Jules Stewart interview with Mingle Media TV

Experience. Passion for Storytelling.

For the past 25 + years Jules Stewart has worked in TV and Movies as a script supervisor, representing the writers on set, sitting next to directors and DPs (director of photography) taking notes and ensuring the continuity of the project is sound.

For K-11, she moves over a chair to the director’s seat and brings the story to life. Stewart co-wrote K-11 with Jared Kurt who came to her with six pages and this story idea. The collaboration began with research and understanding the “real” place this film would be set in. There were no hidden agendas, no political statements, just telling a story.

That’s where many projects get de-railed.

Too many times the script or story starts out with one voice and vision, but not K-11, it was not designed by committee where others start injecting their voice and before you know it, your story is no longer yours. Stewart told me that she had the movie funded three times but two of them fell through. It wasn’t until meeting with some investors from France that she found the right partners. Their only requirement was that she stay as close to the script as possible.

Add up her experience and her artistic bent and you’ll understand why it was only natural for her to make the jump to be in full control as a director.

During our conversation, Stewart shared that she had some very good teachers. In fact, if you look at her IMDb credits, you’ll see some very impressive projects from dramas to action to comedies and family films proving that she’s had the “on the job training” to be a successful director as she’s worked with some very accomplished filmmakers over the years.

Shot in Continuity Order.

What does that mean? Most film or TV projects are shot out-of-order because you may only need to be at one location for a day with two or three actors so it makes sense to group them together and shoot the scenes out-of-order to keep costs down. But K-11 was shot in twenty-two days in continuity order which is unusual. The benefits were that the cast knew where the story was going and could go with the flow of the scenes being shot. Plus most of the movie is set in a large room where 46 people had to work together to tell the story as directed by Stewart. As you watch the movie, you’ll see how the camera almost plays the role of one of the inmates and you’re seeing their POV (point of view) as the story unravels.

There is a story within a story here. One where Goran Visnjic’s character Ray Saxx, a very successful record producer gets put in jail for a “187″ (murder) but is so strung out on drugs that he doesn’t know where he is. That’s when D.B. Sweeney’s character LT. Gerald Johnson, a shady sheriff’s deputy, jumps in to take him to his special ward inside of the LA County Jail, the one designated for gay and transgendered male prisoners, K-11.

Once in K-11, the audience sees life behind bars, not good or bad, just a slice of life during the time that “Ray Saxx” is inside. There is truth to this side of the film as Stewart and Kurt’s story shows the inmates as they go about their business, from “Mousey,” expertly played by Kate del Castillo, who runs the ward to “Butterfly” played by Portia Doubleday (who also delivers a stellar performance) a delicate character who morphs as the world around “her” (sorry, not into spoilers)…

Raw. Real. Not Heavy.

When I started watching the screener, it was on my second computer and as usual I was “working” on my other one when I had to stop, rewind, and just sit back and be in the audience. At first, you’re startled by the realistic setting, reminding me of “scared straight” episodes where it’s raw and real and you wanted to get out of there. Then you are pulled in and follow the “camera” to watch the events unfold. Personally, this movie had me feeling a range of emotions from relief, (that feeling of never being in that situation and thank god it has never happened to me) to frustration, to fear, to satisfaction. It started dark but left you light at the end. Unburdened, if you will, but still haunted by the situation that won’t change.

As much as I’d like to say this movie is for everyone, it’s not. It wasn’t meant to be for everyone. That’s okay with Stewart. She just wanted to tell a story, no hidden agenda. Is it a good story? Yes, it is. The movie delivers the vision and voice of the story. When you put time into creating a story and then tell it your way, and are pleased with your work, that’s all that matters. Remember the saying “art is subjective” and keep an open mind and just listen to the story.

K-11 is directed and co-written by Jules Stewart with Jared Kurt co-writing and stars Goran Visnjic (Red Widow, Beginners, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Kate del Castillo (La Reina del Sur), Portia Doubleday (Youth in Revolt), D.B. Sweeney (Hard Ball), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister (The Dark Knight), Tara Buck (True Blood; Justified) and Cameron Stewart in his feature film debut.

