Joan Jett brings her life as a teenage rock star to the big screen in 'The Runaways'

Joan Jett at the New York City press junket for "The Runaways"

Lots of people are rock stars but very few of them are pioneers. Joan Jett is truly a groundbreaking icon in rock’n’roll. She was the first woman to start her own record label (Blackheart Records, in the early 1980s). And before that, she and her first professional band, the Runaways, paved the way in the late 1970s for being the first all-female rock band to make an impact worldwide on the charts. And now the teenage band’s story has been told in the feature film "The Runaways," starring Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Fanning as original Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie.

Jett is an executive producer of "The Runaways" movie, which entailed her spending many hours with the cast and crew to make sure that the details were right. Although Jett has done acting on film, stage and television, and has had her music on several soundtracks, "The Runaways" is the first big-screen movie that she has executive produced. I sat down with her recently at "The Runaways" press junket in New York City, where she opened up about what it was like to have her life turned into a movie, how she dealt with the lowest points in her life, and why she thinks that the Runaways (who broke up after just four years together) were destined to be a short-lived band.

Kristen Stewart and Joan Jett at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival premiere of "The Runaways" in Park City, Utah

What was it like seeing Kristen Stewart play you as a teenager on screen?

I think she did really great. If she didn’t do really great, I probably wouldn’t even be here [doing this interview]. She really made a grand effort to be authentic and genuine, and really try to embody me. And I think she got it.

People in Los Angeles who know me pre-Runaways or during that time — people like my family or people like Pat Smear from the Germs, who hung out with many times — when you have guys like that saying, "[Kristen Stewart] nailed it!" That goes beyond me saying. Other people who lived with me and know me [are saying it]. I think she was brilliant. By the time I was on the train, I had already had my share of goosebumps. I saw her on set, of course, and the monitor. Plenty of times during film, I got chills.

Can you compare and contrast what it’s like to deal with the music industry and film industry? What were any surprises that you experienced as an executive producer of "The Runaways" movie?

I think the process [of making a movie] is pretty brutal. It’s intense. Very intense. But really, my main role, as I saw it, was to help Kristen get there, help her really feel like me, but also be there for the rest of the cast and the crew — anybody who wanted to talk to me about the details. And different departments did come to me and ask me about little elements here and there [like], "Would to be like this? Would you say that?" Little tidbits that helped make it [more] real and keep it in the ballpark. It’s a very intense process. That’s about all I can say.

Has this experience sparked an interest in you to get involved in producing other feature films? Or do you just want to leave it at "The Runaways"?

I will always be open to any opportunity like that, but certainly in this film, my expertise was in a very particular field, so it was good to have me there for those reasons. I don’t know how I could be helpful as an executive producer or any other producer on any other film, but you never know. You just never say never. I’d totally be open to it. I’ve done films and TV acting and stuff like that.

Joan Jett at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Runaways"

Did you ever imagine when you were in the Runaways that your career would last this long?

No. I was pretty devastated at the end of the Runaways. I was in bad shape, and I was partying way too hard. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t necessarily thinking about music, because you had to feel the atmosphere around me. Los Angeles was laughing at me and saying, "We told you this wouldn’t work." The despair was just really … I could’ve tried to pull myself out of it and formed a band if I tried, but I was just distraught.

The Runaways had signed on to do a movie project and then the band broke up. But I still had signed the contract. I had to write songs for this film that now wasn’t happening. I thought I might get sued if I didn’t do it. So this is how I met Kenny Laguna, who is now still my producer and songwriting partner. We had to write songs for this original film. That’s how I met Kenny in 1979. And he thought I was really talented, he thought I was a great songwriter, he thought I could sing. And he knew I was in the Runaways and that nobody wanted to deal with me anymore.

He thought, "I’ll get you a deal. I’ve got a lot of connections. We’ll make this happen." So he started calling up a lot of friends in the business, and they were like, "Joan Jett? Forget it! We don’t want to work with her. We won’t sign her." And he was kind of taken aback, because I guess he wasn’t expecting this response. So now he starts to get pissed. And so now finally, I have somebody who’s feeling what I’m feeling, and he’s on my team. And that’s sometimes what you need: somebody else to believe in you.

And that’s really all it took: for someone else to believe in me. So from Kenny’s belief, I was able to then form the Blackhearts — initially formed in Los Angeles, and then we decided to relocate to New York, because for a struggling band playing clubs, in L.A., there’s only so many places you can go before you play all the area you can drive to and from … in a five-hour radius.

And in the Northeast, New York, you can play New York, Long Island, Staten Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Boston, Connecticut, Maryland — all these states and still get back home. So for a struggling band, maybe trying to live in one hotel room and sleep in the van, it was that aspect to me that made it more enticing, so we relocated.

