7 Life (and Social Impact) Lessons from the Making of “The Peanut Butter Falcon”

 

We love the film “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” about a bond that forms between two men who meet each other while they’re on the run for different reasons. Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf) is a fisherman escaping a troubled past and some violent enemies; Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man who has Down Syndrome, has busted out of the care facility where he’s been living and dreams of becoming professional wrestler, but his well-meaning caretaker (Dakota Johnson) is on his trail to bring him back. We also love the story of how the film came to be, which similarly involves friendship, adversity, and adventure—and we can’t help noticing that many of the principles that led to the film’s success hold true for any campaign to make an impact.

Challenge the status quo.
Though Gottsagen has been studying acting since he was a kid, he grew frustrated that despite his talent and experience, not many roles are written for people who, like him, have Down Syndrome (in fact, only 2.5 percent of speaking characters in popular films were depicted with a disability in a 10-year review of popular films, according to a 2017 report by USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative). He set out to change that by suggesting to his friends Nilson and Schwartz that they write a film for him to star in.

Learn from those who came before you.
Schwartz and Nilson had a little bit of experience with short-film content, but had never worked on, much less written, a feature. Undeterred, they went to the library and checked out books on how to write a movie script.

Find your partners.
After Gottsagen asked for a little help from his friends, they, in turn, asked for a little help from a famous stranger. At the time, as Nilson tells it, they were “a couple dudes living in a tent,” struggling to get their script circulating to industry powers-that-be. After seeing actor Josh Brolin post on Instagram, “My hope is that I give back in 2016,” they direct-messaged him about their project. He signed on to play the wrestling guru sought out by Gottasagen’s character—and although he later had to drop out for scheduling reasons, his initial attachment helped get the project taken seriously in Hollywood.

Stick to the values of your vision.
The filmmakers encountered some industry executives who suggested casting a more well-known actor without Down Syndrome in the role of Zak, but they held firm in their conviction that Gottsagen should play the part.

Paint a picture of what’s possible.
Nilson and Schwartz produced five minutes of “proof of concept” film footage demonstrating Gottsagen’s acting ability, which helped them garner further interest and ultimately sign on big-name co-stars. During filming, when stunt supervisors balked at Gottsagen’s request to perform his own stunt—a 45-foot jump off a dock into the water—he and LaBeouf and Schwartz went out during a lunch break and jumped in, and Gottsagen got the OK.

Be open to the unexpected.
Some of the movie’s memorable moments came about from improv or input from the actors. In a scene highlighted in the trailer, Tyler says to Zak, “Rule number 1: Don’t slow me down. Rule number 2: I’m in charge. Hey, what’s rule number 1?” Gottsagen improvised the big laugh line: “Party.” He also came up with “Peanut Butter Falcon” as the wrestling moniker for his character.

Tap into something greater than you.
When the filmmakers launched the project, their primary focus was supporting their friend’s acting ambitions. What they later came to realize is that the film also had significance for many others who have Down Syndrome or who have a loved one with Down Syndrome, as well as for broader communities of people with disabilities. During three and a half months of outreach that ProSocial conducted for “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” we helped the film reach these communities and contribute to discussion around disability representation in entertainment media, through partners such as Global Down Syndrome Foundation, RespectAbility, and Special Olympics. In July, we brought Gottsagen, Nilson, and Schwartz to the Best Buddies Leadership Conference, an annual event focused on advancing opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, for two screenings of the movie. In a later interview with KUTV, Nilson commented about the experience: “A woman came up to me and she was crying after she had seen the film, and she was like, ‘Wow, my son just graduated from college, he has Down Syndrome, and he can’t get a job. And if the people in my town can just see this film, maybe he’ll be able to get a job, and I really think it’s a possibility.’… I think that’s a really powerful thing.”

“The Peanut Butter Falcon” won the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival, and it was honored by the Ruderman Family Foundation with a Seal of Authentic Representation for accurate depictions of people with disabilities. Learn more about the film at thepeanutbutterfalconmovie.com.