By Ron Sandison
Rain Man was the first glimpses most people had of autism and Sue Ann and I hope to take the next step and let people know that each person with autism is unique and not to stereotype us.
Bella Zoe Martinez, Writer/Actress of Once More, Like Rain Man
Actress Bella Zoe Martinez and film director/actress Sue Ann Pien produced the movie Once More, Like Rain Man to expose stereotyping of autism in Hollywood and to demonstrate that each person with autism is unique. The film depicts the obstacles actors and actress with autism experience in auditions. Nearly 40% of the cast and crew of Once More, Like Rian Man are neurodivergent or are differently abled. I enjoyed watching this film and seeing Bella Zoe and Sue Ann’s advocacy in action for the autism community. I was excited to interview Bella Zoe and Sue Ann and share their journeys with autism and the movie industry.
1. Bella, what sparked your interests in acting? And how did your parents empower you to cultivate your passion into a career?
What got me into acting was coping with bullying. After being bullied badly in sixth grade, I found comfort and relief in acting, and actually acting is a form of masking. By acting, I can make people smile, feel good, and bring them into my world, where I can share my story and journey. This creates an understanding and love.
2. Sue Ann, how have your parents empowered your career as an actress?
My parents didn’t empower me to be an actress. I don’t think anybody wanted me to act. From an early age, my mom was clear with me that I was different. In the eighties, my mom groomed me to behave in a normal way so I would fit in. By this upbringing, I thought the point of life was to act and mimic my way in every scenario. At age 15, I found life to be brutal and had a difficult time trying to fit in and I experienced depression and I did not want to be here.
My dad and I are very similar which makes sense, he is an aerospace engineer and I find it easy to hang out with him. He loves to spin in circles and has intense interests and an a gift to hyper focus. He always expected me to just be myself and this was a relief.
2. Bella, you have two siblings on the spectrum, at what age were you diagnosed and what is you and your siblings’ “Autistic Joy”?
My siblings Kennedy and Alex are both autistic and they did the animation in the end credits of Once More, Like Rain Man. We included the animation because they are really good at it and that’s what they love to do. My passion is different forms of art, I love music, I love drawing, I love creating stories and characters. Writing is one of my favorite things to do because I enjoy sharing these stories with my friends.
3. Sue Ann, did you experience bullying as a child?
Yes, I literally had kids come and say mean things about me right in front of me as if I did not exist. I hated this and I felt very upset and I would temporary lose my ability to speak. As a child, I did not understand why I was treated so horrible and I was the brunt of kids’ jokes. When a student asked, “Why don’t you invite Sue Ann to your birthday party?” the other students would laugh. By age 15, I tried to do everything possible to mimic other girls my age so I could fit in.
4. Bella, what motivated you to make Once More, Like Rain Man?
I remember going on a lot of auditions for autistics characters and wondering, why the film industry portrays autistic characters like someone pretending to be autistic rather than a real person and not giving them the same treatment with character development. This does not mean they doesn’t care about people with autism, just that the movie scripts are misinformed and some producers genuinely don’t know how to portray people with autism in their writing. I wrote a script on autism with my parents and knew that for a director I would want someone who is on the spectrum. Sue Ann has autism and is an actress and director so I choose her. We clicked right away and were able to share in our film the message that with determination and passion we can accomplish amazing things with autism and do what we love to do.
5. Bella, what was your experience like with auditions?
My autism has helped me with auditions because I am observant and when reading scripts I can visualize characters and portray them with my personality and personal experiences and bring those traits into the characters. Even if the character is nothing like me and is a mean girl or a villain. I still with passion can portray the character as long as I can bring some of myself into that character.
