Josh Greenbaum


Josh Greenbaum is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has won an MTV Movie Award, CINE Golden Eagle and Emmy Award. 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, which won SXSW's Audience Award in the Visions category, as well as the critically acclaimed Too Funny to Fail, a documentary about The Dana Carvey Show. He is also the creator, director and executive producer of Behind the Mask, which earned Hulu its first ever Emmy nomination. He made his narrative feature debut with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. In 2024, Greenbaum directed the Peabody Award winning documentary, Will & Harper, for Netflix.

Biography

Greenbaum was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. He graduated from Cornell University and the University of Oxford. He dropped out of the MFA program at USC film school to pursue a professional career with the assistance of his brother David Greenbaum who was the head of Fox Searchlight at the time.
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.
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.

Film

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. 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. The film won SXSW's Audience Award in the Visions category and nominated for the festival's Adam Yauch Hornblower Award Nomination. It was also nominated for a Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Audience Award.
Greenbaum also directed Too Funny to Fail in 2017, a documentary about The Dana Carvey Show, also distributed by Hulu.
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.
In December 2021, it was announced that Greenbaum directed the comedy film Strays.
On June 5 2025, it was announced that Greenbaum is to direct a live-action/animated film adaptation of Care Bears for Warner Bros. Pictures.

Television

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.
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 and directed "Good Debbie Hunting", an episode of ABC's The Neighbors. He has written and directed projects for CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW.
He also served as executive producer and director of The Playbook series for Netflix and directed the first episode, profiling NBA coach Doc Rivers.

Commercials

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.

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerOther
2013The Short Game
2017Becoming Bond
2017Too Funny to Fail
2021Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar
2023Strays
2024Will & Harper
2027Spaceballs 2
TBAThe Dink

Short films

Television

Awards and honors