Kristen Stewart said she's glad the Beat Generation's antics, chronicled in "On the Road," helped change the behavior America finds shocking.
"The book will never be irrelevant," Kristen told Access Hollywood's Scott "Movie" Mantz at the Toronto International Film Festival, talking about her new film, based on the book by Jack Kerouac.
PLAY IT NOW: Kristen Stewart & Garrett Hedlund Talk On The Road — Toronto Film Festival 2012
The actress said she thinks it's better the film was made in modern times, instead of when the novel was released in the late 1950s, because people have gotten past the shock factor of the characters' actions and can focus on the "spirit" of the story.
"If anything, it's kind of cool that it's happening now because maybe it's easier for people to not focus on -- not be kind of blinded by -- the more extreme things that they do," Kristen said. "It's like they can actually see the spirit of it. 'cause it's like we're not so shocked by things any more, which is great, which is something that they helped to do.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart’s Best Red Carpet Looks
"Maybe if they had made the movie years and years and years ago, people wouldn't be able to see it for what its spirit is," she continued. "They would just be able to see like the crazy, wild behavior, which now is so different."
Kristen stars in "On the Road," with Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley. The film opened in France in May and is awaiting a U.S. release date.
Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
