Little Dakota Fanning Is All Grown Up, Almost, in Suggestive New Marc Jacobs Ad
Let's take a closer look at little Dakota Fanning's new ad campaign as the spokesmodel for Marc Jacobs' latest fragrance, Oh, Lola. On the one hand, the 17-year-old Fanning has been preparing us for this moment for years, what with her increasingly mature film roles of late (a lesbian make-out with Kristen Stewart in The Runaways? How edgy!). On the other hand, is anyone ready to see Dakota Fanning in a suggestive pose with a flower in her crotch?
I suppose sometimes a flower in the crotch is just a flower in the crotch and not, say, an obvious metaphor for something else. But consider those confident, come-hither doe eyes, the girly-sweet pink palette, the harsh shock of an American Apparel-esque camera flash, and the fact that the perfume is clearly named after Nabokov's famous young temptress; it's clear we can't all keep pretend Fanning's still a little girl.
(Luckily, there's a new little Fanning on the scene who will stay young and innocent forever! At least, for another few years. Then we'll weep again.)
The upside to Fanning's suggestive new perfume spread is that it might just help her transition from her preternatural-yet-cherubic childhood career into that of a young adult actress. She was never the Disney/Nickelodeon type of bubblegum kid performer, anyway; those tween vets have a tougher time making the leap from innocent tykes to young adults who canoodle their scrawny pop star boyfriends on yachts and go the Lohan route in the public eye. (Selena Gomez, I'm looking at you.)
And the more I keep looking at Dakota-as-Lolita, the more comfortable I am with this bold new (dare I say it?) sexually empowered persona of hers. With her filmography she's 17 going on 22, at least. And at least one of her upcoming films will see her (and Sundance darling Elizabeth Olsen) tackle the challenge of losing her virginity. But is the world ready to say goodbye to the innocent Dakota Fanning it once knew?
• Flower Child! Dakota Fanning Models for Marc Jacobs's Oh, Lola [People]
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"She was never the Disney/Nickelodeon type of bubblegum kid performer, anyway; ...."
Exactly! The book about Dakota's acting in the early years has yet to be written, but you're on the right track.
"But is the world ready to say goodbye to the innocent Dakota Fanning it once knew?"
Dakota has mentioned this very issue--she's concerned that people won't let her grow up. It seems that some haven't seen much of her movies filmed after the spring of 2006. With "Hounddog" (filmed in the summer of 2006), she made an abrupt shift away from child roles--and never went back (BTW, the Lewellen role is still by favorite performance). Even in two of the child movies--"Uptown Girls" and "Hide and Seek"--she didn't play a "nice" little girl. Now, I love all her little characters, but she has to move on. On top of this problem, there are some fans that want her to play what they think of "wholesome" roles; it's not hard to figure out what that's all about. She may lose some people who expect her to carry their flag into the movies.
IMO, Dakota is not a character actor, she's not typecast, and she doesn't just repeat a trademark film persona over and over again. With her talent for putting unique personas on the screen, she dare not get typecast (most especially as sexless--aka "innocent").
Dakota will be 17 1/2 in August; there's no reason at all why she should surpress her sexuality (Remember being 17 1/2--hmmm?). (When she starts college this fall, maybe we'll start reading gossip about her being seen out with guys--could help her (I think)) I've got no problem with the photo itself, but I have no clue about what Jacobs is doing with his Lolita talk. Lolita was 12 1/2 in the book and 14 in the movie. Dakota is well beyond Lolita's age; Lolita was just a kid; the perv professor got himself obsessed with a kid, not even a young adult--just a kid. I didn't read the book, but in the movie, Lolita was just a silly bratty kid. Either way, Dakota-as-Lolita is ridiculous. From the stuff I've read (and it might not be the whole story) I think Jocobs has made a mess by being too loose with his use of "Lolita;" if it weren't for the Lolita talk, I doubt there'd be anywhere near the fuss that's being made now. People are reading vulgarity into the photo that, IMO, isn't there at all.
I worry that Dakota's career will be hurt. She's signed up for six new movies this year and I really hope that most of them will be successes at the box-office in 2012.
what a boring article. she'd 17, modelled for marc jacobs for at least three years, the picture is barely suggestive.
and why are young film actors continually being compared to TV/pop stars. obviously, the film industry would have a very limited audience if most people were like disney/nickelodeon child stars so why bother to point it out.
She's concerned that we wont let her grow up? That's just sad. She's never experienced childhood from all I can see! People wake up! You talk of reality shows and all such nonsense. Let's have a reality check here, k? Is this really what you want to leave our world to? People who haven't been taught morals and ethics enough to see the big picture and make the right decisions with strength and conviction? Dakota my heart hurts for you... As for the people in control of this girls life - SHAME on you!
How original! A perfume bottle in the middle of her crotch! Wow! There's nothing great about that. If that's the only way to transcend from childhood star to adulthood that's a sad commentary. Maybe more mature roles that don't always include sex would help!
@Sunshine Lee...I agree wholeheartedly with your comment. Dakota, go to college and try to enjoy what's left of your youth! As for the people in control of her life....including her Mom, which by the way...where is she...should do a better job of controlling the type of work she's submits to and not be controlled by the $$$$$!
I think this article could have been a little better researched. There's nothing "sweet & innocent" left about Dakota's career... and hasn't been for five years.
