The Runaways: Immortality and self-preservation

"Costume designer Carol Beadle on Fanning's outfit: "Shirt Synthetic print long sleeve shirt with rouched hem which was super popular in early to mid 70's. These jeans were one of the better that I found. Can't remember where I got them, Palace Costumes or possibly "Siobhan" on Beverly Blvd. in LA. Wide leg flare with silver pin striping. I think she has Cherie's "Bowie" belt on here, and a briliant pair of black suede platforms." Source: www.fandango.com

Dakota Fanning, Floria Sigismondi and Kristen Stewart.

What did you think about Kristen Stewart playing you?
-Joan Jett: You know, I asked Kristen if she was going to cut her hair, and she said yes. So I had great faith that she was going to pull this off, because she seemed very dedicated. We had a few weeks together before filming started, and she picked my brain. Working with the actors, the whole process was brutal, but in general, working with the actors was great. They were brilliant.
-Cherie Currie said that she had no idea you were so upset when she left the band until she read the foreword you wrote for her book. You never communicated that to her?
Joan Jett: I really have nothing I got to say about it. I said what I had to say in the foreword.

-How does the movie match up with the story of what else really happened?

Joan Jett: I think it's great. It is a movie, and so there are aspects of it that might be embellished and such, timeline shifts, but most of the things happened to us. The movie, beyond being a really interesting story in and of itself about all-girl band trying to break down barriers and such, it's a real story, it really happened, and I think the movie touches on a lot of other issues that teenagers go through. Communication with family and friends. Exploring your sexuality. It's complicated and there are no easy answers, and we're not giving you any answers. We're just telling you what happened to us.
-What do you think about the bands that followed in the wake of the Runaways, that were female-centric, female-controlled?

Joan Jett: Certainly people have drawn parallels to the riot grrrl movement, but beyond girls playing instruments, I don't know that you can say that it's the exact same experience, really. I think we were doing something a little bit different. I think to some degree, we shared some of the goals of that movement, but I wasn't a part of that, I didn't start that, so I don't know, but I think they had a wider goal than just inspiring girls to pick up a guitar". Source: www.rollingstone.com

Joan Jett & Kristen Stewart on the set of "The Runaways".
"As Joan Jett -- co-founder of the germinal all-female band the Runaways and quintessential rock-and-roll survivor -- Stewart all but banishes Bella's lip-biting angst and self-abnegation. With her hair razored into a glam-rock shag, hunched into a black leather jacket and playing guitar with a defiant snarl of a prizefighter, Stewart's Jett may speak softly (or hardly at all), but she carries a big ax. She's the somber, tomboy counterpart to lead singer Cherie Currie, played by Dakota Fanning, who the band's skeevy producer describes as "a little Bowie, a little Bardot."

Even though the original band included three other players, Jett and Currie dominate "The Runaways", which in its schematic structure resembles "VH1's Behind the Music" reduced to haiku. But the film possesses an undeniable, punk-rock brio, and it sneakily captures the audacity the band came to represent.
And, it turns out, Jett's cipher-like presence in "The Runaways" is well suited to Stewart's own diffident, wary style and mix of masculine-feminine cues. Jett's perseverance, survival instincts and sheer chops seem all the more refreshing for being portrayed by an actress best known for a character who sees surrendering her humanity as the most supreme form of self-expression.Even with its rote structure and lurid flameouts, "The Runaways" presents a cheering, even inspiring portrait of female friendship; its final scene may be the best in the movie, offering a healing note of acceptance and solidarity. What's more, it presents a heroine who, faced with a choice between immortality and self-preservation, dares to insist on both. It might just make all those "Twilight" fans wish that Bella had Joan Jett around to help her get her groove back. Source: www.washingtonpost.com


Cherry Bomb by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart Official Music Video! From the movie The Runaways!