There but for the 'Grace' of big screen goes this fifth-grader
When Gracie Bednarczyk disappeared from her school in River Grove for a long period of time, some classmates might have thought she moved away.
Only Gracie's closest friends knew the truth: The now fifth-grade student left school to make a movie with Evanston native John Cusack.
"Grace is Gone" opened Friday at the Webster Place Theater in Chicago. It's about a father (Cusack) who must figure out a way to tell his two daughters (Gracie and Chicago native Shelan O'Keefe) that their soldier mom has been killed in action.
The movie Thursday picked up Golden Globe nominations for its score and song, both composed by actor/director Clint Eastwood.
I recently chatted with Gracie, who came to a Chicago hotel for interviews.
She was really nice.
DG: Have you ever made a movie before?
GB: No, it's my first time. It was very fun.
DG: Why?
GB: Everyone was very nice to me. There were a lot of fun things in the movie. And it was nice meeting everyone.
DG: What was the toughest part of acting in this movie?
GB: I had to be happy, and I had to be sad.
DG: How did you do that?
GB: I just thought of happy things when I had to be happy. I thought of sad things when I had to be sad. Like my mom really dying or something bad happening.
DG: What did you think of John Cusack as an actor?
GB: He's really nice.
DG: Really?
GB: Yeah. He was really nice. He treated me very nice.
DG: Have your friends seen "Grace is Gone" yet?
GB: No, they haven't .
DG: How do you think they will react to the movie?
GB: I think they're going to be happy and sad because we don't like to see each other cry. I think they're going to be happy, because I was kind of funny in the movie.
DG: When you're not making movies, what do you enjoy doing?
GB: I like to play with my friends outside. I like doing cheerleading, gymnastics and Girl Scouts.
DG: Would you like to make more movies?
GB: Yeah, it's really fun.
DG: Who would you like to work with?
GB: A lot of actors because they would give me a lot of advice about acting.
DG: What's your favorite recent movie?
GB: "Cheaper by the Dozen 2."