3/12/10
Hitfix Interview with Kristen and Dakota
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning were having a blast earlier this week when they met the press to discuss "The Runaways." The two "Twilight Saga" stars were reveling in being able to talk about a movie that doesn't deal with vampires and werewolves, but instead, real-life teenage rockers. The biopic is a big step for both actresses and if a sequel were even possible, it's hard to imagine them not jumping on board.
First on this reporter's agenda, however, was getting Stewart's reaction to her debut as a presenter at the 82nd Academy Awards. She claims she was nervous, but it doesn't seem like the huge television audience really phased her. Perhaps that's a benefit of having thousands of screaming fans cheer you on whenever you make a public appearance.
More intriguing though were the two actors thoughts on playing rock icons Joan Jett (Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Fanning). Stewart goes into detail about how closely she worked with Jett, an executive producer on the film, and how the legendary guitar player told her secrets about the band her life she can't reveal in interviews, but were integral to developing Jett on screen.
As for Fanning, it's amazing to see the 15-year-old growing up so quickly. Interviewing her a little over four years ago for "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story," Fanning has gone from an incredibly intelligent 10-year-old to a very mature teenager with a confidence beyond her years. Oh, and for the record, as great as she sounds in the movie she has no plans to sing anywhere out of character anytime soon.
You can watch the entire interview embedded in this page, or watch a larger version here.
For photos of Fanning, Stewart and their good buddy Taylor Lautner at the LA premiere of "The Runaways" Thursday night, click here.
"The Runaways" opens in semi-wide release on Friday, March 19.
PopSugar: Robert Pattinson - "I'm a Huge Fan!" - part 3
Kristen signing autographs before going to TR after party!
I heart the girl who said: And not for Twilight, we love you!
Who's with me?=D raise your hand!
Via fiercebitchstew
UO interview with Joan Jett
Joan talked a little bit about working with Kristen. You may have read the same information before elsewhere but hopeful these pictures of The Runaways (the original band member and mostly Joan Jett) are new to you.
Kenny Laguna:
I have the queen of rock and roll here for you. (Laughs.) That was easy, right?Ha. Sure. Hi Joan. So how did you feel the first time you saw the film and saw someone else playing you?
I'm not so sure I can actually describe it. I was on set every day, watching a monitor, so it wasn't as shocking to me as if I had never seen it. But I was watching Kristen [Stewart, who plays Jett] be me everyday. I was hanging out with her and was around her as she was in character, so I don't think it was such a jolt when I finally saw it, because I was a little bit prepared. I was very impressed. She embodied me as much as possible.
What kind of direction did you give Kristen?
When you're you, it's kind of hard to direct someone how to be you. She had her own methods. I could tell that she was really watching me, really listening to me.
As far as direction, I just wanted her to feel free enough and close enough to me that she could ask me whatever she wanted. We did talk a lot and she would have various questions whether it was about an accent or about something The Runaways went through. I thought we were a lot a like, energetically and the way she is. And I thought there was a lot she did just naturally.
So I told her, 'Listen, just relax into it and be assured that if there is something that is way off base, I'm going to come to you and mention it, but I want you to relax and follow your instincts. And whatever you think I might do, or whatever you would do, just do it.' She needed to be able to relax and not think I was judging her on every movement. And I wasn't. I just tried to stay out of the way, really.
You've been approached about doing movies about The Runaways before. What made this one something you wanted to be involved in?
I never really wanted to do a film about The Runaways. I figured they would only screw it up. I really was not looking to do this. The Edgeplay thing [a documentary released in 2004] I didn't want to be involved with, because it was sort of a Jerry Springer take on The Runaways.
Once they got to the point of River Road being involved. I had to make a decision, because it looked like it was going to be real. So I had to kind of decide, 'Are you going to give it a shot and try to be involved, or let it go?' I decided that with that level of commitment, I wanted to give it a shot and hope the rock 'n' roll gods were on my side.
Well, they clearly were. The film is fantastic.
Thank you.
Did the movie make you nostalgic for that era?
Oh, I've always been nostalgic for that period in time! People always like to reminisce about their teenage years, but I have to say, it was an incredible time. Every day was so full, and the reality was so much more extreme, on every level, than what the movie was. So that can only give you a taste of what it was like. It was like that, but 10 times better!
Lots of other people in the band went through pretty hard times after The Runaways broke up. What kept you going?
I was pretty driven. But after The Runaways broke up, I felt very defeated. And I was very depressed and cynical and I thought that what I thought was true—that if you work hard and you're a good person, good things will come to you—just those ideas about life were pretty shattered.
