Janet Grillo

Janet Grillo is an Emmy[1] Award-winning producer, award-winning, critically acclaimed filmmaker,[2] former Senior VP of Production/East Coast at New Line Cinema,[3] and a professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts “Kanbar Institute of Film and Television".[4]

Janet Grillo
Born
New Jersey, United States
OccupationFilmmaker, screenwriter, director, producer
Known forFly Away
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1992⁠–⁠2007)​
Children1

Early life and education

Grillo grew up in New Jersey and moved to New York City upon graduating college. She graduated magna cum laude with honors in theatre from Wesleyan University[5] and later received an MFA from Tisch School of the Arts Dramatic Writing Program. She is currently an Assistant Arts Professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute for Film and Television, Undergraduate Program and lives full-time in New York City.

Career

Grillo began her career as an assistant literary manager at Circle Repertory Company,[6] under co-founder Marshall Mason, where she was a member of the emerging writer/director/actor Lab. She then worked at New Line Cinema in the New York office for 10 years, rising through the ranks from freelance script reader, becoming the studio's first Story Editor and first Director of Acquisitions,[7] establishing both departments, to eventually become the Sr. VP of Production/East Coast, under the President of Productions, Sara Risher and President/Founder Bob Shaye.[8]

During her tenure at New Line, she launched the House Party franchise[9] and the careers of filmmakers Reggie Hudlin, Ted Demme, and David O. Russell, whom Grillo married in 1992. She also executive produced Sundance Film Festival award-winning films Spanking the Monkey[10] and Hangin' with the Homeboys.[11] As an independent producer, Grillo executive produced Joe the King, and produced Searching for Paradise, which was developed at the Sundance Labs and aired on the Sundance Channel.[12] She received an Emmy Award as executive producer of HBO's documentary Autism: The Musical.[13]

Fly Away

In 2011, Grillo wrote, directed and produced the ultra-low-budget feature Fly Away starring Ashley Rickards of MTV's Awkward (TV series).[14] The film premiered in dramatic competition at SXSW in 2011,[15] won Jury Prize for Best Performance at Arizona International Film Festival[16] and was nominated for a Voice Award for its depiction of mental illness. Fly Away opened in limited release to critical acclaim from The New York Times,[17] Los Angeles Times,[18] HuffPost, New York Observer, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Critic Rex Reed of the New York Observer said it deserved an Academy Award nomination,[19] and Los Angeles Times Calendar Section sited it as one of the four indie film performances most overlooked for Oscar nomination that year.[20]

Jack of The Red Hearts

Most recently, Grillo directed and executive produced Jack of the Red Hearts, a narrative feature starring Famke Janssen and AnnaSophia Robb.[21] It won the Jury Prize at the inaugural Bentonville Film Festival,[22] which was co-founded by actress/activist Geena Davis to advance women and diversity.[23] The film also won the Audience Award for the Best Narrative Feature, the Jury Award for the Best Feature Narrative and the Director Prize for Best Young Actress (for Taylor Richardson's performance as a severely autistic child) at Woods Hole Film Festival 2015,[24] and The Chimaera Project Award at the Catalina Film Festival 2015.[25]

Personal life

She has one son, Matthew Russell, with ex-husband David O. Russell.[26]

References
  1. "Janet Grillo". Television Academy. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. mthiele. "Janet Grillo Biography - - Cinedigm Entertainment". newvideo.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  3. Levine, Sydney (February 22, 2012). "Women to Watch: Janet Grillo". IndieWire.
  4. "Faculty Directory". Filmtv.tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  5. "NYT Praises Fly Away (Grillo '80) for 'Commendable Subtlety'". News @ Wesleyan. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. "School of Cinematic Arts Events - USC School of Cinematic Arts". usc.edu. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  7. Hope, Ted. "Hope for Truly Free FIlm". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  8. Macaulay, Scott. "Writer/Director Janet Grillo on Fly Away". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  9. "Janet Grillo - Pratch & Company". pratchco.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. "Spankin' The Monkey". Imdb. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  11. Weinstein, Steve. "Hanging Out With 'The Homeboys' : Movies: In the flood of films detailing the down side of the minority experience, Joe Vasquez has documented a less deadly and rarely acknowledged aspect of ghetto life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  12. "12 FILMMAKERS and 8 PROJECTS SELECTED FOR 2012 PRODUCING LAB". Film Independent. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  13. Hall, Elaine. "Emmy for Autism -- Miracle-Minded Media". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  14. "Fly Away: An Absorbing Film About Autism". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  15. McNary, Dave. "SXSW unveils complete pic lineup". Variety. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  16. Levine, Sydney. "Women to Watch: Janet Grillo". Indiewire.
  17. Castsoulis, Jeannette. "A Difficult Family Relationship". New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  18. Goldstein, Gary. "Movie review: 'Fly Away'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  19. Reed, Rex. "Movie Review: Fly Away Is Heartbreaking, If Hallmark-y". New York Observer. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  20. Goldstein, Gary. "Commentary: For your inconsideration". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  21. Yamato, Jen. "Famke Janssen, AnnaSophia Robb Join 'Jack Of The Red Hearts'". Deadline. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  22. Saval, Malina (May 11, 2015). "Geena Davis' Inaugural Bentonvillle Film Fest Promotes Femme Filmmakers and Diversity in Media". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  23. Schulte, Bret. "Bentonville, Ark., Hosts a Film Festival Without a Movie Theater". New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  24. "Film and Screenplay Winners 2015 - Woods Hole Film Festival". Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  25. "The 2015 Catalina Film Festival Honorees". October 10, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  26. Mandell, Andrea. "Exclusive: Inside the last days of 'American Hustle'". USA Today. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
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