Choosing carefully

Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis selects her film roles carefully.

It's been a while, but you'll see her back on the big screen next month when she stars in the new Warner Bros. film "In the Land of Women," which stars her as a "complicated and dramatic grandmother" who must suddenly rely on her grandson, played by actor Adam Brody, to return to Michigan from L.A. to care for her as her health fails. Brody's character has just been dumped by his girlfriend, played by Elena Anaya.

Ironically, 27-year-old Brody, who is coming to Chicago early next month to promo the film along with the director Jonathan Kasdan, just broke up with his real-life girlfriend of two years and co-star on Fox's "The O.C." (which was just canceled last month), 25-year-old Rachel Bilson.

The movie, which is rated PG-13, also stars Meg Ryan, Makenzie Vega and Kristen Stewart.

As for Dukakis, who just turned 75 last year, the last time I talked with her was when she was in Chicago in 2003 talking about her new autobiography "Ask Me Again Tomorrow" (HarperCollins, 2003, $25.95).

I'll never forget when I was walking with her from lunch following our interview just as she was strolling in to the Borders in Chicago on Michigan Avenue to greet the long line of people eagerly waiting for her to get their books signed.

"How many of you here are women over 50?" she asked as she burst into the store area set up for the signing.

And she received a thunderous applause, which prompted a big grin, much like the character she portrayed in the 1989 film "Steel Magnolias," when she starred opposite Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah.

She had never done a book before, let alone a book signing, but she worked that room just like she was spending time with a group of old friends.

"You can't just be someone who's seen on a TV or movie screen," she said.

"Getting out and meeting the people that put you where you are is the best way to really get to know yourself and know them. I've been in this business of making movies for a long time, much longer than what a lot of people realize. You could definitely say I've learned a thing or two over the years about selecting the work and roles that are right for me."

The cousin of 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, Dukakis has built a career playing strong women and earned a reputation offscreen as outspoken, sincere and unpretentious, much like the over-the-top character in her new film.

"It took 28 years of hard work before I won that Oscar (for "Moonstruck" in 1988)," she said.

"And for 19 of those years, I was helping run the Whole Theatre Co. in Montclair, N.J., and raising my three children."

With the help of her husband of 45 years, actor Louis Zorich, Dukakis said an important part of her life remains being close with her family. She lives in New York, and has a close bond with her children, Christina, Peter and Stefan, and her two granddaughters, Isabella and Sofia.

Dukakis, who once worked as a physical therapist, said her interest in acting came after appearing in summer stock and then taking adult-ed classes in drama at Boston University, where she graduated with a master's in fine arts.

She says she still counts "Moonstruck" as her role of a lifetime and especially enjoyed the opportunity to work with Cher.

Dukakis' other "all-time-favorite" role was playing "Clairee" in "Steel Magnolias," and the opportunity to work with an all-star leading cast of females.

"People always want to know what it was like to work with that group and they want stories," she said.

"But we were a group of professionals working on a film. There was a lot of talent on that set, and I think you can tell it every time you watch the film. It's a favorite for many."

She said the hardest part of the filming was the pressure placed on the cast to get the picture completed, since all of the actresses also have busy independent work schedules.

"You know the tabloid rags were dying to get stories from the set of that picture about all of us actresses not getting along," Dukakis said.

"At one point, they had even gone to all the trouble of getting one of their reporters hired as a stage grip on the set to spy on what was going on."

One of my favorite parts of my interview with Olympia was when I asked her about what's one of her most interesting questions she's repeatedly asked by fans.

"I get asked a lot of questions that I really enjoy, like about my great hair in all these films I do," Dukakis told me.

"That's when I let them know with a kind smile, those are all wigs."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

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