Filmmaker Is Much More than Her Disability

Larger society’s introduction to autism came on the heels of Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal in Rain Man. As a result, autism ceased to be seen as a developmental disability and a wide variety of services sprung out, according to Melissa Martinez-Areffi. The film and television industry, on the other hand, is still stuck in 1988. “Nobody took the next step,” said Martinez-Areffi, and if anyone knows about the lingering stereotype, it’s the Hollywood producer’s daughter.

An actress and writer, Bella Zoe Martinez laments all the one-dimensional characters and the typical role of furthering the story arc of other characters. So long dismayed, the Toluca Lake creative put her talents to use. “I see these stereotypes on full display, and that’s what my film is accurately trying to change,” she said of her 16-minute short.

Once More, Like Rain Man, an actual audition provided the sentiment and the title line. In this case, the filmmakers were trying to portray the autistic character accurately and enlisted Bella to help with development. Unfortunately, the standard fallback position prevailed. “Can you do it one more time like Rain Man,” Mom recalled the response. 

Realizing their mistake, the filmmakers reset as originally intended. Even so, the actress never gets used to the way the off-base remarks knock down her neural net. “It feels like the window errors noise when your PC crashes,” she joked. 

Still, Bella doesn’t judge as harshly as she could. “A majority of the people are just misinformed,” she said. “They don’t get it and don’t know what questions to ask.”

Middle School makes no such effort, though. Bullied badly by one particular 6th-grade girl, stereotypes played a part here too. “You look at old movies, it’s the taller older kid,” she said. “Hey, give me your lunch money, and they shove you against the wall.”

Real life proved another matter. Psychological abuse was the order of the day, and one line remains unforgettable. “Why don’t you hang yourself with dental floss, so you die slower,” Bella remembered. 

Fortunately, the youngster had a refuge.  She made videos, and her first acting voice came through miniatures. “I mainly spoke through my dolls,” said the filmmaker.

A low-cost form of therapy, the method also opened up for her. “That’s what later transferred into physical acting,” Bella explained. 

The ability to add lib didn’t hurt either. “I strike up conversations with people,” Bella revealed, and in the checkout line at an art supplies store, she found a willing ear to her eclectic charms.

The Playground is a prestigious acting school run by Gary Spatz, and Bella reeled in one of their scouts as they waited. “Hey, you have a pretty cool personality, would you like to become a student,” Bella conveyed the invitation.

The middle school from hell was also left behind, and good company helped maximize her parent’s advice. “We were like, don’t be normal - find your weird,” Melissa conveyed. “Because there’s other people like you out there.”

She dove in and complied. “I did find my weird,” said Bella, and ten years later, she’s still a teacher’s assistant at the Playground.

Of course, the student had to get through high school, and Covid lockdowns didn’t facilitate matters. “I went to five schools in four years,” said Bella.

The creative made the most of the disruptions anyway. Separated from acting in the two-year California shutout, she compensated online. “Me and my friends came up with stories,” Bella clarified.

And then mom got involved as the stir crazy elevated. So instead of hanging up on scammers, the family engaged. “We created different characters to the point where we got competitive. I’d be this horrible Jewish grandmother or Bella would be a dingbat granddaughter,” remembered Mom.

Their time bided, the educational difficulties continued. Bella got the runaround from colleges and was forced to attend online at various universities. 

As it turned out, the schools didn’t know what they were missing. Her first appearance in a feature called The Vanished provided the proof. Bella plays a young trafficked girl and really left her mark. “The scene is terrifyingly disturbing,” said Melissa.

Film audiences weren’t the first to agree, though. “She freaked them out a bit,” Melissa said of the crew.

So much so that cut was called out of concern. Bella not included, she was oblivious.  “Why did you stop me?” the actress inquired at the time.

A non autistic character, she’s there for autistic typecasts too. NCIS: New Orleans put her to the test, but in a sense, making the grade went in both directions.

In one scene, the accompanying character implores Bella to go out the fire escape. Bad guys in pursuit, the candidate pointed out the inconsistency. “But there’s no fire,” Bella countered. 

The character rigid by definition, Bella’s inherent insistence went on display. “She will outlive God to get the last word in,” Melissa joked.

So maybe it wasn’t a surprise that Bella didn’t get the part. Not quite, said Melissa, “They originally wrote the part for a specific person,” and the actress became available.

Bella still got several callbacks, and her input resulted in script alterations. A similar rewrite occurred when Bella auditioned for a film called Cha Cha Real Smooth. “Not written as a three-dimensional character,” observed Bella, “Lola was very bare bones.”

Cooper Raif, the director, actually thanked Bella for her feedback, but productions aren’t the only ones who have done the rejecting. Bella has refused parts because of character inaccuracies. First met with silence, the rationale for her decision often falls on deaf ears too. “They don’t get it - even when she explains it,” said Melissa. 

Plenty of fodder from the casting table, a story emerged, and the layering doesn’t just encapsulate Bella. A mixture of her brother and sister too, all three are autistic. “It’s like winning the lottery,” Melissa deadpanned.

No denying the good luck, “Zoe” goes on audition after audition, and the full flower of misunderstanding explodes into comedy.  But despite the serious subject matter, the humor serves an important purpose. “I wanted people to know it’s ok to laugh with us instead of laughing at us,” Bella quipped.

Her onscreen father plays alongside for laughs too. Played by Matt Jones of Breaking Bad, the goofiness of “Badger,” can't help carryover. “He plays such a dork,” Bella boasted with endearment.

Cheap laughs, on the other hand, didn’t align with the writer’s vision, and as the production progressed, she fought to keep the depth of the father-daughter connection. “It is the relationship that is at the heart of this, not just the auditions,” Bella revealed.

She wouldn’t let the set be a dealbreaker either. The first stipulation stated that there was no yelling. But the chill extended beyond decibel levels - especially since 40% of the cast and crew have a connection to some sort of disability. 

This includes a cameo appearance by Joe Mantegna, (whose daughter is on the spectrum), and the chance to step away under stress was built in. The production also discarded the notion of always pushing the day through to the point of exhaustion. “It worked so much better,” Melissa assured.

Maybe breaking the Hollywood workload mode, the production’s lighthearted digression aimed not to alienate the industry. “It’s the one place where they’re more likely to make the change, and when people see the film, they will hopefully see themselves and realize it’s OK and not a foreign thing,” said the proud mom.

The community can concur and Bella relishes the feedback from her brethren.  “I see me,” she often hears.

As such, Bella speaks in return for all and provides a straightforward blueprint for the future of film. “Don’t base my character on my disability,” she concluded, “it’s not the only thing I am.”