"Short Term 12" Cast Interview and Q&A | Talks at Google

Interview and Q&A with actors Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., and Director Destin Daniel Cretton of the film Short Term 12

Short Term 12

"The indie dramedy follows the lives of Grace (21 Jump Street's Brie Larson) and Mason (The Newsroom's John Gallagher Jr.), two counselors at a foster care facility for troubled teenagers. The mix of roiling emotions and dark humor they find there comes straight from the real-life experiences of first-time writer-director Destin Cretton, who worked at a similar facility before going to film school. Once there, he made a brief prototype of Short Term 12 as his thesis film in 2009. Four years later, his full-length version is a festival darling, which seems to have caught the filmmaker a little off guard. "It's weird for me to have something so personal be accepted by so many people," says Cretton, who cites Hoop Dreams and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as inspirations. "Awards are wonderful, but it's really just a reflection of the wonderful conversations that we've been getting after the screenings" - Entertainment Weekly