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  • Elle Fanning Plays Transgender Teen in ‘About Ray’

    Elle Fanning played one of her hardest, most complex roles yet in a film that premieres on September 18. Called About Ray, Fanning plays a transgender teen.

    “I was really nervous not to screw up, because this is for transgender kids out there,” Elle Fanning says in an interview with The EDIT.

    “We had trans kids at my school,” the 17-year-old sister of actress Dakota Fanning says of her private school. “They come back after the summer and you have to use different pronouns.”

    Elle Fanning plays a transgender teen who is transitioning from female to male. She will soon be known as Ray rather than Ramona.

    Elle had to bind her chest in the film to play the role of Ray.

    “It’s like a sports bra that you wrap around, only it’s Velcro,” she explains in her interview.

    Elle Fanning was determined to do whatever was necessary in order to successfully play her role. The chest binding was very uncomfortable, but she persevered.

    “It really kills your back!” she explains. “I had to wear one every morning. It hurt so bad!”

    Fanning, who played opposite Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, now can say she has starred alongside some other Hollywood greats. In About Ray, Naomi Watts plays Elle’s character’s mother. Susan Sarandon plays the grandmother.

    Transgender films and TV shows are becoming increasingly popular. Caitlyn Jenner stars in I Am Cait on the E! network. Eddie Redmayne will soon star in The Danish Girl when it hits theaters in November.

    Will Elle Fanning make an even bigger name for herself when she hits the big screen as Ray in About Ray? Is this a film you will plan to see?

  • Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves Join Elle Fanning in ‘The Neon Demon’

    Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame has joined the cast of an upcoming Nicolas Refn film called The Neon Demon. Actor Keanu Reeves has reportedly signed on the dotted line as well. The film stars Elle Fanning, and Variety calls it a ‘subversive female-driven horror tale.’

    Abbey Lee, Jena Malone, and Bella Heathcote–known for their roles in Drive, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and Dark Shadows, respectively–round out the star-studded cast.

    Production of the film is scheduled to begin in late March.

    This isn’t the first Nicolas Refn film for Christina Hendricks. Both she and her The Neon Demon costar Abbey Lee also starred in his film Drive. Refn wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film with newcomer Mary Law.

    Keanu Reeves might feel like he’s lost in a sea of estrogen as he stars in the upcoming film along with all these women. However not many men would balk at hanging around a movie set with someone as gorgeous as Christina Hendricks.

    Nicolas Refn isn’t spilling anything about the plot of The Neon Demon just yet. He is no doubt hoping that the cast members will be enough of a draw prior to the start of production.

    Are you a Christina Hendricks fan? Might you consider checking out what sounds like a rather dark thriller when this new film hits theaters?

    The Neon Demon is set to premiere in U.S. theaters some time in 2016.

  • Elle Fanning Chops Locks, Says No Makeup Is Sexier

    Elle Fanning has been the sweet-faced blonde with an infectious smile in nearly everything she’s been in; for Maleficent, in which she played the forever-effervescent Aurora, her bubbly personality worked as perfectly as her fair hair did. But now she’s trying something a little different, and while it’s unclear whether it’s for a role or just because she was ready for a change, she does have the web buzzing.

    The 16-year old chopped several inches off her mane and went to a shimmery brunette over the weekend, and now that she’s doing press for The Boxtrolls, photos of the change are spreading online as fall is officially declared the “brunette season”.

    Fanning recently weighed in on what makes a girl beautiful, saying she doesn’t go in for the heavy makeup her peers do.

    “I just feel like it’s better, looking fresh. It’s also sexier not wearing any makeup at all. Like, honestly, if you talk to guys, they’ll all think that,” she told Teen Vogue.

    As for any guys who think they have what it takes to win Elle’s heart? They have to be down for some quirkiness.

    “Well, I want a boy to like my weird style. If he doesn’t, then he’s not the right person for me. Because if you start dressing one way and it’s not truly you, then you have to stick to it. Otherwise, you wear your weird thing and then he’s like, “What’s that?” and you’re like, “Well, I like it!” And then you are in an uncomfortable situation,” she said.

  • Elle Fanning, Sister Dakota May Do Movie Together

    Elle and Dakota Fanning are tearing it up these days in Hollywood as two sisters who have found a way to circumvent the trappings of being a young, hot star. Staying grounded has been one way to ensure that they stay focused on their respective careers, which Dakota says stay separate from one another by choice.

