Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Daily – "The Interview": Kristen Stewart Wants to Show Us a Different Kind of Sex
Date: December 6, 2025
Host/Interviewer: David Marchese
Guest: Kristen Stewart
Main Theme:
Kristen Stewart discusses her decade-long journey to direct her first feature film, "The Chronology of Water," exploring themes of womanhood, sexuality, artistic vulnerability, the nature of self, and the limits—both institutional and personal—on artistic expression. The conversation also examines Stewart's shifting relationship with fame, her view on Hollywood systems, and her intent to depict authentic forms of sexuality on screen.

Episode Overview

Kristen Stewart, known for her early blockbuster fame and recent indie credibility, opens up about the risks, frustrations, and exhilarations of creating "The Chronology of Water," an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir. She and David Marchese dive into the process of artistic creation, barriers faced by women in Hollywood, the problem with the industry's capitalist and patriarchal systems, and the complexities of representing sex and intimacy in film.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stewart’s Artistic Evolution and "The Chronology of Water"

• Stewart’s transition from Hollywood star of the "Twilight" era to indie darling and now director (02:16–03:44).
• Why she wanted to adapt Yuknavitch’s deeply personal, traumatic memoir:
  • Stewart was drawn to the invitation in the storytelling, the concept of selfhood, and the power in women telling their stories—however messy or "narcissistic" that may seem (02:54–03:44).
  • She rejects expectation that women’s personal stories are selfish, instead arguing that women’s self-exploration is radical and worthy material (03:00–03:44).

  "It’s like, oh, sorry, I was being selfish. I wanted a self." – Kristen Stewart (03:17)

2. Gender, Storytelling, and the Female Gaze

• Not about the specifics of Yuknavitch’s trauma but the act and permission of women to tell their stories—being the subject, not object, of narrative (06:03–06:31).
• Stewart describes facing criticism for storytelling that’s “tired, pathetic, and messy,” but argues for exuberance in female self-discovery (03:00–03:44).
• Challenges the male gaze in art and criticism, discussing how narratives by and about women are pathologized (05:17–05:43).

3. Making "The Chronology of Water": Obstacles and Funding

• It took eight years to make the film due to industry resistance: lack of a clear success model, discomfort with the material, and sexism (07:10–08:19).
• Stewart believes the film only happened because of her existing fame, but she still had to "kick and scream" to get it made (07:10–08:19).

  "It took a long time because it is unsavory, unpalatable, because it is about violation and repossession." – Kristen Stewart (08:05)

4. Celebrity, Vulnerability, and Public Perception

• Stewart discusses the “character” of Kristen Stewart formed by tabloids and public narrative, and her attempts to relinquish control over that image (13:03–13:42).

  "Who you think you are has nothing to do with what other people think you are. And so, like, no one's wrong, you know?" – Kristen Stewart (13:07)

• How public humiliation and "bouncing off people" ultimately humbled and freed her, teaching resilience and self-acceptance (09:52–10:15).

5. Hollywood Systems: Art vs. Commerce

• Stewart critiques the committee-like nature of studio filmmaking, where decision-making by "ten men over fifty" leads to art that’s grey, uninspired, and misogynistic (22:04–22:21).
• She prefers projects with a singular vision or creative lead; finds test screenings and market-driven decisions demoralizing and antithetical to vulnerability (22:04–23:02).

  "You watch something with kind of detail and color become really gray and it’s dispiriting… It’s also entirely misogynistic and chauvinistic." – Kristen Stewart (22:21)

6. Gendered Double Standards in Acting

• Stewart reflects on method acting being celebrated in men (like Brando), but pathologized in women (16:03–18:24).
• Encounters with blatant sexism: when asking about method female actors, a male colleague’s dismissive response of "actresses are crazy" (18:24–18:37).

  "We are made to give… Men are designed to give in a very different way and to take." – Kristen Stewart (18:51)

7. Financial Security, Fame, and Creative Freedom

• Stewart acknowledges "Twilight" gave her rare financial security, allowing her to pursue only projects she believes in (23:16–24:01).
• Challenges posed by abundance of choice, and the desire to work outside the mainstream, even at lower/no budget (24:09–24:59).

8. The Need for Systemic Change in Hollywood

• Stewart calls for a "system break"—a move away from capitalist, exclusionary structures in the film industry (24:59–27:26).
• Advocates for making films outside traditional financing models to amplify marginalized and women’s voices (26:15–27:26).

