10 wishes for Kristen Stewart in 2010

As 2009 approaches its end, one can not help but to look forward to 2010 and what a great year it may shape up to be for The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Runaways star Kristen Stewart. Team 411 has a few (ten) wishes for Kristen Stewart in 2010.

With four films scheduled for release in 2010, two of which will have world-premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January, next year is shaping up to be a big one for Kristen. So we here at Team 411 have come up with 10 wishes for Kristen Stewart in 2010. Please note, these are not in any particular order.

• The Runaways is the sleeper hit of the year

I’m specifically thinking of the kind of success Napoleon Dynamite had after a solid Sundance premiere in 2004. Napoleon Dynamite opened in limited release first, as The Runaways will, and then built up over several months through word of mouth until it went into wide release about three months after its initial opening. It was considered a breakout hit for the filmmakers. The Runaways is Floria Sigismondi’s first feature film, so it could be her breakout movie. Of the three non-Twilight releases KStew has next year, this is the one I’m picking for most-likely commercial success.

• Welcome to the Rileys is the darling of the 2010 festival circuit

Think Precious. Strong showing at Sundance, slow build throughout the year based on positive reviews and word of mouth, culminating in awards-season hardware. I don’t see Rileys playing to a wide audience like The Runaways potentially could, but I can easily see it dominating the art house scene over 2010. The very early buzz is that the acting is phenomenal and this could be Jake Scott’s (son of Ridley) establishing film. I’d like to see Rileys bringing home some nominations late next year.

• Eclipse is not only good for a Twilight movie, but is actually a GOOD MOVIE

Let’s face it, Twilight and New Moon have not exactly been great cinema. New Moon considerably raised the bar for Saga Director #3 David Slade, but I think he can not only match Chris Weitz’s work in New Moon, but surpass it with Eclipse. I’ve always felt Eclipse was the strongest book in the series, so it makes sense for some of that to translate to the film. There’s just so much going on. Werewolves, vampires, Edward vs. Jacob, Bella’s “betrayal”, the leg hitch, the fight! Edward ripping people’s heads off and setting them on fire! Also, Eclipse benefits from a summer release date, when critics are more conditioned to cut movies like this a little slack, since it is popcorn season, after all, which will maybe spare us from some of those brutally harsh reviews we’ve seen for the previous two movies.

• Kristen earns a major nomination (Golden Globe, Oscar, Screen Actors Guild)

This is entirely doable. She has two movies that are potential award-bait with The Runaways and Welcome to the Rileys. And because so many in the industry feel she’s getting snubbed this year for Adventureland, next year voters could leap at the opportunity to make it up to her. This wish for Kristen is a direct correlation to the first two—if either Rileys or The Runaways does well, I see no reason for the academies and guilds to blow her off. Again.

• Kristen continues her growth as an actress

Since 2007 Kristen’s non-Twilight roles (Adventureland, Welcome to the Rileys, The Runaways) have become more complex, her portrayals more carefully crafted. She is an actress still adjusting, still learning, still growing into her talent. Perhaps The Runaways and/or Rileys will do for KStew what An Education has done for Carey Mulligan, but I have a feeling we haven’t begun to see the apex of the sort of roles Kristen will be offered over the next couple of years. Also, I think I would like to see her try another blockbuster. I know she says she has no interest in it, but I think if the right project came along, perhaps one that was slightly more grown up (think Iron Man or the Batman reboot) with the right director attached, it could be interesting to see Kristen, the anti-starlet, work another billion-dollar franchise.

• That Kristen’s name is in print more for her work than her personal life

We’re as gossipy as anyone else, don’t get me wrong, but we would like to see Kristen’s work getting as much mainstream recognition as her personal life. To many, many people she is still just “that Twilight girl” who is dating “that Twilight guy”. This should be changing in 2010. Even though Eclipse will be a big-deal summer release with yet another obnoxiously huge press tour, Kristen has three other projects coming out. There will be a lot of attention on her work next year, especially if one or more of her non-Twilight movies make it to awards season. Tabloid covers are inevitable, but there should be plenty of serious, work-related coverage to balance it out.

• KStew gets a Rolling Stone cover

Ancillary to the above, we’d love to see Kristen on the cover of Rolling Stone. Obviously, her best shot at this is with The Runaways, which means gracing the legendary music mag’s cover probably with either costar Dakota Fanning or the real Joan Jett herself. We already know Kristen will be in the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue—how great would it be if she was also on the cover of Rolling Stone in the same year?

• Paparazzi-free gas stations

Disturbing. Sad. Insane. Kinda pointless? The summer of 2009 will always be The Summer In Which Crazy Razzi Stalked Kristen Stewart Through The Gas Stations of Los Angeles. Along with increasing Kristen’s “legitimate” press coverage is reducing her tabloid presence. And that means no razzi following her through the local Kwik E Mart.

• The steeze keeps getting better

Kristen made some waves late this year with her fashion on the New Moon press tour. As her profile rises and fashion sense continues to evolve, I am expecting Kristen to make more and more “best dressed” lists, as well as donning ever more illustrious designers on red carpets around the world. The next step for KStew’s steeze? Original garments designed just for her.

• The face of a fashion campaign

It’s inevitable. She’s beautiful, she’s original, she has attitude and style to spare. Kristen Stewart will be made the face of a major fashion campaign. I would like to see it sooner rather than later, and I would like to see it with a major, major designer. I’m talking Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana—that upper echelon of fashion design. Nothing that would be available in a mall. I want to see Kristen in the haute-iest haute couture, perhaps on a billboard in Times Square, staring down the passers-by with her fierce WANT.