Dakota Fanning’s all grown up.
Credit: getty
Now a confident 20 years old, former child star Dakota Fanning has comfortably moved into more mature roles, including her latest, “Very Good Girls,” which sees her opposite Elizabeth Olsen as a pair of friends fumbling through the summer before college on the fringes of New York City. But with so many interesting indie projects due to come out or in the works, it can be tough for any young actress to keep them all straight.
You’ve made quite a few movies since filming this. Is it tough remembering which one you’re supposed to be talking about during interviews?
Sometimes I think when you make a movie and you’re finished with it, as an actor it’s really important to just let it go and just let the experience be the experience, move on, and whatever happens after that happens. It does sometimes take you a minute. I find myself talking about the film and talking about the character and trying to make sure that I’m talking about the right thing. (laughs) Because the experience was a long time ago and the last time I saw the movie was at Sundance. But it was a very memorable experience for sure.
I’m sure it can get confusing.
There’s also so much misinformation, too. I did a movie called the “Last of Robin Hood,” and somebody interviewing me asked about it like, “What was it like making a movie about the iconic character Robin Hood?” And you’re like, “This is not about Robin Hood, this is about Errol Flynn. Now you’re confusing me because you’re confused.” (laughs)
In this you’re portraying a very interesting time in a young woman’s life.
When I first read the script I was experiencing kind of the same time in my own life, so I could relate to it in that way and that’s what made me feel like I wanted to do it to begin with. And then by the time we made it I had already experienced it and had kind of had the full circle experience of what leaving home and going to school or living on your own for the first time means, so I had a deeper understanding. Just good timing, I guess.
You’ve been working with some great female directors, like Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal on this and Kelly Reichardt on “Night Moves” earlier this year.
I’ve worked with a lot of female directors, and I think that it’s wonderful. Something that Kelly said was it would be really cool when everyone’s just a director, you know? And it’s an equal amount of women and an equal amount of men, and it’s just the director and the film. That makes a lot sense. There is still such a thing of like, “And it’s made by a woman!” There are still far fewer female directors, and I don’t know why that is because there’s no shortage of talented women that want to be directors, I’m sure. It will be cool when it’s just, like, directors.
So what else can we do to get there already?
I know, I don’t know. I suppose continuing to help get these films made, like “Night Moves” or “Very Good Girls,” and supporting these women who want to make movies. I think that’s what I’ll do.
