Runaways (2010)

"A rich and surprisingly old-fashioned musical biopic, The Runaways has neither the bloat nor the blather of your average Hollywood treatment of stars on the rise.  Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"The strength and beauty of The Runaways are that it tells the truth.  Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"The Runaways isn't just about rock 'n' roll; it IS rock 'n' roll, as loud, sexy, sometimes sloppy and ultimately exhilarating as the music can be.  Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times

Editor's Note The story of the groundbreaking '70s female rock group the Runaways is recounted in this River Road Entertainment production focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett (portrayed by TWILIGHT's Kristen Stewart) and lead vocalist/keyboardist Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record label woes under the malevolent eye of abusive manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) during their teen years. Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, with Scout Taylor-Compton co-starring as guitarist Lita Ford.

	Kristen Stewart
	Dakota Fanning
	Scout Taylor-Compton
	Alia Shawkat
	Michael Shannon
	Stella Maeve
	Aaron Parker Mouser - Co-Star
	Hannah Marks - Co-Star
	Koji Wada - Co-Star
	Masayuki Yonezawa - Co-Star
	Masami Kosaka - Co-Star
	Riley Keough - Co-Star
	Kiaya Snow - Co-Star
	Shammy Dee - Co-Star
	Hiroshi Sakata - Co-Star
	Mickey Petralia - Co-Star
	Antonella Sigismondi - Co-Star
	Nick Eversman - Co-Star
	John Konesky - Co-Star
	Adam Silver - Co-Star
	Johnny Lewis - Co-Star
	Keir O'Donnell - Co-Star
	Allie Grant - Co-Star
	Jay Thames - Co-Star
	Lisa Long - Co-Star
	P.D. Mani - Co-Star
	Alejandro Patino - Co-Star
	Floria Sigismondi - Screenwriter
	Lillian Berlin - Composer
	Jennifer Hamilton - Choreographer
	Tanya Cookingham - Makeup Designer
	Brett Cullen - Co-Star
	J.R. Nutt - Co-Star
	Tatum O'Neal - Co-Star
	Robert Romanus - Co-Star
	Peggy Stewart - Co-Star
	Time Winters - Co-Star
	Jill Andre - Co-Star
	Ray Porter - Co-Star
	Keith Campbell - Stunt Coordinator
	Cherie Currie - Source Writer
	David Grace - Production Manager/UPM
	Timothy J. Pedegana - Post-Production Supervisor
	Larry Fioritto - Special Effects Supervisor
	Gary Gegan - Sound Re-Recording
	Matthew Iadarola - Sound Re-Recording
	Jay Nierenberg - Sound
	Lee Scott - Music Editor
	George Drakoulias - Music Director
	Angie Rubin - Music Editor
	Benoit Debe - Director of Photography
	Engine Room - Visual Effects Designer
	Paul Laurens - Assistant Director
	Beauchamp Fontaine - Set Decorator
	Yesim Osman - Hairstylist
	Jay Jennings - Sound
	Martina Kohl - Makeup
	Norma Lee - Hairstylist
	Floria Sigismondi - Director

Box Office
3 stars out of 5 -- "It's a natural born hit....What makes THE RUNAWAYS unique is what made the band itself special: the way they predicted the punk revolution not only musically but by being crafted as an act of provocation." 01/27/2010

Hollywood Reporter
"THE RUNAWAY burst with energy, youth, excess, female empowerment, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll....The vigor and pace is electric..." 01/25/2010

Los Angeles Times
"Writer-director Floria Sigismondi, who cut her teeth in the music video world and is making her feature debut, used her shoestring indie budget to great effect, creating a grainy documentary feel..." 03/19/2010

USA Today
"[T]he film is anchored by a trio of strong performances....Time and place are potently depicted, down to the glittery eye shadow, Farrah Fawcett 'dos and stacked platform heels." 03/19/2010

Entertainment Weekly
"Stewart nails Jett's sinewy swagger....The film shows that the Runaways were authentic -- if packaged -- stars who were out of their depth because they were ahead of their time." 03/26/2010

Rolling Stone
"The 'Cherry Bomb' scene is a raunchy blast of rock history. And Fanning and Stewart, who do their owns singing, seize the moment." 04/01/2010

Washington Post
3 stars out of 4 -- "[A] swift, stylized, coming-of-age film about the germinal 1970s all-girl rock band, begins with an audacious, punk-rock florish..." 04/09/2010

Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "Shot in grainy, saturated colour, mid-1970s California is conjured up in all its sun-baked glory." 09/01/2010

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "Good period detail alone provides amusements....The soundtrack and atmosphere are a blast." 09/01/2010

Sight and Sound
"[A] subtle little movie....Most of director Floria Sigismondi's career has been in music video, from which she brings useful skills." 09/01/2010

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] painstaking recreations of hazy disco-era dive bars, faded roller rinks and seedy motels, plus a ballsy performance by Kristen Stewart." 09/07/2010

Salon.com 8 of 10
It was entirely possible to be a teenage girl in 1975 and have no idea who the Runaways were. But even if you'd never heard them, you wouldn't have had any trouble understanding what the Runaways were about: This was a bunch of tough-looking Los Angeles girls who may have been brought together by a sleazy, exploitative impresario named Kim Fowley. Nonetheless, their raggedly sensuous sound was a "no" rather than an acquiescent "yes," the sound of not waiting around for life to happen. They were neither the first nor the last all-girl outfit to refuse to wait around -- the Shangri-Las had gotten there before, and Sleater-Kinney would come later, to name just two. But the Runaways' brash charisma was specific to its era: With their jagged feathered hair and satin jumpsuits, they were girls you wanted to be, less sugar and spice than glamour and sweat...My hunch is that a lot of viewers who have watched Fanning grow up in the movies -- many, but probably not all, of them men -- are going to feel uncomfortable seeing her in a role that eroticizes her so frankly. But I think that discomfort speaks to the noisy shout of freedom that the Runaways sounded themselves: At what point is a little girl allowed to be not just a young woman, but her own person? Someday she's going to demand the keys to the car, and not just literally...That unspoken restlessness is everywhere in The Runaways, in the way Stewart captures Jett's slightly hunched, long-legged stride, and in the way Fanning's Cherie takes the stage during a show in Japan, wearing a creamy satin bustier and stockings, to sing the band's jailbait-heartbreaker anthem "Cherry Bomb." As the real Cherie Currie did, Fanning (who does her own singing in the film) wraps the microphone cord around her leg, only to unwrap it and whip it around again, a snake-charmer routine that's also an obvious challenge: You think you want this, but can you handle it? That challenge isn't just a sexual come-on: It's a basic question about how to move forward the business of living. Teenagers aren't ready for life, which is exactly why they want to jump in and get on with things. The Runaways is all about taking that leap -- and being OK with the bruises after the inevitable fall. - Stephanie Zacharek