John Cusack is ready to say anything at 'Say Anything ... ' screening in Milwaukee

John Cusack doesn't rewatch his 1989 movie "Say Anything … ," but he doesn't really have to. 

"People always bring it up," said the actor, who will be at Milwaukee's Riverside Theater for a live screening and conversation about the movie and his career Saturday night. 

Although screenings of beloved movies hosted by performers in them are increasingly common fare, the "Say Anything … " event is a new thing for Cusack. 

"I've done a million press tours, but this is the first time I've ever done" one of these, he said. 

Cusack, now 51, had a dozen screen credits to his name by the time "Say Anything … " came out, but his performance as Lloyd Dobler, the off-kilter high school senior determined to go out with a beautiful and brainy but isolated classmate (Ione Skye), helped set him apart from the tide of post-teen actors in the late 1980s. 

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Part of the movie's staying power is the narrative, which diverted from the teen-sex-comedy template of the period.

Lloyd is goofy without being a goof, passionate about kickboxing ("sport of the future," he says) and about asking out Diane Court (Skye), the class valedictorian who is extremely close to her father (John Mahoney).

She's also, his friends are all convinced, way out of his league. 

When he asks her out and she says yes, the two wind up making a connection that gets stronger and stronger — only to crumble when her father's dark secret threatens to shatter her world. 

Cusack had already worked with top-flight directors including Rob Reiner ("Stand by Me") and John Sayles ("Eight Men Out") by the time he made the movie. But he said he has "great, fond memories" of working with writer Cameron Crowe, who made his directorial debut on "Say Anything … ."

"I had a special relationship with Cameron Crowe," Cusack said. "We were closer in age. He was a younger filmmaker (Crowe was 31 when the movie came out, Cusack was 22). … We kind of jammed together. We had a similar appreciation for music." 

Music plays a big part in all of Crowe's movies, including "Say Anything … ," which may be best known for Cusack's iconic moment standing outside Skye's house toting a boombox that's playing Peter Gabriel's dreamy ballad "In Your Eyes." (YouTube is filled with clips of people re-creating the moment, along with one of Cusack bringing Gabriel a boombox before he sings the song onstage at the Hollywood Bowl in 2012.) 

Making "Say Anything … " was very a "special collaborative process," Cusack remembered, with a cast also including John Mahoney as Skye's demanding (with a dark side) dad, Lili Taylor as one of Lloyd's best friends, and Cusack's sister Joan as his, well, sister. 

The movie's gooey, romantic, uncynical center has made "Say Anything … " a modern-day staple, making Entertainment Weekly's list of top romantic movies. 

"It wasn't like some huge hit, but it was kind of a modest (success), and people are sort of discovering and rediscovering it," Cusack said. 

Since "Say Anything … ," Cusack's screen career has run the gamut, from epic action movies ("Con Air," "2012") to hard-edged, independent-minded comedies ("Being John Malkovich," "Chi-Raq"). He's also earned a steady string of critical accolades, for movies ranging from the comedy "High Fidelity" to the Brian Wilson biopic "Love and Mercy." 

But the Evanston, Ill., native is still rooted in Chicago, where he still spends a chunk of time, with an occasional side trip to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play. 

"I like it there a lot," Cusack said. 

IF YOU GO 

What/who: "Say Anything … " with John Cusack 

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday 

Where: Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave. 

Tickets: Prices posted at $49 to $69, but availability is limited; at Riverside and Pabst theater box offices, (414)  286-3663 and pabsttheater.org