By Christina Radish

Dakota Fanning at the premiere for "Push" held at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Calif. on January 29, 2009.

Combining the visionary imaginations of director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and author Neil Gaiman (Sandman), the Focus Features film Coraline is a fantastical and thrilling, fun and suspenseful adventure that combines stop-motion animation with stereoscopic 3-D to create an experience that is unlike anything moviegoers have ever had before.

Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is an 11-year-old girl who is feisty, curious and adventurous beyond her years. She and her parents (voiced by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have just relocated from Michigan to Oregon. Missing her friends and finding her mother and father distracted by their work, Coraline tries to find some excitement in her new environment. She is befriended by local boy Wybie Lovat (voiced by Robert Bailey, Jr.), and visits her eccentric neighbors, the British actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (voiced by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French), as well as the Russian Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), but is still left looking for more. She soon uncovers a secret door in the house and ventures through an eerie passageway, where she discovers an alternate version of her life and existence. On the surface, this parallel reality is similar to her real life, only much better, because the adults, including the solicitous Other Mother (also voiced by Hatcher), seem much more welcoming to her. Coraline is the center of attention there, even for the mysterious Cat (voiced by Keith David), and she begins to think that this Other World might be where she belongs. But, when the seemingly wondrous Other World turns dangerous and Other Mother schemes to keep her there, Coraline must use her determination and bravery to get back home and save her real family.

By the age of 15, Dakota Fanning has become one of the most sought after young actresses in Hollywood. Starting her professional acting career at the age of 5, the Georgia native has already worked with some of the biggest names in the business. The teenage superstar spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about the rumors of her involvement in the Twilight sequel New Moon, and having two films (Coraline and Push) opening in theaters on the same weekend.

MediaBlvd Magazine> Did you love doing Coraline?

Dakota Fanning> I did. It was very fun to get to be a part of this. I’ve been working on it for like five years. Between every movie, I’d do a session, so I was doing two or three sessions a year.

MediaBlvd> Didn’t your voice change a lot, during that time?

Dakota> Yeah, I think it did. I think it did. I had to change it a little bit. Henry would say, “Oh, I think your voice is a little deeper,” so I would fix it.

MediaBlvd> And, you also did a little bit of a Midwestern accent?

Dakota> Yeah. It was a Michigan accent that he wanted. I didn’t really know what that sounded like, but I did that. It was really fun. I thought it added something else to the character and made it not sound like me.

MediaBlvd> Did you know this book?

Dakota> Yeah. It would have to be over five years, but I just read it because I wanted to read it, not because of a script or a movie, or anything. And then, I originally met with Henry about the live-action version that they were going to do of the film, and I was going to do that, but they decided to make it animated a little while later, so now I’m the voice.

MediaBlvd> Do you enjoy live-action more?

Dakota> I’ve certainly done more live-action than I have voice-over, but it’s good, every once in awhile, to get to work on a voice-over film because it’s very different, and it’s a different kind of challenge than live-action.

MediaBlvd> What does this process do for your craft?

Dakota> Well, you only have your voice to work with. You have to convey everything through your voice, which is really difficult, if you think about it. Of course, that’s what you sign on to do, when you decide to do a voice-over movie, so that’s a challenge that I was willing to take on. It was great. You get used to it after awhile, and it’s really fun.

MediaBlvd> Do you think that Coraline would have been happy to stay in the other world, if Other Mother didn’t insist on sewing buttons into her eyes?

Dakota> That’s true. I love the Other World. I just love the look of it. I love to watch that part of the movie. But, yeah, I think that she probably would have stayed there, if they didn’t want her to put the buttons on.    

MediaBlvd> Do kids instinctively want to find another place, no matter how their parents treat them?

Dakota> We all want what we can’t have, or want what we don’t have. That’s just the way the world is -- always wanting a perfect world, or a perfect life. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody has differences, and things that may not be as perfect as they are somewhere else, so this movie helps people or children, or anyone, understand that message, which I really like. When you first meet Coraline and her parents are kind of harsh towards her, you have to get that point across to see why she would be tempted to stay in the Other World.

MediaBlvd> What have you learned from other voice-over jobs that you’ve done, and how did this experience compare?

Dakota> The other ones that I’ve done were not from scratch. I can’t remember which one was first, but I did Lilo & Stitch 2, which was a part two, so there was already a first one to look at and a character to base it upon. And, I did the re-dubbing for My Neighbor Totoro from Japanese. I did the English version. My sister and I did that together, and we were just matching our voices to what was already animated. But, with Coraline, I started recording before they’d even built the sets or made the models, so it was from the beginning to the very end.

MediaBlvd> Do you prefer that, or is it more challenging?

Dakota> It was more challenging because you don’t have anything to look at, or base yourself upon. But, it’s also more rewarding, in the end, because you know you were in it, from the very beginning.

MediaBlvd> Do you get to work with any of the other actors, when you’re doing a film like this?