    “We’ve really kept that part of our lives separate. She’s never asked me whether she should do a movie or not. I always know what she’s filming and where she is and who she’s working with, but I don’t give her advice on it. We both have our own paths that we’re confident in, so she’s never asked me. Of course I’d tell her if she wanted me to, but I also think that choosing the films that you want to do is a really personal thing—it’s kind of just a feeling that you get and you’re the only person who understands it,” she said.

    Though Elle has been a working actress since she was very young–appearing in film and on television and even playing a younger version of her sister in I Am Sam–the world really began to take notice of her when she starred in 2011’s Super 8, playing a bit of a wild girl from a troubled family. In that role, audiences got to see how mature she could go, and from there, her career skyrocketed.

    Dakota says that while the two of them would love to work together again, they’re waiting for the right script to come along…and that preferably, it will allow them to branch out and play characters who aren’t sisters.

    “Doing a movie together is something we would definitely be interested in, but it’s just about finding the right thing. Most of the things that have been brought to us had to do with playing sisters, and we both think it would be more unique to not play sisters. It’s something we’ll definitely do, but it’s one of those things you want to do really amazingly one time,” she said.

    Both sisters have projects coming up: Elle in How To Talk To Girls At Parties and Dakota in The Last Of Robin Hood. They also have films out currently, with Elle starring in Maleficent and Dakota taking the lead in Very Good Girls.

    Image via YouTube

  • Dakota Fanning Won’t Parade Personal Life

    Dakota Fanning is insistent upon the fact that she won’t parade her personal life in front of anyone’s cameras. And at times the Very Good Girls star is a bit miffed at how people think they know her personally. It’s probably not unlike many former child stars who have grown up on the big screen or on TV. Fans feel like they’re part of their own lives. Dakota feels passionately that they’re not.

    “Because people saw me grow up, there’s this weird sort of ownership that they feel for me and that is… difficult. Because it’s not real; it’s in their minds. People don’t know me as much as they think they do,” she said during a recent interview with Town and Country magazine. “I’ll be walking down the street and someone will say hello, and I’ll go, ‘Oh, hi!’ I’ll think I must know this person if they said hello, but then you realize, you don’t know them.”

    She also dished on her decision to thrust herself into the limelight–one say says was no one’s but her own.

    “I was an exceptionally mature child,” she said.

    That maturity is likely what makes her even more determined–at 20–to keep her private life to herself.

    “I’m just never going to parade my personal life. If you choose to not do it, it’s not hard to not do it,” she said. “Any part of an artistic business is made better by there being a little mystery. That’s what movies are about.”

    Fanning’s life in Very Good Girls is not so private. Her character and that of Elizabeth Olsen–best friends for years–make a pact to lose their virginity before heading off to college. The plot takes a twist when they both start seeing the same man. The film debuted at Sundance in January and is expected to be released in limited theaters across the U.S. later in July.

    Dakota Fanning’s younger sister Elle Fanning has made quite a name for herself in the acting world, too–most recently starring with Angelina Jolie in Maleficent. It’s uncertain if she plans to keep her private life as private as big sister Dakota’s but so far not much about it has hit the media–so it’s a safe bet she’ll share little to nothing with her fans, too.

    In the meantime Dakota Fanning is going full steam ahead with her film work. She is seeking roles depicting strong female characters and hopes to eventually try her hand at directing, too.

    “It’s very hard to find a movie about a strong woman – one that doesn’t have anything to do with a guy or the love of a guy or the heartbreak of a guy,” she said. “Is that the only crisis that women deal with: love and loss of love and sadness? There’s more to life than that.”

    Fanning played a role about love, lust, and female wiles in The Last of Robin Hood–an indie film that screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

    There’s clearly way more to life than cunningness and heartbreak in Dakota Fanning’s world–however by her own choosing her fans won’t be privy to much of it at all. Good for her for respecting her privacy and insisting that it remain that way with her fans as well.

    Image via YouTube

  • Maleficent Opens To Lukewarm Reviews

    Maleficent Opens To Lukewarm Reviews

    How and why do villains go bad? Were they born evil or did some horrific tragedy occur to make them vengeful? The new Disney film Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie as the titular character attempts to answer those questions.

    The movie is said to be extremely CGI-heavy. Andrew O’Hehir from salon.com described the look of the film, “As a visual combination of Walt Disney, James Cameron, Arthur Rackham and Sir John Tenniel, Maleficent is one of the most remarkable spectacles of the CGI age, and one of the few recent 3-D movies where it’s probably worth paying extra for those damn glasses.”

