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Nine Network (commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. The Nine Network is one of five main free-to-air networks in Australia.

The Nine Network has been the second highest rating television network in Australia since 2007, behind the Seven Network and ahead of Network Ten, ABC and SBS.^[1] Nine had historically been the highest rating television network since television's inception in Australia in 1956 for most years up to 2006, although the Ten Network had dominated in 1985 and for a number of years in the 1970s. The Nine Network's was overtaken in the ratings in 2007 by its rival, the Seven Network, which has dominated ever since. As a result, Nine's slogan "Still the One" was discontinued. Since 2009, the network's slogan has been "Welcome Home". After a few years in the wilderness, with a period plagued by mass-sackings, programme cancellations and budget cuts, the Nine Network has enjoyed a period of stability and as of April 2012 Nine is well on it's way to regaining its previous position of the number one television network in Australia with an enormous network share thanks to The Voice Australia, The Block and The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.

History[link]

Origins[link]

TCN-9, the first regularly colourly television station in Australia, launched on 16 September 1956. John Godson introduced the station and Bruce Gyngell presented the first programme, This Is Television (in doing so becoming the first person to appear on Australian television). Later that year, GTV-9 in Melbourne began testing transmissions to telecast the 1956 Summer Olympics later forming the National Television Network alongside QTQ-9 in Brisbane and NWS-9 in Adelaide, the basis of the current Nine Network, in 1962. Before its formation, TCN-9 was then affiliated with HSV-7 (due to the fact that they were both Australia's first television stations, have been opened in 1956^[2]), and GTV-9's sister affiliate was ATN-7.

In 1967 the NSWRFL grand final became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. The Nine Network had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.^[3]

In the late 1980s, STW-9 Perth became a Nine Network owned-and-operated station when Bond Media purchased the network. However, in 1989, Bond Media sold the Perth-based station to Sunraysia Television for A$95 million, due to the Federal cross-media ownership laws, which restricted the level of national reach for media owners.^[4]

1977-2006: The Golden Era[link]

Nine began using the slogan "Let Us Be The One" (based by The Carpenters song) in 1977, and achieved widespread success, becoming the number 1 free to air network in Australia and National Nine News became the most watched news service. Soon after in 1978, Nine switched their slogan to "Still the One" (Patterned after the campaign used by ABC in the United States), which lasted until the ratings downfall in January 2006. During the 80s, Nine's ratings peaked and drove the network forward well into the 90s. From 1999 to 2001, the network began losing ground to Seven in news and entertainment, but received a boost after the 9/11 coverage in 2001^{[citation needed]}. Digital terrestrial television was introduced on 1 January 2001.

2006-2008: Nine loses to Seven[link]

Nine stayed strong throughout 2004 but was hit hard when Seven introduced a new line-up in 2005, even though Nine won the year. Meanwhile, National Nine News was overtaken by Seven News, while Today was beaten by Seven's Sunrise. In 2006, Nine continued on its downward trend, losing most news weeks to Seven News and just winning the year thanks to its coverage of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. To try to revitalise the network in its 50th anniversary, Nine adopted a new logo that heavily removes the nine dots, which was criticised due to the lack of the dots, which were part of the networks identity since 1970. In May 2007, Nine partially reintroduced the Nine dots, which resulted in the square logo changing into a 3D Cube that rotates, the dots were visible on every second side of the cube.

After a period of declining ratings compared to the Seven Network. David Gyngell returned to the job of CEO in October 2007, succeeding Eddie McGuire.

In 2007, despite several hits, Seven won the whole year by a significant margin. Nine received heavy criticism, due to its lack of new programming and lack of choice. The Seven Network had won 38 weeks, the Nine Network only won 2. However with David Gyngell as CEO of the Nine Network ratings were going to go back to normal.

