Page updated on December 31, 2009
All news is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves.
Have Joan Jett news to report? Email us at jettfc@aol.com, and please include the source of the information so it can be validated. 'The RUNAWAYS' EXCLUSIVE Teaser Trailer Has Arrived-- Watch Kristen Stewart Rock Out Now! from: hollywoodcrush.mtv.com by Terri Schwartz
With Sundance only a month away, here's an MTV exclusive first look at Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning's "The RUNAWAYS." As the teaser's narrator says, "In 1975, rock was a man's world until..."
...Until JOAN JETT and Lita Ford took the world by storm in the seventies with their bad girl rebel band, "The RUNAWAYS." Kristen plays JOAN JETT in the indie biopic and Scout Taylor-Compton plays Lita Ford. Dakota Fanning helps round out the band as Cherie Churrie - word on the street is the film is focused on the relationship between Joan and Cherie - and Stella Maeve plays Sandy West.
Definitely the coolest aspect of the teaser is the chance to see Kristen rock out with "The RUNAWAYS" most famous hit, "Cherry Bomb." JOAN JETT signed off on KStew's singing capabilities at the "New Moon" premiere, and we've got to say, she's got our approval as well.
We're also totally digging Dakota as an adult. Sure she's only 15, but she seems to have been born with the mental capacity of an adult, so it's nice to see her looking as such.
RUNAWAYS Movie Set to Debut at Sundance from: spinner.com by John D. Luerssen
'The RUNAWAYS,' the new movie that chronicles the '70s heyday of the notorious all-female rock band, will premiere next month at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring 'Twilight' actress Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning in the respective roles of JOAN JETT and Cherie Currie, the film will see a full US release on March 19, 2010.
Directed by Floria Sigismondi, a veteran of music videos by the White Stripes, David Bowie and Christina Aguilera, the project counts Jett herself as one of the project's executive producers. A news release says the film, "follows two friends, JOAN JETT and Cherie Currie, as they rise from rebellious Southern California kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands ... With its tough-chick image and raw talent, the band quickly earns a name for itself-and so do its two leads: Joan is the band's pure rock' n' roll heart, while Cherie, with her Bowie-Bardot looks, is the sex kitten."
"Floria has crafted a beautiful story of Joan and Cherie's tumultuous relationship on and off stage, as well as a kick ass rock 'n' roll journey," Bob Berney, the head of the new distribution company Apparation, said.
Producers promise that 'The RUNAWAYS' was filmed with the same independent attitude that defined the group, which was notorious for the single 'Cherry Bomb,' among others. According to Bill Pohlad, of the production company River Road Entertainment and Berney's partner in Apparation, "Kristen and Dakota really became the characters, right down to singing the vocals."
Stewart, Jett Hit Sundance with Apparition's The RUNAWAYS from: blogs.indiewire.com
It's no surprise that Apparition picked up all U.S. rights to Kristen Stewart vehicle The RUNAWAYS, which was fully financed by River Road and produced with Linson Entertainment. It's the first Apparition/River Road theatrical collaboration (Terrence Malick's Tree of Life, due in 2010, will be their second). The deal closed two weeks ago.
Here's the deal. As excited as all of Stewart's Twilight followers are at the prospect of seeing her as groundbreaking rocker JOAN JETTÑboth Stewart-starrers The RUNAWAYS and Welcome to the Rileys are the most scheduled and visited films on the Sundance siteÑthis is a low-budget indie movie made for less than $10 million. The music picture barely got finished in time to show fest programmers, and will be mixing right up to the delivery of a wet print at the festival, which opens January 21. The good news: Apparition chief Bob Berney can use the fest as a launch pad for the indie film's March 19 release. And yes, it looks like exec producer JOAN JETT will do her best to perform there.
The RUNAWAYS goes back to the 70s when tough-as-nails Jett and her Southern California teenage bandmates (New Moon co-star Dakota Fanning plays sex-kitten Cherie Currie) were among the first hard-rocking all-girl bands. They actually flew to Tokyo to perform at age 15. Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) also stars as rock impresario Kim Fowley. [more] Apparition to release 'RUNAWAYS' from: variety.com by SHARON SWART
Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad's Apparition will release "The RUNAWAYS" in U.S. theaters.
The film stars "Twilight" and "New Moon" thesps Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as JOAN JETT and Cherie Currie, who were members of seminal 1970s girl rock band the RUNAWAYS.
First-time feature helmer Floria Sigismondi scripted, based on Currie's memoir "Neon Angel: the Cherie Currie Story."
It's the first film produced by Pohlad's River Road to funnel through the Apparition machine.
We're separate companies, but the goal all along was to find a film that fit," said Apparition CEO Berney. "It's an indie film about an indie rock group -- the original girl group. We want that spirit to be a part of the release." [more] The RUNAWAYS - Movie from: sundance.bside.com
The RUNAWAYS
Floria Sigismondi 2009
Categories: Premieres, First Feature, World Premiere, Music
Run time: 105 min
Of all the bands to come out of the 1970s Los Angeles music scene, The RUNAWAYS are by far the most uniquely fascinating. This is partially due to their music but more so to the fact that they were teenage girls whose wild and reckless lifestyle was the stuff of legend.
Focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist JOAN JETT and lead vocalist Cherie Currie as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record-label woes, the film chronicles the band's formation as well as their meteoric rise under the malevolent eye of an abusive manager.
Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, and her luscious camerawork captures every sweaty detail-from the filthy trailer where the women practice to the mosh pits of Tokyo. What really makes the film cook are the sizzling performances by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart. Not to be missed, The RUNAWAYS is an ode to an era and a groundbreaking band.
JOAN JETT Jag on Display from: rockhall.com
JOAN JETT's first car, a 1983 Jaguar XJ-S, arrived and is on exhibit as of today here at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum!
Sundance mini-fest brings JOAN JETT biopic The RUNAWAYS to Madison on Jan. 28 from: avclub.com by Scott Gordon
As we reported last month, the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will let eight of its films and their makers-one for each of eight selected cities-out of their fancy-dancy Utah holding cells on Jan. 28, in an effort to share the art-film goods with those of us in not-so-rectangular states. (Seriously, hogging all the cool new movies and all the right angles is just bullshit.) Sundance announced the titles yesterday, and it looks like Madison's Sundance Cinemas branch will be screening The RUNAWAYS, which starrs Kristen Stewart as a young JOAN JETT forming her pre-BLACKHEARTS band in the mid-'70s. Writer-director Floria Sigismondi is slated to be on hand to introduce the film and follow it with an audience Q&A. Tickets are already on sale through Sundance's site.
Laguna Lights Jett's Afterburners from: atlanticcityweekly.com by David J. Spatz
To the casual rock 'n' roll fan, the name KENNY LAGUNA probably won't ring a bell. But to music insiders, Laguna's name carries some formidable weight.
The performer-turned-producer was still a teenager when he produced hits in the 1960s for Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, Tommy James and the Shondells, Darlene Love, Jay (Black) and the Americans and the Ohio Express.
The bubblegum sound changed Laguna's career. Then along came JOAN JETT, who changed his life, and he hers. [more] JOAN JETT's career is now the stuff of movies and Barbie dolls, but she still rules on stage from: atlanticcityweekly.com by Michael Pritchard
Somewhere in JOAN JETT's career, after decades of touring and playing a pure, stripped-down rock and roll with a decidedly punk/glam rock feel - which she still champions in an age of hip-hop and R&B - she became something unexpected.
JOAN JETT became a rock icon.
For a performer like Jett, who has spent much of her career brashly breaking down walls and preconceived notions like "chicks can't play guitar," it's not always an easy fit for her.
"It's a great honor and I hear it when people say it to me and I don't want to take it lightly and kind of brush it off," Jett says in a telephone interview with Atlantic City Weekly. "But in another way I kind of have to. I can't take that seriously. I can't think of myself like that. I just don't. But I am humbled by it. Still, once you start believing that, you know, I just don't ever want to be a jerk."
When Jett and her band the BLACKHEARTS roll into Harrah's Resort Saturday (Dec. 12), however, her fans won't doubt it for a second. She remains instantly recognizable as one of the greatest rock guitarists ever, one of only two women to make Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarist list. Her sound and image, the black leather and hair (though she has occasionally shaved it off) and energy on stage are hers and hers alone.
And the icon checklist doesn't stop there. Not when they are making a movie based on your early career (The RUNAWAYS due in 2010 ) with one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood (Kristen Stewart) cast as you. And then, just to drive the point home, a JOAN JETT Barbie Doll has been released this year in time for Christmas.
It's a long way from the late '70s when Jett first appeared on the punk scene with the RUNAWAYS, a band that while successful overseas, never gained more than a cult following in the U.S.
Still, Jett has embraced the film, which is based on lead singer Cherie Currie's 1989 autobiography Neon Angels. Currie's role is played by Dakota Fanning. As an executive producer, Jett has worked closely with Stewart to recreate, well, herself.
"It's been pretty surreal," she says. "First of all, she cut her hair and that certainly helped my vision of it. She wasn't wearing a wig. She was actually living in the hair and I would hope that it helped her a little bit to embody it." [more] Sundance CinemasÊ Coming Soon from: sundancecinemas.com
Sundance Film Festival USA
Thursday, January 28
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas - 'Howl' Starring James Franco, Mary-Louise Parker and Jon Hamm.ÊSundance Cinemas in Madison - 'The RUNAWAYS' starring ÊKristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning aboutÊthe 70's rockÊband - Both Events - Filmmakers in Person! 7:30 pm - Tickets On Sale Now!
With all the news about 'Twilight' breaking box office records around the world, there's been surprisingly little news about Kristen Stewart's next role as JOAN JETT in the biopic of '70s all-female group the RUNAWAYS.
With so many women in bands nowadays, it's hard for today's generation to realize what little power females had in the business back in the '70s. The RUNAWAYS were a twisted reincarnation of the '60s girl groups put together by Kim Fowley, a bizarre character who has been on the Hollywood scene forever; among his claims to fame are the Plastic Ono Band and the soundtrack to 'American Graffiti.' The RUNAWAYS weren't taken seriously in their time and were dismissed as a novelty. But today, they enjoy healthy respect from their female rocker brethren.
