CAN THE QUEEN OF CANNES CONQUER THE WORLD…AGAIN?

Becoming the biggest teenage movie star in the world came at a price for Kristen Stewart. As the star of the most succesful YA franchise in film history, her every movement, every word and every romance (notably with co-star Robert Pattinson) was media fodder. Her often surly public persona masked a general distaste for the level of celebrity she had obtained. So, when planning a post-Twilight career, fame and fortune were inconsequential; instead, the indie world and international cinema beckoned.

Her potential for greatness was glimpsed in commercial non-starters shot between Twilight chapters (Adventureland; The Runaways, On The Road). Early Oscar buzz for Peter Sattler’s 2014 Guantanamo Bay drama Camp X-Ray failed to bolster the  box office for the Sundance hit, though praise was unamnimous for the leading lady (“Stewart is riveting,” said Variety). It would be her performance in Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria that firmed her as a world class talent; as Juliette Binoche’s wise PA, Stewart won the Cesar for Best Supporting Actress – the first time an American actress has taken home a ‘French Oscar’. She shared some intense scenes opposite Julianne Moore in Still Alice and shone in a quality ensemble (Corey Stoll, Sam Waterson, Glenn Close, Gretchen Moll) in Tim Blake Nelson’s little-seen campus crime drama, Anesthesia.

2016 may prove to be the defining year in the re-emergence of Kristen Stewart. She hasn’t opened a film since the 2012 global hit Snow White and The Huntsman, and has suffered the ignominy of a box office bomb with American Ultra. But she wowed opening night audiences at  Cannes 2016 opposite Jesse Eisenberg in Woody Allen’s Café Society. It was the first of five diverse films that will snake out globally in the months ahead, each with the potential to strengthen her crown as the #1 International Movie Star of her generation. (Pictured, right; Stewart and Eisenberg in Cafe Society)

EQUALS (Dir: Drake Doremus / U.S.A.; 101 mins)
Stewart plays Nia opposite Nicholas Hoult’s Silas, two lovers in a Utopian future metropolis whose secret feelings for each other fly in the face of the repressed, emotion-free world of tomorrow. Romance and genre have been kind to the actress, though early buzz suggest some style-over-substance issues affect indie-kid Doremus’ first major work. Each generation have their own Logan’s Run or Gattaca, films that don’t usually break box office records but tend to develop an adoring fanbase. Launches May 26 in the U.S.

PERSONAL SHOPPER (Dir: Olivier Assayas / France, Belgium; 101 mins)
Reteaming with her Clouds of Sils Maria director, Stewart appears in almost every frame of Olivier Assayas’ strange, startling supernatural drama/stalker thriller. As the PA to a spoilt-brat super model who shops for her employer by day and channels the spirit of her dead twin by night, Stewart is fearless on-screen, energising a character arc that takes in such extremes as horror, grief and sexuality. The recent Cannes premiere got wildly diverse reactions from the world’s press, though none questioned Stewart’s ability to plumb emotional depths. French season starts October 9; will test Stewart’s pulling power outside the director’s homeland.

CERTAIN WOMEN (Dir: Kelly Reichardt / U.S.A.; 107 mins)
Stewart joins Michelle Williams and Laura Dern in Kelly Reichardt’s three-hander about tough, independent women in smalltown America. Arthouse audiences and festival crowds know Kelly Reichardt’s name, but she is a determinedly non-commercial filmmaker; despite critical raves, Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff and Night Moves stayed firmly niche. Working with Reichardt means Stewart is furthering her craft and credibility which, if positive press and award season support come the film’s way, may breakout and further strengthen her box office status. She also gets to play a gay character for the first time, reflecting an aspect of her private life about which much has been speculated and which she neither confirms nor denies.