K-11 Opens in 15 Cities and on Video on Demand March 15th 2013

Los Angeles: Laemmle’s NoHo Theater, March 15 -22
New York: Cinema Village, March 15 – 22
San Diego: Digital Gym (Grand Opening), March 29 – April 5
San Francisco: Roxie Theater, March 22 – 29
Columbus: Gateway Film Center, March 15 – 22
Denver: Starz Film Center, March 22 – 29
Tempe: Harkins Valley Art, March 15 – 22
Daytona: Cinematique of Daytona, March 23 (Special engagement)
Detroit: Cass City Cinema 3/15
Fort Lauderdale: Cinema Paradiso 3/15
Stroudsburg, PA: Living Room Theater 3/15

Find more details on watching it OnDemand here.

Source Mingle Media TV

Jules Stewart's interview with the LA Times

One of Hollywood's biggest movie stars often retreats to a nondescript building on a quiet industrial street in Van Nuys. For Kristen Stewart, the hide-out provides an escape from prying eyes of the paparazzi, a place where she can play arcade games and read scripts in her own private office. And if the 22-year-old ever needs motherly advice, all she has to do is walk down the hallway.

That's where her mom, Jules Stewart, is busy plotting her own career. At 58, the elder Stewart is trying to emerge from the shadow of her daughter, who rocketed to fame on the vampire franchise "Twilight."

After spending three decades as a script supervisor on films such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Little Giants," Stewart's directorial debut "K-11" will hit theaters Friday. But she's worried that people will think the only reason she got her $3-million gritty, L.A. jail drama made was because of her famous offspring.

"It's extremely frustrating for me, because she's 22 years old and I'm almost 60," said Stewart, who looks almost Goth with her long jet-black hair, chunky silver rings and sleeve of tattoos. "In terms of life experience — hello! — I have it all over her. It's not like I came out of nowhere."

Stewart has worked on dozens of films since arriving in Hollywood at age 16 from her native Australia. Her knowledge of the industry helped her daughter break into the business: The young actress' first role — she had no lines — was in 1999's "The Thirteenth Year," a Disney Channel television movie on which her mom was also employed.

Director Brian Levant, who has collaborated with Stewart on pictures such as "Are We There Yet?" and "Snow Dogs," said he has long felt Stewart had the potential to command a set. As a script supervisor, she learned a lot about how directors work, serving as the liaison between the director and the editing room. She monitored shoots on sets daily, taking notes on what scenes have taken place and ensuring the internal continuity of the movie by making sure actors looked and sounded the same from shot-to-shot.

"She's a very strong woman. She's got a black belt, for God's sake," he said with a chuckle. "On my movies, she would come up to me and whisper, 'Isn't this scene really about so-and-so?' She wasn't just marking the tape and making people match. She was really more concerned with the big picture."

"K-11" was initially supposed to feature Kristen Stewart, who was willing to take a supporting role in the picture even after she became a household name. Her mother — who co-wrote the movie with Jared Kurt — eagerly reworked the part, tailoring it to Kristen — but when the actress' schedule became too hectic, she dropped out.

The role may have been a stretch for the tween star anyway. The film is set in a dormitory called K-11 that houses self-identified gay and transgender inmates in Los Angeles' Men's Central Jail. The Sheriff's Department began K-11 — real name: K6G — in 1985 in an effort to protect gay inmates from sexual and physical abuse.

Kurt actually spent time in the module and came to Stewart to help him make a movie loosely based on his experience.

"You would think [it] would be really easy to get financiers if [Kristen] was attached, but it wasn't," Stewart said. "You can't take ['Twilight's'] Bella Swan and put her in jail with a bunch of transvestites and expect people to go, 'Oh yeah, no problem.'"

Still, "K-11" is trading on the actress' name to promote the film. In email blasts to reporters, Jules Stewart is being touted as "more than just Kstew's mom."

In fact, "Youth in Revolt" star Portia Doubleday took on the part once envisioned for Kristen Stewart, joining a little-known cast that includes "E.R." veteran Goran Visnjic and Stewart's 27-year-old brother, Cameron, who makes his living as a grip and has his acting debut in "K-11."

