Elle Fanning is looking back fondly at her early days in Hollywood, especially the movie premieres designed just for kids.
While attending the Los Angeles premiere of her new action film Predator: Badlands on Nov. 3, the 27-year-old told PEOPLE that studios used to host children’s red-carpet events.
“Remember back then when there were kids’ premieres? Like, [they were] amazing. There were elephants and it was crazy,” she said, recalling how she and her older sister, Dakota Fanning, would show up in their carefully chosen outfits.
She added that she always loved fashion, so “I loved the kids’ premieres of the early 2000s.”
She also remembered attending an annual Halloween charity bash hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis in Santa Monica, sharing that her love for dressing up continues today.
Now starring in Predator: Badlands, the latest chapter of the Predator franchise, Fanning plays two futuristic androids: Thia and her rival, Tessa.
She explained that the film is set further into the future than any Alien or Predator film before it, noting that her characters are “the most advanced we’ve seen so far.”
According to Fanning, Thia stands out because her emotions and humor are unusually expressive for a synth.
“Especially Thea’s personality is very big and emotive and empathetic, and we’ve played with that. And also she has great comedic timing. She is full of humour, which you’ve never seen a synth be quite this funny before maybe. If people think I’m funny.”
The movie also leaned heavily on practical effects, and she shared that she and costar Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi handled many stunts themselves.
“I was really hooked up to him, back to back, flying through the air and doing all of [these stunts],” she said.
Their time on set brought them close, with Fanning calling him an incredible scene partner who met every physical and emotional challenge.
Predator: Badlands hit theaters on Nov. 7.