Temple Grandin Movie

Temple Grandin Movie on HBO

I have always referred to Temple Grandin as the ‘autism expert’. Several years ago I taped her keynote speech at an autism conference in Pasadena. It had slipped my mind to bring her books along for signing since she was at the table doing autographs for visitors. I did wait in line to chat with her for a few minutes, noting that my son Nicholas is very similar in his thought process and connection with animals.

The HBO Movie Temple Grandin was filmed in 2008 with the autism community anxiously waiting for it to air on HBO. Entertainment Weekly provided an advanced screening in several cities across the country. Los Angeles was one of the locations so I signed up. These took place February 2, 2010 with the first airing on HBO February 6, 2010. Seating was limited to theatre capacity with one guest allowed with photo IDs necessary to enter. The screenings were monitored to make sure no recording devices or cameras would be utilized.

I decided to just purchase HBO instead so my son Nicholas could watch, plus I wanted to have a copy of the movie. A few days before the movie I had Nicholas watch portions of The Woman who thinks like a Cow on YouTube to get a sense of Temple Grandin beforehand. We tuned in Saturday night for the premiere.

Temple Grandin Movie

I did have to explain to Nicholas a few things along the way as the movie jumped around a little bit, but mostly as a flashback, thus confusing him somewhat at times. The visualization of Temple’s thoughts were quite remarkable. In Thinking In Pictures she has stated her mind is like a vcr tape in her head. We got a real sense of this when the images would be thrust on the screen based on a word, sentence or thought. Based on the buckle and attire worn by one gentleman she immediately asked him if he was a cowboy.

There were awkward moments when Temple spoke to people or was first introduced. During the summer after high school Temple stayed with her Aunt before her Mother arrived to take her to college. Temple was busy watching the cattle, soon finding comfort in the contraption they went through. She even designed a system for entering the property without having to get out of the vehicle to open the gates. Her Mother was impressed upon arrival to see the handwritten note on the gate indicating the alloted time to get through the gate.

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