2008-present: The Relaunch[link]

In 2008, as part of a major relaunch, the network dropped the blue box, and reinstated its nine dots in its logo, with a 3D look. After losing viewers to Seven News, Nine relaunched its news service as Nine News, which managed to win more weeks over Seven in the first half of 2008. Nine also launched a breakout hit, Underbelly which rated over 2.5 million viewers across most of Australia in its first season. Nine tried to attract younger demographics, so while Seven went on to win the ratings year in total people, Nine was rated the number one network in the key 18–49 and 25–54 demographics.

In 2009, Nine started relatively strongly thanks to the top rating Australian drama Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities and the Twenty20 Cricket series, but could not hold its audience after Network Ten's Masterchef became a massive hit. Nine became inconsistent with scheduling and removal of programmes. Nine also launched a number of reality shows, including Ladette to Lady, Wipeout Australia, HomeMADE, Australia's Perfect Couple and The Apprentice Australia, in the hope of achieving the same success other networks had with the genre. All the new formats underperformed in the ratings and did not help the network establish any stable local content. Nine also expanded its news strand with the re-introduction of a late night bulletin (for its owned-and-operated stations), an extended morning bulletin and weekend editions of Today. Despite this, the flagship 6pm state bulletins continued to fall in the ratings.

In August 2009, Nine launched its own digital multi-channel called GO! on Channel 99, primarily aimed at a younger demographic. The shares from GO! have contributed to Nine's weekly shares and have allowed it to enjoy several weeks of weekly ratings wins. In September, the Network took on a new slogan, Welcome Home and revamped its inconsistent graphic package. With the resurgence of Nine News, growth of Today, stabilisation of 60 Minutes and a new programme line-up consisting of Hey Hey It's Saturday, Underbelly and Sea Patrol, Nine enjoyed more ratings success.

In 2010, Nine obtained the rights to exclusive coverage of the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks. GO! won the year in digital shares only. On 26 September 2010, Nine launched their third digital channel GEM (an acronym of General Entertainment and Movies) on Channel 90. In 2011 the Nine Network announced a new "Home of Comedy" line-up with comedy shows such as Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and other American sitcoms along with the launch of a live comedy show Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth which was cancelled after only three episodes due to low ratings. Nine also brought back This Is Your Life with Eddie McGuire as host, although the series was cancelled after airing four episodes. Although the first half of 2011 was extremely poor, the Nine Network had success in the ratings, in the second half with The Block, Underbelly: Razor and The Celebrity Apprentice Australia. The highly anticipated return of a revamped ninth season of Two and a Half Men, proved a huge success for the network, generating a huge 2.6 million viewers and dominating the week as top program.^[5] The return of new episodes of the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, was also a huge success for the network scoring high figures consistently week after week and dominating the evening as top program. The Nine Network, was in second place in the ratings again in 2011 on 19.6%, behind the Seven Network (23.1%) and ahead of the Network Ten (15.9%), ABC (12.2%) and SBS (4.6%).^[6]

On 24 November 2011, the Nine Network announced line-up for 2012, with a focus on reality programs including an Australian version of The Voice, the return of Big Brother, Excess Baggage and The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.^[7] The Nine Network will also air coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. A new morning show, "Mornings, replaced the cancelled Kerri-Anne, after nine years on air.^[7] The program is hosted by Sonia Kruger and David Campbell.

On 26 March 2012, the Nine Network launched EXTRA, a new channel aimed at delivering home shopping, brand funded, religious, community, educational and multi-cultural programming content created by advertisers.

Programming[link]

The Nine Network broadcasts a range of programming from Australian and overseas sources. Nine's current Australian programming line-up includes: Australia's Funniest Home Videos, The AFL Footy Show, The NRL Footy Show, RBT, Underbelly, The Block, 60 Minutes and Millionaire Hot Seat.

Children's programming includes: Hi-5, Kids' WB Australia, Kitchen Whiz, Pyramid and Magical Tales.