Dakota> No. I was by myself with Henry Selick, every time except one time, when they did bring in an actress to read the other lines, so we could see how it sounded. But, then I went back to doing it individually again, by myself.

MediaBlvd> Was that hard?

Dakota> The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I would love to work with the other actors in the film. They’re so talented. But, with the other voice-over work I had done, I’d been by myself, so I just expected that.

MediaBlvd> Did you get to visit the sets at all?

Dakota> Yeah, I went a few months ago to Oregon to see the set, and it’s so amazing to see. It’s hard to describe, but the sets were huge the models totally move, in every direction, because that’s what they have to do. It’s amazing that they can actually do that. I can’t even imagine the patience that they have to have.                       

MediaBlvd> How did you feel about what the finished product looks like?

Dakota> I really liked it a lot. Of course, it’s a kind of animation that I’ve never seen before. I don’t think anybody has ever really seen anything like it before. And, it’s just so cool because you really feel like you’re a part of it. You really feel like you’re in it, and I love that about this film.

MediaBlvd> And, you get to be a doll.

Dakota> Yeah, I know. It’s so cool! I have one of the models, which is really neat.

MediaBlvd> Coraline is brave. Do you think of yourself as brave?

Dakota> I do. When you’re doing a movie and you’re putting yourself out there, you have to have a certain amount of bravery because even when you’re on the set filming it, you’re in front of everybody and you’re doing scenes and you’re showing yourself to lots of different people. That can be intimidating sometimes, so I feel like I am brave. Maybe not in the way that Coraline is brave because she’s fighting for her family and everything, but I think I would do the same thing she did.                                                                                               

MediaBlvd> Are you concerned about the expectations for Coraline, since it is such a beloved book?

Dakota> Because I’ve been working on it for so long, it feels like I’ve been bringing it to life for five years. I don’t know what people thought, when I first was signed on to do it, but I hope that they like it. I hope that I brought it to life the way they pictured. I know people are such big fans of the book and are very excited for the movie to come out, so I’m excited for them to see it. I can’t wait!

MediaBlvd> You have two movies opening on the same day. Is there room for both Coraline and Push at the box office?

Dakota> I’m sure there will be. It so crazy that I have two movies coming out on the same day because I’ve been working on Coraline for so long, as opposed to Push, which I just filmed a year ago. That they would fall on the exact same day is so ironic, but I hope people enjoy both of them.                                   

MediaBlvd> Do you think Push is the most grown up role that you’ve done so far?

Dakota> I don’t know. I think it’s grown up, in a different way. Maybe The Secret Life of Bees was more mature, in another way, than Push is.

MediaBlvd> The dynamic of a young teen girl and an adult guy, who are not related, but become as close as family is not something that is seen a lot in films. What did you think about that aspect of the story?

Dakota> It was great! That relationship is the center of the film. I was in pretty much every scene with Chris Evans’ character, and it was great. I really loved that.

MediaBlvd> Did you have a lot of input into your look for that film and the wardrobe for your character?

Dakota> Yeah. I thought it was really important to develop Cassie and really create a character for her, and that was so much fun. It was really great to come up with those ideas.

MediaBlvd> What about the pink hair?

Dakota> Yeah, that was my idea. That was fun!

MediaBlvd> Had you ever done a drunk scene before?

Dakota> No. As I get older, I don’t think there’s anything that I wouldn’t do for a movie. You have to put your whole self into it, and be willing to do anything and everything for the character. What I love about acting is that you can just go there and do those things.

MediaBlvd> Did you have to have any training to learn how to hold a gun?

Dakota> It was totally fake. Cassie wasn’t supposed to look very experienced. Having guns is not her thing. It was just for protection from this crazy woman, who she doesn’t know.

MediaBlvd> Are you ready for Push 2, if it happens?

Dakota> You never know.

MediaBlvd> Did you sign on for multiple films?

Dakota> No.                         

MediaBlvd> What’s been your worst audition?

Dakota> I’m sure there were plenty of them. There were so many auditions that I had that I didn’t get. There are times when you forget your line, or where you are, and you’re just like, “Oh, my God!” I remember that I forgot the line, during the I Am Sam audition. I said the wrong line and I was like, “I’m done! I’m not going to get it now!” But, I just kept going, and I ended up getting it, which was great. There have been plenty of times where it didn’t go as well, or I didn’t get it. When I was younger, I was just like, “They must have wanted somebody with brown hair. It’s fine. We’ll just go to the next one.”

MediaBlvd> You came here, as a child, to be in movies, and then it exploded and you were the only child anybody wanted in a movie. Are you surprised by this extraordinary career you’ve had?

Dakota> It’s really surreal to think that I did a Tide commercial and then a Georgia lottery commercial, and then I came to California to do pilot season and I got E.R., and then I got I Am Sam. It was funny because we were like, “Okay, we’re going to go home this Saturday.” “Oh, we can’t go home now because E.R. films on Monday.” “Now we can’t leave because of this TV show.” It just kept going. It was crazy! My mom would never say, “We live in L.A.” because she always thought we were going to go back home. And then, finally, after the fourth movie, she was like, “Well, I guess we’re not going home!” My first movie was I Am Sam, which was when I realized I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to stay here.

