From Assistant to Auteur: How Russell Goldman’s Leap of Faith Sparked a Cinematic Chain Reaction
Every great cinematic milestone has its secret origin stories, but few rival the serendipity of the one that unfolded on Thanksgiving Day in 2019. It was then that iconic actress Jamie Lee Curtis dialed the number of her assistant at the time, Russell Goldman, to pose a seemingly casual question that would permanently alter the trajectory of modern film history: "Do you know these gentlemen named the Daniels?"
Goldman certainly did. As an avid cinephile and writer-director, he was a massive admirer of Swiss Army Man, the wildly eccentric 2016 cult comedy that stamped filmmakers Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan—collectively known as "the Daniels"—onto the map of Hollywood innovators. The directing duo was looking to land a powerhouse lead for their fiercely imaginative new screenplay, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and they had their sights set on Curtis.
Trusting Goldman’s artistic compass, Curtis sought his advice before committing to the project. "I told her, ‘I feel like you should take a chance on this—what’s the worst that could happen?’" Goldman recalls with a smile.
The rest, as they say, is Academy Award history. Four years later, Curtis clutched the Best Supporting Actress statuette at the 95th Academy Awards, igniting a triumphant career renaissance that continues to flourish. Meanwhile, the Daniels found a charming way to thank Goldman for his pivotal nudge. When Everything Everywhere All at Once premiered, the directors approached him at the theater, handed him a DVD copy of Swiss Army Man, and playfully acknowledged him as "the kid who told her to do the movie."
Chronology of a Creative Partnership
While Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t explicitly call out Goldman by name during her televised Oscar acceptance speech, she has since repaid her former assistant in the ultimate currency of the film industry: she backed his feature directorial debut.
Curtis signed on as a producer and even made a delightfully unhinged cameo appearance in Goldman’s new conspiracy-driven thriller, Sender. Starring Severance breakout favorite Britt Lower, the film expanded on Goldman’s critically acclaimed 2022 short film, Return to Sender.
Following a buzzy premiere at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, Sender has been making steady waves across the independent festival circuit, including a prominent stop at the Woodstock Film Festival. The psychological thriller is officially slated for a theatrical release in early 2027 under the Dark Sky Films banner.
Reflecting on how Curtis championed his transition from assistant to feature filmmaker, Goldman becomes visibly emotional. "She talked to our producers and financiers early on and told them, ‘Look, this is going to be a strange movie and it may not be for everyone, but I see something in this guy’s head, and I want him to have a platform to follow it,’" Goldman shares. "The fact that she not only put her name on it, but appeared in it and did some really fun and f***ed up stuff in it, however briefly, was such a joy."
Supporting Data: Unpacking Sender
Sender centers on Julia, a disoriented woman who begins receiving a barrage of mysterious, unrequested packages delivered directly to her doorstep by an anonymous entity. As she obsessively investigates the origins of these deliveries, she spirals down an increasingly complex rabbit hole that forces both her—and the audience—to question the very fabric of reality.
While Allison Tolman of Fargo fame headlined the original short film, Britt Lower stepped into the role of Julia for the feature-length adaptation, immediately captivated by Goldman’s meticulously cryptic screenplay.
"It was an incredibly cryptic script, because there’s so much going on that Julia doesn’t even understand herself," notes Lower, who won critical acclaim for her role as Helly R. in Apple TV+’s hit workplace thriller Severance. "What was really fun about making the film was following this map that Russell had made and kind of discovering it and solving it together at the same time. What was on the page was just this jumping-off point, and then here we were getting to build Julia’s inner and outer world together."
Finding the character’s footing didn’t happen overnight. Lower admits she initially signed on to the project without a fully formed conception of her alter ego. The breakthrough, remarkably, came down to a wardrobe choice.
"I had a hard time initially figuring out who she was," Lower confesses. "But then there was a moment in a costume fitting when someone suggested adding a nose ring. We put it in, and it just kind of clicked for me—Julia is a person who wants to be seen in a particular way and isn’t afraid to stand out from the norm. That costume piece really gave me an insight into how she viewed herself, and how she wanted to be seen. Also, I learned a lot about her from how Julia opens boxes!"
Official Responses and Production Insights
True to the fast-paced, unpredictable nature of independent filmmaking, Sender required its cast and crew to think on their feet during its tightly budgeted 94-minute runtime. On Day 1 of production, Lower and Goldman tackled a crucial, emotionally heavy box-opening sequence that was originally scripted as the narrative climax of the film.
"We filmed a scene at the very, very beginning, which was supposed to be the very, very end of the film, but has now shifted a bit from the edit that is out there in the world," Lower reveals.
Guarding against major spoilers, Goldman elaborates on the sequencing adjustments made in the editing suite: "It’s a scene that has such a small amount of screentime. Julia is opening a box, and there’s something angelic about what’s happening—there’s a glow that’s so unlike her. I’ve heard of so many productions that throw out whatever the first scene they shot was, but in this case, we only threw out half of it because there are some really beautiful images in there. There’s something about Britt’s eyes whenever I watch it, and I’m sure no one in the audience will realize that it was originally supposed to come earlier than it does."
By Day 2, the director-star duo had hit a synchronized stride, forced to adapt quickly due to their high-velocity, run-and-gun production schedule.
"We were working at this insane speed, and started talking about how scenes we originally wanted to get in four shots now had to be achieved in three," Goldman explains. "Britt was at the table for all those conversations. There are some actors who are like, ‘Let me know when you figure it out,’ but she thinks like a filmmaker."
Lower echoes this sentiment, drawing direct parallels between her rigorous indie film schedule and her work on major television sets. She stepped onto the Sender set immediately after wrapping production on Season 2 of Severance (and notes that work on Season 3 is currently underway, though tightly guarded by Apple’s usual shroud of secrecy).
"That’s the beauty of independent filmmaking," Lower says. "There’s less time, but that makes for really creative choices and you bond with everyone really quickly, because you’re all like, ‘We’ve got to figure this thing out!’"
Implications for Future Filmmakers
Given that both Severance and Sender place Lower into intensely stressful, psychologically demanding spaces, some critics and fans emerging from the film’s festival run have playfully suggested that the actress deserves a break in a lighter genre, such as a romantic comedy or straightforward action flick.
Lower, however, is quick to offer a tongue-in-cheek counter-argument to anyone eager to see her trade psychological thrillers for rom-coms:
"This movie’s really romantic," she jokes. "It’s me and some open boxes!"
Jokes aside, the journey from assistant to auteur illustrates a broader narrative about the evolving Hollywood ecosystem. In an industry increasingly dominated by risk-averse intellectual property, the alliance between Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman, and Britt Lower stands as a testament to the power of intuition, mentorship, and backing emerging voices. As Sender prepares to hit commercial theaters in early 2027, it serves as a reminder that sometimes, the best career move an actor—or an assistant—can make is simply answering the phone and taking a chance on the unknown.
