What the H-LL?!?! This book is incredible and they are totally screwing with it. How is a little girl (how old is Elle Fanning - 8??) supposed to make the decisions that she is making which is the whole point to the story?? And what about the older brother? Are they just going to leave him out? He has to at least be old enough to drive, right? I was excited to hear about this movie, but I think I've already decided to pass...too bad.

I can't stand Dakota but I do like Elle, so I'm glad shes playing Anna. It kinda makes sense because of Cameron's age but still not very happy with the casting

HORRIBLEEEEEE choices, yuck!

Isn't she a little young to be suing her parents?

I don't have any desire to see this movie, they are going to ruin it.

ug to the cameron. UG. i don't see her as having enough acting dimensions to play the complex mom and her issues in this fabulous story. i'm annoyed that other casting has suffered because of that erroneous decision.

grargh.

I think this whole cast is horrible so far. Lame. Such a good book. And not that the movie is ever as good as the book, but it's like these guys are trying to screw it up.

Ew, sick. I'm sure they're nice girls but I'm just tired of chirpy Dakota. I'm not against Cameron, actually (Vanilla Sky? yeah, she can act) but this pretty much ends it for me.

This movie is going to be horrible. Diaz as a dramatic actress? Only if she plays crazy. And Dakota Fanning is SO FREAKING ANNOYING. I can't stand her. Their ages Do NOT work well with the material. At all. Ridiculous.

Ok the whole part of the story is if Anna is old enough to make these decisions herself, and elle being what 9? Is not going to work, This book has a lot of meaning to me and is an all time favorite it will be sad to see what they are going to do to the movie.

To mess this up just because they want cameron so badly? it makes more sense if the girls are older! Hello? what about when kate falls in love? Elle is too young to be out and about by herself, as anna has too! This is retarded. i am so mad.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!
OMG Cameron Diaz isnt even that great to change Jodi Picoult's book. omg why are they ruining this book. this is so ridiuclous. it really angers me.

*Gasp!* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AWFUL! I don't even see Cameron Diaz as the correct choice for the mother in the film. Why do directors always ruin wonderful books with awful casting!!!???

cameron diaz has to be the worst choice and this movie is gonna be awful, but im still gonna see it cause i loved the book.

This is going to be just awful. Anna is supposed to be 13 years old.

I'm not even going to see this one, it's just not worth it.

"Diaz as a dramatic actress? Only if she plays crazy."

This is the perfect description of her. She was good in Being John Malkovich and decent in Vanilla Sky, but she wasn't playing normal in either of the roles. She really is not a great actress, I don't care what anyone says. She doesn't have the chops to carry off the part of this mother. Dakota doesn't bother me, she can be annoying at times, but she's a better actress than Diaz. And I quite like Elle. I think Julianne Moore or someone with her talent (Marcia Gay Harden, even Jennifer Connely) could pull this off and make Dakota look better, but this is just going to turn out horrible melodramtic and uninspired. More like a Lifetime movie of the week than a feature film.

BAD idea. I guess I could see Dakota at the right age for the younger sister, but not the older one. This seems like a stupid move. Can't they find two other good actors?

I find it funny that they cast Cameron instead of an older (more age-appropriate) actress. The funniest part about it is they are trying to force it to appeal to the younger people who see more movies, when they could have stuck to the script and perhaps won some awards, and making more $$$ in the long run. Oh well.

my favorite book ever - actually - i don thtink casting that bad - it may work - it's the story line thats so great

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Ive never read or even heard of this book but the combo of the Fanning sisters (who BTW creep me out) and Cameron Diaz just sounds badddddddddddddddd

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! This is just bad.

If you haven't read the book you really should...the book is amazing. I personally recommend it at work and sell it to many customers, but I will feel like an idiot when people start thinking about it with the connection to the movie they will be making. I think that they could have made this into an amazing movie, but NOOOO!
At first I thought that the Fannings were going to play the girls in the flashbacks, but I was so wrong. This just annoys me.

