The Real 'Runaways'

(CNN) -- Joan Jett enters her hotel room with all the swagger of -- well, Joan Jett. The black shag haircut, the tomboyish gait, the New York accent (strange, since Jett is originally from Pennsylvania) -- they're all traits nailed by "Twilight" actress Kristen Stewart in the new movie "The Runaways," about the life and times of the real-life '70s girl group.

The film is based on "Neon Angel," the memoir of singer Cherie Currie, who left the band after two tumultuous years of sex, drugs and of course, rock 'n' roll. Former child star Dakota Fanning plays her on the big screen.

As the first female outfit to play aggressive music, the Runaways were in-your-face, provocative and sexual -- which was titillating to some and disturbing to others, especially since the girls were 15 and 16 at the time.

Currie, now 50, is a chainsaw artist, carving mermaids and teddy bears out of tree stumps. She recently sculpted a life-size guitar as a gift for Fanning on her 16th birthday. At 51, Jett still tours with her post-Runaways group, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Last month, she performed the Runaways' first hit, "Cherry Bomb," on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

CNN's Denise Quan recently sat down with Currie and Jett to talk about their band days and their take on the new movie:

CNN: What did you think of "The Runaways" movie when you saw it for the first time?

Joan Jett: I had a lot of repeating emotions. Sometimes it's hard for people who live it to kind of see it, but I think overall, I wasn't upset. I didn't run out of the theater and say, "Oh my God, it's so wrong!" You know what I mean? (They laugh.) Only kidding. Obviously, it is a movie, so there were a few embellishments, but I think once I was able to pass all of that and realize that the main thing is the story, it was fine.

CNN: Because we've known Dakota Fanning as a child actress, it was hard watching her taking pills in the movie and engage in overtly sexual behavior. She was only 15 when she made the film -- but that's exactly how old you were, Cherie, when you started in the band.

Cherie Currie: We were older and wiser than our years; I believe we really were.

Jett: We really were. Also, I think the girls that are playing us are too, in a degree, because of what they do, the nature of their job.

Full interview here