Claire Danes in Talks for Autism Film
HBO’s Temple Grandin project is (finally) moving forward, with Claire Danes in talks to star and Mick Jackson set to direct.
The project looks interesting. It follows the life of Dr. Grandin, who overcame the limitations imposed by autism to become one of the top scientists in humane livestock handling, not to mention one of the leading speakers on autism.
In high school, Grandin was called “tape recorder” by other kids because she repeated things over and over, and she was hypersensitive to all sorts of sensory stimulation. She graduated with degrees from several universities, going on to write influential essays on animal welfare and designing humane slaughterhouses.
More after the jump…
Grandin appears regularly on the talk show circuit and was the subject of a BBC documentary titled “The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow” and Errol Morris‘ “First Person: Stairway to Heaven.”
Danes will play Grandin from her high school years to her post-academic period. Christopher Monger wrote the script, and an October start date in Austin is being eyed. It’s been nine years in the making for executive producer Emily Gerson Saines, a former agent and now manager-producer for whom this has been a passion project.
“I made a commitment to Temple that I was going to make it and make it right,” said Saines, who has a son with autism. “I never pushed to get it made until now, because now we got it right.”
For more on kids with special needs and autism, visit my friend Debbie Feit’s site and blog for “Our Special Kids.”
Image: Picapp.com
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1 opinion for Claire Danes in Talks for Autism Film
Liz
Aug 16, 2008 at 8:21 pm
This sounds like a really interesting and important story. I’d like to see this movie.
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