Temple Grandin, the well-known and -liked Colorado State University animal sciences professor who happens to have autism, is thoroughly enjoying her hectic schedule in the wake of the HBO full-length film Temple Grandin. The movie chronicles her life and all its challenges and accomplishments, including her revolutionary breakthroughs in animal husbandry, which saved the cattle industry big bucks while making it more humane. Clad in her usual Western shirts for red-carpet events, Grandin has recently traveled to Austin, New York, and Washington, D.C., for premiers. And she’s run into a few characters along the way, including director Stephen Spielberg. “Spielberg came up to me and said, ‘I’ve read your book, Thinking in Pictures, and I really liked it!'” (via 9News). As for actress Claire Danes, who plays Grandin in the film, she’s “a genius,” says Grandin. Danes, whom The New York Times calls “both emotionally transparent and intellectually complex,” was equally smitten with Grandin, as Danes recently explained to Steven Colbert.

A More Humane Approach