Movie Interviews

Hollywood flips the script in the new movie 'Ezra'

'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.

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Devery Jacobs flies high in 'Backspot'

Cheerleaders are canonical when it comes to teen media - but is it time we expand our idea of who cheerleaders can be? Devery Jacobs's new film, Backspot, explores the internal life of a cheerleading backspot - the person making sure those high-flying cheerleaders don't break their necks. Devery joins Brittany to talk about redefining the cheerleader for a new generation, and keeping her sense of integrity while navigating the film industry.

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The lesson Chris Pine learned after his new film was 'obliterated' by critics

Today, we are bringing you an episode of a new NPR podcast hosted by our pal Rachel Martin. It's called Wild Card, and it's a new interview show where the game controls the conversation. Each week, the guest chooses questions at random — about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives. This episode is an interview with the actor Pop Culture Happy Hour listeners voted as their favorite Chris — Chris Pine.