Cretton grew up in Hawaii, and says movies expanded his perspective: “That is how I traveled. That is how I was exposed to other cultures. That's how I understand how kids grew up in high school on the mainland,” he tells co-host Tonya Mosley. He explains how his job at a group home for at-risk teens inspired his film Short Term 12, how he relates to Peter Parker’s loneliness, and how his difficult relationship with his father helps him with directing. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter [https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1]  Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/]  Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair]  Check out the Fresh Air Archives [https://freshairarchive.org/] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]