'About Ray' Director Reveals Why She Cast Elle Fanning In Transitioning Role

Elle Fanning heads out to the movies with boyfriend Zalman Band in Hollywood on Tuesday night (August 18).

While the cute couple headed to catch a flick on the big screen, the 17-year-old’s sister Dakota was seen out earlier in the day running a few errands.

“I could not have chosen a more blonde, more feminine actress who had a big a mountain to climb,” director Gaby Dellal told Refinery29 about casting Elle in About Ray. “And that’s what I’m interested in.”

She added about the role, “The part is a girl and she is a girl who is presenting in a very ineffectual way as a boy. She’s not pretending to have a deeper voice. She’s just a girl who is being herself and is chasing the opportunity to start hormone treatment. So to actually use a trans boy was not an option because this isn’t what my story is about.”

10+ pics inside of Elle and Dakota Fanning…