By Drew Grant 2/18 6:48pm

Tragedy

The victim, Robert Ethan Saylor (ABC)

Zero Dark Thirty Death Ruled Homicide (Video)

Today’s ruling won’t bring back Robert Saylor, the young man who died in police custody after employees of a Frederick, MD multiplex called the cops on the 26-year-old with Down Syndrome for trying to sit through a second screening of Zero Dark Thirty. (He had only paid for one viewing.) But the court’s decision on Friday to call the death what it was–a homicide–is a step in the direction of justice, which is more than can be said for the case thus far. Read More

By Rex Reed 10/16/12 7:04pm

theater

Everidge and Murney in Falling.

Of Sound Mind: Falling, the Tragic Tale of an Embattled Family Struggling to Cope With an Autistic Son Brings an Emotional Force to Weighty Subject

Graceful writing, great acting, exquisite direction, suspense, profound subject matter—you rarely find even one of those elements in a contemporary play opening in commercial New York theater, and never all in the same play at the same time. That’s what makes Falling such a shock. It teaches you something and leaves you sated—and it rocks.  Read More

By Drew Grant 11/30/11 3:06pm

Film

Evan Sneider in 'Girlfriend'

Acting with Down’s: Exploitative or Inspirational?

One of the most controversial elements of Ryan Murphy‘s shows like Glee and American Horror Story is his use of actors with Downs Syndrome, and how they are portrayed/treated by the other characters.

This issue was at the front of our mind when talking to producer Shaun O’Banion Monday evening at the Andaz Hotel. His film, Girlfriend, had just won The Gotham Independent Movie’s Audience Award.

Girlfriend revolves around Evan, a young man with Down’s Syndrome, who falls in love with a girl he went to high school with. Evan Sneider who plays the lead, is a 33-year-old actor with high-functioning Down’s Syndrome. Read More