Most people best know the RUNAWAYS as the band that gave JOAN JETT and Lita Ford their start, but the Hans Landa breakout role of the film may turn out to be Fowley, who will be played by Michael Shannon. In addition of Stewart playing Jett, lead singer Cherie Currie will be played by Dakota Fanning, who also stars in the 'Twilight' sequel 'New Moon' and Scout Taylor-Compton is playingLita Ford.
Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, the acclaimed video director for Marilyn Manson and the White Stripes, 'The RUNAWAYS' has reportedly just been completed and is shopping for a distributor, but with the immense success of the 'Twilight' franchise, the film should be snapped up soon.
Kristen Stewart in JOAN JETT's 'RUNAWAYS' to premiere at Sundance from: examiner.com by Jennifer Jungwirth , The Daily Republic
Kristen Stewart in JOAN JETT's 'RUNAWAYS' to premiere at Sundance - Variety is reporting that rocker JOAN JETT's biopic, The RUNAWAYS, starring Kristen Stewart, will mark its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The 2010 festival will take place in Park City, Utah from January 21-31. The RUNAWAYS is one of 13 of the "Premiere's" category of films that will debut as part of the festival.
The film is both written and directed by Floria Sigismondi. Other members of the cast include: Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat and Tatum O'Neal.
"Premieres" films generally feature better known actors and bigger budgets than the typical independent film that the festival was established to support. However, these films bring attention and excitement to the festival from outside the filmmaking community. Other examples in the category include Jack Goes Boating, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, and Chris Cooper.
Sundance unveils complete lineup from: variety.com by TODD MCCARTHY
New films directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Winterbottom, Nicole Holofcener and Joel Schumacher, and starring such thesps as Ben Affleck, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds and Adrien Brody, mark the lineups of the Premieres, Midnight and other noncompetitive sections of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, which unspools Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Utah.
Although a handful of the Premieres titles, which generally sport bigger budgets and showier casts than the competition films, already have distributors, most do not, so prospective buyers will pay particularly close attention to the entries in this arena.
By contrast, purists with a craving for personal cinema on low and no budgets will gravitate toward the eight features in the new Next category, as well as to the perennial New Frontier sidebar for non-narrative and avant-garde fare. [more] Harrah's Atlantic City presents JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS from: comptropolis.com
Date: Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Time: 9:00 PM
Price: $45, $35
Venue: The Concert Venue
Online Reservations: Ticketmaster
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
Saturday, December 12 at 9 p.m.
JOAN JETT is a true American original. While still in her early teens, Joan, often called "the girl Elvis", founded the all-girl rock group, The RUNAWAYS, whose hits such as "Cherry Bomb" made them an international sensation. She became the first woman in rock to own her own record label, BLACKHEART RECORDS. There, her next group, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, became a staple in the Top 10 charts and claims the #28 song of all time, "I Love Rock n' Roll", which was number 1 on the Billboard charts for two months after 23 major record labels refused to give her a deal. [more]
With Sundance only a month away, here's an MTV exclusive first look at Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning's "The RUNAWAYS." As the teaser's narrator says, "In 1975, rock was a man's world until..."
'The RUNAWAYS,' the new movie that chronicles the '70s heyday of the notorious all-female rock band, will premiere next month at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring 'Twilight' actress Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning in the respective roles of JOAN JETT and Cherie Currie, the film will see a full US release on March 19, 2010.
It's no surprise that Apparition picked up all U.S. rights to Kristen Stewart vehicle The RUNAWAYS, which was fully financed by River Road and produced with Linson Entertainment. It's the first Apparition/River Road theatrical collaboration (Terrence Malick's Tree of Life, due in 2010, will be their second). The deal closed two weeks ago.
Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad's Apparition will release "The RUNAWAYS" in U.S. theaters.
With all the news about 'Twilight' breaking box office records around the world, there's been surprisingly little news about Kristen Stewart's next role as JOAN JETT in the biopic of '70s all-female group the RUNAWAYS.
With so many women in bands nowadays, it's hard for today's generation to realize what little power females had in the business back in the '70s. The RUNAWAYS were a twisted reincarnation of the '60s girl groups put together by Kim Fowley, a bizarre character who has been on the Hollywood scene forever; among his claims to fame are the Plastic Ono Band and the soundtrack to 'American Graffiti.' The RUNAWAYS weren't taken seriously in their time and were dismissed as a novelty. But today, they enjoy healthy respect from their female rocker brethren.
Kristen Stewart in JOAN JETT's 'RUNAWAYS' to premiere at Sundance - Variety is reporting that rocker JOAN JETT's biopic, The RUNAWAYS, starring Kristen Stewart, will mark its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The 2010 festival will take place in Park City, Utah from January 21-31. The RUNAWAYS is one of 13 of the "Premiere's" category of films that will debut as part of the festival.
Date: Saturday, December 12th, 2009