By Deborah Wilker
(Moving Pictures, Fall issue 2009)

Back when John Cusack was getting his first look at director Roland Emmerich's script for the end-of-days epic "2012," he wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.

On the one hand, there were all kinds of promising nuances - well-drawn characters, authentic dialogue - that gave it potential, he says, "for a disaster movie that would be far more thoughtful than it may appear to be at first glance."

But on the other hand?

"As I am reading, I find here's this very interesting, well-written role - and then on the next page California falls into the ocean," he says. "I really didn't understand how they could film what they had written, the scale was so big."

Cusack, who's worked on nearly 60 movies over a 26-year career and has seen pretty much every trick the business has to offer, says he was initially stumped by a script that essentially had the world disappearing out from under itself.

Speaking from a promotional tour through Mexico, Cusack says he's eager to talk about the film, mostly because he thinks it will "surprise people."

"You may go in thinking you know what the plot's gonna be or that it's full of stock characters, but it's much more about the relationships everyone has," he says.

The sci-fi action-thriller, due Nov. 13, is Emmerich's take on the ancient Mayan prediction that a world-ending event is due in 2012. Cusack headlines as writer Jackson Curtis, who, amid the carnage, finds himself in a battle against time to bring his ex-wife and children to safety.

Emmerich, the writer-director of effects-laden projects such as "Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow," "Stargate" and "Godzilla," is not necessarily known for his light touch. But Cusack believes the human element that runs throughout "2012" is unique. He also praised the film's all-star ensemble, which includes Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, George Segal, Woody Harrelson and Amanda Peet.
 

John Cusack; photo by Robert Sebree for Moving Pictures

"These people find out they have a finite amount of time and they quickly start separating what is essential from the non-essential. They see a vision of the world where countries are gone. I think it's going to play to a much broader audience than people might expect."

If, in fact, Sony Pictures wanted to ensure that "2012" would have a genuine chance with women and deep-thinking filmgoers - a tough task in this genre - casting Cusack was a good move. One of few seasoned actors whose appeal remains as strong with men as with women - and with fans of wide-ranging ages and interests - the agile Cusack has long been an everyman in thoughtful films as well as a bankable star.

While Sony has clearly positioned "2012" as a holiday blockbuster, Cusack says he doesn't dwell on release schedules, marketing, grosses and related aspects of the business.

"First - most importantly, I think - you should make movies you care about. In this case, I enjoyed myself very much," he says convincingly.

Able to do much of his own action work, Cusack, 43, was in pretty good shape physically before shooting began. He is a full-time believer in "clean energy, juices - all that health-food stuff.

"I do all sorts of things to stay healthy," he adds. "Sometimes you can let yourself go a little bit. It depends what character you're playing. But for something like this, you do have to be up to speed. You have to prepare your body, for sure."

He rarely maps out too far in advance what he'll be playing next. He has slipped as easily into big studio fare like "Serendipity," "Con Air," "Must Love Dogs" and "America's Sweethearts" as he has character roles in "Being John Malkovich" and "Cradle Will Rock." He played a classic con in "The Grifters"; an assassin at a crossroads in "Grosse Pointe Blank" (which he co-wrote); a lovesick record shop owner in "High Fidelity"; a stolid war widower in the more recent "Grace is Gone"; and was the quintessential geek in "Sixteen Candles," his second film role, back in 1984.

John Cusack races to escape the fallout from a global cataclysm in “2012”; courtesy Sony Pictures Entertainment

Of course, there has probably never been a John Cusack interview over the last 20 years in which the reporter did not ask him for his take on Lloyd Dobler. The love-struck loner in 1989's "Say Anything," whose indelible grand gesture - boom box hoisted high overhead, Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" blaring - became the barometer by which many women judged future boyfriends.

In the ensuing years, this pop-culture moment took on a life of its own. Fans of the iconic character have written reams of explanatory material about him and created infinite collectibles (T-shirts, coffee mugs and more), and dedicated fan pages and forums. The character has been endlessly parodied, so much so that, decades later, teens who never heard of the movie still get the reference - still know instantly that it's the ultimate move any guy can make. There's even a rock band that calls itself Lloyd Dobler Effect.

Cusack has never much minded the attention that has followed this character. He realizes it's not often an actor gets to create anything lasting on screen, but he says he rarely thinks about it today. He never even had the typical worries that Lloyd might typecast him into oblivion or that the Dobler Effect might somehow seep into his other films.

"If somebody really loves something you did 20 years ago, it never struck me as something to worry about," he says. "I think it's a nice problem to have in this business."

He says he also still hears from friends and fans quite a bit about "Grosse Pointe Blank," "High Fidelity" and, more recently, "Grace Is Gone" - and freely admits that, of the many movies he's made, he only really likes "maybe 10 or 15 of them."

Says Cusack, "I never really counted. Some of them, though, they just really worked." He agrees that "Say Anything," as well as the above-referenced, are a few of them. But in deference to diplomacy he says no more.

Moving so freely between "big movies like ‘2012' to a relatively tiny film" like the upcoming "Shanghai" - a tense period piece in which he plays an American fighting corrupt Asian forces before the bombing of Pearl Harbor - also delights the actor, he says. Though The Weinstein Company recently announced the film's U.S. release date has been delayed, Cusack is unfazed. Maybe that's because he always has another potential gem in his back pocket.

In this case it's the just-wrapped "Hot Tub Time Machine," due next spring, in which he stars among a group of aging guys who long to party as they did years before. Inevitably, they'll time-travel in uproarious style.

"It's certainly the most important hot-tub movie ever made - maybe the most important movie of all time," quips Cusack, whose company New Crime Productions is producing with partner Steve Pink behind the camera. "I think the title encapsulates all you need to know. It's just a bawdy, R-rated, studio comedy."

Cusack is keenly aware that few actors get so long a run. Part of the credit for his longevity, he says, goes to his family. He likes working with his sisters Joan and Ann; siblings Susie and Bill are actors, too. Growing up in Evanston, Ill., they attended the Piven Theatre Workshop, founded by the parents of longtime friend Jeremy Piven (with whom Cusack also frequently co-stars). Cusack's late father was a documentary filmmaker.

"I know I've been really lucky that way. I just hope it continues. I hope I don't wear out my welcome," he says.

Though it's been a life steeped in familial performing from the earliest of days, he asks that you not call the Cusacks a showbiz dynasty.

"We're really not a showbiz family," the actor explains. "We're just a family from Chicago who got into the business. We came out here to L.A. We didn't know anybody; we had no connections. For some reason now, we've just stuck around."

That they still lean on one another softens the rigors of Hollywood life, he says.

"As people get older and they have their own families, it becomes very hard to find time to just hang out," Cusack says. "But if I can hire my sister for 12 hours a day and pull her away from her own family and have fun on a set, I will."

Cusack says he appreciates that several of his films have found audiences over time on TV and via DVDs. He considers it the ultimate compliment and a most reliable indicator of quality when underdog movies are discovered after the fact.

"Nowadays, if something happens and a film doesn't get quite the release it should, there's so much more life - more ways people can see it," he says. "If you're good - if it's good - people will find it."

Photo (top): John Cusack and screen daughter Morgan Lily brave the post-apocalyptic elements in "2012"; courtesy Sony Pictures Entertainment

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