American Girls Swarm the Chicago Premiere of ‘Kit Kittredge’
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 21, 2008
During a roundtable interview with Joan Cusack, star of the new film Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, she said, “I didn’t know the American Girl stuff because I have boys.”
For those who have girls, they know American Girl is a huge phenomenon. Now, there’s a feature film of one of the characters – Kit Kittredge, a Cincinnati girl growing up during the Great Depression.
Kit Kittredge premiered in Chicago this week, which is the home of the American Girl Place which opened in 1998. Plenty of people were gathered by the red carpet, including press and the stars of the film, but the big difference was the folks on the other side of the velvet ropes. It wasn’t just everyday fans, but dozens of girls from around the region, each packing their own doll dressed to the nines.
One of the first celebrities to walk the red carpet was Gracie, a geriatric basset hound played by Meg in the film. Being the ultimate diva, Grace gave no personal interviews, although that didn’t stop her from being hounded by the broadcast press.
Cusack, who described her character of Miss Bond as comic relief, brought her boys to the premiere as well. Eleven-year-old Dylan, whose birthday was that day, strutted his stuff on the red carpet along with his brother, two friends and an entourage of pre-teen girls from school.
Nodding to his cadre of girls, I asked Dylan if he was just doing it for the ladies. “Not yet,” he said with a grin. “Soon, though.”
The premiere benefited the Rolfe Foundation’s research into early detection of pancreatic cancer, from which Cusack’s father died. “Its such a daughter-father story, and my dad died of it too,” Cusack said. “So that was sweet. That’s a sweet connection.”
Also on hand at the premier was Chris O’Donnell, who was originally from Chicago and got his first movie role with Cusack many years ago in 1990’s Men Don’t Leave. “It’s crazy to think I’m still doing this,” he admitted.
One of O’Donnell’s most famous roles was as Dick Grayson in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. “I know,” he said when reminded that the Boy Wonder is now playing a dad. “I guess it’s just a natural evolution. The guy who played Robin has five children now in real life, so it feels natural for me.”
To play the role of Kit’s father, the filmmakers had to age him a bit. Originally, they sent him to an upscale Beverly Hills salon where he sat under the chemicals for five hours, only to have a hint of gray in his short hair. After racking up a hefty tab at the salon, they ended up with an old school technique for the film. “When I got to set, they were putting gray Sharpies in my hair,” he explained.
O’Donnell also brought his oldest daughter Lily, a devoted American Girl fan, to the premier red carpet event.
The biggest thrill of the evening for the hoards of young girls waiting on the red carpet was to see star Abigail Breslin who plays the title character of Kit Kittredge. “I love the dolls and collected all of them,” Breslin said. “And Kit was one of my favorites.”
Breslin, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role of Olive in Little Miss Sunshine two years ago, has seen a lot of changes over the years. She’s now headlining movies, with her name appearing above such talent as Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond and Gerard Butler. But she’s still a normal 12-year-old girl. “I like to text, I like to go to the mall. I like to have sleep overs,” she said.
“Nothing’s really changed that much. The only thing is that I was ten. And now I’m twelve. It’s a little bit different,” she said of her whirlwind career so far. “Except I do have another cat, but I still have my old cat too.”
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is currently playing in limited release. It will be released nationwide on July 2.
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