Janine Allis The Boss DVD Interview

The Boss DVD

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Peter Dinklage, Kristen Bell, Ella Anderson
Director: Ben Falcone
Genre: Comedy
Rated: MA
Running Time: 99 minutes

Academy Award® nominated star Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat) headlines The Boss with Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, House of Lies) and Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones). Directed and co-written by Ben Falcone (Bridesmaids, Heat), The Boss follows the comedic riches to rags journey of Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) and her fight to return to business success.

Michelle Darnell is a titan of her industry, who is sent to prison for insider trading. After doing her time, Michelle emerges, ready to rebrand herself as America's latest sweetheart, but not everyone she steamrolled is so quick to forgive and forget.

Blu-ray Special Features:
Alternate Ending
Deleted scenes
Extended/Alternate scenes
Gag Reel
Michelle Darnell- Original Sketch origin story
Peter Dinklage get to the point
Everybody Loves Kristen Bell

Interview with Janine Allis

Question: Can you share your top tips to impress The Boss?

Janine Allis: The key thing is to be a solution-based person rather than problem-based. 9 times out of 10 the people who come to the leader of a business will present a problem however if you come to your boss with a solution to the problem, even if it's not the answer, at least the boss knows you are thinking.

Bosses also hate when people hide their mistakes; a boss would rather an employee say "I've stuffed up completely and this is what I'm going to do about it" than it being hid and becoming worse or a horrible mess.

Bosses like courage and accountability.


Question: When times are hard, what advise can you give to keep positive and focused?

Janine Allis: You have to dig deep, within. If you look externally for people to help you keep motivated and focused then you'll always be looking out for people to solve issues for you. The key is to find your own motivation and if you're in a job you really don't like, that doesn't motivate you and therefore you don't enjoy getting out of bed for – find another job.

I've been asked what I do to motivate my team and the answer is I hire motivated people; you can't motivate people who are not motivated. In our business, I don't believe people should work on their birthdays but that doesn't keep people motivated. Keeping people motivated is about them loving what they do and then it's not a chore it's a joy.


Question: How have these come to light after The Boss film release?

Janine Allis: The Boss is a fun movie; it's an exaggerated view of what bosses do. What The Boss does teach you is that you learn more from things that go wrong than things that go right. I run my own company now but in the early days I worked for people and there were great bosses and not so great bosses. I learnt more from the horrible bosses because that was the person I didn't want to be. Negativity has a bigger impact on us than positivity; when something negative happens to you, you remember it. Such as, if you work in a store and you have 20 divine customers yet you go home and tell your husband or wife about the one customer who complained and was annoying, to you.


Question: What advice do you have for young women looking at beginning their own business?

Janine Allis: The only glass ceiling that is there is the one you create yourself; don't be limited. I met a woman who was a great dynamic businesswomen and she said "I get really intimidated in a room of men" and I explained that, that is her problem, not theirs. It's important to not think of yourself as female/male/young/old ect. Think of yourself as someone entering a room to contribute to an outcome as every time you go to a meeting you are trying to achieve something and it has no relevance what anatomy you have.


Question: What do you look for when employing staff?

Janine Allis: Sometimes it's an X-Factor or it's about the questions they ask and whether they have a curious mind. I look for the person who you know will go the extra mile; the one who you can see is really hungry for the job. It's not always about the most bubbly person – it's the inner strength that you feel from people. However I've got that wrong and I've got that right. At the end of the day you can hire people and they are the best people on the planet but they are not suitable for the job. It's important to be right for both parties (the employee and the employer) and if it's not, move on to something that is working because everyone is going to be happier.


Question: What is number one on your list of job interview 'do's'?

Janine Allis: Always be respectful, punctual and do research on the job and company you are going for. You need to learn as much as you can so when you have your interview you can speak with authority and ask the right questions based on your research. If I was interviewing for Boost Juice and an interviewee asked "What do you sell?" I would cross them off as they haven't bothered to take the time to do some research then they are not going to bother in the role; it'll be half-assed.


Question: And, what is on the 'don'ts' list for job interviews?

Janine Allis: The biggest don't is never bag your old employee – even if you want to, don't do it because then the company will wonder what you will say about them, in the future.


Question: What advice do you have for students looking for Christmas Casual work?

Janine Allis: The great thing about Christmas work is that most business need Christmas employees – its perfect timing for both parties. It doesn't take Einstein to walk around the shopping centre to notice they're ten times busier at Christmas than any other time which means they need double the staff. It's a great time to look for work and often a contract for just the Christmas period will be given however if you do a great job then maybe you're not the one who is let go at the end of the holiday period, and offered a position.
When I was looking at casual work I would start with the business I wanted to work for most and then work down the list, from there. Surprisingly sometimes you think you don't want to work for a particular brand and then you find out it's a great job. Our perception and reality can be very different.


Question: How important is initiative and how can we learn to show it?

Janine Allis: Initiative comes from making sure that you're seen doing things. Quiet achievers are all very well but if no one sees you doing it, you'll never get the accolades. It's not a bad thing to get your managers manager to know your name – if you're at a social function, introduce yourself and if you have an idea share the idea – show initiative. Managers want doers and thinkers.


Question: Happy 16th Birthday to Boost Juice – to what do you attribute your main success?

Janine Allis: It's the people, everywhere! It's the staff who are customer facing, it's the customers who continue to support us, which is awesome and it's the passion and drive that the leaders have and use to continue to create something really special. Like any brand there isn't one thing that makes us successful and with Boost it's the whole experience as to why we continue to grow and continue to be the best we can be.


This interview is brought to you in celebration of the home entertainment release of The Boss, out now on Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital.

Interview by Brooke Hunter