February 2010 News

by Mark Cope

JOAN JETT is a busy girl these days. First, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS are releasing the definitive double-disc "Greatest Hits" collection, along with double-disc vinyl on 3/9/10. The amazing thing is that the album release is coming out just in time for the March release of "The RUNAWAYS" movie, where Joan is also the executive producer. The two-disc collection contains eight songs featured in the film, "The RUNAWAYS,"including one previously unreleased track featured in the film. The album also includes rerecorded material featuring several RUNAWAYS favorites, along with re-mastered original material including such hits as "I Love Rock N' Roll" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You," "Bad Reputation," and a cover of Tommy James & The Shondels "Crimson and Clover."

You'll get your first look at Kristen Stewart channeling her inner rocker Ð JOAN JETT, to be precise Ð in her upcoming movie, The RUNAWAYS. The movie, which arrives in theaters on March 19, is a coming of age story about the all-girl rock group. It also stars Dakota Fanning, who plays Cherie Currie. The actresses premiered the film at the Sundance Film Festival last month, where they cheered on Jett and her band the BLACKHEARTS during a lively concert, even joining them on stage at one point.
"The RUNAWAYS," movie is a rock 'n' roll biopic of the 1970s all-girl band, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As the first successful all-girl hard rock band, The RUNAWAYS were hugely influential. Band members included guitarists JOAN JETT, lead guitarist, Lita Ford, drummer Sandy West, singer-keyboardist Cherie Currie and bassist Jackie Fox. The band was brought together in late 1975 by impresario Kim Fowley, who thought a novelty act of teenaged girls performing in leather and lace would be an easy sell, but the girls ended up proving to be serious and influential musicians with songs like "Cherry Bomb." The band lasted about four years together, falling apart over management and money issues.

The film mostly focuses on Jett and Currie and follows them from the band's meteoric rise as teenagers to their dissolution and disillusionment. Check your TV guide, because Joan will be hitting the talk show circuit and touring in support of the album and the movie.

by Josh Winning

Like rock? Hate Twilight? Want to see Kristen Stewart deliver on the potential she showed with Into The Wild and Adventureland?

Well, call off the search, The RUNAWAYS is the film for you. Taking the role of rocker JOAN JETT in this crowd-pleasing rock biopic, it looks like RUNAWAYS has given Stewart a chance to lock mopey Bella in the closet and really let rip. She actually, like, smiles.

A new TV spot for the flick has appeared online to coincide with its US March cinema release. And it's seven shades of cool, sort of a grungier Almost Famous.

Here's the official synopsis:

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning star in this music-fueled story of the ground-breaking, all girl, teenage rock band of the 1970s: The RUNAWAYS. 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.

Joan and Cherie fall under the Svengali-like influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley, played by Michael Shannon, who turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits.

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.

Here's the TV spot:

 

by EVELYN McDONNELL

In the four years that they were together, the quintet of teenage girls that made up The RUNAWAYS cut a swath of hard rock, harder kisses, and, eventually, scary-hard drugs through the legendary glam scene of 1970s Los Angeles. Their exploits-and exploitation-are the stuff of legend and now of The RUNAWAYS, the debut feature film from photographer and video director Floria Sigismondi. Based on trouble-doll lead singer Cherie Currie's 1989 autobiography, Neon Angel, Sigismondi hones in on the relationship between Currie and the band's co-founder, songwriter, and guitarist JOAN JETT (Currie's book, written with Tony O'Neill, is being published in an updated version this month by HarperCollins). Dakota Fanning plays the beautiful, damaged Currie; Michael Shannon steals the show as the evil genius svengali Kim Fowley; and Kristen Stewart plays Jett, all black-leather attitude and sex appeal-Elvis plus estrogen.

In part because of rights issues, The RUNAWAYS pays short shrift to the band's other members-guitarist Lita Ford, bassist Jackie Fox, and drummer Sandy West. But driven by great songs, the film-and the feeling of liberation, love, and pain teenagers find in music and each other-is dead on. "I was looking for raw," says Sigismondi, who has directed videos for the likes of Marilyn Manson, The White Stripes, David Bowie, Bjork, The Cure, and Interpol. "This very short period of time held a big place in all of their lives. It was a very delicate thing, but it wasn't all heartfelt. There was anger. There was resentment. There was sorrow. They were breaking new ground. They were taking risks. They were doing things that brought them up against walls." I recently spoke to Jett-creator of some of the greatest-of-all-time anthems like "Bad Reputation" and "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and who, with her manager, KENNY LAGUNA, executive-produced The RUNAWAYS-about what it was like to see her youthful triumphs and excesses (including some steamy scenes with Currie) on screen. "JOAN JETT-she's just one of a kind, and has never veered from her path," Sigismondi says. "She's gone out there and said, 'This is who I am.' And she's still doing that."

