society highlight
When Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
become your fans, you must be doing
something right.
Like any young filmmaker who moves to Los Angeles, Rachel Lee Goldenberg was hungry: figuratively and perhaps literally — moving to LA ain’t easy. Growing up in Massachusetts, Rachel studied film at Ithaca College, and moved to LA for an internship at the low-budget film house, The Asylum. As an intern, Rachel quickly moved up the ranks and was soon given the opportunity to direct, cutting her teeth on straight-to-video features ranging from VFX monster action flicks to Christian family musicals.
Meanwhile Rachel started to make a name for herself in the LA improv and comedy scene. She became a mainstay at Funny or Die, the website launched by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. She served as FOD’s White House Liaison during the Obama administration, and in 2014 won a Primetime Emmy Award for producing “Between Two Ferns with President Barack Obama.”
Will Ferrell grew interested in her work, and hand-picked Rachel to direct him alongside Kristen Wiig in the deadpan Lifetime movie, “A Deadly Adoption.”
Transitioning from comedic shorts to commercials was natural, as Rachel leveraged her strengths (and connections) in casting comedians and directing improvisation.
Rachel now directs feature films distributed to Netflix, Showtime, Lifetime, and SyFy. Last year she shot and produced the MGM musical adaptation of the 1980s hit film, “Valley Girl,” slated for release next year. Rachel also regularly directs for the hit TV shows, “Divorce,” “Angie Tribeca.” and “The Mindy Project.”
As a company, Society has a history of developing comedic directors from outside of advertising and building brand partnerships. Our recent signings of Connor Martin and Juliet Seniff follow a similar trajectory, and we’ve found contemporary audiences more inclined to reward a content, not just a commercial, sensibility.