Most American programming that airs on Nine and its regional affiliates is sourced from Nine's studio-output deals with Warner Bros. Television, Sony Pictures Television and Lionsgate Television. The network's flagship programme is the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Other American programming on Nine include Two and a Half Men, The Mentalist, the CSI franchise, The View, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Days of our Lives and Entertainment Tonight.

In an attempt to attract advertisers, as there is wide industry consensus that most advertisers are more interested in programmes for younger audiences, new programming is expected to now be targeted towards the younger generation.^[8]

The Nine Network's prime time line-up is frequently criticised because of last minute scheduling changes and cancellations and late starting times, with most nights programming running between 5 and 10 minutes behind schedule. The strategy of relying on a hand of programs (most notable US sitcom Two and a Half Men or The Big Bang Theory) has also been questioned.^{[by whom?]} Reruns of Two and a Half Men are shown out of sequence with episodes from several different seasons often airing in the same night. This has resulted in much public scrutiny against the Network, with nine out of ten weekly episodes of Two and a Half Men being repeats, the highest ratio of any Network.^[9]

Feature films broadcast on the Nine Network are sourced from its studio-output deals, including Regency Enterprises, Sony Pictures, Lions Gate, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. It also broadcasts Australian and international titles distributed via Village Roadshow, Village Roadshow Pictures.

The network also broadcasts catalogue titles Paramount Pictures produced in 1990s prior to 2007. The broadcast rights to more recent titles Paramount now belong to Network Ten respectively.

News & Current Affairs[link]

The Nine Network's news service is Nine News (previously National Nine News). For decades, it was the top rating news service nationally but in recent years, the Seven Network's Seven News has overtaken the service. However The Nine Network is turning around. Nine's Sydney 6:00pm weekday news bulletin has overtaken Seven for the first time in seven years.

Robert McKnight, Nine's Manager of News and Current Affairs Promotions, Tweeted: "It's official: Nine News Sydney has won the 2011 ratings year! It's the first time in seven years! In weeks so far Nine News: 21 weeks [to] Seven News: 14 weeks." It is now impossible for Seven to catch up in this 2011 year. The Sunday Telegraph claims that Nine's Sydney 6:00pm Sunday news bulletin has also overtaken Seven, giving Nine a lead of 27 weeks to Seven's only 8.

^[10]

Nine produces several news bulletins and programmes, including Today, Weekend Today, as well as Nine Early Morning News, Nine Morning News, Nine Afternoon News and Nine News.

The news service also produces A Current Affair and 60 Minutes. During weekday overnights and Sunday mornings, Nine rebroadcasts American television network ABC's news and current affairs programme Good Morning America.

From 2008, major expansion saw Today broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays too, their weekday version running from 5.30am until 9am weekdays, the launch of the Nine Early News, the axing of the Sunday program, National Nine News becoming Nine News after poor ratings losing to Seven News, Nine Late News was launched then renamed as Nightline and the 11am bulletin be renamed as Nine Morning News, running from 11am until 12pm weekdays.

Meanwhile, several additions have been made to Nine News teams around the country, as well as the acquisition of more reporters by A Current Affair and also state-based Today reporters (plus a Weekend Today weather presenter).

Nine has posted journalists overseas to cover major European stories following the closure of its European bureau in late 2008, with the last European correspondent, James Talia, being redesignated to his former role as a Senior Melbourne Nine News journalist. Reporters including Simon Bouda, Allison Langdon, Chloe Bugelly, Tim Arvier and Brett McLeod have all been on projects for Nine News bulletins in Greece, UK, France, South Africa, Thailand and Czeckslovakia. This has raised concerns over whether it is viable to not have a European news bureau and presence in this increasingly globalised world, especially if Nine is to maintain an international focus and its quality news reputation, which recently has degraded.