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK (Dir: Ang Lee / U.S.A.; tbc)
Landing in time for serious Oscar consideration is Ang Lee’s latest, a stunning anti-war work taken from the best-selling novel. Some left-field casting (Steve Martin, Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker) and a hi-tech frame-rate will be talking points, but all eyes will be on Stewart. As the sister of returning soldier Billy Lynn, she will be carrying intense scenes with newbie Joe Alwyn in his debut film. If she nails a part that is crucial to the narrative’s emotional impact, her Cesar may have an Oscar be its side. Opens November 11 Stateside.

WILL THE DEMISE OF KPATZ PLUNGE DAWN INTO DARKNESS?

It is the strict editorial policy of SCREEN-SPACE not to indulge in salacious celebrity gossip. But when a star’s infidelity threatens to derail the most popular franchise of the decade, the commercial ramifications for Hollywood are worth examining.

It certainly wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that the off-screen actions of a film star will cast a pall over the impending release of a highly-anticipated film. But there was something particularly enthralling to industry analysts when news broke of Kristen Stewart’s sexual betrayal of her real-life beau and Twilight leading man Robert Pattinson (pictured, above).

The revelation that Stewart’s dalliance with director Rupert Sanders (pictured, right), the married 41 year-old father of two who had guided her through the particularly tough shooting schedule on Snow White and The Huntsman, and the subsequent public apology the actress has made to Pattinson were unprecedented in their haste. Many have remarked that it seems entirely at odds with the publicity-shy actress’ usual approach to the media hordes, who have followed her since she was cast as Bella in Summit Entertainment’s series of films based upon Stephanie Meyer’s bestsellers.

One thing is certain. When US magazine published the revelations, agents and executives went into overdrive to save the reputation of Hollywood’s biggest young star and, more importantly to the LA suits, the box office prospects of the final chapter in the series, Breaking Dawn Part 2, which premieres in a blanket worldwide release in mid-November. It is fair to assume that the strategy behind the written statement of regret issued by Stewart’s camp was two-fold: a) it set in motion the damage-control strategies needed to keep the PR mess in check and, b) it kept a mumbling, awkward starlet from facing the global media glare at a time when she was at her most vulnerable.

Stewart’s indiscretion differs from, say, Hugh Grant’s dumb idea to take a hooker in 1995 (pictured, right), or Anjelina Jolie’s snaring of married man Brad Pitt on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith. One was a randy Pom’s naivety on his first big LA trip; the other a secretive and unquantifiable liaison impossible to encapsulate in one fell swoop. Regardless, neither hurt their film’s lustre – the comedy Grant was promoting at the time, the forgettable Nine Months, took US$70million; ‘Brangelina’s troubled action pic hit US$187million.

Saving the Twilight franchise may be easier said than done. Doe-eyed fans of the fairytale romance between the film’s stars have fuelled the combined global take of US$2.6billion. But can they look upon the fictional silver-screen love story with the same passion knowing what they now know? (Watch the trailer below and gauge your own reaction....). To say that the magic of their vampiric union is tarnished is an understatement; images of Twilight fanatics sobbing uncontrollably at the revelations have flooded the web.   

There is the potential for many to lose big on this new scandal. IFC Films faces a major challenge in their marketing of On The Road, Walter Salles prestige adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel, in which Stewart plays a pivotal role  as a sexed-up free-spirit who shares multiple partners (pictured, right, in a promotional still from Cannes 2012). And there is a genuine concern that long-term profit projections on sundry revenue streams such as home-vid and cable for the Twilight films will be dramatically affected, especially if the final chapter falls well below expected blockbuster status.

But it is Kristen Stewart who has the most to lose. A public persona steeped in surliness has not endeared her to reporters, who must be licking their lips at the prospect of bringing her down a peg or two. And Hollywood will be seriously evaluating her bankability should Breaking Dawn Part 2 underperform. This potential dissipation of her rabid fan base must be the greatest concern for Stewart and her entourage. In the eyes of 12-25 year-old female moviegoers around the world, she has gone from the romantic heroine of their generation to the woman who was unfaithful to the dreamily romantic and passionately committed perfect-man, Pattinson. As the dawn breaks on her career post-scandal, the actress may face a rude awakening.