Rachel Lee Goldenberg (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American film director and screenwriter. She has directed a number of feature films and television episodes. She had her breakthrough after she was discovered by Will Ferrell, who gave her the opportunity to direct the Lifetime television film A Deadly Adoption, in which he starred.

Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)
EducationIthaca College (BS)
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter

Her 1980s musical film Valley Girl was released in May 2020. She has also directed films made by The Asylum. In addition she directed web shorts for Funny or Die, including the series Lady Time.[2] Her next film, Unpregnant, premiered on September 10, 2020, on HBO Max.[3]

Early life

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In 2003, Goldenberg graduated from Algonquin Regional High School in Northboro, Massachusetts.[1] She then attended Ithaca College where she obtained her B.S. in cinema and photography.[4]

Career

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After graduating from college, Goldenberg moved to Los Angeles where she worked at the B movie production company The Asylum. She soon was given the opportunity to direct various films. Then she began directing and producing for Funny or Die, a website launched by actor Will Ferrell and screenwriter Adam McKay. As part of her stint at Funny or Die, she served as the White House liaison during the Barack Obama administration. In 2014, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program for producing the Obama episode of the series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.

Will Ferrell and Harper Steele became interested in her unusual resume of both comedy and Lifetime movies, and hired her to direct Ferrell and Kristen Wiig in the Lifetime television film A Deadly Adoption.[5]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Director Writer
2020 Valley Girl Yes No
Unpregnant Yes Yes
2025 Swiped Yes Yes

Direct-to-video

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Year Title Director Writer Editor
2008 Sunday School Musical Yes Yes Yes
2010 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Yes No Yes
2011 Princess and the Pony Yes Yes Yes
2012 Grimm's Snow White Yes No No

Television

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TV movies

  • Love at the Christmas Table (2012)
  • Escape From Polygamy (2014)
  • A Deadly Adoption (2015)
  • Playing Dead (2018)

TV series

Year Title Episode(s)
2014–15 Z Nation "Sisters of Mercy"
"Zombaby!"
2015 The Mindy Project "Stay at Home MILF"
2016 Party Over Here "Suffragettes"
Angie Tribeca "Miso Dead"
"The Coast Is Fear"
Lady Time "Episode #1.104"
"Salute Your Culottes"
"Eggers Can't Be Choosers"
2017 Man Seeking Woman "Futon"
"Pad Thai"
Teachers "Held Back"
"Thirty-One and Done"
I'm Sorry "Pilot"
2019 Divorce "Away Games"
Looking for Alaska "Tell Them I Said Something..."
2020 Everything's Gonna Be Okay "Silkmoths"
"Blue Death-Feigning Beetles"
"Maggots"
"Monarch Butterflies"
2022 Minx "Not like a shvantz right in the face"
"Au revoir, le double dong"
"Norman Mailer, Samantha Shortcake"
"Oh, so you're the sun now? You're the giver of life?"
2023 Tiny Beautiful Things "Pilot"
"Yours Sugar"

References

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  1. ^ a b Kazarian, Christopher (July 5, 2015). "Filmmaker who grew up in Northboro jumps at Lifetime opportunity". Telegram & Gazette. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Movies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "HBO Max Debuts Trailer and Key Art for WarnerMax Feature Film UNPREGNANT". Warner Media. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Rachel Lee Goldenberg". Free The Bid. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "A Formula for Funny". Society. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
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