She’s done it! Well, almost. Dakota Fanning has managed to embark on the Natalie Portman or Reese Witherspoon route instead of the Linday Lohan downward spiral. She’s all grown up and unlike some other famously adorable kid stars (see: Lohan, Jonathan Lipnicki and Haley Joel Osment), she’s managed to turn her child star career into a teen queen career and now she’s got her sights set on yet another Summit Entertainment film geared toward the young adult set.
You may remember that Fanning took on a vampiress role in the latest installment of the Twilight series (where she out-acted everyone and yes, I’m embarrassed to admit I actually saw the movie, but there you have it). Now she’s in talks to keep the supernatural mojo going with another picture for Summit called If I Stay.
The film is based of a teen novel of the same name and is about a young musician and her boyfriend – an indie musician with a promising career ahead of him. Fanning’s possible lead is a 17 year-old who struggles with her differences with her parents and the opposition of her art and her romantic relationship – basically a sampling of all of the things most teens have to deal with. The supernatural element comes in when the protagonist is involved in a car accident that kills her parents and sends her into a bout of reflection. The film would have united Fanning with Twilight’s director, Catherine Hardwicke, but she’s since been replaced by Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia.
Summit is quickly becoming the go-to serious teen movie studio with recent films like Letters to Juliet, Remember Me, and the Twilight Saga movies and they’ve had their eyes on this project since before the book ever even hit the bookstore shelves. As they continue to produce heavier teen films, I think Fanning is a natural choice. It’s about time teen-fare took on a poised, well-spoken young woman who can actually act in a leading role. No offense, Kristen Stewart, but scowling and running your fingers through your hair every five seconds doesn’t make you a good role model.
Source: Variety
