JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Think with me for a minute about some of the portrayals of disabled people you've seen on your TV or at the movies.
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DUSTIN HOFFMAN: (As Raymond Babbitt) I always drive the car on Saturday. Never drive on Monday.
TOM CRUISE: (As Charlie Babbitt) What is this? Who is this guy?
ACTOR GERI JEWELL: (As Geri Tyler) Hey, I'm a good bowler. I've had some high scores. The only problem was it was never in my lane.
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JAMES EARL JONES: (As Darth Vader) Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force.
SUMMERS: Maybe they're at the heart of an inspirational story set to a soaring soundtrack, but one dimensional, not allowed to fail or flop. Or maybe it's darker. They're the butt of jokes, the bad guy, or altogether invisible. Maybe you can't actually think of any. But the new movie "Ezra" in theaters now is different. It's the story of Ezra Bernal, a pretty fantastic 10-year-old. His dad Max is a New York comedian, so Ezra knows a good punch line. When Max gets a shot at the big time, Ezra has thoughts.
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BOBBY CANNAVALE: (As Max Bernal) I just got off the phone with Aunt Jane - turns out Jimmy Kimmel wants me to be on his show in Los Angeles.
WILLIAM A FITZGERALD: (As Ezra Bernal) That's far.
SUMMERS: When it comes down to it, though, Ezra's got his dad's back.
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CANNAVALE: (As Max Bernal) But where am I going to get my mojo from?
WILLIAM: (As Ezra Bernal) Mojo Man.
CANNAVALE: (As Max Bernal) That's right. Good.
SUMMERS: Ezra is played by William Fitzgerald, and they both - actor and character - have autism. And so does associate producer on the movie, Alex Plank.
ALEX PLANK: This movie does sort of break down stereotypes about autistic people showing that we're not just, you know, all this one way. There are a lot of subtleties and differences between what we do.
SUMMERS: CONSIDER THIS - Hollywood hasn't always gotten it right when it comes to portraying neurodivergent people. The new movie "Ezra" is flipping the script.
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SUMMERS: From NPR, I'm Juana Summers.
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SUMMERS: It's CONSIDER THIS FROM NPR. "Ezra" is a road trip movie, a movie about fathers and sons. In this case, the father is Max, played by Bobby Cannavale. He hasn't quite figured out what his son Ezra's autism diagnosis means for their life together. In a tense moment, Max loads Ezra into his father's vintage Cadillac convertible, and he takes off for his friend Nick's bucolic offseason summer camp, where he gets real with Nick, played by Rainn Wilson, about his fears.
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RAINN WILSON: (As Nick) What are you talking about?
CANNAVALE: (As Max Bernal) I see people move away from Ez, right? He has a temper tantrum, or he's just walking down the street. You know, people aren't trying to be mean. It's just that it's easier. You know, the word autism comes from the Greek - in your own world. I don't want him in his own world, Nick. I want him in this world.
SUMMERS: The movie directed by Tony Goldwyn draws on the real experiences of screenwriter Tony Spiridakis. And when I talked with Spiridakis and associate producer Alex Plank, Spiridakis told me about life with his son Dimitri.
TONY SPIRIDAKIS: Raising my son seemed so full of a roller coaster ride of emotional situations. And I felt like I was doing a terrible job when I got the diagnosis from my son and then I found that there was a - there were things happening at school. He was constantly getting in trouble and thrown out of school. And, you know, I was completely taken - I didn't know what autism was. And so when the diagnosis came, he was only 4 years old.
Things happened, you know, I was called to a birthday party where I dropped him off, and they were playing musical chairs, and he didn't get a chair. And that was the end of that party. I mean, I had to get called back to the house and take him out. And then the person at that party had suggested that I have him evaluated. So the whole journey of learning who my son was based on his autism. It was the dad, me, who really needed to be educated.
SUMMERS: Alex, I want to bring you in here. You are a producer on this film and an actor, but you are also the founder of wrongplanet.net, which is a popular online community for autistic people. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got involved in this project?
PLANK: Well, I got involved in this project because Tony Goldwyn sent me an email, which I didn't respond to because I have executive functioning issues. And then he sent me a second email, which I did respond to. And then we had a meeting, and we talked about the film, and he sent me the script, and I read it, and I was really in love with the way the three generations of men sort of are connecting with each other and have autistic traits. And really, it's a film, to me, about love.
SUMMERS: I'm hoping you can talk a little bit more about the onset dynamics. Alex, as I understand it, everyone involved with the film took part in an autism education session. Can you talk a little bit about the things that you all did to make it an accessible set?
PLANK: We looked at over 100 kids, many of whom had never acted before, and we watched tapes. And William's tape came in, and it was really good, so we had a chemistry read. And I was just looking through my notes here, and the first two lines say, he stims like me, and this is the guy (laughter). So, you know, we were really lucky to find William. But in terms of providing a good experience on set for him and creating a movie that I think was authentic and true to life and respectful of autistic people and - because really when we see portrayals like this on film, those things really change the way we're treated in real life, you know? It's important to get these things right because there's so little portrayals of us, and generally, they aren't portrayed by autistic actors.
And then, after that, I did a training right before we started filming in Closer Media headquarters in New York City in Manhattan, and all the department heads came. And I just went through all the sort of situations that could arise on set and how to be respectful of William, how to treat sensory issues right. For instance, you know, we even went so far as, you know, well, what if, you know, there's dust on the lights, and, you know, it causes a smell that he doesn't like? You know, we want to make sure that we're trying to avoid any sort of issues like that.