The project, Stewart said, was financed by two French businessmen she met at a dinner party who were looking to get into show business; she declined to identify them by name.

With scenes of rape and drug-dealing, "K-11" doesn't stray from dark subject matter — but Stewart has long had an interest in the macabre. Her Valley-based production company, Libertine Films, is decorated with vintage weaponry, oversized crucifixes and numerous images of wolves. Stewart has actually rescued wolves, and keeps four as pets. (And no, Twi-hards, her obsession has nothing to do with Jacob.)

"I was that weird little kid that sat in front of the TV set and watched 'Frankenstein' and 'The Werewolf' and 'The Mummy,'" she recalled. "Those are like the ultimate stories. It's sort of like bad news travels fast. No one cares that you're rich and you're happy and you're beautiful — they want to know that you're sick and there's some crazy secret."

There's no doubt that she's a proud mom. Still, she struggles to curb her competitive instincts with her own daughter.

"To the world, I have no name. I am 'Mama Stew' — that's what they call me, all of her zillions of fans. Or I'm Kristen's mom; I'm famous for being her mom," she said with a shrug. "Most of the female directors that are successful in this business came up through the ranks. And I'm hoping to follow in their footsteps. I have my own career. My own thing going on. And I would hate to think that it's because of my 22-year-old that I got to direct a movie."

Even the star of her movie understands her frustration. Visnjic, who plays an inmate who mistakenly lands in K-11, said that in the weeks leading up to the film's 15-theater release, he's noticed that the majority of the reports about the film is about Kristen.

"I just read some review about the film, and it was really good, but the big title was, 'Kristen Stewart's new movie,'" the actor said. "Underneath, they explained she only gave a voice-over for one tiny little scene. People try to make it about Kristen, but the fact is, this is Jules' movie, and Kristen doesn't have anything to do with it."

Source LATimes

Cannes 2012: 'Twilight' Star Kristen Stewart's Mother, Jules Stewart, Makes Directorial Debut With 'K-11'

After 30 years of working in Hollywood, the mother of the "On the Road" star finally makes her directorial debut, telling the tale of a secure unit of the L.A. County jail for transgender, homosexual and transexual inmates.

Filmmaker Jules Stewart is in Cannes to support the market debut of her directorial debut K-11. So far so normal except that Stewart's godfather Micky Moore was Cecil B Demille's first AD, she has spent more than 30 years in Hollywood as a script supervisor and editor with a resume boasting movies including Little Giants, The Phantom and The Flintstones: Viva Las Vegas, and her debut "introduces" her son Cameron as an actor. That, and her daughter also happens to be Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who is due in Cannes later this week to support Walter Salles' On The Road In Competition.

But after years of working on the movie and being immersed in the craft, Stewart aims to build a directing career.

"Doing that at 50 is not the easiest ting to do," Stewart candidly told THR. Along with partner Tom Wright, Stewart and casting director Pam Dixon assembled a cast including Goran Visnjic (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) to tell the tale of K-11, a secure unit of the Los Angeles County jail where transgender, homosexual and transexual inmates are placed to separate them from the danger they would face in the normal prison population.

The movie made its world debut during the Marche du Film in Cannes via London-based Intandem, which is selling the project worldwide.

It signals Stewart's stated ambition to aim to make movies about uniquely different subjects. "The whole point for me is to tell stories that are different and unique, hence K-11," Stewart said.

She co-wrote the script with Jared Kurt and shot the $3 million budgeted movie for 25 days in L.A. "It was a union movie. Because I have got access in L.A. and even though I couldn't pay top dollar I wanted to make sure everyone got the proper medical insurances, you know, I wanted everyone to be treated properly." She even put some of her money into the project because "I didn't want to be judged on someone else's merit."

While she found the process from idea to script to financing to shooting "a mystery that luckily I could leave to Tom [Wright] because that's the world he knows and occupies," the minute she was on set it felt like home.

"That's the world I've worked on. No one challenged me and frankly I didn't have time for that, so my cast and crew really jumped in and made it better for me," she said.

 THR