Best known for directing warm-hearted and family-friendly fare, filmmaker Jay Russell has demonstrated a knack for telling simple, straightforward tales with earnest emotional resonance. Russell got his first break at the age of 19, helming a series of commercials for the Arkansas Parks and Tourism division. Like his boss at the time, Governor Bill Clinton, Russell would go on to bigger and better things. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Russell won a number of regional honors for his music in 1979 and received a full scholarship to Memphis University. There he became involved in the
