Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Russell.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas. At an early age I thought I wanted to be a musician and studied music through my junior year in college, at which time, my love of filmmaking took over. When I finished school – School of the Arts at Columbia University – I began my career doing any sort of writing or production assistant job I could find, all the while pursuing an independent film project I had written and wanted to direct. The project was accepted into the Sundance Institute Summer Workshop, which raised the profile of the piece and I was ultimately able to get the low budget film made. It was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and had its premiere at the Sundance Festival.
From there I was able to make some development deals with studios and companies such as TriStar Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Warner Bros. At the same time, I was directing TV documentaries for the Discovery Channel, NBC, PBS and others. One documentary I made led to an idea for a feature film – it was called “My Dog Skip,” and was financed by a new company called Alcon Entertainment. The movie was distributed by Warner Bros.
When I first went out with the project it was turned down by every company in town. and on a production budget of only $5 million, the film generated over $100 million in revenue worldwide. From there, I have made films for Disney, Sony and ABC Television. I currently have projects in development at Paramount Pictures and Sony. Trivia – My first job relating to my current business, at age 19, I shot parks and tourism commercials for the State of Arkansas. My boss was a 32-year-old Governor named Bill Clinton.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think one minute of it has been a smooth road. Growing up in Arkansas, I knew no one even remotely related to the entertainment industry. Later on, I met a few others from my home State – Mary Steenburgen, Billy Bob Thorton and Levon Helm. They told me they were initially faced with the same challenges.
The answer is always “no” when pursuing a film or TV project. The legendary Director, Brian DiPalma once said – “The best day you’ll have making a film is the day you close the deal. It’s all downhill from there.” I agree with that. The field is highly competitive, just by its very nature, but then there are unexpected circumstances that can make the pursuit even harder. A lengthy strike by one of the Guilds or Unions, which can kill projects.
Or a studio changes management, again, likely to kill projects. And then there are economic downturns which might cause companies to go out of business, or greatly reduce their output. In the time I have been working in the industry, I have seen studio output go from 20 plus movies a year, to a fraction of that now. The whole process is a challenge, but worth it if one lives to make films.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My company, Menlo Park Productions, develops film and television projects, primarily for me to Direct and/or Produce. I am most proud of the fact that I have managed to get projects made that defy the odds of what Hollywood typically produces.
What were you like growing up?
I was one of those unusual kids who straddled the line of a complete nerd and sports jock. I played baseball and ran track all the way through the first year of college, but at the same time, I played piano and trumpet and loved books, movies and comic books. Especially monster movies and Hammer Horror films. I had a massive collection of records, comics and Famous Monsters magazines.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751221/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogskip/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-russell-646a4520/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