MediaBlvd> Do you ever get a chance to go back home and see old friends and family?

Dakota> I do. Most of my immediate family lives in L.A. -- my parents, my sister, my grandmother, my mom’s sister and her daughter. And then, my dad’s family and the rest of my mom’s family live in Georgia, so I do go back. I’ve lived here for nine years, so all my really good friends live here. But, I have so many other friends and family that live back in Georgia, so when I do go back, it’s really nice.

MediaBlvd> Now that you have ceased to be a child actress and you are doing more teenage roles, were you conscious of that transition happening? Has it been easy?

Dakota> For me, I try not to think of it as, “This is my transition movie.” It will happen, naturally. As you get older, it will just happen. If you really want to continue doing this, it will all work itself out, and I think it has.

MediaBlvd> How do you see your career developing now?

Dakota> I hope that it continues forever. It’s what I want to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s just really what I want to keep doing, and keep having in my life forever, so I hope that it continues.

MediaBlvd> How is growing up affecting what roles you choose?

Dakota> It affects it a lot. I can’t really play the roles that I played when I was younger, and I can’t play the roles that, hopefully, I will play in the future. So, you have to find that good balance, in what’s right for the time. That’s really important. But, I try not to think about it too much because I think that what you’re drawn to will reflect the age that you are.

MediaBlvd> Is there anything you’re looking to try in films?

Dakota> I don’t know if there’s anything in particular. I really love working on dramas. I really think that they are really great. I love character pieces where I get to have relationships with a lot of different people. I’ve been lucky to do those in the past, and I’m really drawn to those a lot.

MediaBlvd> Have you thought about doing anything on television?

Dakota> I haven’t. I never say never to anything, but I’m really happy with doing movies right now. I did a lot of television, when in was first starting out. My first TV show was E.R., and that was the first TV show I ever did.

MediaBlvd> How old were you?

Dakota> Six.

MediaBlvd> Are you ever drawn to comedy?

Dakota> Yeah, sometimes. I’ve done a few comedies, in the past. It just depends on what’s right at the time. Maybe one day soon, I’ll do a comedy.

MediaBlvd> Are you hoping to work more with your sister?

Dakota> I hope so. We’ve never been in a scene together. She’s only played me younger twice. I would really like that.

MediaBlvd> What were your favorite projects to work on?

Dakota> It’s hard to name a favorite, but probably my all-time favorite experience was I Am Sam, just because it was my very, very first film. It will always be so special to me because it really gave me my start and my opportunity. I wouldn’t be here without the director of that film, and the actors, because they really gave me that. They took a chance because I had never done any movies before, and that was a very large part. They could easily have given it to someone that had had much more experience than I had, so I’m very grateful that they did that.

MediaBlvd> Do you have a favorite character in a book that you’d just love to play someday?

Dakota> Gone with the Wind has been one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite books, but I don’t know if I would ever want to tackle that. It’s been done about as amazing as it could be done. But, I’ve been Scarlett O’Hara for two Halloweens in a row. I love that. And, I’m from the South, so to be Scarlett O’Hara would be amazing. It’s one of the best movies ever.

MediaBlvd> Has there been any movement on your role in New Moon?

Dakota> Well, it’s not 100% for sure yet that I will be doing it, but it’s definitely not a rumor or anything. It’s definitely a possibility, and something that I’m excited about.

MediaBlvd> Is there anything from the book you would really look forward to playing?

Dakota> I don’t know. I just think the character is what I would be excited about. She’s kind of evil, which something I’ve never done before, and she’s a vampire. It’s really cool, so I really hope that it works out.

MediaBlvd> Do you have any favorite vampire movies?

Dakota> I don’t. The only vampire movie I’ve really seen has been Twilight.

MediaBlvd> What did you think of the film?

Dakota> I am definitely a fan. I’m a big fan of the actors in the film. To be a part of that would really be a great privilege.

MediaBlvd> Have you read all the books?

Dakota> I haven’t read all four yet. I’m working on it. I’m getting there. I’m just about to finish the first one.

MediaBlvd> So, you haven’t actually read New Moon yet?

Dakota> No, not yet.             

MediaBlvd> Everyone seems so supportive of you possibly being in the film. Does that make you feel good?

Dakota> It does. I know that Twilight is so sacred to some people, and I know that when they cast certain people, people have their opinions, and that’s their right. It’s very flattering that they think I’d be right for the part, and I hope it works out.           

MediaBlvd> Is it difficult to stay out of the paparazzi nonsense in Hollywood?

Dakota> No. I guess they’re just not interested in me. I’ve had some experiences with that, but it hasn’t been too bad. I just live my life. I do what I do and, if they catch me at the store, great. If they don’t, great. I can’t really do anything about it. I don’t think that anyone really can. People don’t ask for that.