Sigourney Weaver will play an autistic woman in a new movie she hopes will raise awareness of the condition. Eighteen years after Rain Man put the issue of autism on the big screen, the 56-year-old is convinced Snow Cake can play a similar role.

She says, "Even though 'Rain Man' was a great movie, there hasn't really been much about autism since. I think it's going to be welcome to have another view of what it is - a young woman who lives alone, a woman who has a job - so people can get closer to how many different ways autism manifests itself."

Weaver adds of the training she received before taking on the role, "I got a lot of coaching from people with autism on what not to do and how not to be, and on what to do and what to be. It was a great experience actually. They really were very generous to me and I really spent a lot of time in private places."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)