The Runaways Teaser Trailer

Hot on the heels of new distributor Apparition announcing that it will bring The Runaways to theatres comes a teaser trailer for the film. We get a little taste of Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning in character as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, and hear Michael Shannon doing some voice over as impresario Kim Fowley. It's decent-looking stuff, and backed by the band's catchy hit 'Cherry Bomb'. Check it out after the break.

MTV presents the clip — appropriate, given the site's tendency to run even the smallest Twilight-related tidbit. A new movie featuring the star of that series evidently qualifies as worthy coverage.

The footage looks a bit more glossy than I was expecting based on some of what I've read about director Floria Sigismondi's take on the story, but that's fine. If the on-stage performances come across well I can deal with everything else. We only get a brief glimpse of the band performing, and they look good. Fanning has Currie's raw, almost dirty sexuality down, and Stewart definitely has Jett's attitude. (And her own lip licking and biting, but that's to be expected.)

I'm not wild about the whole 'girls that changed rock' angle that is implied by the narration, as I'd rather just see the conflict between the band and Kim Fowley. (Incidentally, in the brief glimpse we get of Shannon as Fowley, he looks perfectly creepy, which I love.)

Here's the Sundance 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.

Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, and her luscious camerawork captures every sweaty detail—from the filthy trailer where the women practice to the mosh pits of Tokyo.

The Runaways will play Sundance in January and hit theatres in general release in March.