If you haven't read the book you really should...the book is amazing. I personally recommend it at work and sell it to many customers, but I will feel like an idiot when people start thinking about it with the connection to the movie they will be making. I think that they could have made this into an amazing movie, but NOOOO!
At first I thought that the Fannings were going to play the girls in the flashbacks, but I was so wrong. This just annoys me.

I agree with all your comments. How can the sisters be younger than the book and pull off the legal drama. The whole point is that she is old enough to want a say, but young enough to still be under parental influeance. Getting rid of Diaz would allow for the right aged girls to be cast. How about Felicity Huffman as the mom?

Jodi Picoult fans REBEL!!!!!!

Exit stage left!!!!!!

I don't really like Dakota... but I DO like Elle!

First of all, Cameron Diaz is a great actress. Second of all, Dakota Fanning is great, and has done more in her short life than all of you naysayers could hope to accomplish. And she probably doesn't go around talking sh*t about people like ya'll do.

what? i get so upset whenever someone goes on about "accomplishment" or "success" please - dakota fanning has accomplished more in life than the rest of us because she is the only token light-skinned blond girl of a certain age and can act in a passing way? right. yes, we are all jealous of her. greatness is relative, like everything else.

i started reading this book, or rather, the book that this movie is based upon, due to all the comments here on BuzzSugar in the past, but am rather bored by it so i'll probably stop reading it. this doesn't sound like a movie i want to see anyhow.

You have to read the book all the way through to really understand why it is such a favorite of so many people. Keep reading!!! It's worth it.

felicity hoffman a great idea!

dont put the book down! it's the greatest - for those of you who loved this book - can you recommend any other by picoult? i read the pact and loved that too - but people give mixed reviews to some of the others???

what a terrible, terrible, terrible decision maker who is casting this film. they should be shunned from hollywood and never allowed to cast again. casting cameran diaz is mistake number one, and probably the biggest mistake because she is the most irritating actress on the planet. mistake two, casting the too-young fanning sisters (is anyone else sicked by the obvious 'convenience' that they are already sisters? what a cop-out) to convenience diaz?? this has to be a sick joke.

Jennifer Connelly would rock that role.

I agree with most here. It seems a bit silly to change the main characters age to 'very young', just so you can cast Cameron Diaz. I'm curious how the director and screenwriters are gonna pull of a believable story with two nine year olds, rather than two teenagers. World of difference.

nothing against cameron diaz or the fanning sisters, but wouldn't it just make more sense to re-cast the mother to someone who is more age appropriate and fitting with the storyline. i agree with the others. how are they going to make this believable with such young characters? boy, i had high hopes about it when i first heard it, but now, i guess i'll just have to netflix it. boo.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!
Cameron Diaz: She could NEVER pull off that part
Elle and Dakota: A lot of the story revolves around the fact that the girls are older!
They better change the casting, because this is ridiculous.

no one likes them? OMG. it's gonna be a complete disaster then.

All I have to say is Boo! I agree that Elle's age totally screws up the story line. There's no one a 9 year old would sue her parents. It doesn't work.

Mom2, I love all of her books, my my favorites where..."Mercy" and "Vanashing Acts" try those if you haven't. Also her newest one, "19 Minutes" is great. They're all great.

i read and love the book , i don't like the cast of the movie already so... i don't know if I'll go and see it.

I read the book...it wrenched my heart, my mind was split...I realised there is no such thing as black and white fairness...I loved and hated the book all at once...this is a deep, DEEP story, and I agree with the rest who say that the crucial part of the story is Anna...and the mother. Dakota Fanning is a good actress (IMHO) but to adjust the ages of the daughters in the movie to suit the young Diaz is just plain stupid.

yeah I don't think this movies going to be good

Dakota is SO annoying.

OK. So Cam Diaz is 35. It isn't like she looks 25. She could just play the part as is intended, and could easily have older kids. Toni Colette is the SAME AGE, and played a woman with a teenaged son in Little Miss Sunshine. Elle Fanning at 8 or 9 cannot play the part realistically, and even if she could act the part, it isn't believable that young and it isn't like the Fannings look older than they are and could pull that off.