6. Sue Ann, what are some autistic stereotypes you hope to dispel with Once More, Like Rain Man?
I think many women are misdiagnosis or under-diagnosis with autism, especially in the Asian community which is one of the reasons I was drawn to Bella’s movie script. My journey has been long and I think it is like this for many women with autism. Now the autism diagnosis in the Asian community is becoming more prominent. My best friend and I had so much trouble as teenagers, we were wild, and now she has a son diagnosed with autism. She said, “I understand my son so much better because of our friendships and our time together.” When I was growing up, it was like “What’s wrong with you?” I was mute until about age 5 and after that I was hyper-verbal. I received the school’s principle award for the most improved because within months I went from nonverbal to speaking whole sentences. When I get overstimulated or really stress out, I may lose my ability to speak but I still have my intellectual ability. I tested as highly gifted so it is not like I am unware of the things happening around me during a meltdown. We need autistic people to speak and say this is the help I need and how you can help me. In films we need characters who genuinely portray the autism experience.
7. Bella, how did you choose the title for your film?
I choose the title Once More, Like Rain Man because without Rain Man as a film much of the therapy and treatment we have today may not have been available because people may not have an awareness of autism and for resources to help people with autism. Rain Man was the first glimpses most people had of autism and Sue Ann and I hope to take the next step and let people know that each person with autism is unique and not to stereotype us. Just because you meet one person with autism, doesn’t mean you know everything about autism, each of us is different. When I was young my mom put my brother and I in ice skating because it supported our sensory processing needs, my brother and I loved to spin. I don’t get dizzy so this is a great skill in ice skating.
8. Sue Ann, what are some misconceptions Hollywood has about autism?
I was lucky that I got to work with producer Jason Katims on the Prime Series As We See It. He is a veteran director and an Emmy-winning producer and has personal experience and he was able to craft and base the characters to what Rick, Albert, and myself brought to the show. It was incredible to see. I am a product of the eighties and I loved Rain Man so it blew my mind to see Dustin Huffman portray an autistic savant in a powerful moving film.
After seeing the movie as a child, I thought I am not autistic because I am not like the character in Rain Man. I was completely opposite, I was high functioning much more like a boy, hyper-verbal and very blunt in what I said, honest, and a rule follower. Like you, I love animals and love wildlife. So I never saw myself as Rain Man and autistic. I also loved stimming by singing.
Autistic actors and actresses are the best workers and never miss an audition because that is our routine. Some people are mean and get ahead by throwing people under a bus, most people with autism are kind.
9. Bella, if you could develop the idea character to portray in a film or series, who would that character be and what would they be like?
A character like myself someone who is chaotic and has interests in multiple forms of art, music, and different forms of media, who loves reading, and is a storyteller. I love drawing expressions for characters. Expressions are a ton of fun in acting because the camera is sensitive to how you express yourself and you need to be more subtle with them in a film. As an actress my job is to make the character come to life and be someone the audience can relate to.
10. Sue Ann, I loved binge watching As We See It, like the character, Violet, I experienced meltdowns my ‘Honey Badger Moments.’ Did you experience meltdowns?
Yes, especially when I was a young child, my mom as a single mom didn’t have much support and this added to the stressful environment, along with bullying at school, all this lead to anxiety and meltdowns. I don’t think meltdowns happen in a vacuum but increase in stressful environments.
11. Bella, I’ve noticed the key to our success is having people who believed in us and empowered us to market and refine our gifts, who were your mentors who helped you market and refine your talents?
My family and my friends, when I showed my friends and family my writing and art they would encourage me. I remember in eleventh grade dealing with a ton of stress and like Sue Ann, I had students make fun of me right in front of me. My family and friends helped me stay afloat in this difficult time and inspired me not give up and I love them very dearly.
Ron’s Video of Interview with Sue Ann Pien & Bella Zoe Martinez
Movie Trailer- Once Again, Like Rain Man
https://m.imdb.com/video/embed/vi2934163225/?vPage=1
Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of America. Sandison has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom, published by Charisma House and Thought, Choice, Action. Ron has memorized over 10,000 Scriptures including 22 complete books of the New Testament and over 5,000 quotes. Ron’s third book Views from the Spectrum was released in May 2021.
Ron frequently guest speaks at colleges, conferences, autism centers, and churches. Ron and his wife, Kristen, reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with a baby daughter, Makayla Marie born on March 20, 2016.
You can contact Ron at his website www.spectruminclusion.com or email him at sandison456@hotmail.com
