Josh Greenbaum

American film director

Josh Greenbaum

Greenbaum in 2016

Born|

Saratoga Springs, New York, United States

Alma mater| Cornell University, University of Oxford and University of Southern California
Occupation| Filmmaker
Years active| 2007–present

Josh Greenbaum is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has won an MTV Movie Award, CINE Golden Eagle and Emmy Award.[1][2][3] He directed the feature documentary The Short Game, winner of the SXSW Audience Award, which was acquired by Netflix to launch their Originals film division. He also directed Becoming Bond, a documentary about George Lazenby,[4] which won SXSW's Audience Award in the Visions category,[5] as well as the critically acclaimed Too Funny to Fail, a documentary about The Dana Carvey Show.[6][7] He is also the creator, director and executive producer of Behind the Mask, which earned Hulu its first ever Emmy nomination.[8] He made his narrative feature debut with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. In 2024, Greenbaum directed the Peabody Award[9] winning documentary, Will & Harper, for Netflix.

## Biography

[edit]

Greenbaum was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. He graduated from Cornell University and the University of Oxford, earning an MFA in film from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.[10]

He won the 2007 MTV Movie Award for mtvU Best Filmmaker on Campus as well as the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award while at USC.[1][11]

In 2011, Greenbaum directed and co-wrote Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division for Funny or Die, a short spoof starring Bill Clinton, Matt Damon, Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and Kristen Wiig shot for the Clinton Foundation. It premiered at Bill Clinton's "Decade of Difference" party at the Hollywood Bowl.[12][13]

### Film

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Greenbaum directed the feature documentary The Short Game, which won the Audience Award at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix as its first exclusive documentary.[14] The film was executive produced by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.

He also directed Becoming Bond, a Hulu-distributed documentary about the Australian actor George Lazenby who portrayed James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, released in 2017.[4] The film won SXSW's Audience Award in the Visions category and nominated for the festival's Adam Yauch Hornblower Award Nomination.[6][15] It was also nominated for a Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Audience Award.[16]

Greenbaum also directed Too Funny to Fail in 2017, a documentary about The Dana Carvey Show, also distributed by Hulu.[7]

Greenbaum made his narrative feature debut directing Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, released in 2021. The film was written by and stars Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, and also features Jamie Dornan, Damon Wayans Jr., and Wendi McLendon-Covey.[17][18]

In December 2021, it was announced that Greenbaum directed the comedy film Strays.[19] On June 5 2025 it was announced that Greenbaum is directing a live action film adaptation of Care Bears for Warner Bros..

### Television

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Greenbaum created and directed Behind the Mask, a Hulu documentary series about sports mascots and the people in the costumes. The series earned Hulu its first Emmy nomination.[8]

He directed episodes of New Girl for Fox, Fresh Off the Boat for ABC, Single Parents for Fox, Bless This Mess for ABC as well as two episodes of Deadbeat for Hulu and, Border Patrol featured on episodes of Comedy Central's Atom TV, created Nickelodeon's Max & Shred (nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards' Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series in 2016) and directed "Good Debbie Hunting", an episode of ABC's The Neighbors.[20][21] He has written and directed projects for CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW.[22][23][24]

He also served as executive producer and director of The Playbook series for Netflix and directed the first episode, profiling NBA coach Doc Rivers.[25]

### Commercials

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Greenbaum collaborated with After-School All-Stars charity, directing commercials that feature the organization's founder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. A commercial featuring Schwarzenegger on Hollywood Boulevard and at Madame Tussauds Hollywood in character as the Terminator interacting with tourists received more than 25 million views on YouTube and was awarded the YouTube Ad of the Year.[26]

## Filmography

[edit]

* 2007 - The Beginning and the End (short), writer, director, producer
* 2007 - The Morning Routine (short), writer, director, producer
* 2007 - Sole Mates (short), writer, director, producer
* 2007 - Border Patrol (short), executive producer, director, editor, writer
* 2011 - Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division (short), director, writer
* 2011 - Ricky and Ravi (Are in Between Jobs), creator, director, writer
* 2013–15 - Behind the Mask, executive producer, creator, director
* 2013 - The Neighbors, "Good Debbie Hunting", director
* 2013 - The Short Game, director, producer
* 2014–16 - Max & Shred, creator, writer
* 2015 - Arnold Pranks Fans as the Terminator (short), writer, director
* 2016–18 - New Girl, "Helmet", "The Hike", "Rumspringa", "Tuesday Meeting", "The Curse Of The Pirate Bride", director
* 2017–19 - Fresh Off The Boat, "The Vouch", "Where Have All The Cattleman Gone?", "Legends of the Fortieth", director
* 2017 - Becoming Bond
* 2017 - Too Funny to Fail
* 2018–19 - Single Parents, "The Beast!", "The Shed", "Raining Blood!", director
* 2019 - Bless This Mess, "The Estonian Method", director
* 2020 - The Playbook, "Doc Rivers", director, executive producer
* 2021 - Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, director
* 2023 - Strays, director
* 2024 - Will & Harper, director
* TBA - Spaceballs sequel, director[27]
* TBA - Care Bears, director[28]

## Awards and honors

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* 2005 Emmy Awards (Rocky Mountain), Sports Program, Editing – Programs, Documentaries and Magazines (Endurance 100, Park City Television)
* 2007 Emmy Awards (Rocky Mountain), Documentary – Topical (Mwana Wako Ni Mwana Wanga - - Your Child Is My Child, Park City Television)
* 2007 Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award, Red Ribbon Award
* 2007 MTV Movie Awards, MTV Movie Award Best New Filmmaker (Border Patrol)
* 2012 The Webby Awards, Best Comedy Long Form or Series (The Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division)
* 2013 Nantucket Film Festival, Best Feature, Audience Award 2nd Place (The Short Game)
* 2013 Maui Film Festival, Audience Award Feature Documentary (The Short Game)
* 2013 Hamptons International Film Festival, Audience Award Best Documentary Feature (The Short Game)
* 2013 SXSW Film Festival, Audience Award Documentary Feature (The Short Game)
* 2014 CINE Golden Eagle Film and Video Competition, Golden Eagle Televised Series (Behind the Mask)
* 2014 Sports Emmy Awards, nominated — Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming (Behind the Mask)
* 2016 Canadian Screen Award, nominated Max and Shred best Youth Fiction Series
* 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Top 20 Audience Favourites (Becoming Bond)
* 2017 SXSW Film Festival, VISIONS Audience Award Winner (Becoming Bond)
* 2024 Peabody Award[29] (Will & Harper)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "List of 2007 MTV Movie Awards winners". The Seattle Times. June 4, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
2. ^ "2014 CINE GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD RECIPIENTS". CINE. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
3. ^ Lewis, Hilary (November 5, 2013). "Netflix to Make The Short Game First Original Documentary Available". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
4. ^ a b Klimek, Chris (May 27, 2017). "In Becoming Bond, A Look At The Man Who Was 007 Only Once". npr.org. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
5. ^ Aziz, Neha (August 3, 2017). "SXSW 2017 World Premiere Becoming Bond Available on Hulu". South by Southwest. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
6. ^ a b Aziz, Neha (August 3, 2017). "SXSW 2017 World Premiere Becoming Bond Available on Hulu [Video]". sxsw.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
7. ^ a b Carey, Matthew (April 27, 2018). "Too Funny to Fail: Hulu Docu Explores Ill-Fated Dana Carvey Show And Its "Fiery Spectacular Wreck" of an Ending". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
8. ^ a b Hernandez, Brian (March 26, 2014). "Hulu Earns First-Ever Emmy Nomination With 'Behind the Mask'". Mashable. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
9. ^ "Will & Harper". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
10. ^ "Meet the 2013 SXSW Filmmakers #24: Josh Greenbaum On 'The Short Game,' A Golf Film That's Not About Golf". Indiewire. March 4, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
11. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 17, 2007). "Freshman director gets 'Cool' start". Variety. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
12. ^ Bond, Paul (October 18, 2011). "Bill Clinton, Hollywood Heavyweights Star in Funny or Die Video". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
13. ^ "Live: Bill Clinton's 'Decade of Difference' party at Hollywood Bowl". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
14. ^ "SXSW: 'Short Term 12', 'The Short Game' Take Audience Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. March 16, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
15. ^ Picurro, Allison (March 7, 2017). "SXSW 2017 Announces Plans for New Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award — Exclusive". Indiewire.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
16. ^ "Rumble Wins Hot Docs Audience Award & $50,000 Rogers Audience Award". hotdocs.ca. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
17. ^ Galuppo, Mia (June 27, 2019). "Jamie Dornan Joins Kristen Wiig in Lionsgate Comedy 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
18. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (July 15, 2019). "Wendi McLendon-Covey, Damon Wayans Jr. Join 'Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
19. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 7, 2021). "'Strays': Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx & Will Forte To Topline Universal Animated Pic From 'Barb And Star' Director Josh Greenbaum". Deadline Hollywood.
20. ^ Roberts, Owen (September 11, 2008). "'Border Patrol' – Xenophobic Comedy Done Right". Tubefilter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
21. ^ "2016 Television". Canadian Screen Awards. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
22. ^ "TB EXCLUSIVE: EMERGING DIRECTOR JOSH GREENBAUM HELMING UNIVERSAL'S "NO HEARTS CLUB"". The Tracking Board. August 24, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
23. ^ Rife, Katie (November 24, 2014). "NBC is developing a sitcom called #Winning". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
24. ^ Cohen, Joshua (November 9, 2010). "CBS Picks Up Web Show Pilot, 'Homeland Insecurity'". Tubefilter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
25. ^ "Serena Williams' Coach Talks Her Comeback in Netflix's 'The Playbook' (VIDEO)". TV Insider. 21 September 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
26. ^ Horgan, Richard (June 18, 2015). "The Terminator Pranks Hollywood Tourists". AdWeek. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
27. ^ "'Spaceballs' Sequel in Works From Josh Gad, Mel Brooks at Amazon MGM". The Hollywood Reporter. June 18, 2024.
28. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (June 5, 2025). "'Care Bears' Movie in the Works From Josh Greenbaum at Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
29. ^ "Will & Harper". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved 2025-05-22.

## External links

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* Josh Greenbaum at IMDb
* Official Site

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Josh Greenbaum

* The Short Game (2013)
* Becoming Bond (2017)
* Too Funny to Fail (2017)
* Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
* Strays (2023)
* Will & Harper (2024)
* The Dink (TBA)

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