[symple_heading style=”” title=”By Megan Bianco” type=”h3″ font_size=”” text_align=”left” margin_top=”30″ margin_bottom=”30″ color=”undefined” icon_left=”” icon_right=””]
Eight years ago the first film of the “Twilight” franchise was released three years after the original young adult novel, helping to grow the series’ notoriety and craze. The two actors chosen to play the leads Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were Kristen Stewart, at the time famous for playing Jodie Foster’s daughter in “Panic Room” (2002), and Robert Pattinson of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005) popularity. The supporting cast included heartthrobs and starlets, Taylor Lautner, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed and Anna Kendrick. For the next four years, the young cast would attempt to develop legitimate leading man or leading lady careers, but few would reach the top.
Pattinson quickly embraced the art house scene with director David Cronenberg, after five years of being every teen girl’s favorite vampire. Lautner, Rathbone, Greene and Reed all continue to have supporting roles in random movie and TV appearances. The only up-and-comers to break through would turn out to be Stewart and Kendrick. At the time of the first film’s release, most over the age of 18 made fun of Pattinson and Stewart for “selling out,“ and predicted their relevancy would be a flash in the pan. Kendrick on the other hand, came from Broadway experience when she was 12, had indie cred with “Rocket Science” (2007), as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for “Up in the Air” in 2009, and was constantly singled out as the one “Twilight” actor too good for the franchise.
But with the exception of “50/50″ (2011), “End of Watch” (2012) and “Into the Woods” (2014), Kendrick’s movies since her Oscar nomination have been underwhelming critically even if financially successful. Though she did luck out with the college comedy “Pitch Perfect” (2012) finding a big following. Stewart meanwhile has become box-office poison in studio films like “Zathura” (2005), “Jumper” (2008), “Snow White & the Huntsman” (2012), “On the Road” (2012), “American Ultra” (2015) and “Equals” (2015). Even “Café Society” this year, starring Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, became the first Woody Allen film to not make back its small budget in over a decade despite the decent reviews.
Where she is aware of her success is in independent cinema, with “Speak” (2004), “Into the Wild” (2007), “Adventureland” (2009), The Runaways (2010), “Camp X-ray” (2014), and “Still Alice” (2014) gaining support from critics. Stewart even surprised everyone by becoming the first American actoress to win France’s coveted César Award for Best Supporting Actress with “Clouds of Sils Maria” (2014). So for the last few years, Kendrick has been winning the audiences, while Stewart keeps hold of the critics.
In 2016, Kendrick has had critical duds like “The Hollars,” “Get a Job,” “Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates” and “The Accountant,” but the last two made a profit all the same. Stewart has “Café Society,” “Certain Women,” “Personal Shopper” and “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” The first two have acclaim, with “Shopper” raising eyebrows at Cannes for its sexual context, and Stewart is still being singled out as a highlight. But a new turn of events has occurred with the animated family musical “Trolls,” featuring Anna’s voice as the female lead has been getting a lot of hype, and the epic visual spectacle “Billy Lynn“ with Kristen getting unexpected boos during early screenings.
Some actresses’ main aim is for respect from their peers and the media, while others are happy just to get work regularly. There’s nothing wrong with either preference, though each career direction can shape a public image. Kendrick and Stewart are on the opposite end of the spectrum and appear to be happy doing their own thing at the moment. Both have different goals and interests film-wise, and it will be interesting to see where their careers and personas go in a decade after moving on from the ingénue type and into the real twilight years.
Megan Bianco is a Southern California-based movie reviewer and content writer with a degree from California State University Northridge.
