AS Screenplay Research

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Hi everybody,

I’m a filmmaker based in New York City. I’m writing a screenplay where one of the main characters has AS. I’ve been doing a lot of research, but mostly it’s been reading books on the subject, articles, etc. I really want to be accurate and respectful, and to do that I think I need to meet people with AS who’d like to tell me about their experiences and their interests, answer some questions, etc.

If anybody is interested, you can contact me at [email protected].

Thanks!

David

"Is it safe?"

Yeah of course his probably going to say so.

His email is @columbia.edu which means that he's either a student at columbia or he's on the faculty there, so I'd say its pretty safe.

Alex, maybe you should make him go through you so you can verify his credentials.

That would be wise.

Welcome David.

I'd say you already met some.

Did you have some questions you'd like to toss out or particular experiences you'd like to hear about from this group in general?

BeeBee

Sorry, wrong Dustin Hoffman film

(ducks and runs)

pretty safe???
Questions on the forum is one thing but meeting him maybe something to think twice about especially on your own. So you lot be very careful.

Hi everybody,

First of all, thanks for all the replies and all the emails I've been getting today. They've been very kind and I'll answer them one by one.

Second, I understand Emettman's skepticism towards filmmakers and filmmakers' tendencies to simplify/sensationalize. We certainly (and sadly) have earned such reputation again and again. That's why I want to meet people and listen to them: to get it right.

And finally, I understand the reluctance to meet with a stranger that comes out of the blue. Who is this guy? Right? So I wanted to add that I just want is to meet and chat a little, obviously in a public place. I live in New York, where there's no shortage of Starbucks!

Again, thanks everybody for the replies. I'm going to start replying!


David

This totally reminds me of an experience I had with a Hollywood film producer once - he was one of the Producers of Bowfinger with Steve Martin, he said. I was working in the ER as trauma nurse that day, and he had just gotten into a car accident so was in the trauma room, getting the full workup but not so badly hurt that he wasn't aware. He said he was amazed at the whole ambulance/trauma room experience, that it was NOTHING like you see on TV and he couldn't have dreamed it up if he tried. LOL. Just goes to show you that there's nothing like actually experiencing something versus making it up.

Dead right, Alex...

I had the first thought about safety, the standard question about taking WWW exchanges to physical meetings, the quote came to mind to fit that, and then the realisation that that was the "wrong" Dustin Hoffman film...

Fairly typical for my mind, AS or not: get an idea and it runs, often off at a tangent, or branching so much it turns into a tree full of twigs.
(and thus we get lost, from the well-worn path)

David,

I'm in the UK, but if I'd been in striking distance I would have been quite prepared to meet you. Even in Starbucks. It would have been a conversation to look forward to.

(Film and mind, now there's a challenge. A film can do a landscape in one pan shot that a book would struggle to convey in several paragraphs, but a book can account for someone's thinking fairly easily. That's tough on film where the building blocks are surfaces and spoken words.)

I agree with Emettman that film and mind is always a challenging combination. Film has ways to explore the inner world, some of them more conventional (such as voice over) and others more subtle (behaviour, visual symbolism, etc.). Anyway, it will be a challenge!

So here's a question I throw out there, see if anyone wants to share something. Could anyone tell me about his/her experiences with parents that are very protective, or even overprotective? You think is good or counterproductive? What are your opinions/experiences? If anyone wants to give me his/her two cents, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

I'm an aspie, my mom's an aspie and 'protect' was not in her vocabulary. She fed and clothed me and that's about it.