EVELYN MCDONNELL: How is it for you to watch The RUNAWAYS?
JOAN JETT: It's pretty surreal. It's hard to judge, hard to have some distance from, but I'm working on it and it's getting better. It's not painful for me to watch, so I think that's a good sign. The only part that's painful is that I go, "Oh, man, I'd like to do it again and really pay attention." Not that I wasn't paying attention back then, but you don't realize sometimes when you're in moments how special they are until they're gone.

by Craig Sharp

About JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS: JOAN JETT has been a force in pop culture since she was 15 years old. She is an originator, an innovator, a leader and a visionary. Not only is she an accomplished singer/songwriter and guitarist with eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles (including "Bad Reputation," "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," "I Hate Myself For Loving You," "Do You Want To Touch Me," and "Crimson and Clover"), she's also has her own independent label, BLACKHEART RECORDS. She has acted in movies (including 1987's Light Of Day with Michael J. Fox and Jenna Rowlands) and a Tony-nominated Broadway musical (The Rocky Horror Show). She was listed as one of only two women on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 greatest guitar players of all time!

Joan has been called, "the eternal outsider," which aptly describes a woman that has both broken boundaries and continues to beat down walls, yet remains humble and appreciative. "I've had a blessed career. I consider myself so lucky to have been able to do things my own way." This in itself is rare in an industry so bogged down with ego and complicity. Yes, her own way: From co-founding her first major band, the pioneering all-girl punk quintet, The RUNAWAYS ("Cherry Bomb"), at only 15 years old to bringing the infectious music of JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS to the masses, Joan's determination and drive has kept her consistently busy and in the public eye.

Since the release of her studio album, SINNER, in 2006 (featuring the hit single "A.C.D.C."), Jett has made appearances in concert, on TV, on radio, in movies, continuously trekking across the globe playing for fans both new and old. Her music remains a major force in mainstream culture. Faith Hill sings a JOAN JETT composition, "I Hate Myself For Loving You," as the theme for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Her seminal classic, "Bad Reputation," is the theme for the hit show, American Chopper. Her songs are in countless films including Shrek, Charlie's Angels, Monster, and Tenacious D, to name a few.

The RUNAWAYS movie is eye candy for anyone who loves platform shoes, rock music and leather jackets. And isn't that all of us? Here, costume designer Carol Beadle talks research, inspiration and David Bowie.

You and director Floria Sigismondi have worked together a lot, right? We've worked together from the very beginning, and we kind of all got our big break when we did the Marilyn Manson "Beautiful People" video. It was a real collaboration of about four or five people--the art director, hair and makeup, myself and Floria as director. We created a very interesting vibe for that, and just carried it on.

Did you plan on being a costume designer?
I didn't really pay attention to the fact that there were stylists. Now, every little girl wants to be a stylist, and in 1994, I didn't even know that was a job. I wanted to design clothes. I loved it, and went to fashion design school, and just assumed that was what I would do. But within six months of graduating, I was doing costumes.

Artist Floria Sigismondi had directed a slew of notable music videos for Marilyn Manson, Christina Aguilera and the White Stripes when she was approached to write and direct The RUNAWAYS--her first screenplay and feature film. Suffice to say, she nailed it: the movie is a stunning, shocking coming of age tale full of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. We talked to Floria as she finished final edits on the film.

Ê Since The RUNAWAYS was your first screenplay, what was the first thing you did to prepare to write it?
I did tons of research--I did interviews with all the people in the band, and found out if there were crazy fans from the time, and people who collected memorabilia. I also read hundreds of articles and interviews, which was great to read how the girls would speak in their own voices when they were 16. I immersed myself in the whole scene and what was going on in the mainstream, too, because I thought that was important. From today's perspective, we've seen it all, so that was a question--how do you show that these girls were doing things that no one else was doing?

How did you end up showing that an all-girl rock band really was groundbreaking?
I gave that point of view to Kim [Fowley, the band's producer]. He would say "There's nothing like this on the radio." And also, he talks about what the guys were doing at that time. It was all glam-rock, like they were putting lipstick on each other's, um, you know...[laughs].

The image feature Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Stella Maeve, Scout Taylor-Compton and Alia Shawkat. Check it out above and be sure to weigh in on all the girl group goodness!

The biopic is based on Currie's memoir "Neon Angel: the Cherie Currie Story." a biopic of '70s all-girl rock band that stars Kristen Stewart as JOAN JETT, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, Stella Maeve as Sandy West, Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, and Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley.

The film is currently slated for a March 19, 2010 release.

We're highly anticipating the upcoming movi. The RUNAWAYS, which is the story of the kick-ass '70s teen-girl rock band The RUNAWAYS (duh).

Awesome songs? Check. Kristen Stewar. as JOAN JETT an. Dakota Fannin. as Cherie Currie? Check, check. Rad feathered hair, mega eyeliner and glitter makeup?
Check, check, check!

StyleList talked t. Robin Mathews, head makeup artist on the film, about bringing the iconic looks to life.

StyleList: How stoked were you to work on this movie?
Mathews: It was a dream job! I did a ton of research -- we had over 5,000 reference photos from the time period and of the band, and concert footage. It's such an awesome time period. But the best research I could have ever asked for -- JOAN JETT and Cherie Currie were there every day. They had never even seen many of these photos of themselves before. In earlier years Cherie had given away a lot of her memorabilia, so as a present I made copies of the photos of her and gave them to her at the wrap party.

Tracklist:

CD1
01 Cherry Bomb
02 You Drive Me Wild*
03 School Days*
04 Love Is Pain*
05 Bad Reputation
06 You Don't Know What You've Got
07 I Want You 
08 I Love Rock 'n' Roll
09 (I'm Gonna) Runaway
10 Crimson & Clover

CD2
01 Do You Wanna Touch Me
02 The French Song
03 Everyday People
04 Fake Friends
05 Light Of Day
06 I Hate Myself For Loving You
07 Backlash
08 Activity Grrrl
09 Love Is All Around 10 Androgynous
11 A C D C

*Blackheart version of RUNAWAYS track
 Previously unreleased

Official press release

Cherie Currie's NEON ANGEL: A Memoir of a Runaway Hits Bookstores March 16, 2010!

The RUNAWAYS Movie (starring Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning, produced by River Road Entertainment, and distributed by Apparition and Summit), In Theaters March 19, Was Based On This Book

LOS ANGELES, January, 2010: When Cherie Currie, the lead singer of 1970s teenage girl group The RUNAWAYS, sat down to write her personal memoir, NEON ANGEL: A Memoir of a Runaway (It Books/An Imprint of HarperCollins; On sale: March 16, 2010; $24.99; Hardcover) she never imagined the book would be made into a highly anticipated movie, starring some of Hollywood's hottest actors.

Cherri Currie is the original lead singer of '70s teenage, all-girl rock band The RUNAWAYS. At the tender age of 15, she joined the group, a talented group of girls who could play rock like no other female group before them. On the face of it, CurrieÕs is a cool story of girl empowerment and fame. But the truth is darker, as Currie and her band mates dealt with predatory men who were not necessarily looking out for their best interests. On the road, unsupervised for months at a time, she had to grow up fast and experience things that no teenaged girl should.

CherieÕs amazing resilience is inspiring. As band mate JOAN JETT says in the bookÕs foreword: "Neon Angel is a chronicle of a remarkable journey Ð the story of a remarkable woman, who has an uncanny knack of reinventing herself Ð from singer, to actor, to drug counselor, to physical trainer, to mom, to author, to painter, to chain saw carverÉWhile excelling at every turn, Cherie has also exhibited an ironic flair for finding herself in dramatic situations."

by Andi Teran

At last night's midtown Manhattan press screening of the highly anticipated biopic The RUNAWAYS, a diminutive figure in a black hoodie slunk into the front row minutes before the lights dimmed. I could just make out a pair of Kohl-rimmed eyes and an inky fringe, but it was the unmistakable slouch that made me wonder: "Is that Kristen Stewart?" I was half-right. It was JOAN JETT, the pioneering hard rocker portrayed in the film by Stewart.

The RUNAWAYS tells the story of its namesake band--the all-girl teen band that launched Jett's career in the 1970s. It tells the age-old tale of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, but with the twist that it's all from a young woman's perspective. Directed by photographer and music-video director Floria Sigismondi, the movie stars two of the most sought-after young actresses working today: Dakota Fanning, who plays the drug-addled lead singer, Cherie Currie; and Stewart, the face of the Twilight film franchise (which also, coincidentally, features Fanning). Both actresses are roughly the age their fictional counterparts were at the height of their fame, and both seem eager to leave behind their doe-eyed images (and fan bases) and venture into more mature artistic territory. Judging from this effort, they may well succeed.

Aggressive, raw, and amped up on frenetic--and sexual--hunched-punk intensity, Stewart's Jett smokes, snorts, and struts with abandon, her energy centered strategically in her pelvis. (I can't wait to see what the Twi-hards make of this!) A favorite scene--and there were many--takes place in the bathroom where Jett gives a blasŽ "lesson" to one of her band mates about how to pleasure oneself with a shower head while visualizing Farrah Fawcett. This is a woman who revels in her well-earned bad reputation. "I want what he's wearing," she says, and she is never disappointed.

Then there's Fanning as Currie, the kittenish blonde who fronts the band like a female crossbreed of Ziggy Stardust and Keith Richards. Like Jett, she's an outcast born into a virtually fatherless home, game for whatever adventure comes her way. She falls into The RUNAWAYS by chance (unlike Jett, who charges ahead with unbridled intensity) and easily succumbs to rock's infinite varieties of candy. Fanning's performance is both chilling and convincing, and will serve as the cautionary foil to every underage girl who sees this movie (they will find a way to get in) and is inspired to mimic its lifestyle (they will want to mimic it--I found myself jonesing for a guitar and a cigarette when it was over).

While there's nothing that will surprise you story-wise, especially if you've read about the history of The RUNAWAYS, the sheer force of the girl-power energy that went into the film combined with the contagious ferocity of the music (featuring impressive vocals by Stewart and Fanning) will leave you jumpy--in a good way. You'll want the soundtrack, not to mention every album The RUNAWAYS and JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS produced, and you'll definitely want more of Stewart and Fanning.

And what does JOAN JETT want? Nothing too complicated. I happened to overhear her in the ladies room after the screening telling one admirer, "I just want people to enjoy it."