Dakota
Fanning is
"Coraline"
by Lynn Barker
 She's
everywhere...especially this week with the sci fi film Push and
the spooky, animated 3-D tale Coraline coming out! 14-year-old
(she'll be 15 later this month) Dakota Fanning is a bit more grown up
now, a cheerleader at her high school and she's taking on teen-appropriate
roles. She'll have to leave the cute kid roles to her younger sister Elle.
The new Dakota is even more sharp and down-to-earth and she knows what
she wants.
We've noted
in our "all-Dakota-all-the-time" interview week, that the young
actress loves very high heels, jeans and, with her beautiful elfin-flawless
skin and big blue eyes, needs no make-up and doesn't wear any. For our
Coraline interview in Beverly Hills, Dakota wore no jewelry except
her watch, an adorable fuchsia halter top with beading at the neck, rolled
up jeans with a hole in the knee and very high black sandals with 5 inch
cork heels! She likes to use her hands a lot as she chats.
We wanted
to know about her history with Coraline, how she picks her movie
roles, what her relationship with her parents is like and where she sees
herself in ten years. And, oh yeah, has there been any progress on that
rumor that she'll play Jane the Volturi vamp in the New Moon
movie?
AGW: Can you
talk about New Moon? Have you sealed the deal?
Dakota: It's
not a hundred percent yet, set in stone but it's not totally untrue or
a rumor or anything. It's definitely a possibility and it would be really,
really fun to be a part of. I'm a big fan of the cast and to join would
be a really great honor and I really hope that it works out and hope I
can give you a definite answer soon. [laughs]
AGW:
If you do it, what are you looking forward to most?
Dakota: I
think just playing an evil vampire. That's really cool so if I got to
do it that would be probably the most fun part.
AGW:
Who is your cute top by?
Dakota: I
don't know. I'm so sorry. I never look.
AGW:
I think that's in your favor.
Dakota: Really?
AGW:
Yeah, you're very down-to-earth and grounded.
Dakota: Oh,
thank you. That's so nice.
AGW: You've
graduated to wearing the really high heels. Is that something that you've
looked forward to wearing at a certain age?
Dakota: I
would always, at my house, get in my mom's or my grandmother's high heels
ever since I was little so the minute they fit me, I was in 'um! [laughter].
AGW:
So you've been practicing walking in these things for years.
Dakota: Exactly
[laughs].
AGW:
Is this the first time you've recorded a voice for animation?
Dakota: It's
not. It's the first one that's come out in theaters. I did "Lilo
and Stitch 2" which was on DVD and then I did "My Neighbor Totoro"
where I dubbed it from Japanese. I did the English version.
AGW:
How different is it for you doing a vocal performance rather than a live
action role?
Dakota: You
have nothing to rely on but your voice. It's so hard, when you think about
it. At first, you don't know how they do it because look at me right now.
I'm using my body and my hands and everything to describe what I'm trying
to say and you don't have any of that. You just have to solely rely on
your voice to get across the emotions that you're feeling. I think that's
the biggest challenge that you take on when you do an animated movie.
That's what you look forward to exploring; how to do that.
AGW: When
you saw the finished movie, did you notice any of the gestures you made
while recording the voice, coming out in Coraline?
Dakota: Well,
they videotaped me while I was doing it so they could get that and even
my mom was like 'it looks just like you when you when you talk'. I am
like 'really? It really does?' I don't think that I could pick up on what
I do when I talk but people that know me and even people that don't know
me think that Coraline looks just like me so they obviously did a great
job.
AGW:
Coraline had a problem in that her parents seem too busy to really listen
to her. Do your parents really listen to what you have to tell them?
Dakota: Well,
my mom has never had a job other than being a mom so she's always been
there for me every day. My dad works but he's always been there so they've
never been too busy for me like Coraline's parents.
AGW:
Were you familiar with this story before you took the role?
Dakota: I
was. I had read the book and I met with Henry (Selick, the director) and
it was originally going to be the live-action version and I was going
to be Coraline and when they decided to make it animated, I still wanted
to do the voice if they still wanted me to.
AGW:
The parent/child relationship seems a bit dark in this film. Do you have
friends who have problems with their parents?
Dakota: Yeah.
Even though my parents haven't been like Coraline's parents, I think you
always have those moments where you feel like you need some attention.
AGW:
Have you had those times in your life?
