The Runaways is a little independent film based on the 1970s rock band of the same name that featured Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and Lita Ford. The movie stars young up-and-coming actresses Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam, Push) as Currie and Kristen Stewart (Panic Room, The Twilight Saga) as Jett. It will first debut next month at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, but it doesn’t need to worry about being picked up by a studio for distribution anymore; that part of the quest is now taken care of. It’s being reported that Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad‘s Apparition Films has officially acquired the rights to the film, and already has plans to release it on March 19, 2010.
The Runaways is directed by relative newcomer Floria Sigismondi, who based the story on Cherie Currie’s book, Neon Angel: the Cherie Currie Story. The movie also stars Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II) as Lita Ford, Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Whip It) as Robin, Michael Shannon (Bug, Revolutionary Road) as Kim Fowley, and Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon, Rescue Me) as Marie Harmon.
Official Synopsis
Of all the bands to come out of the 1970s Los Angeles music scene, The Runaways are by far the most uniquely fascinating. This is partially due to their music but more so to the fact that they were teenage girls whose wild and reckless lifestyle was the stuff of legend.
Focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett and lead vocalist Cherie Currie as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record-label woes, the film chronicles the band’s formation as well as their meteoric rise under the malevolent eye of an abusive manager.
[Source: THR]
