We're sitting at an L.A. boutique hotel getting the impression that mega-talented young actresses Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning have formed a real bond since playing '70's hard-rockin' bandmates Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in The Runaways. The gals laugh at each other's jokes and even rib and tease each other like old friends.
Dakota admits that she kept all of her clothes from the film including a hot bustier and fishnet hose number. The duo talks about their brief kissing scene in the film. Giggles are involved. And, Kristen advises modern teen rocker chicks to go for it! Play that guitar and don't take no for an answer! "Do what you need to do. If it hurts too much, then you don't want to do it enough".
It's a blast sitting down with these two very talented young women. It's a casual scene. Both girls are barely wearing any jewelry or make-up (unlike their characters in the film) and the uniform of the day seems to be jeans and layered tanks topped by a checked shirt for Kristen and a silk tank top and skinny jeans for Dakota.
Where the girls seem to split fashion statements is with their shoes. Dakota is rockin' some super high black heels and Kristen, who regularly scorns stilettos, is in ballet flats.
The young stars have bounced into our interview suite with greetings and plant themselves next to each other. Kristen is keeping the day going with a Red Bull. Let's roll.....
TeenHollywood: Was it really helpful to have the real Joan and Cherie, the two people you played, around so you could chat with them about the roles?
Dakota: I think it's amazing when you have the actual people there. It's like the ultimate. With all characters, if there were a real person you could talk to, it would be amazing.
Kristen: Yeah.
Dakota: And when you are actually living someone's life over again, for them, it has to be so surreal and you want them to be as involved as they want to be and, luckily, they wanted to be as involved as we wanted them to be.
Kristen: Yeah.
TeenHollywood: Did you have any hesitation to do the singing yourself or do you just do a lot of singing on your own?
Dakota: (laughs) Not really. I don't. But, I think I never thought of doing it any other way. I thought that's what would be asked of me. I feel like you're almost cheating when you don't actually do it. I just would have felt like I was missing something.
TeenHollywood: Talk about your own musical tastes. I read that you didn't know anything about The Runaways. And, what did you learn in terms of rock 'n roll by playing the parts?
Kristen: I have a pretty varied taste in music I think and it is primarily rock music; the big umbrella of what I'm into. I'm not that into hip-hop but I like both. This was a cool experience because there are a lot of bands that Joan is really influenced by that I know that are obvious; like the Stones she's obsessed with. Just obvious stuff. Like she listens to (Led) Zeppelin and just loses her mind. (Turning to Dakota) Hey, I just abbreviated both of those bands and I sound like I know... (something). It was cool to get to know music that was just a little bit more obscure. Like Suzy Quatro is not something that is a staple of our generation.
In terms of being able to play rock 'n roll, I don't know, I just really love this movie because they were the first girl band. It's crazy and people don't know that too. There's an aggression and an assertiveness that people didn't want to see from girls then that comes through their music and, at the same time, it's so feminine. It's a distinct aggression. It's not male. I love that and that's why I think the movie is cool or should be cool.
Dakota: My musical tastes have definitely been broadened from this movie and I have really found that I can't get out of listening to The Runaways and Joan because it just brings back the memories of making the movie and I love it so much and it makes me happy (she and Kristen laugh). So, I listen to that a lot.
Before that, I loved music but I'm not a huge music person. I don't listen to a ton of music but that's definitely changed after doing this. I really wanted to be part of this to maybe bring The Runaways to a different audience that maybe didn't know about them before because I wasn't aware of them before and I feel like that's a lot of people in our generation and I think that's wrong so (she and Kristen share another giggle).
TeenHollywood: Dakota, what was with that (David Bowie) Ziggy Stardust performance Cherie did at her school? She really bombs and we feel like 'this poor girl' and yet she was defiant. How did you prepare for that scene and are you a David Bowie fan?
Dakota: I am a David Bowie fan and, for Cherie, David Bowie was a huge part of her life because that's who she channeled on stage and that's who she wanted to be and wanted to emulate. I really loved doing that scene. That was a dance I had worked on with a choreographer. I had these huge bruises on my knees the next day from going down on my knees over and over again but it was so fun. I loved doing it.
And, for Cherie, that was her moment of embracing being kind of a weirdo and accepting that because she had lived her life in the shadow of her twin sister pretty much her whole life and that was her moment of stepping out and accepting that she wasn't like everybody else which I think is really powerful.
