Ep. 43 - Janet Grillo on The Warm Season, Spanking the Monkey and Hip Hop Culture

Janet Grillo’s latest directorial effort — The Warm Season — is a testament to being conscious in a changing time. It is true the landscape of film has evolved over the years; however, it’s the consistency of Janet’s track record as a multifaceted filmmaker which exudes the contrast between black and white; open or closed; and aware vs. uncertain. After graduating from Wesleyan and NYU-Tisch, the New Jersey native joined the Playwright’s Workshop Lab at the Circle Repertory Company, where she continued to develop her eye for taste as Assistant Literary Manager. She joined New Line Cinema in the mid-eighties, where she rose through the ranks from Story Analyst to Senior Vice President of East Coast Production and earned her reputation as a force in the world of film production and development. From discovering director Reggie Hudlin (Marshall; Django Unchained; Sidney) and developing the game-changing House Party franchise with him (the first of which grossed $25M and received the Audience Award at Sundance); to producing and developing hip hop classics like Hangin’ with the Homeboys (John Leguizamo’s film-lead debut which received the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award), Pump up the Volume, and the directorial debut of Ted Demme — Who’s the Man — Janet sensed the sentiment she was feeling on New York City subways and helped give a voice to hip hop culture using the medium of film. A chance encounter with David O. Russell at Sundance led to a flurry of incredible film projects, including Spanking the Monkey, his feature film directorial debut which won the Audience Award at the same festival; Flirting with Disaster; Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees, the latter of which she also acted in. Other filmmakers Janet developed include Seth Tsvi Rosenfeld (Brother’s Kiss), Alan Taylor (Palookaville), Myra Paci (Searching for Paradise) and the intriguing Frank Whaley in his writing and directing debut — Joe the King. Janet’s impact as an activist for autism awareness can be traced to her role as Executive Producer of the esteemed documentary Autism: The Musical, the subject of which was entitled “The Miracle Project.” The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007; was subsequently picked up by HBO, and led her to win an Emmy Award for Best Non-Fiction Feature the following year. It can also be seen in her feature film directorial debut, Fly Away, starring Ashley Rickards and Beth Broderick; and Jack of the Red Hearts (AnnaSophia Robb; Famke Janssen; Taylor Richardson). We discussed living in upstate New York; her approach toward developing some of the most incredible filmmakers in Hollywood; translating personal experience into her own directorial projects; and the state of independent film in the landscape of streaming.

Opening Credits: The Underscore Orkestra - Blue Draggish I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US); Dee Yan-Key - Aimless I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); Closing Credits: The Underscore Orkestra - Versipelllis I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).