Meanwhile, talk that Nine was going to close its Canberra bureau and merge with Sky News Australia have been denied by Nine. Plans were that Laurie Oakes would be retained for 6pm flagship bulletins, but otherwise, Nine would use "Sky News reporters" as it would refer to them, namely David Speers, on political topics. Its Canberra presence has declined in recent months. Four producers have been sacked amidst Nine's belt-tightening, whilst a permanent political reporter role has been scrapped, as Daniel Street, former political reporter (supplement to Oakes) has taken up a scholarship in London. The likes of John Kerrison, Brett McLeod, Jayne Azzopardi, Tracy Vo and Chris Urquhart have all since been temporarily posted in Canberra, in what seems to be a role void for Nine.

Today has since overtaken Sunrise on numerous occasions, whilst Nine News, especially on Sundays, has done so too. Both Today and Nine News beat their Seven counterparts regularly in the east coast broadcasts. Local A Current Affair bulletins in Perth and Adelaide have been scrapped by WIN stations there for not performing as well as expected. In 2010 Nine News created an iPhone/iPad app. A short time later, Seven had copied the Nine Network.

Sport[link]

Channel 9 broadcasts all sporting events under the Wide World of Sports brand. The flagship sports of the brand are Cricket, National Rugby League (NRL), and formerly Australian rules football, until Nine lost the rights in 2006, and Super League while it existed. NRL games are broadcast in prime time in New South Wales and Queensland on Friday nights, however are usually screened after midnight (or not at all) in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Nine's other popular recurring sporting events include the Rugby League State of Origin, British Open, US Golf Open, US Tennis Open, Wimbledon, the French Open, KFC Twenty20, Commonwealth Bank Series Cricket, and Test cricket and formerly the Australian Swimming Championships until Nine lost the rights in 2009. As well as this, the Nine Network, in joint partnership with subscription television provider Foxtel, has broadcast rights for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[11]

Nine also broadcast the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore on its digital channel GO!

Nine has been criticised by Melbourne NRL fans for choosing to show matches in that city delayed by several hours, as well as its decision not to broadcast the post-match celebrations of the 2009 NRL Grand Final, which the Melbourne Storm had won.

On 26 May 2010, Nine became the first free to air television channel in Australia to broadcast in 3D. The broadcast was the State of Origin.

Availability[link]

The Nine Network is simulcast in analogue and standard-definition digital. Nine is broadcast in metropolitan areas via Nine Network owned-and-operated stations, including TCN Sydney, GTV Melbourne, QTQ Brisbane and NTD Darwin, and by affiliate Channel Nine stations NWS Adelaide and STW Perth. Nine Network programming is also carried into regional Australia by affiliate networks WIN Television, NBN Television, and Imparja Television. Nine is also broadcast via satellite and cable on Foxtel and on Austar Digital on the cable pay TV service in Darwin.

Logos[link]

The Nine Network first used a shared logo produced and used across the metropolitan stations in 1970, featuring the numeral nine beside nine dots. The first set of identities was a "Dots TV" set. This logo has remained in use on the network, in differing forms across the decades, with various exceptions. In 1977, the nine dots were removed from the logo, but only for on-air idents. This lasted 11 years until 1988, when Bond Media purchased the network and reinstated the nine dots, with STW Perth becoming a Nine Network owned-and-operated station.^[4] In 1998, the dots were changed to spheres. The spheres returned to dots as a new on-air ident package was created by Velvet mediendesign in 2001. Three-dimensions were added to the numeral nine in 2002, coinciding with a revamp of the network's on-air identity.

In 2006, the network and its affiliates relaunched their logos to coincide with Nine's 50th anniversary and the chance to revitalize the network. The logo uses a 2D blue cube with the 9 inside it, which saw the removal of the nine dots. Later in 2007, the cube became a solid 3D box, and partially relaunched the nine dots, which is visible in every second surface of the box.

As a part of a major relaunch, Nine Network reinstated the nine-dots logo in 2008. The dots were represented as 3D discs in 2008, then 2D dots in July 2009, then later spheres in September 2009.^[12]

On April 2012, Nine Network's identity changes, now applying the logo in different colors such as red, green, purple and more, since the 2012 TV Week Logies premiere.

