When the Dunst finally settles, will she be a studio exec?

Director claims Elizabethtown star has a bright future ahead of her

She’s often described as a sensible sort in an industry full of flakes. So when Cameron Crowe cast Kirsten Dunst as the loopy blonde in Elizabethtown, he confirmed a few things he knew about her, starting with his faith in Dunst’s wit and charm.

“ And she’s smart,” says the writer-director. “Smart enough to run a movie studio, if she wanted to” — which, he concedes, may or may not be a compliment.

But for now, the 23-year-old Dunst will have to satisfy herself with acting — which she does quite often and in some of the biggest blockbusters of her generation. For instance, she starts filming Spider-Man 3 in January, reuniting with her former boyfriend, Tobey Maguire, who reprises his role as the friendly neighbourhood Spidey.

Meanwhile, there is Elizabethtown, which opens on Friday and is a very personal feature for Crowe, concerning a sneaker designer (Orlando Bloom) who gets fired from his high-paying job just before heading out to his father’s funeral in Kentucky. Along the way, he meets an odd flight attendant (Dunst), who enters his life through a series of peculiar events. When she eventually provides him with a map and a mix-tape of songs, she offers him a way to find himself on the road trip that follows.

So why is this intimate for Crowe? His father died in 1989, and he also travelled to Kentucky for the funeral. And the director, although mostly successful, has gone through lots of professional and personal ups and downs, and has at times been unsure of himself. So he wasn’t about to hire just anybody for the leads in Elizabethtown, his precious vision of trying to find what you’re looking for. He knew Bloom had the innocent charm to pull off the male lead, and he definitely wanted Dunst.

In fact, Crowe thought so much of the actress he almost hired her to play Penny Lane in 2000’ s Almost Famous, the part that eventually went to Kate Hudson, who earned a supporting actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a groupie with a heart of gold.

What does Dunst have to say about Crowe’s praise? She’s thrilled, and happy to finally work with the writer and director she’s admired since Jerry Maguire.

“Cameron really captures the excitement of life in his movies, when things go wrong with new people who eventually become old friends,” says Dunst. “He’s so super-aware of those moments, he knows how to find them and reveal them.”

Obviously, Dunst also seems to understand when those moments appear, and how to define them as well. Maybe it’s because she’s been in the entertainment business since she was an infant.

She was born Kirsten Caroline Dunst in Point Pleasant, N. J., where her father, Klaus, was a medical services executive. Her mother, Inez, was an artist, former gallery owner and, coincidentally, a former stewardess. By the age of four, Inez had signed Kirsten up at the Elite and Ford talent agencies, leading to roles in over 70 TV commercials. At six, she also appeared on Saturday Night Live, playing the grandchild of Dana Carvey’s President Bush.

She also portrayed Mia Farrow’s child in the Woody Allen movie segment of New York Stories, but it wasn’t until 11-yearold Dunst co-starred with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994’ s Interview With The Vampire

that she made a name for herself.

More than 40 films and TV shows later, including 2000’ s Bring It On

and the Spider-Man series, Dunst has become a youthful veteran with few childactor regrets.

“I mean, I can’t sit here and regret anything,” she says. “Everyone has issues in their life, and mine are no more special than anyone else’s.”

In fact, she suspects they are typical. “My best friend has a complicated relationship with her mother, and I do, too,” she contends.