Joan Jett in concert at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah

You have an image of being a very strong woman. In "The Runaways" movie, the Joan Jett character comes across as strong but introverted. What do you think about that?

[She laughs.] I think over the years, I’ve become much more confident, much more outgoing. I think when I was a lot younger, I was a lot shier, a lot more withdrawn. I could be more outgoing after a drink or two. [She laughs.]

I think over the years, I’ve learned how to talk to people, I’ve learned to come out of my shell a little bit. I think I’ve become more resolute and more confident in my own self. And certainly, back in those days, I wasn’t on my own. I was with five other people who were on the same mission. What I’m saying is that maybe I had to get stronger after [the Runaways broke up].

What do you think about Michael Shannon’s portrayal of Kim Fowley, the Runaways’ first manager/producer? Was there anything in particular that you think Michael really got right?

Kim’s very sort of stream-of-consciousness, very flamboyant. I think Michael really nailed it. Kim, you can’t really contain him. He’s sort of uncontainable. And I think Michael really nailed that aspect of it. The one thing I was concerned about was that enough humanity came through, and enough of the friendship that existed, because Kim and I were friends and we got along really well. Kim couldn’t tell me what to do, you know? He didn’t really tell any of us what to do.

In one sense, I felt that was the most difficult character to get right, because there were so many degrees of him in real life. And was there enough time to show that there was a real camaraderie between the girls and him? And not just this sort of "I’m running around and telling everyone what to do; follow my orders" kind of thing, because that just wasn’t the case. But Kim was very demonstrative, very big. He used his arms a lot, very ornate with his words.

The Runaways' most famous lineup, pictured from left to right: Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox, Lita Ford and Sandy West

The Runways broke up in 1979, after four years together. Do you think anything could have changed how the Runaways ended?

I don’t. I think we were five girls. We came together to do a certain thing, but I think, ultimately, I’m not sure if we were all on the same page in what it mean to us or what we wanted to achieve from it. I’m not sure that Cheri’s goals were necessarily the same as mine. I think [Runaways drummer] Sandy [West’s] and mine were pretty similar: trying make it easier for girls to play [rock music] …

In life, society creates these roles: roles for men, roles for women. You grow up, you go to school, you do this, and these are the way we flow. Men flow into these jobs, women flow into these jobs. I was trying to create a vision where [women] could flow into [being rock musicians] as well — and that that’s OK …

[The Runaways’ breakup] was also about the communication. We [the Runaways] didn’t talk about what was bugging us. "What’s the problem? If some of the girls aren’t getting along, what is the issue and how to resolve it?" I know we didn’t sit down and talk those things out, but I’m also not sure they were resolvable. Some of them were basic music issues, where somebody likes one kind of music and somebody else likes a totally other kind of music. It was just, "We were growing apart. And that’s just the way it is." And soon, we would’ve been 20-year-old Runaways, and that just can’t be.

What do you think people, particularly teenage girls, will get out of watching "The Runaways"?

Somebody said, "It made me want to form a band!" If this movie makes girls want to do that — and boys, too — that’s great. Anything you want to do and people are saying, "No, you can’t do that!" "Why?" "Because you don’t!" "Well, now I do!"

Things are the way they are until they’re not. And who’s going to be the one to change it? Why not us? Go out there and do it! Let’s give it a shot! And if you don’t make it, at least you gave it a shot and you won’t spend your whole life going, "Damn it! I followed my parents’ path and even my f*ckups aren’t mine, because they’re my parents’."

"The Runaways" writer/director Floria Sigismondi, Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Cherie Currie at the New York City premiere of "The Runaways"

You and Cherie Currie have obviously kept in contact with each other, but what’s your relationship with the other former members of the Runaways?

I haven’t really spoken to anybody [else]. Sandy West died [of lung cancer] in 2006.

What can you say about "The Runaways" writer/director Floria Sigismondi? Do you think her background in music videos was essential to doing this type of movie?

I must be honest. I was not familiar with Floria’s work at all [before she did "The Runaways" movie]. I just had heard about it. So we had to take all that on faith. I think everything looks beautiful, so obviously the faith worked.

What are some of your favorite artists these days?

I still listen to the same stuff that I grew up listening to. I know there are a lot of bands out there that are playing rock’n’roll, but I’m not really aware of some of them. Unless you’re out on the road, in the clubs, seeing what’s going on, [then] you’re not really seeing what’s going on. The last time I was around a lot of bands was on the Warped Tour [in 2006], so I can’t really speak to what’s happening right this minute.

Have you thought about doing an autobiography?

I don’t really want to do one. I’ve got an art book out now with Todd Oldham, which is all pictures.

Photo credits: Photo #1: Carla Hay. Photo #5: Mercury Records/Universal Music Enterprises. All other photos: AP.