• 

  1970 – 1977; 26 January 1988 – 29 January 2006

• 

  1977 – 26 January 1988; used in on-air idents only

• 

  30 January 2006 – 14 January 2008

• 

  14 January 2008 – 26 September 2009

• Channel Nine logo.png

  27 September 2009 – present

See also[link]

Television in Australia portal

• List of Australian television series
• Nine HD
• GEM
• GO!
• EXTRA

Notes & references[link]

Further reading[link]

• Stone, Gerald (2000). Compulsive Viewing: the inside story of Packer's Nine Network. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking. ISBN 0-670-88690-4. 
• Stone, Gerald (2007). Who Killed Channel Nine?: The death of Kerry Packer's mighty dream machine. Sydney Australia: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4050-3815-7. 

External links[link]

• Official website

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Dianna Agron
Agron at the Glee Hot Topic Tour, on August 17, 2009
Born	Dianna Elise Agron (1986-04-30) April 30, 1986 (age 26) Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, dancer
Years active	2006–present

Dianna Elise Agron^[1] ( /ˈeɪɡrɒn/;^[2] born April 30, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee^[3] and Sarah Hart in I Am Number Four.

Early life[link]

Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general manager of Hyatt hotels.^[4][5][6] Agron's father's family is originally from Russia, and their original surname, Agronsky, was altered by Ellis Island officials.^[2] Her father was born Jewish and her mother converted to Judaism;^[7] Agron attended Hebrew school and had a bat mitzvah.^[7][8] Agron attended Burlingame Intermediate School and then Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California.^[3] She has been dancing since the age of three,^[9] and began teaching dance as a teenager.^[6]

Career[link]

Agron in NYC, 2011

Agron has appeared on television shows such as Shark, Close to Home, CSI: NY, Numb3rs,^{[citation needed]} and had a recurring role on Veronica Mars. She then appeared as Harper on a 13-episode series of short films called It's a Mall World, directed by Milo Ventimiglia, and airing on MTV, and then on the second season of Heroes as Debbie Marshall, the head cheerleader/captain of the cheer squad at Costa Verde High School. Dianna has also hosted a mini Music Festival for 826LA in Los Angeles called Chickens in Love.^[10]

She was among many young Hollywood stars selected to be in Wal-Mart's Ocean Pacific spring 2010 marketing campaign. The national campaign debuted in fashion, lifestyle and entertainment magazines such as Elle, Teen Vogue, Seventeen and Cosmopolitan, outdoor and online at the official Ocean Pacific website.^{[citation needed]} In addition, the celebrities hosted an Ocean Pacific party in Los Angeles in late April and made personal appearances on behalf of the brand.^[11]

Agron's most notable role to date is as Quinn Fabray, a high school cheerleader, on the Fox series Glee. The show has received high ratings and critical acclaim, including a Screen Actors Guild cast award in 2009^[12] and two Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.^[13][14]

In 2010, Agron directed the music video for "Body" by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down.^[15]

In 2010, Agron played the small role of Natalie, fiancée to main character Ali's love interest Jack, in the movie Burlesque alongside Christina Aguilera, Cher, and Stanley Tucci.

Agron was chosen by People to be part of their Most Beautiful 2010.^[16] She also came 8th in the 2011 Afterellen.com "Hot 100" list.^[17]

Agron appeared alongside Alex Pettyfer and Timothy Olyphant in the 2011 science-fiction action thriller I Am Number Four, directed by D. J. Caruso.

Agron appeared as herself in Punk'd.

The Biography Channel aired a Glee documentary named "Glee: Don't Stop Believing" on April 10, 2012, where Agron was interviewed about her role in the show.

Agron will host GLAAD Media Award on June 2, 2012 in San Francisco. Her co-stars of Glee, Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith hosted them on March 24, 2012 in New York City.

