A beleaguered young woman overcomes all odds to become the founder of a powerful family business in Director David O. Russell’s emotional new comedy, Joy.
Russell’s film tells the amazing true story of Joy Mangano who turned her invention, the Miracle Mop, into an entrepreneurial dynasty while dealing with allies and adversaries both inside and outside four generations of her Italian-American family.
In a conversation moderated by Director Alexander Payne (Nebraska) following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on December 5, Russell spoke about the challenges of making Joy and the pleasures of working with an incredible ensemble of actors from his previous films including Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper. Russell also spoke about the film with Director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) following the DGA membership screening in New York on December 12.
In addition to Joy, Russell’s other works include the short documentary Soldiers Pay; the feature films Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, Silver Linings Playbook; and the DGA and the Academy Award-nominated features The Fighter and American Hustle.
Russell has been a member of the DGA since 1998.