Sony Taps YouTube Veteran Fede Goldenberg to Head Screen Gems

Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed veteran YouTube content partnership executive Fede Goldenberg as the new head of its Screen Gems genre label, according to reporting by THR. Goldenberg replaces Ashley Brucks, who served as president of Screen Gems since 2023. Brucks will transition to a producing role on upcoming projects for the studio. Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, announced the hire, noting that Goldenberg will report directly to him.

Sony Shifts Screen Gems Strategy Toward Digital-Native Storytellers

The leadership change coincides with a growing wave of content creator-driven genre hits at the summer box office. Recent successes like Curry Barker’s Obsession, Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, and Markiplier’s Iron Lung have reshaped studio interest in independent digital creators. Sony stated that the transition marks a new creative strategy to expand the label beyond traditional genre films and incorporate theatrical projects from digital-native storytellers.

Some of the most exciting new filmmakers and ideas are emerging from creators outside of traditional Hollywood development pipelines, Panitch said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Goldenberg Brings Fifteen Years of YouTube Experience to Studio Role

Goldenberg brings more than twenty years of experience across entertainment, technology, and digital media to the position. He spent the last 15 years at YouTube, most recently serving as Head of Film and TV Partnerships. During his tenure at the Google-owned platform, he worked with major studios to expand their global footprints and managed early partnerships with multi-channel networks like Maker Studios and Fullscreen.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that Goldenberg helped guide the careers of digital filmmakers like Barker, Parsons, and Markiplier. He also drove major initiatives including Markiplier’s exclusive digital release of Iron Lung and helped secure YouTube’s deal to air the Oscars via a deal with the AMPAS.

After 15 years at YouTube, the world’s biggest digital platform, I know firsthand that the next generation of great filmmakers is already building audiences on the platform, Goldenberg stated in comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Brucks Transitions to Producing Following Box Office Successes

Outgoing president Ashley Brucks will move into a producing role on upcoming Screen Gems projects, which Sony did not name in its initial announcement. During her tenure overseeing the division, the label released Insidious: Out of the Further, which has grossed $169.5 million globally following its mid-August release. Earlier in the summer, Screen Gems partnered with New Line and Ghost House on Evil Dead: Burn, which brought in $72.4 million worldwide.

Before taking charge at Screen Gems in 2023, Brucks worked at Paramount. At Paramount, she helped bring in the original Paranormal Activity, oversaw the 2022 relaunch of the Scream franchise, and supervised A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II.