By John Dingwall
TWILIGHT star Kristen Stewart is set to shock fans of the vampire films as she snorts cocaine and indulges in lesbian romps in her new movie.
Kristen swaps her angst-ridden, vampire-loving Bella Swan character for the role of rock chick Joan Jett in The Runaways.
The biopic is based on the 1970s American all-girl band of the same name.
Although Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight series, is set to rock cinema screens this summer, the actress is just as excited about The Runaways.
But she admits some of the scenes she gets her teeth into - including a lesbian one with co-star Dakota Fanning - did chill her blood a little.
Kristen said: "We had so many really crazy, really heavy things that we were intimidated by.
"So when the kissing scene came up, we were like, all right, whatever."
Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, The Runaways benefited from the band's iconic leader Joan Jett coming on board as an executive producer.
Kristen stars as Joan, while the other band members are played by Dakota Fanning as original vocalist Cherie Currie, Stella Maeve as drummer Sandy West, Scout Taylor-Compton as lead guitarist Lita Ford and Michael Shannon as manager Kim Fowley.
Alia Shawkat plays the band's bassist, a fictional character named Robin, created as a result of legal issues preventing the portrayal of bassist Jackie Fox.
The film is based on Cherie's memoir, Neon Angel: A Memoir Of A Runaway, and maps her life and that of Joan as they go from teenage hopefuls to rock stars.
Under the wing of rock svengali Fowley, they become the first all-girl act to break into the world of hard rock.
Currie's book also delivers a strong anti-drug warning to teenagers and others as it depicts the band's rise to fame then alienation and burnout.
The film chronicles the band's existence from 1975 to 1977, when Fowley is said to have promoted them as "jailbait rock".
As their first single Cherry Bomb takes off, the band's US tour sees them hit the road with Rush, The Ramones, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty.
But during a tour of Japan, Cherie suffers burnout and quits along with bassist Jackie, leaving Joan to pick up the pieces and lead the band from then on. Kristen admits that being able to forge a friendship with Joan gave her the confidence to play the rocker.
She said: "I was drawn to this exploited girl because she was so different from myself.
"I've always had all the choices and options. Only one thing do we share - defensiveness.
"I knew exactly what it felt like to be protecting something.
"I've grown up being told that, as a girl, I can do whatever I want.
"And that just wasn't the case for her. None of the rocker guys wanted these girls to be playing music.
"And they did it anyway. Joan had bottles thrown at her from trying to break into the boys' club of rock music - for being a girl playing guitar."
She adds: "There was footage where I could see her performances. When production ramped up, everyone was brought together over two weeks to rehearse and record the tracks. I was given guitar and drum lessons.
"I admire her greatly. She knew how to handle the pressure and knew what it could do for her career.
"What she has now is a thick armour. She's in tune with herself and has a self-preservation thing."
Kristen is also excited about the bleak drama Welcome To The Rileys, in which she plays a stripper working clubs in New Orleans' French Quarter.
She admits: "I haven't felt so personally involved in something before.
"My character really became a part of me. It's really not a stripper movie at all but about people without options.
"My character is an open sore. Nothing belongs to her.
"Making it was the best experience I've had on a movie in years. I spent time at a rundown strip club in called Dixie Divas, taking in the show and learning how to gyrate around a pole.
"I danced on the bar there and my legs were covered in bruises.
"Hopefully, the Twilight fans won't totally freak out. After Twilight, people are more likely to go, 'Oh, let's go see Bella in that stripper movie.'
"But if you feel you need to do something, then you should do it. You only live once. Go for it."
Meanwhile, Kristen insists she still cares about her Bella and the Twilight films that have made her a household name.
"If you don't care about the people who watch, then you probably are just wanting to be rich and famous," she insists. "The fact that these movies are important to so many people makes me so happy."
The daughter of TV producer John Stewart and script supervisor Jules Mann-Stewart, who directs Kristen in the upcoming K-11, Kristen grew up in Los Angeles and knew she wanted a career from a very young age.
Her second film, David Fincher's 2002 thriller Panic Room - in which she played Jodie Foster's daughter - and playing a hippie chick in Sean Penn's 2007 film Into The Wild were just a couple of roles that gave some an idea of Kristen's talent ahead of the Twilight franchise.
She said: "I'm glad I could do those films and I was glad to leave school.
"I couldn't relate to kids my own age. They are mean and don't give you any chance.
"I was never the type of girl to be walking around talking about acting, so in the beginning I didn't get hassle, until someone realised
"I tried to play it down but I got, 'Oh, she's such a bitch.'
"Since I was 14, I continued my education via correspondence while concentrating on my career.
"The day I did the graduation scene on Eclipse, I had just finished high school myself the week before."
She adds: "Acting was the first thing I ever thrived at.
"But they support anything I want to do."
So what did she think when she was offered the role of Bella in Twilight?
She says: "I figured it was a little cult vampire movie with a built-in fan base."
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