One of the most controversial films at Sundance this year, Dakota Fanning's Hounddog, turned out to be...not all that controversial. The film contains a scene in which Fanning's character is raped by a slightly older boy, but the final cut is not nearly as explicit as initial reports were saying. Ahhh, leave it to the old rumor mill to make things out to be more than they actually are. At Sundance, Dakota talked openly for the first time about her experience making the film and the pre-screening backlash. Here's more:
Some who bashed the film's concept "were attacking my family and me, and that's where it got too far," says Fanning, 12, jabbing her finger into a table at a restaurant. "Pretty much everybody who talked about it attacked my mother, which I did not appreciate. That was extremely uncalled for and hurtful."
The scene in question is ultimately less than a minute long and includes only quick shots of her face, hands and foot. At no point was Dakota naked during the filming. For more of Dakota and her costars' take on the experience just read more
[Co-Star of the film, Robin] Wright Penn said: "It's uncomfortable to see a real 12-year-old portray that truth, but everybody needs to allow it. I'm not saying accept it, but stop trying to censor it."
Fanning said that even if she hadn't been in the movie, she would want to see it. And [the film's director Deborah] Kampmeier said two mothers approached her after the screening to say they planned to bring their 13-year-old daughters when it is shown in wider release. So far, the film has not been purchased for distribution.
"I know my mom would take me to see it," said Fanning, who turns 13 in February. "You have to prepare your children for things that happen in the world. Everything isn't rosy."
Geez, talk about a well-spoken 13-year-old. Who knows if this film will be picked up, or turn out to be the Oscar vehicle for Dakota that early reports suggested, but at least now the world can rest assured that a naked Dakota Fanning will not be coming soon to a theater near you.
La Redoute
Just Cavalli
James Darby
she seems like a very smart, very sweet girl. i hope everything works out for her.
1seriously this is disgusting to say that about a girl that young
2I love the fact that a 12 year old has the film career that LL sooooo desperately seeks.
As much as her maturity creeps me out she does make really good film choices. I wonder about her staying power though. How far can she really take it??
3all her roles so far are fantastic
4aww she is soo cute, and a great actress!!!she is growing up
5she is soo adorable...i loved that horse movie she was in...dang it i forgot the name!
6My daughter loved her in Charlotte's Web.
7I kinda freaked out when the the story of Dakota doing a rape movie came out, but the way it has seems ok. I'll prolly see it if I can. She is such a mature kid. See, Dina, this is how your child actor turns out when you raise her properly...
8i don't know if LL wants her film career...if she did, she would put that as a priority over boozing and partying.
9She seems so smart and mature - and reminds me somehow of Jodie Foster. It's funny how 12 year old is wiser than 26 year old heiress!
10She will be a big star one day. I didn't think she would do a nude scene. Another bad rumor.
11Yeah, this whole thing was weird. She is such a good little actress, I hope she stays so smart and grounded...can we buy her some trashy Hollywood starlet repellent to protect her?
12she''s very talented and seems so smart
future oscar winner
13Didn't Brooke Shields do some controversial stuff? At least she wasn't put in a movie about some hookers! And if anyone has seen the line up, I would say there is more controversial stuff at Sundance...like the film about men doing it with animals. Whatever.
She sounds like a bright kid. Always liked her. More proof the media likes to blow things out of proporation. Maybe this might inspire someone to become an advocate against pedophilia and child molestations. Nothing makes my blood boil more.
14MBM
I believe the role in question involved her being raped.
A little too much for a 12 year old to pretend & nothing I need to watch. Lived it. Survived it...no need to go back.
I don't think the story had to SHOW the rape even if it just shows her hand, foot & face. I think it's terrible.
15Oh that's so stupid, I can't believe they said that of her, leave the poor girl alone. She is a very promising actress and at her age she sounds incredibly mature
16MBM
17Am I the only one who thinks it's inappropriate to show (even if it's only hands, foot face) a 12 year old being raped?
Hello???
melissabritt, I think that it's inappropriate for 12 year olds to be raped, but as long as such acts take place, I think that any means that raise public awareness should be tried. You've hinted at some personal experience with the issue and I understand that you don't want to relive the experiences. But as I understand it, this movie is intended to express the horror of such acts - possibly inspiring people to work to stop them. That's a result that I can't argue with.
18MBM
19Snickerdoodle, I see your point, but I wonder who is this movie going to reach out to?
There are lot's of movies out here where little girls get raped. Check out Lifetime Movie Network if you have cable or satilite. There is no need to jump on one little girl/actress about one movie scene, besides she seems very much mature to handle something as graphic as a rape scene in a movie. She obviously knows that it happens and so does everyone else and there is no need for people to act like it doesn't exsist.
