Twilight star Kristen Stewart just scored a new role playing Rock ‘N’ Roll musician Joan Jett in a biopic about her former band, The Runaways.
Shooting will begin in early 2009 and producers have agreed to accommodate Stewart’s commitment to the Twilight sequel, New Moon, which is also due to start shooting around the same time.
Known as the first all-girl rock band to have number one songs, The Runaways had an all-star line up with Joan Jett on rhythm guitar and vocals, Lita Ford on lead guitar, Sandy West on drums and vocals, Jackie Fox on bass and Cherrie Currie on vocals and keyboard.
The band is best known for their hit song “Cherry Bomb” and was highly influential in the music scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s.
These days, the only two of the original rockers are still playing, Lita Ford and Joan Jett. Jackie Fox is now an entertainment lawyer in Southern California, Cherrie Currie owns an art gallery and Sandy West unfortunately passed away from lung cancer in 2006.
Jett will be an executive producer for the film.