This is just sad - there are so few parts for women in their 40s in Hollywood, and they eliminate even one meant for one! I know a lot of ppl disagree with this proposition, but it just seems apparent that there is just a noticeable dropoff in roles available to older women that are anything more than a prop (mother of, wife of, etc).

Why go with Cameron Diaz (who I agree is only good crazy and hasn't shown layers or complexity) when there are SO MANY amazing working acresses our there? I agree on the greatness of Felicity Huffman, or Jennifer Connely, and off the top of my head can add Toni Collette, Marcia Gay Harden, Robin Wright Penn, Diane Lane, Julianna Margulies, Julia Ormond...

These women are still gorgeous, amazing and strong and deserve to get the parts that would naturally go in their direction... also, they'd never do this with a man!!

So I read everybody's reviews and raves about this book so I had to go out and get it and I am glad I did! I just finished it and I loved it! I cried and laughed and cried some more. This is a beautiful book and I'm glad that you're covering it otherwise I might have missed it. Now, I like Cameron Diaz and I don't have anything against her acting but I just don't see her in this role. I agree that Jennifer Connelly, Julianne Moore, Diane Lane or Robin Wright Penn would be better. Maybe even Julia Roberts? But I just don't know that Cameron can pull off this role believably. We'll see...
I also don't agree with the casting of the Fanning sister solely because I believe the ages of the sisters (13 and 16 in the book) is important. These two girls, regardless of their talents, are not realistic nor true to the story and will cause problems for the audience.
Any rumors on who will play the dad, the guardian or the attorney? That should be interesting.
I fear this movie is not only not living up to the book but it's going to ruin it's message. What a shame...it's a beautiful story...

its just ridiculous how can someone elles age possibly have the maturity to make the decisions and thoughts of anna in the book, if they carry on with this casting although the acters are great they will ruin the book/story for everyone

okay so i think I'm the only one that is going to see this..the cast doesn't look that bad. sure the fanning girls are young but they are good. In the book Anna wasn't "old" enough to sue her parents either. At the age of thirteen you wouldn't really be able to make a completely rational decision anyway. I think that people should look past their ages and see how they act in the movie. Although you can not walk in and think it will be as good or better than the book, because that never happens. It might not be as horrible as you think it will be...

How could Cameron Diaz possibly be their mother? She's alright for action and animated movies where you don't really need much talent, but I don't think she would be able to play the mother. Although I have not read the book, I know what it is about and to play a mother in such a conflicted situation would require a very strong actress. I thought of Reese Witherspoon, but even though I love Reese, she probably wouldn't be able to truly grasp the mother's emotions.

Also, good about the Fanning sisters. Dakota's last film dealt with really serious subject matter and while it shows her desire to be a "real" actress and that is admirable, she needs to be a kid sometimes. If she doesn't want to cut her hair, then ok. She's just a kid. If she wants to be mature sometimes, it doesn't mean that she has to or wants to be mature all the time. I think Abigail Breslin would do just lovely in this movie. I think they should bring in an unknown to play the older sister, sometimes unknowns really have the fire and passion that other child stars lost long ago. Or Saiorse Ronan, she was amazing in Atonement, and she would be a bit closer to the age she's supposed to be in the movie.

Wait a frakking minute, so getting raped is not as bad as getting shaved? I thorougly applauded Dakota for doing the rape scene, girls in this country are getting abused every day, ninety percent by family members. But now she can't get a baldie? What a whimp!

Amy Poehlers' "Dakota Fanning Show" hits the nail on it's Dakota-tragic head when Abigail Breslin asks: "I was 10. How old were YOU when you got your first Oscar nomination?"

Dakota might go the Tom Cruise way: one, maybe two nominations, loads and loads of cash (and when was being super duper rich a character builder?) 'power', but never the ultimate prize, the Oscar...

This is gonna sting a bit, especially if every year a girl around her age gets nominated, or worse: her sister.