Last week, a pack of Lloyd Dobler look-alikes descended on Times Square in New York City to celebrate the 20th anniversary (and 20th anniversary DVD release) of director Cameron Crowe's '80s classic, "Say Anything...," one of "2012" star John Cusack's early iconic roles. So last week, when MTV's Josh Horowitz sat down with Cusack for the "2012" press junket -- it's out on Friday -- he brought along a little souvenir for the star to play with.
Just listen to the response, look at how he recoils at the sight of Josh's mock-boombox. For anyone who missed the reference: Cusack holds a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" up over his head in one of the movie's most memorable moments. Clearly, he's spent the last 20 years having that fateful moment replayed for him in interviews. You can hardly blame the guy for shrinking back.
Cusack is a good sport though, once he realizes that Josh isn't going to force him to do anything untoward. "2012" co-star Amanda Peet plays along, hoisting the cardboard boombox herself, though she correctly points out that the lack of a trench coat takes something away from the action.
In the end, Cusack admits that he does have fond memories of his performance. "I love ['Say Anything...']," he said, somewhat defensively. "I was so proud to be in it. I have nothing but great things to say about the movie." While I'm sure that's absolutely true, Cusack's reaction to the sight of the boombox is priceless, the product of 20 years of being forced to revisit a performance from what was essentially his childhood.
Moral of the story: we all know John Cusack is awesome. Let's give the "Say Anything..."-era references in interviews a rest, shall we? And on that note...
I want my two dollars!!!
** FOLLOW MTV MOVIES BLOG ON TWITTER! **