PREACH IT! Demi Lovato frightens and appalls us with her bizarre career path

Some celebrity stories are so odd and unnerving that they deserve to be singled out. Monday’s dose of the unreal comes courtesy of Demi Lovato. Until now, Lovato, 18, was known mostly as the star of the Disney series "Sonny With a Chance", as well as the occasional champion of the bullied.

Now we can add clinically insane to that descriptor. Because, get this: Lovato has announced her chosen career path. And it involves neither a sex tape nor a faux rebellion aided by Nicholas Sparks.

Let’s repeat that: Lovato does not want to model her choices after Kim Kardashian, hero to Montana Fishburne and millions of other girls hoping to elevate their careers via not-so-private liaisons. Nor does Lovato wish to go the Miley Cyrus route, announcing a series of non-controversial projects and then praying that the planet agrees that it’s all so totally edgy, OMG.

No, Lovato says she wants to take her cues from ... Dakota Fanning.

Yep, the kid who wears a cape and braids in the "Twilight" franchise, and who's on her varsity ...

... spirit cheerleading squad, and who counts among the registered Girl Scouts of America, and who, at 12, became the youngest person ever accepted as a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Per an interview with the ever-fuchsia Hollywood Life: “I feel like I’d like to do a feature film, branch into more roles that aren’t expected of me. I feel like I don’t want to go too edgy, I don’t want to go too family-friendly –- I’d rather just play normal teenage roles. I think Dakota Fanning does a really good job at the roles that she picks, so I kind of want to go down that route.”

We here at Preach It! are at a total loss.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Left photo: Dakota Fanning. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Right photo: Demi Lovato. Credit: Jemal Countess / Getty Images

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato premiere 'Camp Rock 2'

Demi Lovato hearts Kelly Clarkson, and Bill O'Reilly hearts Demi Lovato

 

 

Comments

[MelM]

Do you know when the photo of Dakota was taken? Even a year would be close enough.

[cdz from the ministry]

@MelM -- Christie D'Zurilla here from the blog.

The photo of Dakota Fanning was taken by The Times' Genaro Molina on Jan. 24, 2010, in Park City, Utah, at the premiere of "The Runaways."

//cdz

[MelM]

@cdz

Thanks for the date of the photo.

I really appreciate Dakota's versatility and her desire for challenges. She's not a character actor nor is she type-cast nor does she have a "trademark film persona" like Bogart (see Wikipedia). Her characters have been unique creations, even in little things. I really hope she stays this way; in my view, it's greatness. My favorite performance is as Lewellen in "Hounddog." Every time I watch that movie, I marvel at what she was able to do (including the fantastically performed rape scene). (To be sure that I'm understood, I'll say: "I love Dakota's Lewellen performance!") Although I'm not fond of the Cherie character in "The Runaways", it took Dakota into new territory and I greatly admire her for doing it. Again, she created a new and unique character with some fabulous scenes. I was thinking recently that even the scene at the supermarket was a first for Dakota: the Cherie character was really quite disgusting and I thought it was a superbly done persona. As I think Dakota would say, "it's acting"--and so it was. What would be beyond "disgusting"? Maybe a psychopath? The "wax Rosebud" and emotional shallowness sides of psychopaths would, I think, be a real challenge. Maybe later!

While I love her child characters, Dakota must and will move on. Those who can't accept anything beyond the Rachel performance (outstanding) in "War of the Worlds" will, IMO, miss out. News falash! Dakota is growing up and it'll work out well for us movie fans.

BTW, I don't think Cassie and Cherie qualify as "normal teenagers." A normal teen doesn't carry a pistol in her shoulder bag and is not nearly as independent as Cassie--nor as much of a mover-and-shaker. Anyway, I doubt that avoiding being "too family" or "too edgy" has much to do with how Dakota picks her movies (just my guess).

Go Dakota!