If you were a child of the 1990s you may remember the sparkly color-drenched designs of Lisa Frank. While the businesswoman certainly created happy whimsical patterns, behind the scenes it was anything but. Her company will be the subject of the new Amazon MGM studios documentary “Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story.”
“Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story”
The four part docu series is made up of 20+ interviews with employees and those close to Frank, including former business partner/ ex-husband James Green and son Hunter Green. The picture they paint is a far cry from the glossy veneer that fueled the company’s success. “Not everything was rainbows and unicorns,” the first trailer states. One creator goes so far as to say; “I feel like Lisa Frank ruined my life.”
“Glitter and Greed,” is executive produced by Mary Robertson and Arianna LaPenne.
“There was some initial idea of what people might have experienced. But it went so much deeper and it felt like we were going down this rabbit hole of this fascinating world,” LaPenne tells People. “I’d say every one of those people remembers their experience very vividly. Life is complicated and their experiences were complicated, but they were definitely meaningful and important to them.”
“I think there’s a rich human drama at the center of this, one that so many folks can identify with,” Robertson adds. “This project is very much about being an artist — the rewards it provides and what it takes away from you as a human being. It’s very much about authorship and who gets to claim what and what we feel entitled to.”
Fank herself is quoted in “Glitter and Greed,” but declined to participate further.
Beyond The Glitter
Many of the issues raised in “Glitter and Greed” are not exclusive to the Lisa Frank empire but to the country as a whole.
“It’s about Americans’ relationship with their jobs,” says Robertson. “So many people who appeared in the film felt what they did and accomplished while working at Lisa Frank constitutes their life’s greatest accomplishments and also feel a sense of regret that they gave as much as they did to that company at that particular time. So they lived both truths, and those can be seen.”
“Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story,” premiers December 5th, on Amazon Prime Video. You can check out the first trailer below:
