NAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

NAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

Feature Film

Producers: Lois Robbins, Howard Rosenman, Tony Goldwyn, Bill Horberg, Jon Kilik, Tony Spiridakis

Director: Tony Goldwyn

Writer: Tony Spiridakis

Casting Directors: Kerry Barden / Paul Schnee

Casting Associates: Roya Semnanian / Rachel Goldman

Start Date: September 7, 2022

Location: New York Area

 
Cast:
Stan: Robert DeNiro [ EZRA ]
Max: Bobby Cannavale

FOR AUTHENTICITY, PLEASE SUBMIT ACTORS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM
Male, about 9 years old, any ethnicity, he's Max and Jenna's son, a brilliant boy on the autism spectrum. He displays frequent “stimming,” i.e., arm-flapping, skipping and his incessant whirlwind of activity. A reader of Russian novels with an encyclopedic knowledge of film and tv, Ezra has a movie quote for every occasion.  He is only able to speak the truth which gets him into hot water. He does not like hugs and human touch. He has fears of many things; bananas, metal utensils, etc -- he can be reduced to a state of panic in a moment.  But when he is "kidnapped" by his father and taken on a cross-country odyssey, Ezra is forced to confront not only his fears, but his father’s frailties as a man—revealing a wisdom and inner strength he never could have imagined. LEAD

Storyline: Stand-up comic MAX BRANDEL is the kind of guy who operates on impulse -- one of the main reasons he split from his wife, JENNA, and had to move in with his dad, STAN. Max and Jenna bitterly disagree over the right way to deal with their autistic son EZRA.  The boy’s teachers and doctors have persuaded Jenna that her son should be medicated and put in a special needs school -- a move that reduces the brilliant, vibrant Ezra to a dead-eyed shell, much to Max's horror. But when Max attacks Ezra's doctor, he gets slapped with a restraining order and is prevented from seeing his son -- an agonizing penalty for this hands-on dad. On the spur of the moment, Max kidnaps Ezra and takes him on a cross country odyssey to Los Angeles, where Max has a shot at getting on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Their journey may ultimately land Max in handcuffs -- but it will prove a life-changing odyssey for them both...