I was very lucky in meeting someone like Kenny Laguna. I think what you need is someone to believe in you. So I'm very blessed that Kenny came into my life. We met to write songs, and then I asked him to produce the songs that we wrote together, because he was a producer, and it moved forward. Then when nobody wanted to deal with me on any level, no management, no nothing, Kenny figured he could take on that job and get me record deals and stuff.
And he ran into the same troubles that The Runaways did and that I did on my own, and I think he was kind of shocked how people put up so many walls, for no reason, for seemingly no reason at all—because I was a girl, because I was a punk, because I wore leather. There were so many excuses that it was quite shocking for him. So it became sort of a mission. It became the principal. And so we started fighting together. I think that is really what helped me to build on what The Runaways had been.
Do you think it's still hard for women to make it on their own terms in the music industry?
I think they are definitely still having to fight, but there is much more visibility for women who are on these missions. There are girls and women playing guitars and drums and bass in every city in America. They're out there. You don't necessarily see a lot of it. I think they still have to fight to get recognition or to be taken seriously. I think sometimes when you come from a pop perspective, it's a little bit easier, because somehow that's not threatening. But when you pick up a guitar, or you're playing the drums, that threat comes in. It's a struggle, but the more girls that do it, the more they'll find support, I'm sure of it.
Did you ever want to do another all-female band?
No. Definitely not, certainly not right away because I knew there would be comparisons. And The Runaways were so special to me that I didn't want to do another one and take away the specialness of what it had been. So I purposely went in the complete other direction looking for guys to be in the Blackhearts. You know, but if I was going to start another band now, I certainly wouldn't put up those kind of restrictions now, because I wouldn't feel funny about it.
Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart: The Movieline Interview
Aside from The Runaways, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart have appeared in three other projects together — two Twilight installments and the Kate Hudson-directed short Cutlass — but it’s only in next week’s band biopic that the two finally get to show off the rapport they’ve always had in real life. Each is well-cast in The Runaways, and when Movieline spoke to Fanning and Stewart yesterday in Los Angeles, they recalled their characters both literally and subconsciously: The 16-year-old Fanning is as California wholesome as Cherie Currie with the same cool, intellectual drive, while the 19-year-old Stewart is all inchoate passion and feeling, channeling Joan Jett’s emotional thrusts despite her own delicate frame.
So what was it like to play two young girls on the precipice of fame when both Fanning and Stewart have been dealing with it all their life? I asked them how that felt, and how they navigated the movie’s tricky depictions of sexism and teen sexuality.
It’s interesting how the movie uses Cherie’s sister Marie as the example of the sister who is left behind and resents how Cherie — this girl she grew up with — becomes famous and successful. You both were child actors. How did you navigate potential resentment about your career, whether it came from family or friends?
DAKOTA FANNING: I don’t know how you would do that. I’m lucky — I mean, I have a sister who also acts [laughs], and she’s not really resentful of what I do. I’ve been lucky, because I think I’ve never experienced it.
But you go to high school right now—
FANNING: Yeah.
—do you feel like you have to act a certain way to compensate for the fact that you’re “the famous one” at your school and people already know who you are?
FANNING: No. I think that is who I am. I have to be the same person when I’m working as I am when I’m just going to school.
KRISTEN STEWART: And if you change who you are for people who are resentful of you and want you to be a certain way—
FANNING: Yeah…
STEWART: —they don’t have your best interests at heart. Their criticism is rooted in their resentment, so it’s like, why would you change to abide by that?
Do you think Hollywood is harder on young actresses than it is on young actors?
FANNING: I think it can be, just because girls are “supposed” to be a certain way. In this movie, girls aren’t supposed to play an electric guitar and they’re not supposed to be in a band that plays this kind of music. These girls kind of broke that stereotype a little bit, but I think there’s still some of it today, maybe.
STEWART: Yeah, they had different challenges. I mean, I think that we’re allowed to be a little more outspoken, and to be specific to the movie, more sexually assertive in terms of being the aggressor instead of like…uh, I don’t really know what the opposite word for that would be. [Both laugh] I think in the business, it’s harder for girls, and it’s so obvious and transparent. You don’t have to be perceptive to see that girls are “supposed” to be a certain way, and if they’re not…there’s just less room for individuality for girls. At least, people will notice if you’re different, and they will talk about it. It’s weird.
How often do the two of you hear “You’re not supposed to do this”?
