- Patti Smith is steadily working on the script for a film adaptation of her memoir "Just Kids"
- She could see casting Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson when they were younger
- Smith's also a fan of Mia Wasikowska and Saoirse Ronan
- But the actors who land the roles in "Just Kids" will have to be unknown
(EW) -- Is singer-writer and early punk inspiration Patti Smith a fan of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson?
You bet.
The iconic performer is steadily working with Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan on the script for a film adaptation of her 2010 bestselling memoir "Just Kids," about her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe when the two were starving young artists in New York City.
On Wednesday, just before her small, private concert for Los Angeles radio station KCRW, Smith voiced her appreciation of the "Twilight" stars to Entertainment Weekly, adding that she could see the pair playing her and Mapplethorpe on screen ... when they were lesser known.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart together again?
"I remember the very first time I saw Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson together, when they were younger, and I thought, 'Those two kids could have easily played us when they were first starting," said Smith. "There's something in his eyes. And Robert [Mapplethorpe] was also a bit shy, and a bit stoic. Kristen has a very special quality. She's not conventionally beautiful, but very charismatic."
Hear that Robsten? Stewart, who's already played rocker Joan Jett in 2010′s "The Runaways," better perk up those slender ears.
Smith, a self-professed movies fan, also said that writing the screenplay was harder to do with her packed touring schedule behind her newest album, "Banga," but that anyone who snags the coveted roles of her and Mapplethorpe have to be unknown names. (OK, put those ears down, Robsten).
Music review: Patti Smith's 'Banga'
"John Logan and I are very close. We have our format. We're both really busy right now. That's the kind of thing that has to be done at the right time, and treated very tenderly," Smith said. "Robert and I were very young. We were 20. We were unknowns, and I think it should be unknowns in the film, and young."
As for newer actresses she loves, besides Stewart?
"I love Mia Wasikowska. I love the girl who plays 'Hannah' -- Saoirse Ronan. She's brilliant. The depth of that girl. There's a lot of interesting actresses and actors for any project. It's a subject I like to think about. It gives me great hope when I see new young artists in any field," said Smith, grinning. "People always ask me about my favorite new bands. I don't really have any, but I have a lot of favorite new actresses. I love the movies. The first time I saw Tim Burton's 'Alice In Wonderland,' I must have cried an hour. I just sat in the movie theater. I saw Mia again in 'Jane Eyre,' and she was wonderful in that. I just enjoy the movies."
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