TeenHollywood: How hard was it for you guys to do the "love" scene together?
Kristen: (laughs) Love scene...
TeenHollywood: Well, kissing scene. You two have great chemistry now but was that awkward at first? That's not something we've seen from either of you in earlier roles.
Kristen: I've never made out with a chick before (Dakota laughs). I mean it was only one scene. Literally a day. In the script it's a really fleeting thing. It was also written very abstractly and vaguely. It was like 'did they (kiss)?' Yeah, they did. And I feel like it was that way for them too. The fact that it's been called a love scene or (people say) 'tell us about your romantic involvement'. It's like 'what?'
TeenHollywood: Did you have to improvise? Did you just have fun with that scene?
Kristen: (teasing voice) Oh yeah! (Dakota laughs).
Dakota: I think it's something that just happened. I don't know if they've even talked about it since. It's just a thing and in the script it was just another thing. It wasn't that big of a deal.
TeenHollywood: Kristen, can you talk about working with Joan to get your character down? Was that hard. She's bigger than life it seems.
Kristen: She is bigger than life. That's true and you get that from both Cherie and Joan. I don't know if it's because I know them well but you look at pictures and footage and it's like 'gosh, I'm sure it's because I know them and I know their dynamic, I can see what's going on in these pictures. Whereas, before, they may have just looked really cool. They just looked awesome.
This is the most important time of her life. She's got a huge fanbase and she's like the Godmother of rock 'n roll, literally, she was the first woman to start her own record label. She's a daunting figure to play. Then, you know her and you're like 'wow, you're so full of weird, little tics'. I've got tics but they're all different tics from hers. She's very idiosyncratic. She's got all these little things. (Dakota makes a funny face and wiggles her hands around)
Dakota: All these little things. (laughter).
Kristen: So there you go. It was fun. She's probably one of the most rich, vivid and dynamic people I know.
TeenHollywood: Kristen, your guitar playing is great in this. (she makes a 'no it's not' face). Well, it seemed to be.
Kristen: I played along.
TeenHollywood: Orianthi, a modern female rock guitarist, says she is trying to really support girls who want to play guitars and rock because, even today, the prejudice is still there against them. What would you say to young women who want to rock out?
Kristen: I feel like if you are filled with a compulsion (then follow it). You see Joan listen to music and she's like 'I have to make that noise! I have to make that!' and it's like people want to see that. That's why she's so successful. Who knows why women aren't more successful?
I keep saying that rock 'n roll is aggressive, sexually aggressive in a way. The singer is the aggressor and people don't want to see girls in that position. They'd rather go after them.
But, I feel like times have changed. I really feel like it's a little different now. It's so much easier. There are way more musicians or artists that are more.. (looking to Dakota) do you know what I'm saying?
Dakota: That are girls? (laughter)
Kristen: Yeah. I would say do what you need to do and, if it hurts too much, then obviously, you don't want to do it enough.
TeenHollywood: There are great props and costumes in the film. Did you get to keep anything?
Dakota: I kept the clothes; all the clothes that I wore.
TeenHollywood: The bustier with the fishnets and....?
Dakota: (big smile) Yeah! They were really important, especially to Cherie who kind of made her mark and her statement with her clothes, make-up and her hair.
TeenHollywood: How is playing a performer different from a normal role? There's an extra level of performance.
Dakota: I've never played a character who sings or performs and this is double the load because you're playing a real person who performs and people know these performances. I was talking to someone who said 'yeah. I went online and compared you doing 'Cherry Bomb' to her doing 'Cherry Bomb" so there's that extra pressure to do it right.
TeenHollywood: Dakota, people were concerned when you played a very young woman who was raped in the film Hound Dog. Are you concerned that there will be a backlash regarding this film where people will say, 'hey, she's still underage and playing so many 'adult' scenes?'
Dakota: I don't want to say 'I don't care' because, obviously, you do care.. (different voice) 'She doesn't care about her fans' (Kristen is cracking up). That's not what I mean but at a certain point, you can't care because there's always going to be somebody who doesn't like what you're doing and doesn't like your movies and thinks you shouldn't be doing that for some reason or another and if you pay attention to everyone, you can never make everybody happy.
In this movie, I was fifteen playing another fifteen-year-old who went through all this when she was fifteen. Why am I too good that I can't portray that when there's people everywhere that are even younger than that going through so much worse?
Kristen: We were snorting vitamin B. It was good stuff (laughter).
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