When Kristen Stewart mentioned during today’s In the Wild press junket that she was set to star in Greg Mottola’s Adventureland opposite Ryan Reynolds and Jesse Eisenberg, I pretended that I already knew all of this. In truth, Eisenberg was the only actor I’d heard connected to this Pittsburgh-set comedy about a college graduate forced to pull minimum wage duty at an amusement park rather than set off on a dream European vacation. What kind of letch am I, right?
But I swear I wasn’t on the make (she’s still way too young). It just sounded entirely plausible; Stewart would be a perfect, unattainable beauty for Eisenberg to play off of, while Reynolds is an ideal, too-cool-for-school mentor. Shit, had I realized at the time that Stewart was "breaking" news, I would’ve rushed back home to post the story before heading out to see Redacted.
I’m beginning to think I prefer Reynolds in supporting roles (he’s a bit too insubstantial and smirky to hold down a lead), so here’s hoping this is the beginning of the end of his bid for movie star status. Stewart, on the other hand, may yet work as a leading woman, though we’ll have to wait and see how she carries herself as a woman before we make that call. As of right now, she’s a very unique presence and a damn fine actress (her unrequited, age-inappropriate romance with Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild gives the film a necessary sense of tragedy as the film heads into its final act).
Adventureland is set up at Miramax and will begin shooting next month in Pittsburgh.