New Cusack Movie Explores Cost Of War

Actor Wanted Film To Show What Happens 'When The Coffins Come Home'

(AP)  Over the years, Cusack has balanced big-studio projects such as "America's Sweethearts," "Con Air" and "Must Love Dogs," with smaller, more personal films.

"One allows me to do the other. If I do the more commercial ones, then I can leverage those into the smaller ones, which are harder to get made," Cusack said.

One movie he often mentions is 2002's controversial "Max," in which Cusack played a Jewish art dealer who befriends a young Adolf Hitler and encourages his artistic ambitions. He also produced the film.

"I got that made, which took me three years and was a real labor of love, because I've done some romantic comedies. So that's just how it works, or that's how I've figured out how to work it," he said. "But these are the ones that kind of get me up in the morning."

Still, Cusack isn't a film snob. He said he enjoys some of the "great big movie experiences" that Hollywood likes to release during the summer and holidays, specifically mentioning the "Lord of the Rings" series and the most recent "Harry Potter" installment.

Regarding his participation in "Grace Is Gone," director Strouse said that when he was writing the script, he and his wife, producer Galt Niederhoffer, compiled a "dream list" of actors to play Stanley. Cusack was at the top, and Strouse said that once he signed on, filming started a month later.

"John's kind of a gutsy actor," Strouse said, "He likes to try different roles and I think this was one that he hadn't really had a chance to play — a repressed Midwesterner. I don't want to say loser, but a lot of times John plays these very hyperarticulate, energetic, urban characters. And this guy is sort of 180 degrees from what you think of when you think of a typical John Cusack character."

The actor said he wonders if people reading about his political opinions will keep some from seeing the movie. Others, he believes, will appreciate the timeliness.

"I feel that people will be interested in seeing the story of the human cost of this war," Cusack said. "I think people are probably tired of being manipulated endlessly on the reasons and realities of this misadventure — political misadventure. I don't mean the soldiers fighting, I mean the civilian leadership."

Whatever the case, Cusack said he does not dwell on how his movies are initially received by the critics or public.

"I'm not worried about how it turns out in the first two months after it's released," Cusack said. "A piece of art takes a while to be appreciated or not — if it is a piece of art. You try to make something that has some value and then in three, four or five years, it will still be interesting or it will have a pulse.

"Some things that you make, people say are terrific right away and they don't really hold up. You just sort of make it, and it's all about the process of making it. Trying to do the best you can. And then you have to wait for a long time to see if it has resonance anyway."