FANNING: I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that.
STEWART: It’s funny. I’m affected by these ideas all the time, but if you start to get specific about the details I’m responding to, they’re ridiculous things. Like, you know, people always talk about what girls wear and what they look like and how they’re talking.
Whereas a guy can just show up on the red carpet in a suit or a tux.
STEWART: Yeah, exactly! I guess that’s a good example of how different it is.
Kristen, everyone talks about how you “became” Joan Jett for this role. Once you weren’t her anymore, did any of that stick with you?
STEWART: I always feel like characters change me a little bit. The roles that I play, I always take things from them, but it’s just as any other life experience that was relevant to you would change you. So not particularly, no. At the same time, this was one of the best movie experiences that I’ve ever had, so compared to other stuff that’s affected me, this is really huge.
In some ways, these girls were exploited by their producer Kim Fowley, and since you’re young actresses who are recreating those situations, there are people who will find that exploitative, too. Dakota, do you feel like this is well-worn territory after all the controversy surrounding your rape scene in Hounddog?
FANNING: I don’t know, I think it’s pretty different. I think that since a lot of people have seen me [onscreen] since I was young, they don’t want to see me in those kinds of situations. They think of me, still, as being in I Am Sam and six years old. That can not be fair sometimes, but I accept that and I understand it. I just have to be true to myself and what I want to do and do the work that moves me and inspires me. That’s what I’ve tried to do. In this movie, Cherie was really 15 when it all happened, so I didn’t feel like I was faking anything, you know? I mean, it’s just acting. It’s just a movie!
"Everyone in the band had a different relationship with Kim, but just to say that they were exploited by him? Even if he pushed them to wear a corset, that’s what they wanted!"STEWART: With Kim, it’s funny that everyone gets from the movie that he was exploiting them. It’s something that’s talked about all the time, that he was this Svengali or whatever, and that somehow, he shaped them and gave them a shtick. But they were who they were! They would have been a band without them — he was their manager and gave them a lot of connections and was really eccentric and crazy, but they were really motivated. It’s hard to describe their relationship, but at least Joan had a fondness [for Kim]. They were friends, and they weren’t threatened by each other, necessarily. Everyone in the band had a different relationship with Kim, but just to say that they were exploited by him? Even if he pushed them to wear a corset, that’s what they wanted!
FANNING: Cherie found the corset herself!
STEWART: Yeah.
FANNING: On Sunset Boulevard, she saw it in the window when she was walking with a friend. She picked it out, you know what I mean? It wasn’t like it was forced upon her by him.
STEWART: Right, it’s not like it’s [Kim saying], “Oh you’re 15, this is perfect. People will freak out when they see this!” It’s like [Cherie saying], “No, I want to wear this. This is what I’m wearing.” Then he went, “Oh, people will freak out. I’m going to capitalize on this.”
Do you think it’s condescending, then, when people think that these young girls couldn’t possibly be sexual aggressors themselves?
FANNING: Yeah, I mean, the way Cherie expressed her sexuality was to wear a corset and strut around in her underwear on stage and perform “Cherry Bomb.” She emulated David Bowie and that’s who she wanted to be and that’s how she was sexual, which is very different from Joan. Joan went a completely different way.
The paparazzi attention on this film was intense. In a way, did it help you get into character for those scenes where the Runaways are mobbed by fans?
STEWART: I think the Runaways were so new to it all when they got any fan who recognized them, or even a huge group of them in Japan. An actual photographer wanting to take their picture was such a different experience for them. I was, like, so ready and so prepped — it was like, “Twilight’s gonna be such a big deal.” I don’t want to say that I knew fully [what was to come] — actually, sort of the opposite of that - but compared to them, I was expecting it, you know what I mean?
It’s different for an actor, too. [The Runaways] accomplished something so personal, that was their own thing. Movies are a collaboration, so you can’t take so much credit. You’re not making a personal statement, but musicians are. I couldn’t relate to that feeling of overjoyed accomplishment. That was something new, that was something that I only had with this film.
Kristen Stewart: Girls Can Go Gay
Getty Images, Jon Furness/Getty ImagesDid we say how much we love Joan Jett, already? Oh, well too bad 'cause we're going to say it again. She's awesome.
We all know by now The Runaways film features a sultry splash of some girl-on-girl action betweenKristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and we couldn't help but note while watching the fantastic flick how same-sex sexuality is much different when it comes guys than girls.
Why is that? Is it not way more acceptable, hot, and trendy in society today for girls to fool around with each other—but is so not OK for guys to do the same?