Dakota: [nods
yes] I'm an older sibling and I have a younger sibling so there were moments
when I was little where I was like 'you need to focus on me right now'.
You always have those moments, especially when you're growing up and becoming
the older one that should be the responsible one but you still want to
be the little girl in your parents' eyes. I think that's [part of] what
Coraline's dealing with. Not that her parents are mean to her or don't
have time for her, they're just trusting her to be able to entertain herself
as she's growing up.
AGW:
Do you like Coraline's wardrobe? They based it on real kids' clothes.
Would you wear some of the things she wears?
Dakota: I
think it is so fun. I love the raincoat and the striped stockings. Sometimes
I wish that it was a live-action film because I would have loved to wear
those costumes but making it in stop-motion animation with the 3-D element
has made it so amazing.
AGW:
Did you like her blue nail polish?
Dakota: I
love blue nail polish and the blue hair!
AGW:
You aren't home schooled now. You are in private high school. What grade
are you in?
Dakota: I'm
in 10th grade.
AGW:
So what myths that you had heard about school are true and which aren't
true?
Dakota: That
kids are mean. That's not true. [laughs]. That was definitely a myth.
I think people don't believe me when I say 'no. It's great, I have amazing
friends and I do totally normal things'. People are like 'she's just saying
that'. But, really not. I really, truly have the best friends I could
ever ask for and everyone has been so welcoming and not even looked at
me twice and that's been really nice and what I hoped for. I'm so happy
that I found a school also that lets me leave because so many aren't okay
with that. It allowed me to do what I love to do. And, if I hadn't found
a school, I wouldn't have gone to high school because I really want to
be able to have both so I'm lucky that I found that.
 AGW:
You seem to have made the transition from child actor to young adult actor
so easily. Why was it so easy for you? Others have had a real problem
picking transition roles.
Dakota: I
think if you really want it badly enough and you really want it for yourself,
I think you'll be able to do it. For me, I don't think you can take it
too seriously or technically, like 'oh my God, I'm going to transition
from this month to this month and I'm gonna do this movie'. I think the
things that I'm drawn to reflect the age I am and the maturity that I
have and I think you have to be very natural about it. I want to do this
forever and that's why I'm able to keep going because I never want to
stop. I don't ever see myself not doing this.
AGW:
How do you make your film role choices? Alone or with a lot of help?
Dakota: I've
had a lot of great help from my parents, from my agent and my manager
but I think that a lot of it depends on my decision because, when you're
acting, it takes so much out of you and you're giving so much to these
characters. If you're not totally committed and totally love [the role]
and want to be there, I don't think you're gonna get the best out of yourself.
So it depends a lot on my opinion and what inspires me because I'm the
one that's actually doing it. But I have so much support and so much help
from everyone else so I take that into consideration obviously.
AGW:
Are you interested in directing some day?
Dakota: Yeah.
I would love to do that because I love the relationships that I have with
the director as an actor so I would love to be on the other side of that
and see if I would enjoy it more or what it would be like.
AGW:
You've worked with such great actors. Is there one you are still dying
to work with?
Dakota: I've
always wanted to work with Jodie Foster. She's always been such an inspiration;
such a role model to me so I would love to work with her.
AGW:
Jodie Foster was determined to go to college and get a degree. Are you
quite firm about that as well?
Dakota: Yeah.
I really want to. I would love to have that experience. I've always wanted
to. Since I was little, I've wanted to go to college. I always wanted
to go to UCLA so we'll see if that [works out]. It seems like the ultimate
college to me.
AGW: What
was the appeal of Coraline to you?
Dakota: I
think that I just loved the story. Also, that it's something different
than people have seen before in terms of the animation and, visually,
what it looks like. But, also, the story is such a fantasy but it's kind
of scary and kind of fun and heartwarming at the same time. I think it
has all the emotions in one film.
AGW:
Does it have any messages for you?
Dakota: I
think it does. I think we always want what we can't have and want a perfect
world and want to live somewhere that's perfect for us and just for us
and it takes a lot before you realize that there's no such thing as that.
You have to deal with what life throws at you and accept that and live
it to the fullest and so Coraline kind of comes to that realization at
the end of the movie.
AGW:
Good points. Are you a fan of the writer of the "Coraline" book
Neil Gaiman?
Dakota: I
am. I read 'Coraline' even before I knew there was going to be a movie.
