Unlike a lot of rock movies which today enjoy healthy followings, "The Runaways" still hasn't gotten its due with audiences. In his review of the film, former MTV anchor Kurt Loder wrote, "”The Runaways' is a rock movie that gets so many things right, you want to forgive its awkward structure," while also noting that the film's ending was atypically poignant for the genre. The film features strong performances from Dakota Fanning as Runaways singer Cherie Currie, Kristen Stewart as Runaways guitarist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon, who absolutely steals the show as Kim Fowley, the band's reptilian, controlling manager. An acclaimed video director, Sigismondi gives "The Runaways" great visual flourish, and she perfectly captures how rock concerts and small clubs really sound and feel. While the gist of "The Runaways" is a rock and roll tale we've heard many times before, it's how director Floria Sigismondi tells the story that makes the film impressive. The film not only captured an important event at the end of the '60s, but also documented many great live performances from artists like The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana, and more (one of the film's most legendary performances, Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," was captured as the festival was winding down). "Woodstock" was edited down from more than 120 miles of footage. Yet as Warner executive Fred Weintraub recalled in the book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls," no one at the studio was supportive of "Woodstock." The studio had done a bunch of rock festival films, they all tanked, why would this one hit? The studio finally relented and the film made over $30 million worldwide. (This was also the beginning of rock music being used on the soundtracks of major Hollywood films like "Easy Rider.") While the film was three hours long, and the soundtrack album was an expensive three-LP set, both were big hits, and it was probably one of the first times the major studios saw the power of a rock soundtrack as a secondary income stream.
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