MEDIA > ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS > 2003

MAN ON FIRE SCOOP
from Latino, 2003
by Jax
Man on Fire” is the story of an ex-America soldier (Denzel Washington), who takes on the job of protecting a little girl, (Dakota Fanning), when there is a rash of kidnappings in Mexico City. The film will be released in 2004. Over the weekend I got a chance to talk to the cutesy little darling Dakota Fanning, can’t believe she’s only nine years old. She’s more mature then most twenty-something’s, probably making more money too, it’s a frightening thought on all accounts. Anyway, during the press rounds for “Uptown Girls,” Dakota said this about “Man on Fire:”
What’s your role in “Man on Fire?”
Dakota: I play Pinta a little girl living in Mexico City and my dad is Marc Anthony, and my mom is Radha Mitchell, and Denzel Washington is my bodyguard. It’s about how Mexico City is and it’s filmed all on the streets of Mexico City, and it’s directed by Tony Scott.
Have you been involved in any dangerous stunts?
Dakota: I had to be on a thirty foot roof, but I had like a harness on. I threw up three times that day. I was really really really sick, and then I got bitten by the parrot in the movie, still have a scar.
Is this a serious movie?
Dakota: It’s a serious movie, very serious.
Can you talk about working with Tony Scott?
Dakota: He wears this pink hat everyday and his orange or pink shirts, sometimes too--there’s orange and pink shorts that are like really really short and then one day it was like really really hot and so he’s just wearing his two vests, and he always has a cigar in his mouth. He had bronchitis and he was still smoking his cigars. And one day we were on location and he got sick and they’d go, “We’re rolling!” and then he’d go, “One minute guys!” [Dakota makes throwing up noise; she had us laughing our butts off.] “Alright rolling!” He is so hilarious, such a hard worker, and he like doesn’t walk anywhere he runs, he runs everywhere.
Did you two throw up at the same time?
Dakota: [Laughs] I wish we had! No, but he got me throwing up on six cameras, close up on six cameras. When I got bitten by the bird it was like fifteen minutes after I had just thrown up the first time, and so I’m up on the roof and he goes, “Grab its’ neck, like try to strangle it.” ‘Cause I’m trying to catch the bird, so I grab its neck. I finally get the birds neck and he turns around and bites me. But the first one Rafael, we were doing the training with the bird and he flew off and finally Rafael got tired and had a heart-attack and he fell down and a dog ate it! [Shocked face] The bird had a heart-attack, it’s so weird. The bird had a heart-attack.

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