Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart at the Sundance Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 18, 2024.Photo:Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Eisenberg, 40, showed up to present the honor to his pal. The duo have made three movies together:Adventureland(2009),American Ultra(2015) andCafé Society(2016).
“He’s my boy!” Stewart told PEOPLE at the event of Eisenberg, while saying she feels “lucky” to receive the honor at just 33 years old. “It’s really nice.”
“People that make movies thatfinally find their way [to Sundance], they’re like, psychotic,” she also jokes of the festival. “You have to be kind of crazy to go, ‘I’m telling you, this is a good idea.’ Against all odds, like, ‘This is probably not going to end up good for anyone, but we have to try.' "
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Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart inAdventureland(2009).CTCD/Prod.DB / Alamy
CTCD/Prod.DB / Alamy
“So when I was younger and worked with all of these incredible directors, they instilled this in me,” Stewart continues in her chat with PEOPLE. “I was so lucky. I was just a little tiny kid. And now, I’m like, ‘Don’t make a movie unless you have to.’ "
While presenting Stewart with the Visionary Award, Eisenberg said, “Kristen is one of these rare performers where she is so committed, so authentic, so feeling, that you almost want to make sure she’s okay at the end of the day.”
“And it’s this kind of painstaking feeling that she brings to everything, which is such a gift for audiences because it gives us a real peek into the breath of our collective experiences,” added theSocial Networkstar.
After a highlight reel from her film career played for the crowd, Stewart addressed her friend, “Jesse, I adore you and your work and your whole life, just endlessly and lifelong — like, I’ll do it for my whole life. I love you. So much.”
“And I really love this festival. My whole life, I have loved this festival,” theOscarnominee continued. “I came here for the first time 20 years ago, I realized today. I could barely speak English when spoken to. I got my first pair of Ugg boots and I actually got to be where the cool kids were. I knew that in my bones this was just a place full of yes in a world full of no and I couldn’t even understand why yet, but I knew it. And I know that I was right.”
Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart at the Sundance Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 18, 2024.Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
Stewart has two movies playing at Sundance this year:Love Lies BleedingandLove Me.Eisenberg, meanwhile, is there to roll outA Real Pain, which he wrote, directed and stars in alongsideKieran Culkin.
The full 2024 Sundance Film Festival lineup can be foundhere. The festival runs through Jan. 28.
source: people.com
