Hounddog (film)

Hounddog
Directed by	Deborah Kampmeier
Produced by	Deborah Kampmeier
Starring	Dakota Fanning Isabelle Fuhrman Cody Hanford
Release dates	January 22, 2007 Sundance Film Festival, July 18, 2008 (Limited Release)
Running time	93 min.
Country	USA
Language	English

Hounddog is a film written, directed and produced by Deborah Kampmeier and starring child actress Dakota Fanning. Robin Wright Penn serves as an executive producer (and also has an acting role, as Stranger Lady). The film was produced by Raye Dowell, Jen Gatien and Terry Leonard. It premiered in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and will debut in 500 North American theaters on July 18th 2008 under the distribution of Empire Film Group, Inc.

Shot in North Carolina and taking place in the 1950s American South, the film stars Fanning as Lewellen, "a troubled 12-year-old girl who finds solace from an abusive life through blues music. This music is delicately woven throughout the film to create a colorful tapestry of a melancholy life that finds release and healing through the music of Elvis Presley, whose character appears in the movie, albeit briefly, and the singing of the blues."

Reactions

The film garnered a great deal of attention, and generated significant controversy, due to the use of such a young actress in the lead role. The controversy started when one of the film's financial backers did not come up with funds, and production was halted while additional financing was arranged. The controversy was further fueled by conservative and religious blogs who were concerned for Fanning because the screenplay called for her to appear in a rape scene. The scene only showed Fanning's face and her character's reaction to the traumatic event. This is the second time Robin Wright Penn has worked on a Deborah Kampmeier movie involving a rape; the first was the 2003 film Virgin.

Because of the outcry over Hounddog, North Carolina State Senator and majority leader Phil Berger called for all future films made in North Carolina to have their scripts approved in advance if they are to get the normal production subsidy from the state. Berger says that he has not seen the film but is acting in response to what he has read about it.

Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) applauded the film, and during the festival delivered the statistic that in the time it took the audience to watch the film, eight children under the age of 12 were sexually assaulted.

Cast

• Dakota Fanning as Lewellen
• Isabelle Fuhrman as Grasshopper
• Cody Hanford as Buddy
• David Morse as Daddy
• Robin Wright Penn as Stranger Lady
• Christoph Sanders as Wooden's Boy

See also

• Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in films

External links

• Fansite
• Premiere Magazine: Behind the Hounddog Controversy
• Exit Interviews from Sundance Screening Video.
• A Look at the Film by the Film Perspective
• Hounddog Trailer