Never did Cherie Currie think her life – the drugs, drama and debauchery – would be part of a movie. She still can't believe it.
But as Currie tells us, from a suite at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham last week, how unfathomable it is that Dakota Fanning portrays the lead singer of the all-chick band The Runaways in the eponymous biopic, there's also a sense of relief that it's now just a movie.
All the baggage of being a rock star took a toll on Currie's life, told thoroughly in "Neon Angel," her recently released memoir that inspired the film, which she says only scratches the surface.
Currie also dishes on messing around with Joan Jett, how the '70s was a time for sexual experimentation and what we're missing in the movie.
What was going through your mind the first time you saw "The Runaways"?
So much, because they took a lot of creative liberty in the film and changed a lot. About our record deal: We got signed right away before we even went on tour and they have us signed (in the movie) after we've been on the road for a while. They have me putting on the corset for the first time in Japan when I actually put it on before we even went on our first U.S. tour. And I won the talent show! I wasn't booed off stage.
I do really like the way Floria (Sigismondi, director and screenwriter) shot the film. It's very personable and gritty and I just loved Dakota – how good she is, how gorgeous she is and how completely destroyed she becomes in this film. It's very true to life – we were run into the ground basically in The Runaways. Kristen (Stewart, who plays Jett) was phenomenal. Michael Shannon (as Kim Fowley, the group's manager) just lights up the screen every time he's on.
Almost literally with that red lipstick.
I know it! It's funny, I didn't even remember Kim Fowley wearing that much makeup, but then I look back at pictures and he was wearing makeup all the time (laughs).
Did you ever think that Kim was gay?
No. That never crossed my mind.
What were you feeling seeing your life essentially right in front of you?
Just shock. To be honest, it took me so long to wrap my brain around it, that this (movie) was actually happening. I kept thinking I'm going to wake up. It still feels that way. I wonder if it's going to really hit me how huge this is – and, of course, Dakota being my favorite actress of all time is such a perk. I'll never forget seeing her in "Man On Fire" and saying, "Who the hell is this girl?" because she just takes the most seasoned actors and wipes up the floor with them.
What advice did you give her on the set?
I didn't have any advice to give at all. I just told her how I was feeling at particular moments that were happening in the film. One was in Japan when the whole magazine thing goes down and Floria had her playing it like she didn't care. And I was devastated. I had no idea that I was the only one in this magazine. Kim had told me that everyone was going to have their own personal photo session, so I realized that not only did he lie to me, but these girls were pissed! And here we are in Japan on the greatest tour of our lives and it all just came to pieces, and I needed to tell Dakota that because Floria didn't.
What was left out of the movie that's in the book?
I, of course, wish there was more of what we went through. Europe was insane. Kim's "sex education class." When you read the book you'll see what I mean. You'll see really that this would've been an epic.
I felt the kissing scene with you and Joan Jett was a big tease. I wanted more.
Well, you know there was more. They're in bed together in the morning for crying out loud!
How would you describe your intimate relationship with Joan Jett?
Oh my God! Back in the '70s, Elton John, David Bowie, Mick Jagger – everyone was talking bisexuality. It was the time of experimentation and freedom from being shunned for it, and we took advantage of that. Why not? Everyone thinks it. Everyone.
How would you compare that era of sexual liberation to what's happening currently?
Equality is definitely further along than it was in the '70s, but there's still people that hang on to those old ideas. They believe that it's some kind of a disease or they believe it's something that people choose. It's ridiculous that even adults think this way. And you know why? It's fear. Fear is the most debilitating emotion on this planet, and if you just shun it – the fear of admitting fantasies of being with another woman or another man – it pushes away the reality that you've actually considered it or wished it. We're human beings. We're far more open than people want to believe. But fear is a horrible emotion that I wish people would just get rid of. It would change their perspective.
So despite some experimentation with the same-sex, were you labeling yourself as bisexual in the '70s?
Oh yeah. It was pretty obvious.
Do you think it's important for kids to experiment with their sexuality like you did?
I say you have to go with your heart. It's got to be something that you want to do. There are some kids out there who will probably not want to, but if you have a desire, absolutely. I'm not kicking you out the door and telling you to go find out. I'm just saying kids are going to do it. They're going to experiment. Let them do it. It's healthy. It's parents turning around and crushing kids like I was crushed as a kid with my first experimentation, when my sister slapped me across the face and I wanted to throw myself off a building. But that's fear again. Her fear.
How have you taught your teenage son tolerance?
My son is so remarkable. From the time he could understand I was telling him how big and bad this world was. I was kidnapped as a kid. I've lived through a lot. And this child just loves and understands everybody. He's never understood discrimination. He'll say, "Mom, this doesn't make sense." He's going to make waves in this world.
You're doing some shows with Joan Jett this summer. Will you bust out the corset?
I'm 50 years old, come on. It's not the Pussycat Dolls revisited.
Do you miss being part of The Runaways?
Oh sweetie, no. We were kids. It's like asking if you'd want to go back to high school again.