There's just so many things that went into it. And I think that in reality, what happened was by doing that, it actually made a much more positive set environment for everyone, you know? It really created an environment where people - it was such a loving experience on set. I mean, I - it's one of one of the best memories I've had in my life, you know, and I just really am proud of what came out of that, as well.
SUMMERS: I want to talk a little bit more about William Fitzgerald because, I mean, he is a first-time actor, and this role is a big lift. He's funny, and he's emotional. And in the film, we watch him go line for line with this incredible cast of industry veterans. I'm curious, for either of you, are there ways in which the script changed and which the character changed once you found William and started working with him as Ezra?
SPIRIDAKIS: There wasn't much that needed to be changed at all because he was - the type of humor that he had, the type of speaking without a filter that that was what Dimitri was when he was 11, and it was what made the script, well, sort of vibrant. And he was not as perhaps inappropriate as my son was. And, you know, I can explain the reasons of that being that William's parents are fantastic people (laughter), and I was probably not a great influence. But the idea of what needed to change for William was, no, it was just about letting William be William. And so his - he had instincts at certain points where he would improvise something, and all of a sudden, it was just explosively funny, and then there was my Dimitri, right? Because that was where this whole thing started.
It was the things that my son did that got him into trouble that I thought were extremely kind of brilliant and out of the box and spot on in some ways. And so what Tony Goldwyn did, which was so wonderful, is that he allowed William to be William, and that's what we all did. And that's everything that Alex represents, and that's everything that the film represents. It's not about changing or fixing your child. It's about letting him be - or she be who they are.
PLANK: And I would just add that one of the things that I really loved about him from the very start is he was just so passionate about his interests, right? Like, people who are autistic have special interests. I certainly do, and I will not shut up about them, and he's the same way. You know, he - I was invited over to his house by his parents, and we spent about an hour watching, you know, YouTube videos about the history of the Civil War (laughter) and world history. And, you know, he just - he's just so passionate and filled with joy.
And I think that, you know, you see that in the stimming, you know, because stimming is not just, oh, I'm overwhelmed. It's also, I'm excited about this thing I'm talking about. And, you know, I think that when we got on set, one of the things that I really pushed William to do is - was, you know, sometimes bring his own spin to things because I think that's why his character resonates so much with people 'cause it's authentic, and it taps into something that's true to who he is in a way and who we all are in a way.
SUMMERS: Well, one of the things that stuck with me in this film was the scene where Max is really just grappling with the choices he's made and how he can best show up for his son. And he says, I don't want him in his own world. I want him in this world. And I know a lot of people who have written about that moment, but it really just has stayed with me. Can either of you say more about that?
SPIRIDAKIS: This is sort of - as much lightness and joy as there is in the film, it's - for me, it's - that's the core pain. That's like, when you write from a really good, deep place, you are going to have to share, you know, stuff that is super private and super painful. And I think that that line is everything I had to overcome. You know, I wanted him in this world. Well, you know, the journey for Max is you can't have that, maybe (laughter). It's not your - it's his world and your world. And I think that's the most important thing is if your child is happy, they're in their own world oftentimes, maybe not all the time, then you have to adjust to who they are, not make them become who you think they should be.
PLANK: And I think that's also something that we as autistic people go through, you know, in sort of a different way in that we want to be like everyone else. And then, at least, my journey with that was that realizing that, like, I don't want to be like everyone else. I want to be like myself. And I think that this movie really explores that in a way that I think will make people think about, OK, well, maybe I shouldn't be trying so hard to be something I'm not.
SUMMERS: For each of you, what do you hope that people will take away when they see this film?
PLANK: For me, the biggest thing that I hope, and I'm already seeing people take away, is that there is finally a movie where I can see myself on screen. I've gotten so many messages from autistic people who went into watching this movie with a lot of skepticism because pretty much every depiction that we usually see is not true life, and it doesn't represent us, and a lot of times, it's damaging. But I've gotten so many messages from autistic people who watch the film who are in tears sometimes because they've finally seen something where they feel represented and feel seen and heard and understood.
SPIRIDAKIS: Yeah, that's what I love seeing is people feeling that it's captured a part of their own lives so that they're not alone and they're seeing something represented. And I think that as much as it does that for the autism community, I also have to say that it's the parents of that community that's also so well represented in this film. The things that I get are very much from fathers who come up to me and just start to cry. And we kind of hug each other, and, like, hardly words need to be shared. But it's been an overwhelming amount of mail that I get from parents and family who are just so happy to see something represented where you can do the wrong thing, but the right thing can happen because of love.
SUMMERS: Tony Spiridakis and Alex Plank. Their new movie is "Ezra" in theaters now. Thank you both.
SPIRIDAKIS: Thank you so much.
PLANK: Thank you so much.
SUMMERS: This episode was produced by Gus Contreras and Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. And one more thing before we go. You can now enjoy the CONSIDER THIS newsletter. We still help you break down a major story of the day, but you'll also get to know our producers and hosts, and there are some moments of joy from the ALL THINGS CONSIDERED team. You can sign up at npr.org/considerthisnewsletter.
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SUMMERS: It's CONSIDER THIS FROM NPR. I'm Juana Summers.
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