THE WOMEN
While it wasn't essential, finding a female director was important to the producing team, given the coming of age nature of the piece. After talking to a number of different prospects, for more than a year and a half, they found Floria Sigismondi.
"We certainly knew of Floria and her music video work," offers Pohlad. "We were all very drawn to her, and it's turned out incredibly well. She dove into the material, and certainly had a strong connection to it. She's very confident with a very strong vision, and is somebody with great visual sense and a great eye."
To prepare to write the screenplay, Sigismondi conducted numerous interviews with band members and people close to the scene. She also researched band profiles from the era and pulled from Currie's book. With all this material, Sigismondi was able to imagine teenagers wrestling with all that comes with a red-hot spotlight. "To get their voices I did a lot of historical research," said Sigismondi. "And then I drew from my own past and thought of how I would  have felt in a similar situation. And it went from there..."
At their core, The Runaways were a band about liberation-- liberation from stereotypes, liberation from the banality suburban life, and liberation from the corporate rock and disco sounds that dominated radio.
Of course the rock scene of the 1970s was certainly not without its lurid tales of excess and illicit drug use and The Runaways did not escape it, which Sigismondi felt made their band's success all the more moving.
"It wasn't, you know, like these are the accomplishments," said Sigismondi. "I think the accomplishments come through the pain. Cherie is triumphant to me because she makes a choice. And Joan's triumphant because she makes another choice. But to me they are both heroes because they are both following their heart. But in all that, it was hard to get to that place. So for me it wasn't just about the highs, it was about everything, including the lows."
For Sigismondi, there weren't many young women who could play Joan Jett and truly embody her character from the voice, to the personality, to the body language like Kristen. Stewart was at the right age and point in her life to identify with Joan and make the deep connection to her character. "I think Kristen became her," said Sigismondi. "Her essence was so true; it was really an amazing transformation to behold."
It's rare for actors to have such immediate access to the person they are portraying. During production, Stewart and Fanning were often seen off to the side on sets, in the trailers, even outside of production working closely with Currie and Jett to hone every detail of the rock and roll personas. To carefully craft her performance to be an accurate reflection of Joan, Stewart spent a great deal of time with Jett throughout production of the film.
"Joan's our executive producer; she was there every day spending time with me," said Stewart. "To prepare for a role like this, you can research, read interviews, watch old footage, but to my benefit, there wasn't a whole lot of that available. I was able to talk directly with Joan and think I
would have felt like a fraud had I not."
As Dakota took the stage for her pivotal "Cherry Bomb" scene, waiting in the wings was her biggest supporter and fan. "To me, Dakota is just one of the greatest actresses ever," said Cherie  Currie. "She was so engaging and eager to make sure she was on point with her singing and her performance. She's phenomenal." Being the same age as Cherie in the film helped.
Since Dakota felt like Cherie's contemporary this gave her the ability to identify in greater depth with her character. "I was very lucky to have Cherie help me understand the character," said Fanning. "I was able to ask her questions that led to stories about my character and gave me more background, gave me an extension of what was on paper."
Kristen and Dakota captured the energy, anger, and youthfulness of these young girls, committing to voice lessons, with Kristen diligently learning how to play the guitar. Michael Shannon recalls her saying, "I don't want to look like an idiot up there. I don't want to fake it. I want to be able to play these songs." Stewart mastered all 12 pieces and had perfected phrasing of the words to mirror Joan's when singing the songs.
The film reminds us that The Runaways arrived during an extremely crucial moment in time for women in music and the film eloquently captures the music scene in Los Angeles in the early to mid 70s.
"Everyone wants to believe that the extraordinary can happen to them," says Currie. "It doesn't mean you're not gonna have to work hard for it, because, trust me, a lot of people never thought we could do what we did. We went through hell making it easier for girls in music. We were the soldiers out there getting bloody and beat up. But here we are. And we're doing okay."

THE MUSIC
Music Supervisor George Drakoulias recalls a pivotal moment during the rehearsals, when he was playing tapes for Joan Jett. "George, why are you playing my songs back to me, I thought we  were supposed to listen to Kristen?" Jett asked. "No it is Kristen singing," said Drakoulias.
"Really?" said Jett in disbelief. Drakoulias replied, "Joan, I promise you, it's Kristen singing." Joan laughed and said. "Oh that's pretty cool." It was then when Drakoulias knew Kristen was the only person for the part. "If Kristen could fool Joan's ears, I knew we'd be okay," Drakoulias remembers.
Stepping into a recording studio to record Runaways tracks was a totally new experience for Fanning. To sing these iconic songs, Fanning did a great deal of preparation including voice lessons and studying every nuance of Currie's choreography. The actress felt like she was living her dream of being "a rock and roll super star."

