Director Rachel Feldman on LILLY, Patricia Clarkson, Netflix debut

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Imagine you’re a rookie film director, you land Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson with her unmistakable New Orleans guile plus a very fine cast including actor Thomas Sadoski for a movie about one of America’s unsung, true-life, gutsy working women? Director Rachel Feldman did just that. But there’s a caveat here… it only took 17 years.

Feldman had been coming up in the ranks as a TV helmer for years. From directing episodes of Lizzy McGuire to Blue Bloods to Criminal Minds. Count them up: 25 director credits in television, 11 writer credits. Better yet, let IMDb do the work, as you click here for her complete bio. Forgive the background shortcut. We’re here to chat with Feldman about the subject of her first-ever movie, LILLY. (Yes, there's an official trailer on Vimeo, linked at the end of our interview.)

So let’s get started because Rachel has a lot to share, and the film is available for you in just days from now on Netflix.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: Can you describe LILLY for people who may not be familiar with her?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Lilly Ledbetter worked for the Goodyear Tire company in Gadsden, Alabama from 1979 – 1999, from the ages of 40-60, as a supervisor. Having been raised in poverty, her American dream was to see her children grow up in the middle class, and for that singular goal, for nearly 20 years, she was willing to work in an extremely hostile work environment, for the sake of the best paycheck in her county. But as retirement approached, she discovered that she was actually being paid nearly half of what the men with the same job were earning, and the rage that rose inside of her, from being cheated just because of her sex, transformed her into an activist who fought for the next ten years and changed an American law.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: What made you put this movie together, and how long did it take to get to the screen?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Coming up when I did as a woman director in Hollywood, I experienced my own form of gender discrimination in the form of exclusion. When I landed in Hollywood, with an MFA in directing and several award-winning, grant-funded short films, only .05% of the film and television was being directed by women. So, when I saw Lilly Ledbetter speak at the 2008 DNC, I knew I was the filmmaker to tell her story. It’s 17 years since I was first inspired to make this film. The production had several incarnations, and a few stops and starts, but I had promised Lilly that I’d get it made, and I never lost that North Star.

Watch Rachel Feldman’s TedX talk about women who direct…

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: How did you get to Patricia Clarkson?

RACHEL FELDMAN: As a non-celebrity filmmaker, with no representation, and no budget for a top casting director, I realized that access to the kind of actor I needed for this role was going to be a challenge. I got very lucky when a very beloved actor found about my script and offered to be a “godmother” to the project. She knew Lilly’s story, knew it was an important story to tell, knew how tough it was for women directors, and introduced me to her agents at CAA. Patricia Clarkson had always been a dream to play Lilly. She’s an American treasure who was the right age and is Southern. She comes from a political family and she even looks a bit like Lilly. As you can imagine, I was thrilled that she loved the script and wanted to do it. Working with Patti has been a dream come true.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: Did the real Lilly Ledbetter consult, or is this based on biographical material?

RACHEL FELDMAN: I worked very closely with Lilly. She read drafts and offered notes, she gave me a few good lines of dialogue, she was a treasured friend. She also wrote a beautiful book with Lanier Scott Isom “Grace and Grit” that was enormously helpful. Lilly saw a few cuts and loved the final version. Having a movie that would share her legacy with the world was very important to her. We premiered the film at The Hamton’s International Film Festival on Oct. 10, 2024 and Lilly died 2 days later after her daughter Vickie got back to tell her how 500 audience members laughed, cried and stood up and cheered for her film. I believe she was waiting. I miss her very much. She was extraordinary in so many ways.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: How much did “the patriarchy” get in the way of funding?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Interestingly, most of our investors are women who care deeply about the issue, women who had experienced gender discrimination or lack of fair pay during their own careers, they were excited to get this film made. What was the struggle, were the first 5 years as I tried to get the film made in Hollywood. The prevailing opinion was that audiences wouldn’t care about a political movie about a middle aged, white woman. Then, a few well-established producers who did get involved then tried to remove me as the director because they didn’t believe they could attract the studios or actors with a woman director attached. Once I started to walk the path of independently financing the film, the doors opened and serendipity showed her way. I will say that recently, since this new administration, several social impact events were cancelled or partnerships ended simply because of what LILLY stands for – women and justice.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: Was there a moment you thought it wouldn't happen?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Many, many, many moments. Making a film is warfare. I’m an experienced director and a writer, but I had never produced a feature film before. I didn’t know what I was getting into. But I had a great team of collaborators and we were driven by our desire to share Lilly’s story with the world. At every turn we pivoted and were scrappy. I gave up five years trying to get it made in Hollywood, then I raised money during Covid, then had a production stoppage, then went back to shoot a second time still during Covid, then we hit the strikes, cut the film twice, then stuiod consolidated and distribution for dramas became quicksand. Yes, many moments. Yet here we are!!! I think we’re a great success story.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: How is Lilly’s story relevant today, as if you have to ask given the women's rights rollbacks?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Gender equity is not a story that’s going away - ever. LILLY is not a movie simply about fair pay or women’s rights, it’s a movie about self-actualization, about becoming who you want to be, it’s about being the brave, courageous person who ignites social change, it’s about being willing to put a target on your back, to have a cost to your personal life for what you believe. My hope is that audiences are inspired by Lilly, that they watch an entertaining movie with a great love story and fantastic music that makes them emotional. And that’s what I’ve witnessed with audiences. It’s a popcorn movie that entertains while it enlightens. We are living in a time right now when we all need to speak up. Lilly did that.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: Has this movie elevated your career, as a “first time theatrical film director” with a star cast? Also what’s next…

RACHEL FELDMAN: “First Time” is such a funny description, when I’ve been a professional DGA director since 1990, but in dramatic television, one-hour series and tv movies, so yeah, it’s accurate. I have a slate of features and pilots I’ve written on spec and several more in development, mostly high genre, I love thrillers, but I also have sweeping romances and a family film too. I need great reps to help elevate my career to the next level, so for anyone reading this….

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: We hope you at least get a great agent out of this, because this movie is so timely it hurts. Anyway, that being said, what do you hope audiences will take away from Lilly's story?

RACHEL FELDMAN: Hope. Inspiration. A full heart.

QUENDRITH JOHNSON: Great answer. So what's the path forward for LILLY the movie - theatrical, VOD, streaming - in other words, did it get distributed?

RACHEL FELDMAN: After a very successful festival tour where we won BEST of the FEST at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival and the STAND UP BEST IMPACT FILM at the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival we worked with Blue Harbor Entertainment who distributed LILLY in 90 cinemas for six weeks. Our theatrical premiere was in NYC where Hillary Clinton gave opening remarks, partied with us, and Nancy Pelosi did the same in DC, and The Obama Foundation followed in Chicago. We’ve been successful in VOD and LILLY will be STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY ON NETFLIX NOVEMBER 19!  [Editor's note: we left the caps in because, hey, we're excited for this movie too!]

See LILLY preview here , and Nov. 19, Lilly Ledbetter’s story LILLY, starring Patricia Clarkson, debuts on Netflix.

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