ELISABETH SHUE took a deep breath. It was still early in the media push for her new film "Gracie," an indie drama based on her own soccer-obsessed youth, and she was clearly still grappling with what she called the "sacredness" of her past, the "nerve-racking" aspect of making it public.
The film, which opens Friday, tells the story of a feisty 15-year-old girl (played by Carly Schroeder) growing up in a middle-class home in late-1970s New Jersey. She's the only daughter in a family of three sons, and after her eldest brother dies, she competes on a boys' soccer team to win her father's approval.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday May 31, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
Elisabeth Shue: An article in Sunday's Calendar section about actress Elisabeth Shue stated that her brother Andrew Shue co-wrote the original script for the film "Gracie." The film credits list Lisa Marie Petersen and Karen Janszen as the screenwriters, based on a story by Andrew Shue and Davis Guggenheim.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday June 03, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 51 words Type of Material: Correction
Elisabeth Shue: An article in the May 27 Calendar section about actress Elisabeth Shue said that her brother Andrew Shue co-wrote the original script for the film "Gracie." The film credits list Lisa Marie Petersen and Karen Janszen as the screenwriters, based on a story by Andrew Shue and Davis Guggenheim.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday June 03, 2007 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 1 inches; 47 words Type of Material: Correction
Elisabeth Shue: An article last Sunday about actress Elisabeth Shue stated that her brother Andrew Shue co-wrote the original script for the film "Gracie." The film credits list Lisa Marie Petersen and Karen Janszen as the screenwriters, based on a story by Andrew Shue and Davis Guggenheim.
This -- with a few tweaks -- is Shue's story. But it was only at the insistence of her middle brother, Andrew Shue -- who co-wrote the original script, then co-produced and co-starred in the film -- that she agreed to support the project and open up about her childhood.
Telling her tale has had profound repercussions. For one, the film inspired Shue to rekindle her athletic drive and take up tennis -- professionally. After months of intense training, the 43-year-old aspires to be ranked by fall.
Just as significant, though, is the impact the movie has had on her close-knit family. Her father, James Shue, the inspiration for Dermot Mulroney's character in the film, welled up as he watched it. For him, actor Jesse Lee Soffer revived the spirit of his son William, who was just 26 when he died in 1988 from injuries he suffered after falling from a tree.
After Shue's mother, Anne Harms, saw the film, she toasted her ex-husband -- an extraordinary family milestone as their long-ago divorce had remained acrimonious.
For Andrew, the premiere of "Gracie" ends a decade-long commitment to honor William and the family's passion for soccer. He persuaded Shue's husband, Oscar-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), to direct it and wrangled financing from Gatorade, the state of New Jersey and a hedge fund. He even met the demands of the financiers to guarantee the film's release date -- to the day.
One of his greatest hurdles was persuading Shue to play a character inspired by their mother and reassuring her that the film would honor, not exploit, her childhood. In fact, Shue didn't fully embrace the project until months after the film wrapped, said Guggenheim.
