Consider This from NPR - Hollywood flips the script in the new movie 'Ezra'

Episode Date: June 5, 2024

'Ezra' is a road trip movie, a movie about fathers and sons.Bobby Cannavale plays the father Max, and he hasn't quite figured out what his son Ezra's autism diagnosis means for their life together.The movie draws on the real experiences of screenwriter Tony Spiridakis. William A. Fitzgerald, who plays Ezra. And associate producer Alex Plank also has autism, and is the founder of wrongplanet.net. Many members of the cast and crew are neurodivergent, or have neurodivergent family members. Hollywood hasn't always gotten it right when it comes to portraying neurodivergent people on screen. The new movie 'Ezra' is flipping the script.NPR's Juana Summers speaks with screenwriter Tony Spiridakis and producer Alex Plank.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Think with me for a minute about some of the portrayals this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force. 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 punchline. When Max gets a shot at the big time, Ezra has thoughts. I just got off the phone with Aunt Jane. Turns out Jimmy Kimmel wants me to be on his show in Los Angeles. That's far. When it comes down to it, though, Ezra's got his dad's back. Where am I going to get my mojo from? Mojo mom. That's right. Good. Ezra is played by William Fitzgerald, and they both, actor and character, have autism. And so does associate producer on the movie, 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. Consider this. Hollywood hasn't always gotten it right when it comes to portraying

neurodivergent people. The new movie Ezra is flipping the script. From NPR, I'm Juana 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 off-season summer camp, where he gets real with Nick, played by Rainn Wilson, about his fears. What are you talking about? I see people move away from Ez, right? He has a temper tantrum, or he's just walking down the street.

And, 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. 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. 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 for my son. And then I found that there were

things happening at school. He was constantly getting in trouble and thrown out of school. And I was completely taken. I didn't know what autism was. And so when the diagnosis came, he was only four 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. 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? 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 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.

I'm hoping you can talk a little bit more about the on-set 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? 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 stems like me, and this is the guy. 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. 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, we even went so far as, well, what if there's dust on the lights and it causes a smell that he doesn't like? 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. It really created an environment where people – it was such a loving experience on set. It's one of the best memories I've had in my life. And I just really am proud of what came out of that as well. I want to talk a little bit more about William Fitzgerald because 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, in which the character changed once you found William and started working with

him as Ezra? 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 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 and I was probably not a great influence, but, but the idea of what needed to change for William was no, it was just about letting William be William. And, and so his,

he had instincts at certain points where he would, 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. 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 and world history.

And, you know, he's just so passionate and filled with joy. And I think that you see that in the stimming. Because stimming is not just, oh, I'm overwhelmed. It's also, I'm excited about this thing I'm talking about. And I think that when we got on set, one of the things that I really pushed William to do was sometimes bring his own spin to things. Because I think that's why his character resonates so much with people, because it's authentic. And it taps into something that's true to who he is in his own world. I want him in this world. And I know a lot of people have written about that moment, but it really just has stayed with me. Can either of you say more about that this is sort of as much lightness and and joy as there is in the film it's 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 gonna

have to share you know stuff that super private and 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. 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. And I think that's also something that we as autistic people go through 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 I don't 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, okay, well, maybe I shouldn't be trying so hard to be something I'm not. For each of you, what do you hope that people will take away when they see this film? 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. people who went into watching this movie with a lot of skepticism because pretty much every

depiction that we usually see is not true to 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 finally seen something where they feel represented and feel seen and heard and understood. 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 it it's 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 and just sort of. And we kind of hug each other and it's just 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. Tony Spiridakis and Alex Plank, their new movie is Ezra in theaters now.

Thank you both. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. This episode was produced by Gus Contreras and Catherine Fink. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sammy Yannigan.

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 slash consider this newsletter. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.