    Here’s the full synopsis:

    A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.

    The premise for the origins film is a sound one, however, movie critics have not been too kind to Maleficent, which opened today in theaters nationwide. The film is currently averaging a 49 percent rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

    The general buzz regarding Jolie has been mostly positive. It never hurts to have one of the biggest movie stars in the world playing such an iconic Disney role. The film also features Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora.

    Despite tepid reviews, Box Office Mojo is predicting that the film will have a very strong opening weekend, even though it has some tough competition. Also opening today is Seth McFarlane’s farce A Million Ways to Die in the West and it’s only the second weekend in release for X-Men: Days of Future Past.

    Do you plan to see Maleficent this weekend?

    Image via Maleficent, Twitter

  • Angelina Jolie: New ‘Maleficent’ Trailer Released

    Angelina Jolie flies in a new trailer touting her upcoming film Maleficent. The Disney drama is set to hit theaters in May, and also stars Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora. A new take on Sleeping Beauty, Jolie tells the fairy tale from the wicked witch’s point of view. It tells the story of why she casts the evil spell on Princess Aurora.

    The film’s newest trailer features a clip where Jolie and Fanning’s characters are in the forest talking.

    “All the other fairies fly, why don’t you?” Aurora (Elle Fanning) asks Maleficent. “I had wings once, they were strong,” the villainess replies as the clip cuts to Jolie flying. “But they were stolen from me. There is evil in this world. Hatred and revenge.”

    “Is it true? Are you Maleficent?” Sleeping Beauty says with fear in her eyes as Jolie’s character touches an evil finger to her lips.

    Angelina Jolie recently talked about the physically challenging scenes required in order to pull off her role. She even agreed to do yoga, but she didn’t like it.

    “She made me do yoga,” she said of her longtime stunt coordinator Eunice Huthart. “And I have no patience for yoga. It’s not something I do easily, because I’m not a still person. But I was forced to do yoga because [to fly] you have to have your core strength to be able to hold yourself.”

    As with every role Angelina Jolie plays, her role in Maleficent is no doubt polished to perfection. The mom of six is known for doing everything to the very best of her abilities and those abilities seem to only increase with time.

    Will you be checking out Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning in Maleficent when it hits theaters in May? Do you think the film will be a bit too frightening for young children?

    Image via YouTube

  • ‘Maleficent’ Shows Angelina Jolie in Terrifying Role

    Maleficent, a new film starring Angelina Jolie, won’t hit theaters until May of 2014, but it’s creating quite a buzz four months shy of its premiere. Part of the talk is about how positively terrifying Jolie is in her role as the Mistress of All Evil. The live action reboot of Disney’s 1959 version of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent also stars Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, the object of Jolie’s evil.

    The new trailer features Angelina Jolie appearing on scene following Princess Aurora’s receipt of the gift of beauty from a fairy.

    “I, too, shall bestow a gift upon the child,” she tells the king. Instead of a gift, however, she bestows a curse upon Princess Aurora.

    Maleficent is the story of Sleeping Beauty told from the point of view of the “wicked witch.” It helps explain why the villainess has such a wicked heart.

    Some parents are no doubt wondering since seeing this new trailer if Maleficent is appropriate for for viewing by small children. Jolie truly is terrifying–enough so to give adults–let alone small children–horrible nightmares after seeing a whole film’s worth of her horrifying faces and antics on the big screen.

    Elle Fanning, on the other hand, is exquisitely beautiful and filled with sweetness as she tries to coax the real story of her miserable life from Maleficent

    “You’ve been watching over me my whole life. I know you’re there,” she says to Angelina Jolie’s character. “Your shadow, it’s been following me ever since I was small. Don’t be afraid.”

    “I am not afraid,” Jolie says to her.

    Angelina Jolie might not be afraid, but fans seeing this film might be. Do you think this is the kind of Sleeping Beauty tale you’d take your little girl to see? It seems far more like a horror flick than a princess movie.

    Image via Facebook

  • Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning Grow Apart, Live Bi-coastal

    There’s always some form of sacrifice that comes with success, and it appears sister-actresses Elle and Dakota Fanning are feeling the effects of it all. The two have been reportedly growing apart for quite some time now, as they are both focusing on personal and career aspirations.

    According to Radar Online, the two siblings, who live on opposite ends of the country, have different perspectives and exceptions where their careers are concerned. This is partially why Dakota made the decision to leave Los Angeles. The Secret Life of Bees star made the move in an effort to distance herself from her younger sister. A source close to the two siblings spoke exclusively with Radar Online to address the separation.

