Oscar buzz: Kristen Stewart for 'Welcome To The Rileys'

Last night, there were several screenings of Welcome To The Rileys offered around the country, and some press members were given the opportunity to see the film before that (dating all the way back to the Sundance reveal last year). At least one of those has suggested that Kristen Stewart's performance in the film may just be the sort of thing that the Academy Awards may want to reward.

The source is HitFix, and here's what they have to say about it in an article about this year's crowd of Supporting Actress possibilities:

She gives a strong and sympathetic performance as a young hooker who agrees to try and turn her life around under the guidance of a visiting salesman (James Gandolfini). She also gave a pretty great turn as Joan Jett in "The Runaways" earlier this year and has an impressive resume that has built up goodwill with roles in "Into the Wild," "The Yellow Handkerchief" and "Adventureland."

Kristen Stewart was also mentioned in another source's "30-and-Unders Poised to Crash Oscars in Record Numbers" list.

It should be interesting to see how the Academy treats the film and its cast. Right now, it's all just speculation of course, but last year, one of theTwilight series' ladies, Anna Kendrick, got the red carpet treatment for her work in Up In The Air, so there's clearly no stigma against the Saga or its cast. We'll see . . .

It's also worth noting that Kristen Stewart will be hitting up Live With Regis & Kelly to promote Rileys on October 19th.

TwiExaminer.