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Ilyssa Goodman

Ilyssa Goodman

Producer, director and writer · Paramus, New Jersey, USA

Ilyssa Goodman is an award-winning film producer and director, best known for the "A Cinderella Story" movie franchise, which has become a pop-culture mainstay. Ilyssa's film, The Standoff (2016), was shown around the globe and helped pave the way for Ilyssa to pivot from successful Producer to film Director. As the mother of twin red-headed children, Ilyssa navigates raising children in Los Angeles (where a simple play-date might involve caterers and a band) to in-laws who appeared for an unexpected and extended stay, to her own aging and challenging career in Hollywood. Born and raised in Paramus, New Jersey, Ilyssa graduated from Paramus High School (Class of 1982) and Ramapo College (1987) with a BA in Communications. She began her career working for Miramax Films before heading to Los Angeles to work in development at Universal Studios and eventually landing a post as Vice President of Filmed Entertainment for Bonneville Worldwide Entertainment, where she oversaw the production of dozens of successful television movies and several award-winning independent films. After holding a number of executive posts in development, production and distribution, Ilyssa pivoted into producing and directing and hasn't looked back since.

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Biography from IMDb.

From
Paramus, New Jersey, USA
Works as
Producer, director and writer
Titles
11 on MovieCove
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 29% in 30 days

What are Ilyssa Goodman's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 30th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Family2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 30th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Family movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
46%
Bonds
40%
Morality
7%
Survival
3%
Ideas
2%
Society
2%
Romantic love7 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth6 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 11 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 10 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 11 · Charged 0 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 2

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
10
Hopeful
9
Romantic
7
Warm
2
Contemplative
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Feel-good11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy11

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ilyssa Goodman's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ilyssa Goodman's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

11 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

Career shape

A full career of 9 titles from 2004 to 2023.

Biggest box office

A Cinderella Story (2004)

$70M worldwide

Highest rated

Another Cinderella Story (2008)

Midcredits 57th

Most popular right now

A Cinderella Story (2004)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing4 of 9: 2 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting2 of 9: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing5 of 9: 5 only producing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score49th

By decade

2000s2 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Ilyssa Goodman's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 29th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 31st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

31stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

29thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 11 titles are Mixed.

  • Divisive2
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · director

Next Level (2019)

97th percentile spread · 52% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Another Cinderella Story (2008)

Midcredits 57th · 47% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 53/100 and the pacing 45/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ilyssa Goodman's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 20 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Ilyssa Goodman work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ilyssa Goodman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Leigh Dunlap shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers