Hotter Than A Pistol

If you haven't heard the story about Jason McElwain, a 17-year-old autistic boy who scored 20 points in four minutes in his team's home finale, then consider yourself outed from the rock you've been under.

And if Hollywood has anything to say about it, you will hear plenty more about him.

His play drew national attention, and a flood of calls from Hollywood. His parents have received inquiries from about 25 production companies ranging from The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to independent documentary filmmakers.

My one request is that this movie does not end up in the hands of Jerry Bruckheimer. He has a way of messing with the facts when it comes to movies based on true stories.

Let's hope Jason's story ends up in the capable hands of independent filmmakers, people who care about making sure the human element of the story gets told correctly as opposed to pumping out a formulaic script.

Why not put Jason's story into the capable hands of Angelo Pizzo and David Anspaugh, the writer and director of Hoosiers--recently the choice of the readers of USA Today newspaper as the best sports movie of all time. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

I think Jason's story is culturally and emotionally significant.

"There are thousands of families across the country, getting a diagnosis of autism for their 3-year-old; they took at Jason and have tears in their eyes," said Dr. Susan Hyman, an associate professor for pediatrics at the University of Rochester's Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities. "Because the image they have in their minds isn't of some strapping young teenager making baskets from half court. The hope and the promise this provides -- it's priceless."

Put another way, before McElwain's sharpshooting, high-profile role models for children with autism were few and far between--and there aren't many whom those inside the autism community can relate to.

Until now.

“I’m not really that different,” he said. “I don’t really care about this autistic situation, really. It’s just the way I am. The advice I’d give to autistic people is just keep working, just keep dreaming, you’ll get your chance and you’ll do it.”

As much as I would hate to see Hoosiers replaced as the greatest sports movie ever, I wouldn't mind if Jason's story becomes the one to do it.