Fanning says working on the adaptation with Hilton and A24 has been a “fun adventure”
“It’s such an exploration of the early 2000s,” Fanning told the outlet. “Paris is a friend now, which is like, if you told me this at 12, I would’ve lost my shit. She’s a genius. She knows exactly what’s going on. Nobody’s been fooling her. She’s dealt with super-traumatic situations in her life.”
Fanning celebrated that she and her sister Elle got to know Hilton “in a very real way” when they started planning the upcoming feature.
“It’s so wild because we grew up in her heyday — which, I mean, has she ever really not had a heyday? We’re still living in it; she’s an icon who has endured the test of time,” Fanning said. “Similar to what I’m saying about playing with my persona and loving to surprise people and subvert people’s perceptions, I think Paris has that too, and we’ve connected a lot over that. It’s been a fun adventure so far.”
Fanning also joked about a recent Instagram post in which she posed with “That’s Hot” stickers, playing on Hilton’s catchphrase, covering her chest.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have put ‘that’s hot’ stickers on my chest and posted a picture of it a few years ago, but here I am. That’s me!” she said. “And it’s always been me. Who cares, why not? It’s like my favorite picture of myself.”
Fans have been speculating that Elle and Dakota might play both Paris and her sister Nicky in the film, although casting details are still unclear.
“I think if you told as little girls that we would be friends with Paris Hilton and like, go to her house and see her little dogs and become friends with her and also know the real, the real her, we would have died,” Fanning said on the Emmys red carpet earlier this month. “So, we’re having pinch-me moments all the time. It’s really a dream come true.”
A24 and the Fanning sisters partnered with Hilton to adapt Paris: The Memoir late last year, although no writers or stars were attached to the project.