20I love Dakota!! She is soo cute and a great actress. Im sure the rape scene isnt THAT bad.
21i hope she doesnt turn up like LL
22but i do think shes smarter than that
She's only 12 years old so I doubt they would let the scene be very explicit.
23Our country has a real problem with censorship. Im not saying that movies should have pre-teens being raped but we try to sugar coat everything. In this country we censor sex and nudity more than violence. Our ratings board for movies will quickly give a movie an R rating for sex but R ratings on violent movies are harder to get. When you go to other countries sex and nudity isnt as taboo. I think that if we as a country were more open about sex and nudity and everything that comes with it (the good and the bad) then things like this wouldnt be an issue and people would be more willing to talk about things
24she seems like such a smart little girl and she is so talented i hope she stays away from all the bs in hollywood as she gets older...she reminds me of a young drew barrymore
"stay far from timid, only make moves when your hearts in it and live the phrase sky's the limit."
25I'm glad she stopped dressing like she's six years old.
26I agree with JessNess, censorship is out of control in this country. Others view Americans as prudes. It's not like she was doing porn, or even naked. And since when is rape an inappropriate subject for films? It happens, it's reality. Why keep it Tabu? I'm confused.
27I think she was mature enought to handle the situation. She is a seasoned little actress and I am sure she was not traumatized during filming.
28This would not be the first time young Dakota has had to deal with this type of story line . In an early episode of CSI( las vegas) she plays a victim of sexual assult. This was several years ago. While this film will undoubtedly get more exposrre than that episode, I doubt there wasn't anywhere near as much interest in it just because she wasn't nearly as popular as she is now. While I don't agree with having child actors having rape scenes , it is sadly a part of life and if the actors are comfortable enough with it then maybe shining some light on the subject could ultimately help a child in that situation in their daily life. I don't see any harm in that.
Ali
love, piese and chicken grease.
29I'm not an expert on sexual assault, melissabritt, but I think that the audience that would be affected by this issue could be pretty diverse - adults that simply never considered the reality of child molestation, victims of sexual assault who have not sought the help that this movie exposed as necessary, etc. Again, I'm not an expert on the issue or on the effects of this particular film, but I'm a firm believer in movies having an impact on lives.
Of course, this is all dependent on the film being any good. It would be pretty hilarious if everyone set this up as a big step forward OR back, and it just ended up being crap.
30I think that at 12, Dakota can fully understand what rape is about and be able to make a rational decision about whether she wants to portray it. She seems like a very wise & mature little girl, and I seriously doubt that she felt exploited by this movie.
31Is this ment to be entertainment???? Young girl getting raped.....WTF???
If it is tame or even implied I will not watch this film...how totally disgusting
32while cute, dakota is a kinda creepy in an overly mature way...some say she is not 12 but is actually around 30... ~Let's Go~
33i kinda agree about the whole 12 yr old thing - i mean at 12 yrs old what did i know? it seems a little harsh to be subjecting her to this but i guess it was their (her parents) choice to make.
also, isn't it kinda weird/hypocritical that she's prob not even old enough to watch ?
jeez, dakota sounds quite jaded for her age , i mean everything isn't rosy ... a little much don't ya think?
34i dont wanna see dakota get raped
35or any 12 year old get raped for that matter
watching anyone get raped is awful but a little girl
thats too disturbing
This is obv a touchy subject but I think as long as it was done in the way they describe it, and Dakota and her parents knew exactly what they were getting into it's ok. Obv it's disturbing but I think it's all about how it's done.
36What I find so interesting about this whole thing is that I've seen two highly regarded films in the last year or so ("Babel" and "The Squid and the Whale") in which young boys (about 12-13 years old) have had masturbating scenes, which no one really said anything about, that I read anyways. I realize that masturbating isn't exactly sex, but it is sexually explicit in nature and it bothered me to see young boys doing that on film. All I could think watching those scenes was "how did their parents explain to them what to do in this scene and why?"
Dakota certainly seems to have her head on straight and is mature to handle the situation. And I guess it needs to be the parent's decision if their kid can handle this sort of thing.
37I
her! 
38I think she's a fantastic actress even though she's only 12....
Awesome I'll give her props for her work
i seriously would hope that wouldn't even cross the mind of someone to put dakota fanning in a nude scene. they'd look like pedofiles
39What a nice kid. I can sort of understand the backlash - the subject matter is far from 'sweet', but Dakota squashed that argument by acknowledging that life isn't always rosy.
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