Fans of Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”) and Dakota Fanning (too many to cite) will quite possibly flock to “The Runaways,” a girl rock and roll story based on the real lives of rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.

But the film, which premiered at Sundance on Sunday and is to be released nationally by Apparition in March, ain’t close to what it should be. The story of the making of the first female rock and roll band should be edgy and a whole lot of fun.

Sadly, there’s not much story there to have fun with. Currie and Jett were about 15 when they were discovered and molded by the record producer Kim Fowley (played with entertaining vigor and lots of lipstick by Michael Shannon).

Fowley gets the best line in the film as he urges the girls to lose their inhibitions: "It's not about women's lib," he exhort. "It's about women's libido."

Jett played by Stewart is a stick figure rather than a raging rocket of musical ambition. We never get what drives her. Fanning gives a much stronger performance as Currie – dyed blonde hair, heavy make-up and a tendency to channel David Bowie – but she’s ultimately the less interesting character than the more famous Jett.

There are some interesting and dangerous choices made here, notably Fanning’s decision to play heavy drugs and lesbian sex scenes at the tender age of 15.

Not surprisingly, the full house at the Eccles seemed to love the film. Jett and Currie were both there, as were Stewart and Fanning and crowds of fans. Director Floria Sigismonde said, “What drew me to the story was what the girls stood for.”

Asked from the audience whether she was glad to see the strides women had made in 30 years, Jett didn’t take the bait.

“I don’t think things have changed at all, “ she said, wearing a dark jacket over red sequined leggings. “Thirty years after The Runaways, the girls with guitars are still out there. What’s so threatening about girls playing rock and roll?”

Source: The Wrap

Glossed over this morning: Kristen Stewart's meaty role as a stripper in Welcome to The Rileys and what it could mean for the actress' career in the long haul. Rileys is one of two flicks Stewart has at the Sundance Film Festival. It premiered yesterday and in tandem with The Runaways, the flick may do the unlikely for Stewart: Put her on the fast-track to Hollywood's hottest leading lady. Mostly because both stand to give her significant indie clout. But, Kristen Stewart as the next Queen of Indies? It may be a difficult coup, especially with Parker Posey, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Chloë Sevigny holding fast to the title. Then again we are in a world where Sandra Bullock remains thisclose to Oscar gold.

Moreover, Hollywood loves to shun experienced actresses in favor of transient flavors of the week and none are currently spicier than Kristen Stewart. Despite the well-executed circus of publicity around her, Stewart hasn’t really secured many projects apart from the Twilight franchise.

Nor has she wowed over film snobs yet. But this is where her two-pronged Sundance sweep might turn her fortunes around. Both find her essaying unlikely roles that film snobs adore: A down-on-her-luck stripper with a heart of gold and an iconic rock star. In Welcome to The Rileys, which screened yesterday afternoon, Stewart plays Mallory, a girl who she contends isn’t a stripper so much as she’s a runaway teen struggling to survive on her own. She tells MTV, “I didn’t want a bunch of people who had run away from their homes, or wherever they ran away from, look at this and go, ‘This girl doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’ That was scary.” The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini plays her burly protector. This makes us wonder if the Stewart-Gandolfini dynamic may, in some remote way at least, have echoes of Marisa Tomei and Mickey Rourke’s rapport in The Wrestler. That film was a critical darling during its theatrical release in 2008.

She additionally plays Joan Jett in The Runaways--the movie everyone knows a whole lot better as that one where she has a lesbian tryst with Dakota Fanning. Early reports of Stewart’s roles in both features have been nothing short of glowing.

Should her Sundance blitz go according to plan and K-Stew avoids any LiLo-esque meltdowns, her star could easily overtake Twilight king Robert Pattinson’s. By combining her celebrity, her standing as an unlikely Sundance princess, and even this BAFTA Rising Star nod, Stewart could pretty feasibly become the next queen of indie cinema. But one last thing she may want to do to ensure her ascent to A-list notoriety? Get rid of that dang tick.

Source: Black Book Mag

Sex, drugs, rock n' roll and the girls from "Twilight"?!? Don't have too big a laugh though because Kristen Stewart and most especially Dakota Fanning rock the house with the best of them in "The Runaways," an electrifying if formulaic account of the brief rise and fall of the titular band.

Forget the executive producer credit for Joan Jett, the true telling credit for the film is where director Floria Sigismondi found her source material--lead singer Cherie Currie's memoir.

Indeed, "The Runaways" is owned and just about swallowed up by Fanning's riveting portrayal of the singer (not too dissimilar from the way Currie overwhelmed the group). First glimpsed as a teen literally transforming into a woman, this is the performance that seems sure to launch Fanning into a new thrilling phase of her career. From a sulking broodish David Bowie enthusiast to a howling rock goddess Fanning sells sells sells. I'd watch that band. Hells yeah.

Stewart as Joan Jett physically embodies the role and curses and growls as the part demands. It's Jett of course who first launches the band under the manic watchful eye of Michael Shannon's Kim Fowley. But the film find's its legs and central mesmerizing performance when Fanning's Cherie auditions for the band in a crappy trailer. Shannon's Fowley knows he's hit paydirt with Currie's look but he needs to coax the sex vixen out of her. Watch in awe as in the space of a few moments the band's signature "Cherry Bomb" is created and Fanning transforms into the front woman she's destined to be. It's the scene of the movie.

Speaking of Shannon, attention must be paid to him here (as it should in all of his work)--Fowley is at once a "SNL" caricature of a monstrous manager and a recognizable fascinating human creature. Shannon turns it up to 11 for the role and it works. Who else could go toe to toe with these women?

Source: MTV Movies Blog

Being involved in the Twilight saga is fun, but all those vampires, fans and piles of money can really start to take their toll on a girl. That’s why Kristen Stewart, 19, told HollywoodLife.com she liked filming The Runaways when we talked to her at the movie’s big Sundance premiere Jan. 24 in Park City, Utah. “It’s really nice to do something that’s not reconstituted,” she told us. “It’s nice to change it up.”

And “change it up” she did! Kristen said she had just three weeks to go from emotional black hole Bella Swan to mullet-sporting rocker Joan Jett. “She looks bad ass with her strut and her stance, but she really just stands for what she thinks is right,” Kristen told us of her character, and new personal mentor, Joan. “I can totally relate to that, so it was comfortable. You just have to not think about it.”

As for The Runaways’ target audience, Kristen told us anyone who believes in girl power will probably find something to relate to in the flick. “Anyone who has convictions like Joan will appreciate the movie,” she told us.

Source: Hollywood Life

Kristen Stewart, 19, may seem like a moody loner in photographs, but Joan Jett, 51, says she’s actually a lot of fun! Joan spoke with HollywoodLife.com at the Jan. 24 Sundance premiere of The Runaways in Park City, Utah, and she told us what working with (and teaching) Kristen was really like. “I had seen her on the movies and magazine covers, but I wasn’t colored by that,” she told us. “I found her to be down to earth, authentic and warm.”

She also said Kristen barely had to be given any direction when assuming the role of rocker Joan. “I didn’t give her any tips,” she said. “She took me in, she studied the Runaways music, she watched me and listened to my voice. I gave her some recordings of me talking… when I was 14. I had a Maryland/Pennsylvania accent that she wanted. She had pictures … she had books … she did her own thing.”

Wow! Who knew Kristen could be such a quick study?
And how did Joan feel about watching Kristen become her? “I thought it was really freaky,” Joan admitted.

Source: Hollywood Life