Ooohh She's Mad Now!

Okay, so I don't know if yall heard about this story, but Dakota Fanning is starring in a new film currently being screened at Sundance called Hounddog. Well the movie is causing a bit of a ruckus in the indie film community because there is a "rape scene" with 12-year old Dakota. Ummm...so what's the problem? Problem is the film as of right now has no buyers. The Sundance Film Festival is a not a showcase for films, but a movie meat market to buy, sell, and later distribute independent films.

Not a good thing if no one wants to buy the damn thing. But Dakota defends her film and critics after her mother, agent, and acting coach were criticized for allowing Dakota to go through with the scene:

“When it gets to the point of attacking my mother, my agent … my teacher, who were all on the set that day, that started to make me mad. I can let other things go, but when people start to talk about my mother, like, that’s really bad in my opinion …
that’s an attack, and that’s not fair. They hadn’t seen the film. It's not a rape movie. That’s not even the point of the film.”

The film is directed by Deborah Kampmeier, who actually once taught at NYU. She also directed another controversial film that had much critical acclaim called Virgin.

Yea, but you know that if it does get its distribution (which it will) people will go to the theaters just to see the "Dakota Fanning Rape Scene". It's an issue where you feel torn. To the director it is seen as innovative and bold to have a 12 year old actress perform a rape scene, to a film critic, they find in exploitative and disgusting that the scene has to actually be re-enacted. Either way, the film is causing controversy, which means people will want to see it, just because its bein talked about. I mean after all, isn't that what Hollywood is all about...causing a controversial stir for the sake of public relations??



Mmmmm hmmm.