Kristen Stewart to play influential queer writer Susan Sontag in new biopic
Kristen Stewart has signed on to play writer, philosopher and political activist Susan Sontag. According to a report from Screen Daily, the author’s upcoming biopic will be based on Ben Moser’s biography, Sontag: Her Life and Work.
Lisa Kron and Kirsten Johnson are set to co-write the screenplay, with the latter also stepping in as the film’s director. However unlike other biopics, the upcoming project – which is tentatively titled Sontag – will reportedly follow a meta-like format.
Filming for the project is set to take place at the Berlin Film Festival and will be produced by the UK-Australia-based production company Brouhaha Entertainment. “We’re using Berlin as a moment to kick off the project and do documentary footage of Kristen as the head of the jury and talking to her about how she’s going to become Sontag,” said Brouhaha Entertainment co-founder Gabrielle Tana in a statement. “It will be a drama, but with a documentary aspect to it.
Kirsten has a wonderful approach to storytelling, and this is reflective of that, so she will use documentary in it.” During her expansive and influential career, Sontag used her voice to bring awareness to an array of social and world issues, including the HIV/AIDS epidemic, The Vietnam War and the Siege of Sarajevo.