    “They have something of a peace treaty, in the sense that Elle gets L.A. to herself, while Dakota is much happier in New York. Dakota is living off of the fortune she made as a child actor, instead of chasing after every big job under the sun,” the source tells Radar.

    This actually explains why the two are rarely ever seen together. Even pictures of the two together are a rare find, as they’ve redirected their focus toward developing their own identities, expanding their film resumes.

    The source goes on to explain their distinct personality traits that contribute to their constant opposition. “Elle is the more ambitious one. Dakota is the one who could quit acting to start a band at the drop of a hat. Dakota is completely unimpressed with the red carpet culture in Hollywood, while Elle totally worships it,” explains the source.

    While the synopsis is rather disheartening, it definitely elucidates how the two could clash. However, the opposition hasn’t had much bearing on Elle’s career, as she continues to move forward.

    Elle Fanning recently wrapped up her latest film project Maleficent with veteran actress Angelina Jolie. The film is scheduled to hit theaters May 30, 2014. When asked about the 14-year-old actress, Jolie spoke of her co-star’s work with high regards saying that she ‘hopes to work with her again in the future’.

    ”They became firm friends on the set of Maleficent, and Angie’s decided to take Elle under her wing,” a source told Star Magazine. “In this film, Elle really comes into her own and they’re looking for another project to develop together.”

    Image via Facebook | Elle Fanning

     

  • Dakota Fanning and Sister Growing Apart

    Dakota Fanning and her younger sister Elle Fanning are reportedly growing apart. They’ll be even further apart now that Dakota has decided to make New York her permanent home. Admittedly sick of the whole Hollywood scene, Dakota is happier away from the limelight–and away from her sister, too, it seems.

    Just under a year ago, both Dakota and her sister were the faces of the J. Estina advertising campaign. Headlining the company’s Brilliant Princess promotion, they told morning TV hosts how much fun they were having together. It seems that Elle was likely having way more fun than Dakota. Sources say she could ditch the whole red carpet thing and hang out with her friends in New York City instead. Elle, however, is becoming quite the big Hollywood name. She has four major film projects lined up for 2014 alone.

    Dakota Fanning is said to be living quite nicely off the fortune she made as a child actress. She doesn’t jump at every film offer she receives these days.

    “Elle is the more ambitious one. Dakota is the one who could quit acting to start a band at the drop of a hat. Dakota is completely unimpressed with the red carpet culture in Hollywood, while Elle totally worships it,” a source says.

    Elle Fanning found herself under Angelina Jolie’s wing since the recent filming of Maleficent. The two became close on set and remain that way still.

    Dakota Fanning and her sister have worked out a bit of a truce, it seems. As long as Elle has L.A. to herself, Dakota will remain quite happy in New York. It’s too bad–since they are sisters–they can’t get along as siblings, however, and not allow the fame and fortune of Hollywood to come between them.

    Dakota Fanning’s recent film projects include Franny, which is presently in production. Effie and Every Secret Thing are in post-production. She starred in both Night Moves and Very Good Girls in 2013.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Lena Headey Will Narrate Audiobook of “Low Down”

    While she was already set to appear in the film adaptation of the book, Lena Headey is now going to be narrating the audiobook version of the memoir, Low Down. The film is set to be released next year, and already has an excellent cast set, including Headey as Sheila Albany.

    The book is a memoir that tells the story from A.J. Albany’s perspective, as the daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany, detailing what it was like growing up with a musician for a parent. Lena Headey plays the A.J.’s mother, Sheila in what is likely to be a hit film.

    In addition to Lena Headey’s role in the film as her mother, A.J. Albany will be played by Elle Fanning, and her father’s role will be filled by John Hawkes.

    The audio edition of the book was released on Tuesday by Simon and Schuster, and features the British actress’ voice as the narrator.

    Prior to her involvement with the Low Down project, Lena Headey has gained much of her fame from the popular hit HBO show, Game Of Thrones. The 40-year-old actress also played the title role of Sarah Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in addition to several film roles including 300 and The Brothers Grimm.

    First published in 2003, the book tells a true story of what it was like for Amy “A.J.” Albany growing up with a famous jazz pianist for a father.

    Lena Headey has established herself as one of the most desired actresses in the industry due to her Game Of Thrones fame, and will likely show why when she appears in the film version of Low Down. She is a native of Britain, but has certainly won over fans worldwide after three seasons of the show.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons