Happy Easter, Dakota!
Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 11:00PM 
Dakota Fanning photographed by Matt Jones
I totally forgot it was Easter but appropos of nothing I did wake up this morning wondering where Dakota Fanning went to. Where ya been, girl? Didn't you film Effie like 2 years ago? And no the Twilight films don't count so you've really been slacking since The Runaways (2010).
Or it seems like it. Do you think Dakota can pull a Jodie and become an important adult actress? The 19 year-old star does seem to be challenging herself with multiple genres and adult topics. Will the next two years be big for her? Up next: The Motel Life a thriller with Stephen Dorff (DVD release?), Very Good Girls a loss of virginity drama with Elisabeth Olsen, Night Moves from acclaimed indie auteur Kelly Reichardt about young environmentalists, Effie a period romantic drama biopic that seems like it films years ago, and the Hollywood scandal drama The Last of Robin Hood about Errol Flynn's (Kevin Kline) affair with a much much younger woman (Dakota).
Reader Comments (12)
I'm REALLY looking forward to Night Moves. Rooney Mara and Paul Dano were previously attached to the roles that Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota are going to be playing. Since Dano, Mara and Eisenberg (usually) tend to have pretty good taste and Kelly Reichardt is three for three with her lastr trio of films (Old Joy, Wendy & Lucy, Meek's Cutoff were all my favorite films of their respective years), I have a feeling the script and/or concept must be pretty enticing to attract such high-caliber talent. As for whether or not she can follow in the footsteps of actresses like Dunst, Portman and Foster and convert her child actress promise to become a full-fledged leading lady, I think she's making the right choices to potentially get there.
P.S Did you know she had to turn down Emma Watson's part in Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" because she was filming "Very Good Girls"? That totally sucks since Aronofsky obviously directed Portman in her best career-best performance and "Very Good Girls" got very negative reviews this past January at Sundance...
I think it's funny because she was EVERYTHING when she was a child and now I feel like her sister kinda took over and became the important/interesting one.
Will they ever be Oscar nominated??? Which one? Or, who first?
The Reichardt movie sounds by far the most interesting (I am allergic to anything featuring Kevin Kline), but none of these seem like "breakout" sort of roles for Dakota. If she's going to be a star like Jodie, her first shot at a breakout adult role is going to have to be one that gets her nominated, as she doesn't seem like the romantic comedy type and studios rarely invest in franchises for women.
And you're right, the Twilight movies don't count. Did she even speak in that last one (I'm serious-did she have a single line in the movie?)
I think she will be the next Jodie , remember Jodie Foster went through a bit of low period in her late teens / early twenties until The Accused came along, I can see the same thing happening with Dakota.
Is it wrong for me to hope for a de Havilland/Fontaine level of acrimony between the Fanning sisters just for the heck of it? I mean, how long has it been since the cinema has had a sibling rivalry of that magnitude? I would lay odds that Elle beats big sis to an Oscar nod, though I have full faith that Dakota will continue to blossom, as she's always struck me as very self-possessed.
I just saw Ginger & Rosa this weekend and feel (like Philip H.) that the younger Fanning has definitely grabbed the more interesting roles over the past two years. Not only that, she's seriously delivered each time. They're both quite compelling, but I certainly gravitate toward Elle. I liken them to the Williams sisters. Venus was the hotshot star, but then younger sister Serena came out of nowhere and dazzled. I think they'll be a fascinating duo to watch over the years.
She probably hasn't been in the spotlight due to attending NYU. Didn't the same type of thing happen with Jodie?
@John T: She has exactly one line, consisting of one word: "Pain". Which, to add insult to injury, is delivered during a dream sequence.
In full agreement with the folks saying that Elle is where the action's at right now. I frankly think her performance in Somewhere is worth more than her sister's whole career.
Her sister seems to be surpassing her a bit. But Dakota also seems more focused on going to university.
While it has felt like Elle's career has been on the upswing over her sister's ever since "Somewhere" I am happy with the roles she's gotten (and delivered). Haven't seen "Ginger and Rosa" yet but I hear she's amazing in it. I know Dakota had a film out last year called "Now is Good" (which received a direct-to-DVD release here), but I do believe she has the talent to nab herself an Oscar-worthy role as she gets older. She just needs the right role.
Except she doesn't go to her classes...she's been in LA most of the time!
I will always adore Dakota because of "The Runaways." She is great in that film. She has the goods to be a major actress, but I agree, this time of age is awkward. Isn't there some Kevin Huvane, Jr. who can help steer her career? I am surprised that his group of A-list actresses have stayed with him, especially after Oprah canned him and ___ has had three bombs in a row.