Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways | |
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Directed by | Victory Tischler-Blue |
Written by | Victory Tischler-Blue |
Produced by | Victory Tischler-Blue |
Starring |
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Production company | Sacred Dogs Entertainment Group |
Distributed by | Image Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Edgeplay: A Film about the Runaways is a 2004 American documentary film produced and directed by former Runaways bassist Victory Tischler-Blue. Edgeplay chronicles the history of the all-teenage-girl rock band The Runaways, whose members included future rock stars Lita Ford and Joan Jett. [1] [2] The film premiered as part of filmmaker Allison Anders' 2004 "Don't Knock the Rock Film and Music Festival". [3]
Kim Fowley, the band's original manager, originally asked for $10,000 appearance fee in order to appear in the film, but eventually agreed to appear for free if he could sing his answers to questions, with a guitarist accompanying him. Vicki Blue agreed and this is how his appearance was originally shot. However, he then informed her that each of his answers was a song that would require a separate license. Fowley was shooting a segment for VH1 at about that time, so Blue sent her questions to the VH1 folks, who agreed to let her use their footage. [1] The film ultimately casts blame on Fowley for the Runaways' breakup. [4]
Conspicuously absent from the film was Jett, who refused to participate in interviews or allow any of her music to be used, and as Jett wrote or co-wrote most of the Runaways music, very few of the band's songs were able to be used on the soundtrack, which had to feature musical contributions mostly performed by Ford or Suzi Quatro.
In a 2006 interview with the Montreal Mirror , Jett said:
Shortly after the film was released, Sandy West, the band's drummer was diagnosed with cancer. She died on October 21, 2006. [7]
The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band's "classic" lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's (GI), produced by Joan Jett, and were featured in Penelope Spheeris' seminal documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement. The Germs disbanded following Crash's suicide in 1980. Their music was influential to many later rock acts, and Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters.
Lita Rossana Ford is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career that hit its peak in the late 1980s. The 1989 single "Close My Eyes Forever", a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, remains Ford's most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The Runaways were an American all-female rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". Never a major success in the United States, the Runaways became a sensation overseas, especially in Japan, thanks to the single "Cherry Bomb".
Daniel Snider is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. The band's song "We're Not Gonna Take It" reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs. Snider later formed and was the lead singer in the heavy metal bands Desperado, Widowmaker, and SMFs. He also released several solo albums. Snider was ranked #83 in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
Joan Jett is an American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for founding and performing with the Runaways, who recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". With the Blackhearts, Jett is known for her rendition of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable songs include "Bad Reputation", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and her covers of "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me " and "Dirty Deeds".
Cherie Ann Currie is an American singer, musician, actress and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and her identical twin sister, Marie Currie, released the album Messin' with the Boys in 1980 as Cherie & Marie Currie. Their duet "Since You Been Gone" reached number 95 on US charts. She is also known for her role in the movie Foxes.
Kim Vincent Fowley was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been described as "one of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll", as well as "a shadowy cult figure well outside the margins of the mainstream".
Brides of Destruction was an American hard rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band's last lineup consisted of singer London LeGrand (vocals), Tracii Guns and Scot Coogan. Previous members of the band were Nikki Sixx (bass), Kris Kohls (drums), Adam Hamilton (keyboard), John Corabi, Scott Sorry (bass) and Ginger.
Queens of Noise is the second studio album by the American rock band the Runaways. Released in January 1977 on Mercury Records, it is fundamentally a hard rock album, although it also exhibits influences from punk rock, heavy metal, glam rock, and blues rock. While the album features a range of different tempos, most of it consists of the "heavy" guitar-driven tracks that have come to be seen as the Runaways' signature sound, although it also features two noticeably softer songs that have sometimes been described as early power ballads. While stylistically similar to the band's self-titled debut album The Runaways, Queens of Noise features greater emphases on volume and musical sophistication. The album has received generally positive reviews and has remained the band's best-selling record in the United States.
The Runaways is the debut studio album by American rock band the Runaways, was released in March 1976 through Mercury Records.
And Now... The Runaways is the fourth and final studio album by American rock band The Runaways, released in Europe on 16 December 1978 and Japan and the UK in 1979.
Waitin' for the Night is the third studio album by American all-female rock band the Runaways. It was originally released on 7 October 1977, on the Mercury label. This is the first album to feature the band as a quartet, as rhythm guitarist Joan Jett took over lead vocals in the wake of the departure of Cherie Currie for a solo career and Vicki Blue replaced Jackie Fox on bass. Though it failed to chart in the US, it was successful in Europe. The album entered at No. 34 on the Swedish Albums Chart, and the lead single 'School Days' peaked at No. 29 in Belgium.
Sandy West was an American singer, drummer and songwriter. She was one of the founding members of The Runaways, the first teenage all-girl hard rock band to record and achieve widespread commercial success in the 1970s.
Jacqueline Louise Fuchs is an American former musician. Under her stage name Jackie Fox, she played bass guitar for the pioneering all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways. She is the sister of screenwriter Carol Fuchs and sister-in-law of Castle Rock Entertainment co-founder Martin Shafer.
Victory Tischler-Blue is an American film producer, director, writer, musician and photographer. She was born and raised in Newport Beach, California. Tischler-Blue began working in the entertainment industry at age 17, using the name Vicki Blue as the bassist in the American all-girl teenage rock band The Runaways. After the demise of the band, she was cast as Cindy by director Rob Reiner in This Is Spinal Tap. Her film Edgeplay was based on her tenure in The Runaways.
Rodney Bingenheimer is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of Rodney on the ROQ, a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he also managed a Los Angeles nightclub called Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco.
The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical drama film about the 1970s rock band of the same name written and directed by Floria Sigismondi. It is based on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's lead vocalist Cherie Currie. The film stars Dakota Fanning as Currie, Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon as record producer Kim Fowley. The Runaways depicts the formation of the band in 1975 and focuses on the relationship between Currie and Jett until Currie's departure from the band. The film grossed around $4.6 million worldwide and received generally favorable reviews from critics.
"Cherry Bomb" is the debut single by the all-female band the Runaways from their self-titled debut album. "Cherry Bomb" was ranked 52nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song is featured in the films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.
Bad Reputation is a 2018 American documentary film about the career of rock musician Joan Jett, directed by Kevin Kerslake and written by Joel Marcus. The documentary traces Jett's musical career from the formation of the Runaways through her subsequent partnership with songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna. Continuing with the creation of the band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts as well as the establishment of the record label Blackheart Records with Laguna, the narrative concludes with the induction of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2015.