Agron came 13th in the 2012 AfterEllen.com "Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters" list, thanks to her character, Quinn Fabray, on Glee.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Agron at the Glee premiere party, May 11, 2009

Agron is a vegetarian and a supporter of PETA.^[19] Also an avid supporter of gay rights, Agron worked with The Trevor Project in 2012 to raise money in honor of her birthday. She promised to match all donations made to the organization by April 30, 2012.^[20]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dianna Agron

• Website
• Dianna Agron at AllRovi
• Dianna Agron at the Internet Movie Database

Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart at the 2012 Wondercon on March 17, 2012
Born	Kristen Jaymes Stewart (1990-04-09) April 9, 1990 (age 22) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Signature
Website
kristenstewart.com

Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has starred in other films, including Panic Room (2002), Zathura (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), The Messengers (2007), Adventureland (2009), The Runaways (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman. She will star in upcoming films in 2012: On the Road and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Early life[link]

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.^[1][2][3] Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox.^[4] Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia.^[3][5][6][7] She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart, and an adopted brother, Taylor.^[8][9] Stewart attended school until the seventh grade and then continued her education by correspondence.^[3] She has since completed high school.^[10]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Her whole family all worked behind the camera and Stewart thought she would become a writer/director, but never considered being an actor. "I never wanted to be the center of attention – I wasn't that 'I want to be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on everything."^[11] Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play.^[12] After a year of auditioning, Stewart's first role was a small nonspeaking part in the Disney Channel original film The Thirteenth Year.^[4] Then, she had another part in the film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas as the "ring toss girl".^[4] She subsequently appeared in the independent film The Safety of Objects, in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy in the film Panic Room, playing the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.^[13]

After Panic Room's success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, Cold Creek Manor, playing the daughter of Dennis Quaid's and Sharon Stone's characters. She was again nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.^[13] It was revealed that at about this time in her career, she had to be homeschooled due to her irregular schedule, which was affecting her grades. She said, "I started homeschooling because my teachers were failing me. I think it was just resentment – I made more work for them. But homeschooling is great; you can study what you want, which allows you to get more excited about what you're doing".^[13]

2004–07[link]

Her first starring role followed, in the children's action-comedy Catch That Kid, opposite Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu. Stewart also played the role of Lila in the thriller Undertow. Stewart starred in the Lifetime/Showtime television film Speak (2004), based on the novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart, 13 at the time of filming, played high school freshman Melinda Sordino, who stops almost all verbal contact after being raped.

In 2005, Stewart appeared in the fantasy-adventure film Zathura, playing the role of Lisa, the irresponsible older sister of two little boys, who turn their house into a spacecraft hurtling uncontrollably in outer space by playing a board game. The film received praise by critics, but Stewart's performance did not garner much media attention, as it was noted that her character is immobilized during most of the film.^[14] The following year, she played the character Maya in Fierce People, directed by Griffin Dunne. After that film, she received the lead role of Jess Solomon in the supernatural thriller film The Messengers.

In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in In the Land of Women, a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart appeared in the Sean Penn-directed adaptation film Into the Wild. For her portrayal of Tracy – a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) – Stewart received mixed reviews. While Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance",^[15] and the Chicago Tribune noted that she did "vividly well with a sketch of a role",^[16] Variety's critic Dennis Harvey said, "It's unclear whether Stewart means to be playing hippie-chick Tracy as vapid, or whether it just comes off that way."^[17] After Into the Wild, Stewart had a cameo appearance in Jumper and also appeared in What Just Happened, which was released in October 2008.^[18] She also co-starred in The Cake Eaters an independent film that has only been screened at film festivals.