Hear Joan and Kristen weigh in on this touchy taboo:
"It's because [guys] want to watch girls," Joan said super chill at The Luxe hotel, dressed in a black halter and black pants. "Because men still rule the world. They want their girlfriends to f—k a girl for them. But if the girls are just into each other, then they get bored and they're like no, no, no. I got to be involved in this."
Too funny. Too true!
We were dying to see if Kristen agreed with Joan, but had a little misstep—literally—when approaching our favorite gal.
Taryn Ryder completely tripped and fell when walking up to Stewart to get her thoughts on Jett's comment. After Kristen, laughing and sweet as can be, gave an "OMG" and helped her up (adding that the clumsiness happens to her too, mind you), we went in for the kill before her publicist could try and stop us.
"Man, I can't talk right now but I wish you asked that question [during the roundtable]," Kristen said concerning society's approval of bisexuality when it comes to women, not men.
How about you give us a thumbs up or nod your head if you agree that there's this big double standard of sexuality when it comes to guys and girls?
"I'm nodding. I'm definitely nodding," Kristen shouted as she left the room.
Fascinating, both Joan and Kristen totally the sexist state of things. Knew we liked them for a reason.
So, look, America, maybe it's time you answered, as well:
Sure, no big deal for the gals to do it same-sex, right?
Just look at Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie, and Megan Fox (who may just talk the sexy talk). They've had their dalliances with women, but heavens forbid a man should come clean about doing the same thing!
If Toothy Tile stepped out with Grey Goose, the media and fans alike would have a fit. Hypothetically speaking, if Kristen and Dakota did the same? It would just be hot, hot, hot in everyone's minds.
That's just twisted.
Eonline
Eonline
Rob Says Ruby Will Be “A Massive Actress”
Two weeks ago, TheFABLife scored an invite to the Remember Me press day, where we sat down with Robert Pattinson himself to discuss his latest departure from Edward Cullen. As we focused on not fainting in his presence (and yes, RPattz is just as beautiful in person), our ears perked when he raved about his onscreen sister, 11-year-old Ruby Jerins, of “Nurse Jackie.” The interaction between the two of them was undoubtedly our favorite part of the film. When asked how he channeled that chemistry with such a young actress, Pattinson said:
“She did everything; I mean completely. … She’s phenomenal. She’s going to be a massive actress. She’s the best improviser I’ve ever met. … She’s kind of like one of those weird, hyper-intelligent, hyper-mature kids. … She’s so easy to act with, you don’t have to do anything - just look at her. It’s the first time since the day I began acting where I just feel completely unselfconscious, because I could feel that she wasn’t at all and it rubs off on me.”
NYTimes: The Girls Who Kicked in Rock’s Door
THE most striking thing about “The Runaways,” a new film about the trailblazing bad-girl rock band from the 1970s that spawned Joan Jett, is how authentic it feels. The clubs are properly scuzzy. The dialogue is properly raunchy. The actors can properly sing. The hair is fried and feathered, the skin spotty from weeks of running on little but potato chips and estrogen. From the adrenaline rush of performing to the monotony of rehearsal, it’s a vivid snapshot of life on the road for ambitious teenagers who are constantly told that rock ’n’ roll “is the sport of men.” (And that’s their own manager talking.)
One reason may be that the movie is partly based on “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway” (Harper Collins), a newly revamped autobiography by the group’s lead singer Cherie Currie, whose chillingly quick self-destruction is relived through Dakota Fanning. Another may be that Ms. Currie and Ms. Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) put the actors through hard-rock boot camp for several weeks before filming. And Floria Sigismondi, the writer and director, has “been around music all my life,” as she said in an interview in a hotel room in Midtown. Along with making videos for artists like David Bowie (Ms. Currie’s musical hero) and the White Stripes, she’s worked in clubs and gone on tour with her husband’s band, the Living Things. “I wanted it all to look real. I wanted bed head. I wanted freckles and pimples,” she said of the film, her first feature. The words she kept repeating on the set were “raw” and “gritty.”
“The Runaways” is the rare movie to address the female rock experience. Until now the touchstone has been the fictional 1982 cult film “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains,” a look at three skunk-haired female punks who make proclamations like “Every girl should be given an electric guitar on her 16th birthday.”
“It’s very hard to make a film about popular musicians, or music as the subject in any context,” said Jack White of the White Stripes in an e-mail message. “You could trust Floria to find the right angle because she has no need to oversell the subject.”
Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Sigismondi came to the project, made for less than $10 million, after her manager introduced her to two of the producers, Art and John Linson. (Art produced films like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Fight Club”; John, his son, produced “Lords of Dogtown,” about ’70s skaters.)
“When we met Floria she was undeniable, even though she hadn’t directed a film before,” Art said in a telephone interview. “If you’ve met her and you’ve seen her work, you see that she’s got a spectacular eye, she’s got great style and she’s got the heart of a girl.” Both producers thought a female director was crucial. “We felt from the beginning that this is really a tale of two young girls” — Cherie and Joan — “getting in way over their heads in a world they knew very little about, a man’s world, and there’s a price to pay for that,” he said. “We thought: It’s got to come from the heart of another woman.”
Though “The Runaways” follows the general trajectory of the band, Ms. Sigismondi also considers the movie more of a coming-of-age story than a definitive biopic, focusing on the relationship among Cherie, Joan and Kim Fowley, the band’s insult-spewing male manager (Michael Shannon). In the film Cherie struggles with her twin sister, a sick alcoholic father, addiction and instant notoriety. Above all, Ms. Sigismondi said, she is a young girl trying to define herself in a high-pressure world of excess, with little adult guidance. “It’s a cautionary tale on Cherie’s side and an inspirational tale on Joan’s side,” she said. (After the Runaways broke up in 1979, Ms. Jett had a monster No. 1 hit with a 1982 cover of “I Love Rock ’n Roll.”)
Read the FULL article HERE
One reason may be that the movie is partly based on “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway” (Harper Collins), a newly revamped autobiography by the group’s lead singer Cherie Currie, whose chillingly quick self-destruction is relived through Dakota Fanning. Another may be that Ms. Currie and Ms. Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) put the actors through hard-rock boot camp for several weeks before filming. And Floria Sigismondi, the writer and director, has “been around music all my life,” as she said in an interview in a hotel room in Midtown. Along with making videos for artists like David Bowie (Ms. Currie’s musical hero) and the White Stripes, she’s worked in clubs and gone on tour with her husband’s band, the Living Things. “I wanted it all to look real. I wanted bed head. I wanted freckles and pimples,” she said of the film, her first feature. The words she kept repeating on the set were “raw” and “gritty.”
“The Runaways” is the rare movie to address the female rock experience. Until now the touchstone has been the fictional 1982 cult film “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains,” a look at three skunk-haired female punks who make proclamations like “Every girl should be given an electric guitar on her 16th birthday.”
“It’s very hard to make a film about popular musicians, or music as the subject in any context,” said Jack White of the White Stripes in an e-mail message. “You could trust Floria to find the right angle because she has no need to oversell the subject.”
Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Sigismondi came to the project, made for less than $10 million, after her manager introduced her to two of the producers, Art and John Linson. (Art produced films like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Fight Club”; John, his son, produced “Lords of Dogtown,” about ’70s skaters.)
“When we met Floria she was undeniable, even though she hadn’t directed a film before,” Art said in a telephone interview. “If you’ve met her and you’ve seen her work, you see that she’s got a spectacular eye, she’s got great style and she’s got the heart of a girl.” Both producers thought a female director was crucial. “We felt from the beginning that this is really a tale of two young girls” — Cherie and Joan — “getting in way over their heads in a world they knew very little about, a man’s world, and there’s a price to pay for that,” he said. “We thought: It’s got to come from the heart of another woman.”
Though “The Runaways” follows the general trajectory of the band, Ms. Sigismondi also considers the movie more of a coming-of-age story than a definitive biopic, focusing on the relationship among Cherie, Joan and Kim Fowley, the band’s insult-spewing male manager (Michael Shannon). In the film Cherie struggles with her twin sister, a sick alcoholic father, addiction and instant notoriety. Above all, Ms. Sigismondi said, she is a young girl trying to define herself in a high-pressure world of excess, with little adult guidance. “It’s a cautionary tale on Cherie’s side and an inspirational tale on Joan’s side,” she said. (After the Runaways broke up in 1979, Ms. Jett had a monster No. 1 hit with a 1982 cover of “I Love Rock ’n Roll.”)
Read the FULL article HERE
ource nytimes
The Official ‘Eclipse’ Movie Website is Now Up and Running!
EclipsetheMovie.com is now up and ready to go! As of right now — it only features the newly released Eclipse trailer, and a download for your iPhone. For those of you who do own an iPhone you can download the new Eclipse trailer onto it!
The Official site also features a chat box where users can leave comments!
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