It's so good. I've never read Neil Gaiman, crazily. I don't know how that's
happened. I really hope to meet him. I really hope to meet the creator
of this great story. [We tell her she should go out in the hall cuz he's
out there. She laughs].
AGW:
The film has some scary elements. Do you think that this movie would have
scared you when you were seven or six?
Dakota: I
wouldn't have been like 'that's not scary at all'. I think that it does
[scare young kids] but I think that, sometimes, people underestimate what
a child can handle in terms of scariness and fright. Because, if you look
at "The Wizard of Oz", it's one of the greatest children's movies
of all time and the witch and the monkeys are really scary. You know what
I mean? But, I feel that a child should be able to have that kind of edge-of-your-seat
feeling and shouldn't always be really happy. [The movie] doesn't go too
far in the scary parts.
AGW:
Coraline keeps toys and things she loves from her old home when she goes
to a new environment. Is there something; a toy, a doll that's special
to you that you don't think you'll ever get rid of?
Dakota: Yes.
I actually lost it and then I found it. It's a green bear that I got when
I first moved to California. It has holes in it and all the stuffing is
falling out. I tried to sew it up when I was younger and it didn't work
out but when I was in Australia filming Charlotte's Web I lost
it and I was distraught because I thought I would have it forever but
I did find it again.
AGW:
Where was it?
Dakota: It
was behind a drawer because I would always put it in the drawer because
when the housekeepers come to take the sheets in hotels, I thought 'oh,
they're going to throw it away for sure' so I put it in a drawer and somehow
it got pushed behind the drawer and it had this grease mark from the drawer
like oil on it. Ugh, it was terrible.
AGW:
What was your favorite stop-motion cartoon from when you were younger?
Dakota: I
think that Wallace and Gromit was the first one that I ever saw
but now, seeing this movie, it's kind of similar but very different at
the same time. It has a different feeling.
AGW:
When you saw the finished film, with the stop motion animation and the
3-D, what was your reaction?
Dakota: I
was so amazed. When you go visit the set and see all the models and see
the animators and the patience that they have to run in there and move
it [the model of a character], film it and run in there and move it, it's
incredible. I can't even imagine. I have such an appreciation for that.
It's not quite real and it's not quite animated. It's kind of in the middle
which is kind of surreal to watch and especially in 3-D. It makes it even
more different.
AGW: Had you
seen The Nightmare Before Christmas or James and the Giant
Peach before you signed on to this project?
Dakota: Yes
I had. And, the first time I met Henry, he gave me a sketch from The
Nightmare Before Christmas and I treasure that so much. That was
really special.
AGW:
Did you see one of the 9-inch Coraline models or did you not see anything
until after you did your voice work?
Dakota: No.
After. But, I did know what she looked like. They brought some of the
models to show me once they had created them but I did a lot of the voice-over
before they even thought about building the sets so I kind of got a taste
in the middle.
AGW:
Is there a role in scripts you're being sent now that you wanted to do
but maybe your mom thought was a little too old for you?
Dakota: No.
I think that everything I've been drawn to has been appropriate and I've
never had an argument with my mom about it or anything. We're always on
the same page.
AGW:
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Dakota: I
hope to still be acting. I hope to have gone to college and still doing
what I love and enjoying it just as much.
AGW:
Are you still doing photography?
Dakota: Uh
huh. I'm in advanced photography.
AGW:
Are you documenting what goes on on the set?
Dakota: I'm
not and I should be. When I worked on the "Bees"[The Secret
Life of Bees], Jennifer [Hudson], Alicia [Keys] and Queen were just taking
pictures all the time and I was like 'I wish I was doing that too'. I
was jealous. They have all these pictures of me. I don't have any pictures
of them.
AGW:
"The Secret Life of Bees" is coming out on DVD. Did you do some
commentary for it?
Dakota: Yeah,
I did. Me, Gina the director, Queen and Lauren (Schuler Donner) and Joe
(Pichirallo) the producers, we all did commentary together. It was great.
It was so cool to do it with them and we were able to get each other's
memories going of what happened and that was cool.
AGW:
Do you find any difference between working with a female director and
a male director?
Dakota: Especially
on "The Secret Life of Bees", because it was all about mothers
and love and nurturing, I think having a woman director really helped
because she has two children of her own and she could really understand
where my character was coming from, understand where the women were coming
from so I think that that really helped in that particular film.
Photos courtesy
of and copyright Focus Features, 2009
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