2008–present[link]

On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance novel of the same name.^[19] Stewart was on the set of Adventureland when director Catherine Hardwicke visited her for an informal screen test which "captivated" the director.^[20] She starred alongside Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, her character's vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008. Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008.^[21] Her performance garnered mixed reviews with some critcs calling her "the ideal casting choice" and praising her for conveying "Bella's detachment, as well as her need to bust through it"^[22] while others criticized her acting for being "wooden" and lacking variety in her facial expressions which they described as "blank".^[23]

Stewart reappeared as Bella in the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, once again receiving mixed reviews for her performance. Jordan Mintzer from Variety called Stewart "the heart and soul of the film" and praised her for giving "both weight and depth to dialogue...she makes Bella's psychological wounds seem like the real deal"^[24] Manohla Dargis from The New York Times said Stewart's "lonely-girl blues soon grow wearisome" throughout the film^[25] and Billy Goodykoontz from The Arizona Republic stated "Stewart is a huge disapointment... She sucks the energy right out of the film".^[26] She reprised this role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Kristen Stewart at the 2010 Academy Awards.

At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honour of the horror movie genre.^[27]

In 2009, Stewart starred in The Yellow Handkerchief, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was released into theaters in 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. She also starred alongside James Gandolfini in Welcome to the Rileys, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010.

In 2010, Stewart portrayed rock star Joan Jett in The Runaways, a biographical film of the titular band of the same name from writer-director Floria Sigismondi.^[28] Stewart met with Jett over the 2008–2009 New Year to prepare for the role and ended up prerecording songs in a studio for the film.^[29] She received praise for her performance as the Metro Times wrote, "It turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance... Stewart is a genuine rock star here."^[30] Also, A. O. Scott of The New York Times noted "Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul."^[31]

She was cast in the role of Mary Lou in an upcoming film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's cult classic novel On the Road. Shooting began in August 2010.^[32]

Stewart was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood in the "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List" compiled by Vanity Fair. Throughout 2010, Stewart earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie appearances.^[33]

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was released on November 18, 2011. The film was successful in the box office making $283.5 million its opening weekend. Though the film received negative reviews, Stewart's performance was praised. Gabriel Chong called Stewart's performance "mesmerising" and said that she "makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy, trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute determination"^[34] and the Village Voice's Dan Konis saying Stewart "beautifully underplays"^[35] the role. However, some critics found Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry lacking and said that the relationship came off like a "charade" onscreen^[36] or that none of the three leads were convincing in their roles.^[37]

In March 2011, it was confirmed that Stewart would be playing Snow White in the film Snow White and the Huntsman.^[38] Filming began on August 15 and the film was released on June 1, 2012.^[39]

On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck.^[40]

She was named the new face of an unnamed Balenciaga perfume on January 13, 2012.^[41]

In May 2012, Stewart was cast in the thiller titled Cali, directed by Nick Cassavetes. She will begin shooting the film at the end of this summer.^[42] Stewart plays one half of a troublesome pair of San Fernando Valley lovebirds who decide to sell a fake snuff film and permanently ditch with the cash. Years later, Stewart's character runs into a dilemma when she's compelled to return to Los Angeles to help out the little sister she left behind. After faking her own death, she must explain her dramatic decision to not only her closest family members but to the angry former business partners she left behind.

Personal life[link]

Stewart currently lives in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She has expressed a desire to live and work in Australia, saying, "I want to go to Sydney University in Australia. My mom's from there."^[43] Apart from acting, she is also interested in attending college in the near future, saying, "I want to go to college for literature. I want to be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do – be a professional liar for the rest of my life."^[44] In 2008, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Stewart acknowledged that she was in a relationship with Michael Angarano, her co-star from Speak.^[45]

Since meeting on the set of Twilight, Stewart has been romantically linked to co-star Robert Pattinson.^[46] Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention, making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage.^[47] In an interview with GQ, when asked why she remained reluctant to talk about the relationship despite evidence of it being accessible online, Stewart replied, "Yeah, I know it is...So much of my life is so easily googled. I mean, it's like, come on guys, it's so obvious!"^[47] When asked why she refuses to talk about her life, Stewart replied "I'm selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine remaining that way. It's a funny little game to play and it's a slippery slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away because there's never any point or benefit for me. I guarantee whenever I get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's name and I'm not going to say it for ages."^[47]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]