In the summer of 2006, she made cinematic history by heading up the first overtly child pornographic film ever made for American theaters- "Hounddog". Not only was it an historic failure and worst film ever from Hollywood, but it threw her once-bright career prospects right into the toilet. And that's where she's been ever since.
One of the many symptoms of this was her association with Marc Jacobs- for the Spring Line of 2007. Not content with having fatally desecrated the onetime crown princess of Hollywood, her handlers exacerbated their crime by playing it up in a series of photos that played up on her downfall role. This included a shot of her wearing a tattered petticoat, backed against a wall and looking fearfully up at the camera- as though cornered by a predator. She was still 12 at the time. But Dakota had now become the supreme pin-up for every pedophile in the country.
And she still is. At least two other pornographic films since "Hounddog" ("The Runaways" and "Motel Life") and now another series of sex-bait ads from Jacobs. She's still only 17. Having destroyed her early A-list career, her handlers are now, it appears, determined to squeeze every cent out of her downfall until they've wrung her dry.
This was once the child that I, myself, once called "America's Daughter". Well... she's an R-rated Hollywood Harlot now. And her sister Elle, who has already had her share of R-rated sleaze, will be lucky to escape that fate. Same agent, same parents, same depravity. God help them both. Their only shortcoming was in that they were surrounded and controlled by adults who were utterly unworthy of them.
Maybe I'm reaching here, but I wonder if it's a coincidence that the name Lola is reminiscent of the name Lolita?
@Polly Kahl....you're not reachin', it means exactly what you think!
I don't think that Dakota is ever going to be the darling of America's religious right conservatives. The idea of her teaming up with people like Glen Beck and David Barton, in their attack on the separation of church and state, is really nonsense--it isn't going to happen. She's not their kind of person. Sure, lots of people besides the R.R. can be upset with this Lolita bit; however, there's a lot more going on in these attacks than just that.
I don't approve of pornography either, and I haven't seen Dakota doing any such roles. She's a very charming young lady and not a "Hollywood Harlot." I see lots of her appearances and interviews; she's not the 4th-of-July-fireworks she was as a child, but she's just as charming as ever. She has said that she likes challenges--including roles that she's not personally comfortable with. She's establishing her versitility, and, IMO (and hope), her future as a heavy-lift dramatic actress. Maybe she'll get to play a realistic psychopath someday. If she were to pull it off well, it would take a lot of attention to detail (perhaps at the level of Jodie Foster's extraordinary performance in "The Accused" and Natalie Portman's extraordinary performance in "Black Swan"--and I'm not referring to the sex scenes). That's hardly a wholesome role, but I'd love to see Dakota try it; you can bet it would be R rated.
I didn't remember the singing group and didn't care for "The Runaways" as a movie, nor did I really admire the Cherie Currie character, but I admire Dakota for playing the role. (I wouldn't have even noticed the movie had Dakota not been it it.) Dakota is a master at the presentaion of unique personas and she, for the 1st time, had the opportunity to do a couple of scenes using a quite disgusting persona--it's called acting and she did it supurbly. As for "Hounddog," I have issues with the movie, but certainly not with the rape scene, which was a powerful and very well done scene. I think this is the movie that really proved Dakota's talent as a dramatic actress (as I wrote above, it's still my favorite Dakota performance). Dakota said:
Source: http://movies.commongate.com/post/Dakota_Fanning_It_s_called_acting/
The director of "Hounddog" said that the rape scene was made in pieces; I've watched the scene carefully and it's easy to see how that could have been done--both with audio and video pieces and, perhaps, even stand-ins for several back of the head views.
Was her low output in the years following "Hounddog" due to that movie or to the fact that she started high school? I don't know. Or maybe it was due to the fact that her cute child roles were at an end. BTW, people drag up "Hounddog" and "The Runaways" and forget about the other recent movies: "Push," "The Secret Life of Bees," and the two Twilight Saga movies; she surely wasn't a "harlot" in any of them. "The Motel Life" only finished filming around the March 11; no one has even seen it yet. As far as I know, Dakota's character is a prostitute or former child prostitute, but that, alone, doesn't make the film pornography. Anyway, I'll just have to wait 'til I see it before I make a judgement about it. Last I read, a producer said the movie was headed for a mid 2012 release. Funny thing: novels and the movies based on them often don't sync.
As I believe it's clear from my comment above, I think a 17 year old Lolita is absurd in concept and Jocobs has made an unnecessary mess. I have no idea why he thinks this pitch would appeal to female customers. As for the photo itself, I have no problem with Dakota doing it. It has a sexy edge, but Dakota is old enough for that (I didn't even know about the Lolita angle when I first saw the photo).
I've got a lot of issues (lack of integration, pathetic plotholes, scenes that go on and on after the point has been made, gratuitous whatever) with the movies now , and that includes the insiped and brazenly irrationalist "Charlotte's Web"--a movie I need to watch for the 2nd time, but can't bear. However, I love to watch "Hounddog," just to see Dakota's magnificent performance.
Weird, she looks like Madonna
Thanks for the self-important lecture on what really matters, lady posting Movieline comments!
her arm looks broken. but id agree to say the pic hardly looks suggestive. lets not start saying shes growing up now. a pic to cause a big stir is ridiculous because she already did the much more grown up thing with the runaways movie.