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Episode 025: Jen Grisanti -- Story Consultant / Writing Instructor for NBC / Author / International Speaker

11/22/16 • 84 min

What we cover: “Failure doesn’t move us back. It moves us forward. Failure tells us what is no longer working.” – Jen Grisanti

As a VP of CBS Paramount, overseeing Current Programming, Jen Grisanti was exactly where she wanted to be, or so she thought. Then, one day, the unthinkable happened, and without warning, she suffered a big crash when her professional reality was turned on its head and she was let go. The ladder she had been climbing collapsed from underneath her. But guess what she did? She did what Aaron Spelling -- yes that Aaron Spelling -- her long-time business mentor taught her to do: She found the gold in her story. Jen’s career began working side by side with Aaron, ultimately as head of Current Programming for Spelling Television. She was instrumental in shaping many of the shows we love today – 90210, Melrose Place, Charmed, Seventh Heaven, you name it – and in this capacity, she started to see that great stories in fiction share the same qualities as great stories in life, and vice versa. We have a hero, we have a dilemma, we have a goal, we have that rock bottom moment, and we see that hero rise again. So when Jen’s career as she knew it tumbled down around her, she knew she had two choices – to be a victim of circumstance. Or to learn from it and blossom. She chose the latter.

Hers is by no means a story relegated to those in the entertainment industry. Not by a long shot. Hers a story that is universal. The specifics may not be the same, but the message is.

I love this episode, I love this woman, I love her story. And you know what? As a sucker for Charlie’s Angels, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, I loved hearing firsthand what Aaron Spelling was like as a person. Self-made and accessible and a lover of Pink’s Hot Dogs.

Today, Jen Grisanti is principal of Jen Grisanti Inc. She provides feedback and guidance – notes, as they say in the bizz – to writers who are developing projects. Forty-two of her writers have gone on to sell their series as pilots, which is huge. She’s an instructor with NBC’s prestigious Writers on the Verge program. She’s an internationally sought after speaker – having spoken in Australia, Israel, London, Toronto. And she’s the author of three books: Change your Story, Change your life; Storyline: Finding the gold in your life story; and the TV Writing Toolkit.

Our talk specifically focuses on how we can all find the gold in our own story. You may think you’ve hit rock bottom, but with a perspective shift, you will see you haven’t. Where you really are is one step away from an “a-ha” that is going to rocket you to greater heights -- if you are willing to identify it and take action. That’s the key.

Despite the fact that Jen is probably one of the busiest people in Hollywood, she made time to meet with me on a Saturday morning in LA. And it was pure perfection. She speaks candidly about the collapse of her marriage, and the fact that, had she not lost the things she thought she “needed” in order to have “arrived” that she’d never be where she is today. And that is a place of authentic arrival -- a life built entirely on her own terms, using the gifts she has accrued from a 25 year career shaping the stories that have captivated millions of people around the world. When you talk to Jen and you talk about heart ache and heart break and disappointment, you soon realize that she sees those as the gold -- the “all is lost” moment, as they say in Hollywood, when truly good things are just around the corner.

What we cover: “Failure doesn’t move us back. It moves us forward. Failure tells us what is no longer working.” – Jen Grisanti

Hers is by no means a story relegated to those in the entertainment industry. Not by a long shot. Hers a story that is universal. The specifics may not be the same, but the message is.

Previous Episode

Episode 024: Autumn Reeser -- Actor (The OC, Entourage, Sully, The Arrangement)

What we cover: Autumn Reeser knew at a very young age exactly who she was meant to be – an actor. But despite this clarity, she has learned to face a sometimes cruel industry -- the rejection, the heartbreak, the dashed hopes – with grace and perseverance. In the process of her journey, she has realized that the key to it all is learning, quite simply, to be kind to ourselves. You may know her as Taylor Townsend from the hit series The OC, or as Lizzy Grant from her two seasons on Entourage, or as Dr Gabby Asano in Hawaii Five-O. You may recognize her in the recently-released feature film Sully – starring Tom Hanks and Laura Linney. Regardless, there are a lot of reasons you might know Autumn Reeser. And her upcoming series The Arrangement is sure to be amazing.

Whatever of our profession or path or passions, there’s unity in the theme of our stories. We fall, we get back up. And Autumn is no different. She has a really evolved perspective on things – on what it takes to continue on our climb. For example, Autumn made the decision early on that the process of going out on auditions would be empowering, not a time of vulnerability; another chance for her to hone her chops. Hers is a message that reminds us we all own our own perspective and can shift it in a flash.

And when we do find ourselves in times of darkness, Autumn shares her “self-cleaning oven” metaphor. In other words: Take some time completely on our own. And just shut the door, and purge out the goop.

Next Episode

Episode 026: Jillian Murray, Actor on CBS's Code Black (with Dean Geyer of Australian Idol and Glee)

What we cover: “If you don’t take a chance, you haven’t got a chance.” – Jillian Murray

Actor Jillian Murray is an awesome example of someone on her authentic path. She knows where she wants to be, and she’s not deviating from it. One of the stars of the People’s Choice nominated CBS medical drama Code Black, Jillian’s star is shooting skyward and beyond.

When Jillian and I met at the sweet little cottage I was renting in LA, she brought someone with her, and that someone was her longtime beau, South African native Dean Geyer. Millions of fans would know him from his time on Australian Idol and then – for Aussie listeners – from his time on the TV series Neighbours. Since his move to LA, he’s been a regular fixture on series like Glee and Terra Nova he appears in Shades of Blue with Jennifer Lopez. Jillian and I were sitting at the table in the kitchen and Dean was on the couch in the livingroom. It was open-space, and occasionally we’d be talking about something and he’d yell in. So finally about half way though, I said: “Dean, pull up a chair.” And I’m glad he did, because they’re a dynamite couple and they had great banter, and it was really cool to get two perspectives on the same career and its journey. Like how they feel about auditions for one. Spoiler alert: Jillian loves them, Dean ... not so much.

If you have yet to tune into Code Black, please do. The cast is insanely impressive. Rob Lowe, Marcia Gay Harden, Luis Guzman. If this cast had to bring in their combined hardware, there wouldn’t be a shelf big enough. Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, Screen Actors Guild – and these are the people who Jillian gets to work with.

One of the reasons I love to interview, and have loved interviewing since I started writing for magazines 15 years ago, is what I call the opportunity to “peek through the portal” – the chance to stick your head into someone else’s life and swivel neck around. And that was what this conversation was like for me. It was truly behind-the-scenes. What’s it like to get the call that you’re going to be a series regular on an all-star cast? What are the days and the hours like? (This is a medical drama, and Jillian, as the confident, almost-arrogant, self-assured Dr Heather Pinkney, is expected, on top of learning actual script lines and all that goodness, to master actual medical jargon and procedures.) (Side note: She’s a self-professed suture-queen as a result. She will challenge anyone to a suture-off.) All told, it’s an industry that is hard work, long days, and not as glamorous as we may think. (Despite getting to work one on one with Rob Lowe.)

This is one person’s journey – and I love that she shares so much of her story with us. And you know what? So does Dean. Really, Dean could’ve shown up and just been this random, awkward presence, but instead he was awesome. Dean and Jillian, you guys deserve all the success that is surely coming your way.