John Cusack: The Quiz

John Cusack has playedupwards of seventy — 70! —movie roles over the last thirty years. From the young, love-struck, boom-box-wielding heart throb in Cameron Crowe’sSay Anything to Richard Nixon in Lee Daniels’The Butler. Along the way, his unique brand of underdog/everyman character has made him a pop icon.

When Cusack came in to talk with Kurt Andersen about playing the real-life rock and roll icon Brian Wilson of The Beach Boysin the new film Love & Mercy, we knew there wasonly one way to tackle his vast career:a rapid-fire round of the free association game.

Can you match the movie titles with Cusack’s descriptions?

Listen to the audio above for the answers.

1. Stand By Me, 1986
2. Say Anything, 1989
3. Grosse Pointe Blank, 1997
4. Con Air,1997
5. Being John Malkovich,1999
6. High Fidelity, 2000
7. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,1997
8. 2012,2009
9. Hot Tub Time Machine, 2010
10. The Butler, 2013

A.”The Lady Chablis.”
B.“An attempt to make something both profoundly dumb and intelligent.”
C. “The Clash.”
D. “Press tour.”
E. “It’s hard being a puppeteer in today’s wintery economic climate.”
F. “Ellsberg.”
G. “Stephen King.”
H. “Chicago.”
I. “First sandal-wearing non-Charlton Heston action figure in the modern era. Milestone achievement. Turn the mic off.”
J. “Joe Strummer.”

You can hear more of his conversation with Kurt on this weekend’s show.