Katy O'Brian talks about 'Love Lies Bleeding' and working with Kristen with Collider

Katy starts talking about 'Love Lies Bleeding' at approx. 37.40mins

Last summer, we first learned that Katy O'Brian was set to join Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding, the latest film from A24 and writer/director Rose Glass. The actress is at a high point currently with both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Mandalorian Season 3, but here she'll get to be one of the main attractions in this intimate bodybuilding romantic thriller about "a romance fueled by ego, desire, and the American Dream." The film is reportedly angling for a 2023 release, but details have been somewhat scarce regarding the film and its premise since it was announced. O'Brian was finally able to tease the film in a Collider Ladies Night interview with Collider's own Perri Nemiroff, explaining Glass's vision and what it's like working with Stewart.

Although O'Brian wasn't able to give away many of the finer details of Love Lies Bleeding, she could give some idea as to what Glass had in store. "Love Lies Bleeding, it’s a story about a bodybuilder who — I’m trying to think about all I’m allowed to say — goes into this small town, we meet our love interest, Kristen, and craziness ensues [from] there on out," she told Nemiroff. "It’s Rose Glass, it’s A24, so it’s gonna be a little wild." After giving that summation, she compared the film to Glass's previous work, the BAFTA-nominated Saint Maud, but hinted that, as development continued, the film was taken in its own unique direction with an emphasis on the love story. She said:

"In the original script there were a lot of Saint Maud kind of moments. Like body horror, that kind of thing. We kind of had to consolidate it I guess a little bit more. I’m really excited to see what the final edit looks like, but I think it’s more focused on the love story and more focused on the thriller aspect. So it’s a love thriller, kind of Western. It’s shot like a Western. It’s so unique, so interesting, and only Rose’s brain could have come up with it. She’s got this unparalleled imagination. [She] has, I think, a really, really unique sense of storytelling. [She] comes up with stories that just aren’t told, or if they are, are told in a really, really unique way. It was really great to work with her and getting to do a film like that where it’s not all about action, it’s not all about kicking butt, or whatever. It’s like a really heart wrenching story and I actually felt like I got to connect to a character more than I ever have before. One second you’re crying, you’re laughing. I think it’s just a really full fledged beautiful story and I’m super, super excited for people to see it."

Glass won't be alone in the writer's room for Love Lies Bleeding with Weronika Tofilska credited as a co-writer. Tofilka's writing credits have been restricted to short films thus far, though she's started to break into the mainstream as a director, helming an episode of His Dark Materials. Together, the two are set up for a messy, complicated, and gut-wrenching romantic thriller.

In many ways, O'Brian's thriller fits the mold of the typical A24 thriller, offering the artist's unique vision in a package that's very heartfelt yet unafraid to get a little freaky. Aiding in making this project something special is Stewart. She boasts a long and varied resume, from headlining the Twilight films to sharing the spotlight in David Cronenberg's bizarre horror Crimes of the Future and finally earning her first Oscar nomination for Spencer. Here, she made the perfect partner in O'Brian's eyes, coming off as the perfect mix of passionate and supportive to put the actress at ease in arguably her biggest leading role yet. O'Brian had nothing but praise for Stewart, adding:

"Kristen, when you get to work with someone who is — I mean, she’s been in the industry forever. She’s been in some of the biggest movies in the world. She’s been around forever and to see that, A, she’s still passionate about projects. I love that. I love to see people who’ve been in this business forever, it hasn’t crushed them completely, and they’re super passionate about what they’re doing. She’s taking other steps, producing projects, she’s branching out on other projects, working on writing stuff, things like that. So to see that is really great, and then to see that she’s super supportive, just a great person to be in the room with. She’s not — I don’t want to make this sound like a bad thing. She’s not intimidating. She makes herself very down to earth and easy to talk to. And especially for a movie like this where you have to be very intimate with somebody and it can be uncomfortable, awkward, weird, whatever, she’s very disarming and it makes it just a walk in the park."

Alongside Stewart, O'Brien will share the screen with Ed Harris, Jena Malone, and Dave Franco when Love Lies Bleeding releases. 

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