THRIVING—Comedian CJ Jones of Calabasas with his wife, Cassandra, and their son, Quinn, 7.

35 years (1756–1791)

Christian Gottlob Neefe

Antonio Salieri

At age 7 he was struck very ill with spinal meningitis, and consequently lost his hearing. After he became deaf, he attended Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD), which teaches in his native American Sign Language. This role made CJ the first black deaf actor in an international blockbuster.

CJ Jones is the son of deaf parents who communicated in ASL American Sign Language. One of seven hearing children born to the couple, he lost his hearing at the age of 7 when he fell ill with spinal meningitis. He attended Missouri School for the Deaf.

Impressed by Jones’ talent, Wright cast Jones to play Joseph. Jones became the first black Deaf actor in a major movie. Jones graciously took time from his busy schedule to talk to me about his career. Jones generally conducts calls through video, allowing him to communicate visually through American Sign Language.

○ CJ tried an oral education for a brief time, but his father lobbied and eventually succeeded in getting him into MSD. Although he was initially shy, CJ flourished in an all-deaf environment and was involved in many activities, such as student leadership, scouts and sports, while also keeping up with his academics.

Cassandra Jonesm. 2002

Thankfully, the unnamed Abbott baby manages to survive the events of the film. However, it’s a close-run thing at times, most notably towards the end of the film when Marcus Abbott is forced to hide from one of the creatures in a disused air-tight furnace.

The creatures don’t actually eat humans There’s actually no evidence in the movie at all that the creatures eat the humans or anything they kill.

In the film, creatures are blind and communicate through clicking sounds. Aadahl and Van der Ryn said they were inspired by animal echolocation, such as that employed by bats. The sound of feedback, normally avoided by sound editors, was woven into the story at a loudness level that would not bother audiences too much.

Because a lot of the contents of the basement were things that could make noise — including radios and other equipment. Since she was deaf, she could easily trigger a noise that would expose them without even realizing this.