We Have a No A**holes Policy. Here’s Why.

Life is short. Film sets are long. We’re very intentional about who we work with — and why.

By Grand Street Media  ·  May 2026

Let’s get something out of the way: we didn’t put this in writing because we’ve had a crisis. We put it in writing because we’ve been in this industry long enough to know what happens when you don’t have a standard — and we never want to go back.

At Grand Street Media, we have a no a**holes policy. It’s not complicated. It basically means: if you’re consistently difficult, dismissive, or just genuinely unpleasant to be around on set, we’re probably not going to bring you back. And if we’re being honest? We’re not that sorry about it.

Film is a team sport.

This isn’t corporate desk work where you can close your office door and avoid someone for a week. On a production, you’re in the same space, often for 10–14 hours, moving fast, solving problems in real time, and relying on every single person to do their job with some level of grace under pressure.

One difficult person doesn’t just affect their department. They ripple. A DP who snaps at the AC puts the whole camera team on edge. A producer who talks down to crew creates a set where people stop speaking up — and that’s when mistakes happen. The energy on a shoot is contagious, for better or for worse.

“The best productions we’ve ever worked on had one thing in common: everyone actually wanted to be there — and wanted to be there for each other.”

The hidden cost of difficult people.

Here’s the thing nobody talks about: when you bring a hard person onto a project, you’re not just managing their behavior. You’re managing everyone else’s reaction to it. Suddenly you’re playing referee, fielding complaints, doing damage control, and spending real mental energy on something that has nothing to do with making a great product.

That’s time and focus that should be going into the work. It’s that simple.

We’ve seen productions where one person’s attitude became the defining story of that shoot — not the content, not the creative wins, not the client relationship. Just the drama. Nobody has time for that. Especially not us.

We’re not looking for perfect. We’re looking for professional.

To be clear: this isn’t about hiring people who never have a bad day or never push back. Bad days happen. Opinions clash. That’s normal. Creative tension, handled well, actually makes the work better.

What we’re talking about is the chronic stuff. The person who’s condescending to PAs. The one who treats every problem like someone else’s fault. The crew member who shows up with an attitude that says the rules don’t apply to them. That’s what we’re filtering for — and we’ve gotten pretty good at spotting it early.

Frankly? Life is too short.

We work with a lot of people we genuinely like. That’s not an accident — it’s a choice we make over and over again. When you spend as much time on set as we do, who you’re surrounded by matters. Not just for morale. For the work itself.

Good people communicate better. They problem-solve faster. They show up for each other when things go sideways — and something always goes sideways. The crews we trust most aren’t just talented. They’re solid humans.

“Talented and difficult is a tradeoff we’ve stopped making. The math just doesn’t work anymore.”

So what does this mean if you want to work with us?

It means we value your reputation as much as your reel. It means we’re listening when other people in the industry talk about you. It means we expect the same professional respect from everyone on set — whether you’re the director or the grip.

It also means that if you work with us and you’re great — not just at your job, but as a collaborator — we will bring you back. Consistently. Because finding people we trust is hard, and when we find them, we hold on.

Grand Street Media builds crews the same way we build content: intentionally, with care, and with an eye toward the long game. The no a**holes policy isn’t a limitation. It’s a feature.

Grand Street Media is a full-service video production and crew staffing company based in New York. We work with brands, agencies, and nonprofits who care about doing it right — on screen and on set.