Selling the new Lisbeth Salander

The new issue of W unveils the first official look at American actress Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, the kick-ass hacker heroine of the Swedish trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson. David Fincher, who is directing the American film version of "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," put Mara through a rigorous audition cycle, including a reading of the tough rape scene where the original Salander, Noomi Rapace, aced her role in the Swedish film. In the W story, Fincher and Mara make a case that she can handle the role that neither Natalie Portman nor Scarlett Johansson fit with. Excerpt:

"David added the rape scene at the last minute, and I said, 'Ohmigod! They must be really serious,'" said Mara. "They did one test, then another a week later. They shot me in the subway in L.A. in full hair and makeup with a motorcycle. Every day they had a new request. On a Monday morning, David called me in, and I said, 'What do you want me to do to my hair now?' I was at the end of my rope. He told me I had the part. I hadn't even read the script yet."

Caution, 'Girl' fans. Fincher plans to change the ending again, just as the Swedish film altered the book's climactic scenes (and removed some of the rough sexual imagery.) Below, Mara in "The Social Network" and Rapace in full Lisbeth regalia.