Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning act out their rock-star fantasies in 'The Runaways'

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning just can’t seem to stay away from each other. The two actresses have co-starred in multiple films together, including "The Runaways," "Cutlass" (a short film written and directed by Kate Hudson), "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." Stewart and Fanning are also friends in real life, which no doubt helped tremendously when they filmed "The Runaways," based on the true story of the all-female teenage rock band that had international success in the late 1970s but flamed out after four years together. It is a cautionary tale of fame, substance abuse and sexual exploitation, but the film is also an inspirational story about musical triumph, self-discovery and redemption.

The title of "The Runaways" film may be about the band, but the movie’s focus is on two band members in particular: lead singer Cherie Currie (played by Fanning), who quit the group at the peak of its success, and guitarist/singer Joan Jett (played by Stewart). In real life, Jett and Currie were close friends and briefly lovers (as detailed in Currie’s memoir "Neon Angel," which writer/director Floria Sigismondi adapted into "The Runaways" movie), and the two former band mates worked with their on-screen counterparts. (Jett is also one of the film’s executive producers.) Making "The Runaways" had a profound impact on Stewart and Fanning, as they told me when I sat down with them at the New York City press junket for the movie.

What surprised you the most, in terms of what a rock band has to go through to make it big?

Fanning: I think my first taste of that was just being thrown into the recording studio to sing the songs. I haven’t rerecorded them to this day. Those are how they are and what is in the movie and on the soundtrack. So yeah, just being in the studio and realizing that’s what you’re doing today, which is kind of how the Runaways were back then, which was cool. They just [recorded a song] one or two times, and then that was it.

Kristen, you’ve played guitar for a long time and you write songs. How did portraying Joan Jett affect your real-life guitar playing, musical tastes or songwriting?

Stewart: It definitely got me playing more guitar. I have to say, when I play music it’s sort of nothing like Joan. She’s a rhythm guitar player. I’m like a weird, picky, manic [guitar player]. I play so differently from her.

I was really lucky to play guitar, because I had such a small period of time to learn the songs and stuff, and she has a very distinct way that she plays. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about getting her sound right. When you hear guitar in the movie, it’s actually Joan playing. I had to learn the songs to look like [I was really playing].

What did you learn from Cherie Currie and Joan Jett?

Fanning: I think they were really involved in helping as much as we wanted them to help us and to be there. Playing a real person is kind of a daunting task, especially [with] Cherie actually being there and meeting her and talking to her about the experiences, it was more than helpful, I think.

Stewart: They knew things that we would never know that we wouldn’t be able to put in the movie that would be lost that were very important to them. Just details, photos and footage and a book ["Neon Angel"]. It’s not an objective telling of the story; it’s definitely [Cherie Currie’s] side of it. It was nice to hear Joan’s [side of the story], because it was very different. There are a million things that would’ve been different in the movie, and we would’ve been telling story wrong had they [Cherie Currie and Joan Jett] not been there to correct us.

How much did you study Cherie Currie’s and Joan Jett’s body language and how they carried themselves?

Fanning: I was definitely looking at the way Cherie was. Cherie on stage and off stage was very different, so I made sure there was a difference between the two. On stage, she emulated David Bowie and was bigger than life and had so much confidence. In real life, she’s very vulnerable and kind of has this innocence about her.

In real life, did you start to adopt any habits or mannerisms of Joan and Cherie?

Fanning: We became friends. They were there [on "The Runaways" set] all the time. I still see Cherie a lot and she has such a big personality. And you can’t help but [be influenced by that]. Things in my life, I go back to them. I relate to them, because this was such an important experience to me. So yeah, I just pretend I’m still doing the movie and I’m still playing her.

Stewart: I went to Comic-Con [in San Diego] right in the middle of shooting ["The Runaways"]. I was so not ready for that [Comic-Con experience]. I was in a completely different head space, and I think it definitely showed.

You both have done multiple movies together. How do you bond with each other off screen?

Fanning: She’s one of my closest friends.

Stewart: I don’t think we’ve ever hung out and not referred to ["The Runaways" movie].

Fanning: I think Joan and Cherie have something and that’s something they’ll always have. I don’t think anybody else will really ever understand that, just because of the experience we’ve gone through, so that’s really cool.

Stewart: We both really love movies, because that’s what we do. I’m a huge fan. There’s not a whole lot of young actors that I’ve talked to that are into it. We don’t really bond over much. I just think [Dakota Fanning] is cool.

And did you feel extra pressure to get the stage performances right?

