Arts & Entertainment
Mila Kunis Gives Joliet Fans a Thrill with Surprise Stop
The actress was returning to the Minooka farmhouse film set Tuesday when she had her driver stop the car so she could greet some fans.
The first time the black Cadillac drove by, the person inside snapped a photo of the cluster of kids standing by the road holding up a "We Love Mila" sign.
The second time, the car slowed to a stop and two women got out. One of them was actress Mila Kunis.
"Oh, you guys! You're so great!" Kunis told the starstruck kids, who hoped -- but never actually expected -- one of the celebrities going back and forth to the Minooka farmhouse to film "Jupiter Ascending" would actually stop, let alone pose for photos with them.
Brandon Blattner, 10, of Joliet, was so overwhelmed that he ran straight to the actress and gave her a big hug.
He was a little more bashful after the fact, calling the actress "nice" and "really tiny."
"I didn't think we'd actually get to meet her," said Brandon, a 5th-grader at Meadow View Elementary School.
Brandon's mother, Jill, her friends Krista Zarbock and Melissa Mancini, and their children had been staking out the movie site since Monday, hoping for a glimpse of Kunis or Channing Tatum, who have been shooting scenes at the Van Dyke house.
The group learned early on that gathering on Van Dyke Road wouldn't work because it was being patrolled by Kendall County Sheriff's Office deputies charged with doing crowd control and closing the road when shooting was under way, Jill Blattner said.
However, they knew the actors were being ferried back and forth in black Cadillacs so they hiked over to near the road where they saw the cars going into the property, she said.
And that's where they set up camp at about 10 a.m. Tuesday, she said. The boys holding up their Mila sign and the girls armed with a "We love you, Channing" poster.
They were thrilled when one of the cars slowed down as it was leaving at about 2 p.m. so someone inside, presumably Kunis, could snap a photo of the young fans, Blattner said. But when the car returned at about 4:30 p.m. and flashed its lights signaling its intention to pull over, they could hardly believe it.
If Kunis was overwhelmed by Brandon's spontaneous reaction, she didn't show it, Blattner said. She greeted all of them and posed for photos.
Blattner said she was so moved by Kunis' kind act that her voice shook as she thanked her.
"I felt like a teenager; I was so overcome with emotion," she said. "She's a big star, but she's humble enough to do this. ... She was just really genuine and sweet, down to earth."
And really beautiful, said Sam Spizzirri, 12.
"Oh, my god, it was amazing," said Spizzirri, who says he's seen many of Kunis' movies, including "Ted" and "Friends with Benefits." "I knew exactly who she was the minute I saw her."
And he's been bragging to his friends ever since, he said.
"Definitely. My dad, especially, is jealous. He really likes her."
Katelyn Connerty, 12, said she's a fan of Kunis', especially her role in "Black Swan," which appealed to her because she's a dancer. But she never really expected she'd meet the star in person.
"We were just staying in the bushes, by the stop sign, so they could get by when they pulled over," Katelyn said. "We were all, like, screaming, and she took a picture with all of us."
Jill Blattner said the group may go out again to the set on Friday -- they were told there would be no filming today or Thursday -- but she's not as optimistic that they'll get to see Tatum, who is one of her favorites actors. The problem, she said, is he's in costume, which is being kept secret and is covered up whenever he's off set.
"I just think he's a phenomenal actor," said Blattner, who has seen everything he's been in, from "21 Jump Street" to "The Vow." "He just is so cute."
Until Tuesday, she said, her husband has been rolling his eyes over how his family has been spending their time.
"He says we're crazy," she said. "Then he saw the photos. He said, 'That's the girl? Oh, she's cute.'"
"Oh, you guys! You're so great!" Kunis told the starstruck kids, who hoped -- but never actually expected -- one of the celebrities going back and forth to the Minooka farmhouse to film "Jupiter Ascending" would actually stop, let alone pose for photos with them.
Brandon Blattner, 10, of Joliet, was so overwhelmed that he ran straight to the actress and gave her a big hug.
He was a little more bashful after the fact, calling the actress "nice" and "really tiny."
"I didn't think we'd actually get to meet her," said Brandon, a 5th-grader at Meadow View Elementary School.
Brandon's mother, Jill, her friends Krista Zarbock and Melissa Mancini, and their children had been staking out the movie site since Monday, hoping for a glimpse of Kunis or Channing Tatum, who have been shooting scenes at the Van Dyke house.
The group learned early on that gathering on Van Dyke Road wouldn't work because it was being patrolled by Kendall County Sheriff's Office deputies charged with doing crowd control and closing the road when shooting was under way, Jill Blattner said.
However, they knew the actors were being ferried back and forth in black Cadillacs so they hiked over to near the road where they saw the cars going into the property, she said.
And that's where they set up camp at about 10 a.m. Tuesday, she said. The boys holding up their Mila sign and the girls armed with a "We love you, Channing" poster.
They were thrilled when one of the cars slowed down as it was leaving at about 2 p.m. so someone inside, presumably Kunis, could snap a photo of the young fans, Blattner said. But when the car returned at about 4:30 p.m. and flashed its lights signaling its intention to pull over, they could hardly believe it.
If Kunis was overwhelmed by Brandon's spontaneous reaction, she didn't show it, Blattner said. She greeted all of them and posed for photos.
Blattner said she was so moved by Kunis' kind act that her voice shook as she thanked her.
"I felt like a teenager; I was so overcome with emotion," she said. "She's a big star, but she's humble enough to do this. ... She was just really genuine and sweet, down to earth."
And really beautiful, said Sam Spizzirri, 12.
"Oh, my god, it was amazing," said Spizzirri, who says he's seen many of Kunis' movies, including "Ted" and "Friends with Benefits." "I knew exactly who she was the minute I saw her."
And he's been bragging to his friends ever since, he said.
"Definitely. My dad, especially, is jealous. He really likes her."
Katelyn Connerty, 12, said she's a fan of Kunis', especially her role in "Black Swan," which appealed to her because she's a dancer. But she never really expected she'd meet the star in person.
"We were just staying in the bushes, by the stop sign, so they could get by when they pulled over," Katelyn said. "We were all, like, screaming, and she took a picture with all of us."
Jill Blattner said the group may go out again to the set on Friday -- they were told there would be no filming today or Thursday -- but she's not as optimistic that they'll get to see Tatum, who is one of her favorites actors. The problem, she said, is he's in costume, which is being kept secret and is covered up whenever he's off set.
"I just think he's a phenomenal actor," said Blattner, who has seen everything he's been in, from "21 Jump Street" to "The Vow." "He just is so cute."
Until Tuesday, she said, her husband has been rolling his eyes over how his family has been spending their time.
"He says we're crazy," she said. "Then he saw the photos. He said, 'That's the girl? Oh, she's cute.'"
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