An Open Letter to Dakota Fanning
Dakota:
Hi! I know you hear this all the time, but I think you’re fantastic. I remember way back when you played a little girl on ER who got into a car accident AND had leukemia. I wept!
Anyway, today I saw a picture of you on page three of Star magazine. You were wearing a cheerleading uniform not for a role, but because you are an actual varsity cheerleader for your high school football team.
I saw this picture and thought two things:
1. “Holy cow! Dakota Fanning is all growns up!”
2. “HOLY MUTHEREFFING COW! Dakota Fanning could be Jessica Darling!”
I know some people might think I’ve gone to crazytown. They probably still view you as the wee kiddie from I Am Sam. (Another weeper!) But you are, in fact, fourteen years old and turning fifteen in February. Which means in little over a year from now, you will be sixteen years old. The same age as Jessica Darling in SLOPPY FIRSTS.
Dakota, you don’t need me to tell you that you’re the finest actress of your generation. There’s no question that you’ve built up quite an impressive resume. Dramas. Family films. Thrillers. Sci-Fi Fantasies. You can do it all, Dakota! But what’s missing from your oeuvre? Laughs. Seriously, what better way to show-off your dynamic range (and that you’re not a little girl anymore) than with a star turn in a smart teen romantic comedy? With you attached to the lead role, a SLOPPY FIRSTS movie would get the green light from Hollywood faster than you can say, “MARCUS FLUTIE!”
Did you know that SLOPPY FIRSTS was voted one of the Top 10 Books that teens would like to see made into a film? Well, it was. But don’t take my word for it, Dakota, read it for yourself. (If you need me to send you a copy, I’ll be happy to oblige.)
Please think it over, Dakota. Don’t make me wait another four years before Abigail Breslin turns sixteen.
Hope The Secret Life of Bees does boffo at the box office!
With admiration,
Megan McCafferty