Stewart: That’s why the performances were the most intimidating thing, because they have such interesting styles. I’m not a performer, so that was a new thing for me. You watch these videos, and when I first started watching Joan do these songs, she was so full of something that nobody could try to emulate, because it’s unique to her, and nobody else has that. She’d look through the crowd, and there are certain videos where you get lucky and there’s a good shot of her … when she stares into that camera, and you’re just like, "I’m never going to be able to do that." Because for Joan, it’s all about the music …

Can you compare and contrast the fan adulation in real life with the type of fan adulation a rock star gets?

Fanning: I think it’s comparing an actor with someone who’s in music. It’s really different. Me just playing a musician is kind of a different energy you feel than someone screaming or cheering for you personally. For actors, most of the time, people are just fans of who you’ve played as a character, and they see you as that character. As opposed to a musician, they love you and how you are on stage and how you project yourself on to other people …

Stewart: Musicians make statements. They’re there to be themselves. That’s just not the way we [actors] are. I feel like [musicians are] much more public figures than actors, almost.

How would you describe your fans? How do you feel about your fans?

Fanning: You have to have your fans to support your films, and that’s so wonderful when someone is moved and inspired by something you do. And that’s why I do what I do. If you can help someone out there and they become a fan, I think that’s amazing.

Stewart: To share what you love with other people, there’s nothing more gratifying than that. It’s weird when someone comes up to you and says, "Oh, I saw this random movie [you were in]," and in my head, nobody saw it, but they like it.

What can you say about the fashion in "The Runaways"?

Fanning: I have almost all of my wardrobe from the film. I love the silver jumpsuit and the corset, because they’re so iconic to Cherie. Those are the two most important ones to me.

Stewart: I took this … That’s so weird, I keep saying that we "took it."

Fanning: They gave it to us! [Fanning and Stewart laugh.]

Stewart: I have this leather jacket that I wore in the movie, pretty much the whole time. And I wrote "Joan" on the back of it, in small writing with a white-out pen, so it looks really punk rock and awesome. I gave it to her, so it’s really cool. I should’ve taken both jackets. I gave Joan the jacket I wore in the movie.

What is it about Joan Jett and Cherie Currie that resonates the most with you?

Stewart: Joan was the first woman to start her own record label. She was basically pulled after the Runaways broke up, and after the most successful, extravagant time for a couple of years at such a young age, and then she was done. [People thought] she peaked. Despite the Runaways’ success, people still didn’t want to hear [her music], people still didn’t like her style, people thought she was too aggressive, that she was ugly or wasn’t girly enough or whatever.

She’s not just a famous musician because she makes cool music. She makes really great music. It’s filled with her. She is her music. She says, "If you want to know me, read my lyrics." Or listen to the guitar she’s playing. It’s cool, not just because of that, but she really made some headway. And people should know where she came from. That’s why the Runaways are so cool, because I didn’t know about the Runaways.

Fanning: For Cherie, what I took away a lot from her was the sacrifices she makes to give up what she loves to do. She even says today that she would’ve died if she had continued on the path that she was on. So to watch someone give that sacrifice, I was looking at myself and said, "Could I give that up?" Obviously, I’m not on a downward spiral like she was, but that’s a really hard thing to do. And to watch your close friend Joan Jett and have zero resentment and be so proud of Joan is such an amazing thing to watch. Cherie is pretty inspiring to me.

What do you think people will take away from "The Runaways" movie, especially teenage girls?

Fanning: I don’t think a lot of people my age know who the Runaways are. And I don’t think a lot of people know Cherie Currie’s story. So it’ll be great to bring their music to a different generation.

Stewart: There’s definitely that, and it’s a good story for people who don’t know about it. Like I said before, it’s good to know where we came from, because we [in our generation] have grown up in a different way. I never thought for one second I couldn’t say or do something or look a certain way. That’s just not how I was raised. It was different for [the Runaways].

Joan is really excited, and we’re all really excited, that people have been inspired by the music a little bit. Like I’ve had a lot friends of mine say, "Oh, I’m in a band now." We’ve experienced that sort of the most you possibly can, so we’re like, "Yeah! Do it!" It’s awesome. You see a lot of girls playing instruments now, you see a lot of girls playing music, but none of it’s aggressive. None of it is! Nobody [on the charts] plays hard rock anymore, really — like no girls. That would be awesome if people got more into it and felt like they could do that again.

Where did you two like to hang out when you were filming "The Runaways"?

Stewart: We hung out together in cars and houses and in our trailers.

What was your favorite part of filming "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"?

Stewart: I don’t know. I always like going back [to the "Twilight" movies]. It’s hard to be specific.

Kristen, what did you think about winning the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)’s Rising Star Award this year?

Stewart: It’s a huge honor, of course, especially [considering] the people who were [also] nominated. I was really overwhelmed.

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