Bella Zoe Martinez - Actress

Post Reply New Topic

Bella Zoe Martinez (“Hour of Lead,” “The Infiltrators”), one of Hollywood’s first young actresses with autism, is teaming up with actor Eric Michael Cole (DC’s “Birds of Prey,” “The Laundromat”) and writer/producer Sean Crouch (“Lore,” “The Exorcist”) on the comedic super villain short film, “Glory and Injustice,” from Los Angeles-based Pink Slip Pictures.

A “Glory and Injustice” GoFundMe.com campaign has been set up for those interested in contributing to the project at: http://bit.ly/2YmTTgf.

Executive produced by Max Wong, Karen Firestone and writer Crouch, “Glory and Injustice” centers around 13-year-old Glory (Martinez), the daughter to down-and-out super villain Dad, known to his adversaries as Lord Injustice (Cole).

Lord Injustice has been off his game since his wife left him and Glory. When Glory discovers her mom has filed for full custody, she must find a way to get her dad to overcome his depression and be the hero (or antihero) all little girls need their dad to be and fight to keep his family.

Director Jamieson Tabb (“Girl Trip”) is slated to begin filming with the duo Sept. 7, 2019 and hopes to premiere at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival held from Jan. 24-30 in Park City, Utah. Melissa Martinez-Areffi and Andy Areffi, authors of the book Navigating Autism, also are producers.

Martinez’s addition to the project will incorporate the one-of-a-kind perspective she brings as an actor on the autism spectrum.

"I am kind of sick of the monolithic portrayal of autism in pop culture… a portrayal that is usually performed by a non-autistic man,” explains Wong. “I am supporting this project because I think every culture and every person is improved by access to diverse ideas and people.

“Bella’s point of view is unexplored territory and that newness excites me,” she continues. “What will a teenage girl – a girl with a non-neurotypical brain – do when confronted with the creative obstacle of building a multi-faceted character from scratch? What does that look like? Who doesn’t want to see something fresh and new come out of Hollywood? This is my chance to make something unique and I am taking it!"

According to producers, Martinez is taking a greater interest in wanting to see characters on the Autism spectrum represented more realistically.

“The portrayal of autism in Hollywood has been reduced down to a cliché set of behaviors that can be violated at the most convenient dramatic moment,” observes Martinez-Areffi. “Bella was watching a show with a character with autism and she said, ’that’s not me. Why are there no characters like me?’ Later, she announced to us that she was going to show people that Autism is more like a rainbow.’ It’s important for these other voices to be represented correctly."