THE SVENGALI
Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Shannon wasn't sure his schedule would allow him to take on the role of Kim Fowley. When he began to research the part, he came across an interview Fowley had done on "The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder" back in the 1970s. "He comes out on the screen, he's in this orange suit, his hair's all slicked back and he's got make up on, fingernail polish like a praying mantis," Shannon remembers. "He was just one of the most fascinating people I had ever seen, and you couldn't take your eyes off him." That Tom Snyder clip sold him on the project. Shannon felt like it would be a huge challenge to try and capture Fowley's personality and his way of being.
Fowley rants on and on like a foul-mouthed modern beat poet, and as Sigismondi notes, "if that dialogue is not said right, it could just feel long and awkward." When the director heard Shannon deliver his first monologue in rehearsal, she saw it as a revelation.
There were times during filming where Shannon was required to deliver crude lines which made him a little uncomfortable as the lines were directed towards the young actresses. "There was one line that had me extremely nervous and of course when I went to deliver the line, I got it all mixed up," said Shannon. "We had some funny screw-ups from time to time." Shannon was thankful that Fanning and Stewart were both such professionals given the dark nature of some of the material." They're both such professionals," said Shannon. "They're both gracious, kind, and supportive."

THE LOOK
"I made a conscious effort to be very realistic in creating a world in terms of our story arc, said Sigismondi. "At the beginning, the valley is beautiful and sunny California, but it shapes and shifts as the film progresses; the girls go on the road and things get grittier."
Together Sigismondi and Oscar-winning production designer Eugenio Caballero, meticulously planed, outlined, rehearsed and lit every scene with the sole purpose of framing tension. Where they could, Sigismondi and Caballero chose to augment the lighting with more practical lamps from the period. The lamps in photographs were used in every single corner of the set to create a feeling of intimacy. "There's a filter that makes it perfect," said Caballero, "that enhances the feelings, with the color scheme."
Caballero used saturated colors to reflect the 70s but as they lost their innocence used more washed, bleached out colors. Caballero designed the scenes according to attitude. "It was a very punk rock attitude," said Caballero. "The cord is not very much tuned in." The team wanted to have that same impact in the design to make it visually astonishing while keeping it raw and real.
"They're in a more enclosed environment in California, and they're small, trying to get their footing, trying to create an image, but when they reach Japan, the girls reach a deeper level of darkness through drugs and experimentation," says Sigismondi. In the "Cherry Bomb" scene for example, they put together a set with some lines, copper, silver and gold, where everything leads towards Cherie, so as the scene progresses she evolves into the Cherry Bomb herself."
Said Caballero, "She's just having this huge change in that moment, and the design can subtly mirror that change."

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RUNAWAYS
· Summer 1975 - 15-year-old Joan Jett is spending her free time at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco in Hollywood getting turned on to glitter rock like David Bowie, Gary Glitter, and T. Rex. Around the same time, Sandy West, whose passions included surfing and drums, approaches Kim Fowley, another frequent fixture at Rodney's, about forming an all girl band. Kim brings Joan and Sandy together and agrees to help them find other girls to join the band. By August the band grows to four members with Micki Steele on bass and Lita Ford on lead guitar. Lita had originally auditioned for the bass player, but since the position was already filled, ends up as the band's lead guitarist. With Kim as their manager, the three-piece band decides on the name, The Runaways, and within a few weeks they play their first show at a local party.
· Fall 1975 - The Runaways play their first public show at the famed Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood.
· November 1975 - Joan and Kim meet twin sisters Cherie and Marie Currie, not yet 16. Cherie auditions for the band with no song to sing. On the spot, Joan and Kim write "Cherry Bomb." Singing the newly written song, Cherie lands the job and becomes the lead singer. Shortly after, Micki Steele leaves the band and is replaced by Peggy Foster. By December, Peggy is replaced with Jackie Fox.
· February of 1976 - The Runaways sign to Mercury Records and soon enter the studio to record their debut LP, The Runaways. After their first album is released, the band embarks on their first U.S. tour. Highlights included the famous Agora Ballroom in Cleveland and CBGB's in NYC. The band then embarks on their first European tour. They returned to the U.S. and continue to tour. Highlights included the Royal Oak Theatre outside of Detroit with opening acts Cheap Trick and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
· 1977 - The Runaways second album Queens of Noise is co-produced by Sparks' guitarist Earle Mankey. Upon wrapping recording, they hit the road for their second US tour. Meanwhile, The Runaways are exploding in Japan. "Cherry Bomb" hits #1 in Japan and Australia, and they become the fourth biggest selling act in Japan. The mass hysteria of the arrival of the Runaways in Japan, for their sold out tour, rivals the arrival of the Beatles in America. Jackie quits the band and flies home to the states. Joan picks up the bass for their biggest show to date, The Tokyo Music Festival. They released, Live in Japan, which becomes one of the highest selling imports of the '70s.
· Winter 1977 - After returning home, the band returns to the studio to work on their third album, Waitin' for the Night. The band's lineup changes again, with Vicki Blue joining to replace Jackie Fox. Joan takes over lead singing duties replacing Cherie Currie, who leaves to pursue a solo career. Waitin' for the Night is the first release with Joan Jett on lead vocals. By the end of the year, the band parts ways with manager, Kim Fowley.
· 1978 -The Runaways find new management and begin to record their fourth album. They head to the UK to begin work on And now…. The Runaways. Once again, they have to replace their bass player, after Vicki Blue falls ill. Laurie McAllister joins the band and The Runaways begin their final tour, ending with New Years Eve at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
· 1979 - The Runaways decide to disband because of creative differences but not before leaving an indelible mark on rock and roll and paving the way for a number of all-girl groups to follow, including The Go-Go's and The Bangles.

BACK

HOME