by Jehan Hindo
Kristen playing Joan
Let me start off by telling you how ecstatic I was to have the opportunity of sitting at a round table with Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning of The Runaways. However, when I got there I was taken by surprise with an impromptu one-on-one interview with Kim Fowley himself. I was minding my own business making a coffee and helping myself to some appetizers when I hear an older, crackly voice utter “That’s all? Boy, that was quick. Ok. Next.” So I take a quick glance to my right and my eyes were lucky enough to make contact with Kim Fowley and he prompts me with the “Who are you with?” question. I say, “Blush Media,” and immediately he waves to the open seat in front of him. “You have 5 questions. Go.” That was fun, so after my 5 questions plus a few from my trusty coworker Meg:
- Kim’s favorite Runaway is Joan Jett because she is a female John Lennon.
- The Runaways’ brave presence is his best memory of the group.
- He wouldn’t change the script one bit.
- He thinks Michael Shannon did a fantastic job and was very proud of how he represented him.
- In the movie he is portrayed as the “Darth Vader version of a used car salesman”
Kstew is in the bottom left corner!
The Darth Vader quote was a perfect ending to our precious conversation. It was time to start the round table interviews. The first to join us was Joan Jett. What an amazing, interesting and mesmerizing individual. She is so tough looking on the outside but is actually very personal and endearing. She walked into the room and immediately shook each of our hands and asked our names; it’s sad to recognize how Hollywood has lost that personal touch almost completely. She was asked what she thought about when she heard that Kristen Stewart would be cast to play her. The first thing Joan replied with was “Twilight had come out so I knew who she was but I’d seem some of her earlier films, so I was familiar with her work. I wasn’t colored by the Twilight label.” When Kristen Stewart and Joan first met the first thing she asked was “if she was going to cut her hair and she said, “yah!” She really wants to be authentic. She realized a lot of things. She took it really seriously.”
Before Kristen even came into the room, you could feel the bond that these two females had shared over the past two years. Joan acknowledges similarities between the two of them such as their fidgety-ness, her knack for not finishing sentences and her will to be real to herself and to the world.
Fast Friends
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning stepped into the room next. These two acted like two peas in a pod. They were laughing nervously and bouncing answers to awkward questions back and forth of each other. They were both genuine and appreciative to recreate The Runaways for a generation that “needs to know about this kind of music.” You can’t get a straight answer out of KStew but my favorite thing she said was in regards to a question about the fashion style in the movie; she stated that the hair is one of her favorite things about that time and that today “no one has an actual hair cut anymore.” As she is saying this I sheepishly take a glance at my own locks and hope she isn’t looking at my dead straight boring hair. 
To sum it up, the movie was great. It sheds light on a true rock’n roll girl rock band that never made it past their first tour. Kristen and Dakota did an amazing job as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. The one thing that made this movie was “that they used real teenagers” which Joan insisted on. If you love music and have the patience for a “feel good, I already know what is going to happen kind of movie” you should see it. Not to mention if you are a huge Kristen Stewart fan and want to see her out of her Bella Swan damsel in distress character, this is definitely the movie for you.
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