9. Rethinking Sex on Screen

• Stewart is "sick" of the standard, titillating, exterior sex scene; calls for authentic, awkward, even pleasurable frustration to be represented in cinema (44:29–44:47, 34:46–35:00).

  "I never really again wanna stand in a room and watch two people fucking… It's nice to get an odd angle of it.” – Kristen Stewart (44:29–44:47)

• She admires films like Barbara Hammer’s "Multiple Orgasm" (41:12–42:04), and wants more experimental, woman-centered depictions of sexuality and pleasure.

10. Barbie, Subversion, and Ambivalence

• Stewart and Marchese discuss "Barbie" as both commercially powerful and slyly subversive; Stewart admires Greta Gerwig’s achievement, even as the product promotes traditional beauty standards (30:28–31:29).

11. Personal Reflection: Self-Doubt and Vulnerability

• Responding to Adam Phillips’ question, “What is it you don’t want to know about yourself?”, Stewart admits to anxieties about selfishness and the fear of not genuinely caring about others (33:01–34:18).
• The interviewer, David Marchese, shares his own self-doubts, which Stewart warmly discusses, reinforcing the universality of insecurity (39:11–40:22).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Female Selfhood:

  "Anytime you start talking about yourself, it becomes kind of this tired, pathetic, messy thing. And I wanted to make something tired, pathetic, and messy that felt exuberant…" – Kristen Stewart (03:17)

• On the Male Gaze:

  "It's all about how we're contextualized by the male gaze." – Kristen Stewart (05:43)

• On Public Persona:

  "Who you think you are has nothing to do with what other people think you are. And so, like, no one's wrong, you know?" – Kristen Stewart (13:07)

• On Hollywood Committees:

  "10 people who are over the age of 50 and male weighing in on what my queer character’s hair should look like… It’s demoralizing. And it’s also entirely misogynistic and chauvinistic." – Kristen Stewart (22:09)

• On Artistic Control:

  "[Making a studio movie is] like, I want to play… you go to the party, and you’re like, this party sucks." – Kristen Stewart (21:34)

• On Sex Scenes:

  "I never really again want to stand in a room and watch two people fucking… It’s nice to get an odd angle of it." – Kristen Stewart (44:29)

• On Industry Change:

  "We need to figure out a way to make it easier to speak to each other through cinema… It just doesn’t need to be so [hard]." – Kristen Stewart (26:15–27:26)

• On Insecurity and Vulnerability:

  "Do I even really, like, care about people? Or is it just that I’m desperate not to be alone?" – Kristen Stewart (34:18)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Background & Introduction to Stewart's Film: 00:42 – 02:54
• Why This Story, Female Selfhood: 02:54 – 05:17
• Translating Experience into Film, the Male Gaze: 05:17 – 06:31
• How the Film Got Made, Challenges: 07:06 – 08:19
• Celebrity, Humiliation, and Losing Control of Narrative: 09:12 – 13:07
• Gender Double Standards & Method Acting: 15:27 – 18:24
• Steward’s Relationship with Studio Films: 19:21 – 23:02
• Security from Fame, Artistic Freedom: 23:16 – 24:59
• Systemic Industry Critique: 24:59 – 27:26
• Size, Impact, and Artistic Success: 27:43 – 31:29
• Questions of Self—Vulnerability and Doubt: 32:19 – 34:28, 37:44 – 40:22
• Sexuality, Depiction in Film, Multiple Orgasm: 41:12 – 44:47
• Substance Use and Creativity: 45:37 – 47:44
• End: Where to Leave Listeners: 48:06 – 49:21

Flow & Tone

The conversation is candid, loose, and intellectually probing. Stewart is freewheeling, sometimes digressive, but passionate and deeply thoughtful about her craft, her experience as a woman in film, and the broader systems in and around cinema. The tone is both earnest and playful, with moments of mutual vulnerability between interviewer and guest.

Useful For…

• Understanding how women artists resist and navigate patriarchal and profit-driven systems.
• Gaining insight into Kristen Stewart’s philosophy on art, sexuality, and selfhood.
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities for new voices in film.
• Anyone interested in authentic, nontraditional depictions of sex and the female experience in cinema.