Abigail Breslin Growing Up: Janie Jones

At 15, Abigail Breslin wears makeup. Clad in day-glo chartreuse for the premiere of her new movie,, she's now a young starlet.
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At 15, Abigail Breslin wears makeup. Clad in day-glo chartreuse for the premiere of her new movie, Janie Jones, she's now a young starlet. Based on director David M. Rosenthal's real-life discovery of his preteen daughter who he never knew existed, this evocative father-daughter indie film also stars Alessandro Nivola as an infantile alcoholic rocker on tour. Saddled with Janie when her drug addict mom (Elisabeth Shue) drops her off and splits, Nivola's character Ethan Brand does some growing up himself taking on the role of dad.

This special film also debuts Breslin as an accomplished vocalist and guitarist. Reminiscent of Crazy Heart a few seasons ago, Janie Jones delivers a winning combo of fine acting set in the seedy bars that define America. Expect nominations for major awards for Breslin and Nivola, who each act so naturally they rise above the predictability of the plot. By the end, you are won over by this unlikely buddy movie.

American Express hosted the afterparty at the Gramercy Terrace at the Gramercy Park Hotel featuring performances by Nivola, bluesy on slide guitar, and Breslin, following with two songs from the film, "Fight for Me" and "Hurricane;" accompanied by her guitar teacher and member of her band Cabb, they reprised their act from this year's Tribeca Film Festival. And then the crowd -- Parker Posey, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Celia Weston, among them -- went back to munching skewered short ribs in the elegant space with views of the Chrysler Building.

A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.

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