Dustin Hoffman describes why he loves the film: Next came director Barry Levinson's "Rain Man" (1988), where Hoffman starred as an autistic savant, opposite Tom Cruise. Levinson, Hoffman and Cruise worked for two years on the film, and Hoffman's performance gained him his second Academy Award. Behind Hoffman's motivation for doing the film, he has said, "Deep inside, "Rain Man" is about how autistic we all are." In preparation for the part, Hoffman spent two years befriending autistic people, which included taking them bowling and to fast food restaurants. "It fed my obsession," he has stated. Hoffman worked at the New York
Autism Is a World Autism Is a World Autism Is a World is an American short subject documentary film allegedly written by Sue Rubin in 2004, an autistic woman who is purported to have learned to communicate via the discredited technique of facilitated communication, which scientists widely agree only appears effective due to the facilitator unconsciously guiding the hands of people with autism. The film was produced and directed by Gerardine Wurzburg and co-produced by the CNN cable network. It was nominated in the 77th annual Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short Subject. Wurzburg previously won an Academy Award in 1992 for the film