Dakota Fanning: No New Role in Sight
Fans of Dakota Fanning were eager to see the 16-year-old tackle a serious dramatic role as the lead in the supernatural drama If I Stay. But a representative for Dakota recently confirmed that she had opted out of the movie (which she booked in October), leaving the actress with no new lead role in sight -- and If I Stay without a star.
Why did Dakota walk away? She's putting her education first. According to her rep, Dakota will still shoot the two The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn films (in which she plays Jane, a supporting role that brings a much lighter workload), and she may also shoot a small independent movie. But Dakota will not take on any lead roles until after she graduates from high school in Spring 2011.
Dakota at her most recent appearance, the BAFTA/LA Awards, November 2010
If I Stay has now lost both a star and a director (Catherine Hardwicke was attached before leaving to shoot the dark fable Red Riding Hood; she has been replaced by a Brazilian filmmaker named Heitor Dhalia). The studio also might have some reservations about the film in the wake of the poor performance of another supernatural teen drama, Charlie St. Cloud, earlier this year.
Fanning's stock remains high for producers who are attracted to her mix of vulnerability and maturity, qualities she put to good use in this year's rock'n'roll biopic The Runaways. This news comes at a time when another Fanning's star is rising too: Dakota's little sister Elle currently stars in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, which has drawn strong reviews, and The Nutcracker in 3D.