California Chronicle Visits “The Runaways” Set

Great report from the California Chronicle!

LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 AAP – When the sun goes down in Los Angeles’ downtown area the only people walking the streets are prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts, homeless … or tourists who didn’t receive this memo.

During the day downtown’s skyscrapers are filled with workers who flee at sundown just like Cinderella before midnight.

A couple of days ago the trend changed.

It was 10pm and standing on the corner of Spring and 2nd Sts were six girls – all no older than 16.

They were holding Twilight books.

Twilight?

If you haven’t heard of the Twilight phenomenon you do not have a teenage daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, sister or neighbour …

Written by American author Stephenie Meyer, the Twilight novels centre around a teenage girl, Bella, falling in love with a young studly vampire dude, Edward.

Last year Twilight mania went big screen with the release of the first feature film based on the best-selling novels. The movie cost a measly $US37 million ($A44.88 million) to shoot in Portland, Oregon, but generated almost $US400 million ($A485.14 million) in box office dollars around the world.

The actors cast as Bella and Edward, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, were transformed overnight from little-known actors to Hollywood’s hottest young commodities.

With the help of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, PerezHilton.com, TMZ.com etc, Twilight fans track Stewart and Pattinson 24/7.

When word leaked Stewart was shooting a new movie in downtown LA on the corner of Spring and 2nd Sts, the six girls sneaked out of home in the hope of snagging the starlet’s signature.

The paparazzi were not far behind, elbow to elbow on the street corner with the teenyboppers attempting to get a shot of 19-year- old Stewart.

As a privileged, highly-respected (cough, cough) member of the media I didn’t have to stand on a street corner to catch a glimpse, but was invited into the inner sanctum of Stewart’s new movie, The Runaways.

This is not a Twilight film.

It is a biopic based on the drug and partying days of the 1970s teen girl band The Runaways that launched the careers of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.

Stewart plays Jett, Dakota Fanning is Currie and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Danielle Riley Keough, in her first feature film, was cast as Currie’s sister, Marie.

When you are on a set with Stewart it feels a little like standing in the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.

Security is tight.

The cast’s trailers are parked in an adjoining lot and arranged in a way to block the long lenses of the paparazzi attempting to shoot through the wire fence.

Photos of Stewart have become highly-profitable business because for The Runaways role she chopped off Bella’s long locks and now sports Jett’s trademark short, black hairdo.

The first Runaways star I spoke to was the very sweet Keough, who travelled the world as a model for Christian Dior and other top tier fashion houses before making her film debut in The Runaways.

Talk turns to the music she like to listen to.

“I like older music,” she says.

“Bob Dylan, Daft Punk.”

What about Elvis?

“Yeah,” she laughs.

Fanning is almost unrecognisable as Cherie.

Her hair is bleach blonde, although you can see dark roots coming through.

What has happened to the girl that made me cry in I Am Sam?

“How do you like your hair?” I ask.

“It’s a wig,” she replies.

Ooops.

As the night drags on there is a rumour around set Stewart will not be available for an interview. At one point she walks out of her tailer and straight past me.

Not a good sign.

I chat with her personal assistant who assures me she will be chatting.

“She loves Australians,” he says.

Stewart’s mother is Australian and she has a border-collie dog named Oz.

“No worries cobber. She’ll be right mate. I’ll just crack a VB and get on the dog and bone while I wait,” I say.

Her PA was correct, through the trailers she appears, a replica of a young Joan Jett.

Stewart is dressed in tight leather pants, leather jacket, sneakers and puffing on a cigarette.

“It is weird when you are nostalgic for a period you have never lived,” Stewart, revealing her love for the 1970s, says.

“The 90s? Alright, whatever.

“The 70s? More was happening.”

After an 18 minute chat Stewart was off to shoot a scene, protected by four large men carrying larger umbrellas.

The sneaky paparazzi worked out that a small laneway between the trailer compound and 2nd St where the street scene was being shot was public property, so they stood in the thoroughfare to get a shot of Stewart.

The fellas with the umbrellas did their best to block the cameras.

Over on the 2nd St Hollywood magic had turned the street into 1970s LA.

A shop front had been changed to Rodney Bingenheimer’s, the iconic 1970s nightclub owned by the famed LA disc jockey.

1970s cars are parked along the street, including a mint condition Charger.

Leaning on the Charger is Nick Eversman, a skinny 23-year-old actor cast as Rocker Boy, a dude who engages in a passionate kiss with Jett outside of Bingenheimer’s club.

This is a huge gig for Eversman, who proudly admits his day job is dressing up as a prawn outside of a Bubba Gump seafood restaurant adjacent to Universal Studios.

When I caught up with Eversman he was at the catering tent chowing down on an plate of unrecognisable food.

I asked the obvious question to a dude who was about to kiss the most famous teenage girl on the planet.

“How is your breath? Are you sure that food will not make your breath smell?” I ask.

“I made sure to brush my teeth today,” he replies.

“I did bring my toothbrush with me.”

To my surprise, Stewart and Eversman have not discussed their onscreen kiss. There is no rehearsal. When the cameras roll they will go for it.

“All the script says it is ‘passionate’,” Eversman says.

The second obvious question … will tongue be involved?

Eversman is a gentleman.

He says he will wait to feel what Stewart offers.

If he feels tongue then he will offer his.

Late into the night The Runaways director Floria Sigismondi yells “action” and, with the real Joan Jett standing among the film crew, the lip action starts.

The teenyboppers are still on the corner hopeful of a signature.

The paparazzi are there to photograph Stewart and Eversman kissing so tabloid magazines can run Kristen Stewart’s New Boyfriend stories.

The burly minders held up their large umbrellas to block the paparazzi.

Was there tongue or no tongue?

The Runaways releases next year so go buy a ticket.

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