Dakota is still having some trouble being seen as an adult actress in a way that someone first being recognized as a talent in their early 20s doesn't.

I'm still convinced that some of the bad reviews for The Last of Robin Hood aren't over the "ickyness" of seeing Kevin Kline's as Errol Flynn seducing a girl in her late teens, but of seeing Dakota Fanning as the love object of an adult male.

But as with many of the best child actresses, they never languished in TV. There may be more gigs in TV, and its easier to break in. But there are several blocks to the child being taken seriously as an adult actress when she comes from TV.

The first is the bias that it is a lesser medium. This is based on the fact that for the longest time it was. But with the ascent of TV as a writer's medium in the last decade or so; starting with HBO's original series, and then going on to competition from AMC and others, there's no doubt that a Masie Williams or a Kiernan Shipka aren't doing work just as demanding as a film role.

OTOH, there is still much of TV that allows a child to achieve quite a bit of fame without the demand that they really be capable of learning to act. Many a sitcom kid or Disney starlet can roll their eyes or do a spit-take without being able to come off as sincere. And years of being asked to act broadly not only can be a poor place to learn, they also cement the notion in a casting director's head that this is all the kid can do.

Then, if you're lucky, there's being able to maintain career momentum. It seems to me that Selena Gomez is very precariously poised. Ramona and Beezus and Monte Carlo were very good films, but not ones that entirely left her Disney star-power behind. I think that Spring Breakers demonstrated that she is capable of even more. But it was an odd film and not widely seen. Her last couple of choices have really been poor ones.

I am always delighted when someone demonstrated greater potential than they have been previously allowed to exercise. But while I like Victoria Justice as well as Miranda Cosgrove, I can't say that I've seen anything from them that made me say, "Scr*w Saoirse Ronan, give that script to Miranda."

And like Dakota, or Scarlett, Saoirse wasn't trapped in TV kidcoms when she was out there proving that she can act.

Oakowi talked about the role of Lifetime. Though I feel that poor Jodelle Ferland might fall into a trap if she becomes THE go-to girl for their formulaic movies.

But another option, particularly for the Disney starlet is that incestuous relationship between Disney, ABC and ABC Family. ABC Family offers "edgy" roles as troubled teens. And it is very possible for someone to go progressively from one channel to the next as they outgrow their previous audience.

Dante