She could find a nice showcase for her skills in Assayas’ actor-centric style, and will no doubt benefit from the masterful presence of Binoche, who reteams with Assayas after 2008’s superb “Summer Hours”. What about Mia Wasikowska? Well, she’s actually no longer involved with the movie, bummer, but this trio will do nicely.
And that’s not all for Stewart who has also joined “Camp X-Ray.” It’s a much grittier movie, that will find Stewart in the lead, playing a soldier who gets assigned to Guantanamo Bay where she forges a friendship with a man who has been imprisoned for eight years. The movie will mark the feature debut of Peter Sattler, who previous credits were as a graphic designer on “Star Trek,” “Walk The Line” and “The Game Plan” among others. Must be a helluva script, but it does have producing power of David Gordon Green behind it; Sattler was a set-dresser on Green’s early efforts “All The Real Girls” and “Undertow.”
“Since Maria” will shoot first this summer, before she moves on to “Camp X-Ray.” [Deadline]