SPANKING THE MONKEY (1994)

Writer-director David O. Russell used a $40,000 NEA grant to help make a comedy about incest, a topic so flammable even Harvey Weinstein was scared away when he saw it at Sundance. (Ultimately, Fine Line released it to rhapsodic reviews.) Surprisingly, Monkey did business, proving that even the most provocative material could find an audience. We have Russell to thank for movies like Welcome to the Dollhouse, In the Company of Men, and The Squid and the Whale.