Asperger Help

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Filmed in beautiful Spokane, Washington, this movie is opening soon in 2006.

Mozart and the Whale is a 2005 film starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell. It is the story of two people with Asperger's, a form of autism, whose emotional differences impacts their relationship. It is a fictional account, using characters loosely based on the real-life relationship of Jerry Newport and Mary Meinel (now Mary Newport).

Jerry Newport says "About the names: "The Whale" refers to my lifelong love of whales. I always wanted to be a whale so I could be the parade, rather than worry about not being in step and being ridiculed. I am a certified whale watcher and have volunteered on whale watching cruises in Maui, Alaska, Long Beach, California, and other places. "Mozart" refers to the savant abilities of Mary Newport, who can compose music and paint complex art with two hands at the same time.

Mary and I had no contractual creative control over the movie but were asked for lots of input which was taken very seriously. Our major effort was to have the movie depict a wide range of adult autism and Asperger's, and not just focus on our special talents. In that, we believe we succeeded. The movie is entertaining and inspiring and breaks significant ground in the range of autism spectrum personalities and experiences shown.

Gary Cole, an actor in this movie, has a daughter with autism and met my cockatoo Shayna at a panel discussion in Pasadena, California in 1998. Josh Hartnett's interest was originally piqued by a friend with an autistic cousin. Josh turned down more lucrative roles to help find a movie director, co-stars, and the funding to make this film. I was very impressed by his genuine interest and commitment.

The screenwriter, Ronald Bass, co-wrote ''Rain Man''. The original movie producer, Robert Lawrence, was also involved with that movie and met me and my wife in 1995, after we and our local support group were featured in "Against All Odd", a front-page article in the ''Los Angeles Times''. Originally, the movie was destined to be directed by Steven Spielberg but was allowed to be done by another director, Petter Næss of Norway. Næss was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for ''Elling'', a play and then movie which he wrote, about the hilarious misadventures of two men who move from an institution into their own apartment.