Golden Time with ELEANOR's Sophie Gold
Sophisticated. Urbane. Elegant. Princess Kate, you think? More like Sophie Gold. The Founder and President of the international production company ELEANOR, Sophie’s career has taken her from London to New York to L.A., where she’s established her production company as a creative force in filmmaking for agencies and brands. In just a few short years, Sophie’s drive and vision has resulted in ELEANOR’s being named as a Production Company to Watch on the Ad Age A-List, among many recognitions and honors.
The ELEANOR ethos is reflected in its roster of directorial talents, whose diverse voices have delivered high-craft productions for such brands as Samsung, Supercell, Walmart, the US Army and many more. Known for elevating creative excellence within the commercial filmmaking community and championing distinctive filmmakers, Sophie’s forte is in helping them create culturally resonant work while forging strong collaborations among agencies, brands, and fellow production and post production artists and producers.
Born in France and raised in England, her literate touch can be found in ELEANOR’s distinctive branding and identity, in its regular newsletters and on Sophie’s own Substack, where she ruminates in quite proper English on a variety of topics both professional and personal. As a working mom who’s seemingly everywhere at once, The Howler reached out recently to see how she spends her Golden Time. Here’s what she had to share.
Where do you live? What do you like best about where you live?
Sophie: I live between worlds, but Los Angeles is home base. It is the ultimate playground for a cultural polymath. You can start your day in a gallery, disappear into nature by afternoon, and end up somewhere entirely unexpected by night, all within the same zip code. It keeps you creatively alert without feeling forced.
What I love most is how layered it is. L.A. does not hand itself to you, you have to go looking. If you do, it keeps revealing itself. A hidden space, a new artist, a neighborhood that feels like its own micro-universe. It’s a city that rewards curiosity and quietly raises your standards over time.
How’d you get into the business? And how long have you been in your current role?
Sophie: It started, as many things do, with a conversation. I was giving a talk on “your network is your net worth” when I met a director who could not quite crack consistent work. I began making introductions and connecting him with opportunities, and it quickly grew into something more intentional. That experience really shaped how I think about creating value through relationships and connection, and how much momentum the right introduction can unlock.
From there, I moved out of finance, relocated to New York, and stepped into a head of business development role in advertising. What started as helping one person navigate their path became a broader practice of building networks, opening doors, and creating work through connection.
I’ve now owned ELEANOR for seven years, still building in that same spirit: bringing people, ideas, and opportunities together in ways that feel considered, but never over-engineered. It’s equal parts instinct and infrastructure.
How often do you end up working on the weekend? How much time do you spend on work-related stuff from Friday night to Sunday night?
Sophie: As a founder, and in advertising more broadly, you’re never completely off. The work doesn’t always fit neatly into a Monday through Friday structure, so there’s always a low-level hum of being “on” and aware of what is happening, or about to happen. You learn to live with that without letting it run everything.
That said, I try to be intentional about it. Being “on” does not mean being glued to a laptop. It’s more about staying responsive and connected, then knowing when to step away. I make a real effort to protect time with my family, which tends to be the quickest way to reset perspective and come back sharper.
What’s your favorite weekend decompression activity? How often do you get to do it?
Sophie: lowing everything down and getting outside, ideally with my family. A long walk, a bit of nature, or just unstructured time where no one is in a rush. That’s usually when my brain finally catches up with me and things start to settle.
I try to do it most weekends, even if it’s just in small pockets. It’s less about the plan and more about the pause, about stepping away properly so I can come back with a clearer head and slightly better instincts. It is surprisingly effective for something so simple.
It’s a three-day weekend. How do you spend that bonus day?
Sophie: I try to use that time to step out of my routine and do something that feels a bit different. Sometimes that means being somewhere new, sometimes it’s catching up with family or friends without an agenda, and sometimes it’s just giving myself a full day with very little structure.
It is the one day I try not to optimize. Just follow whatever feels interesting and let that be enough. Those are usually the days that end up being the most memorable anyway.
How much time do you spend on your phone/tablet/laptop on a typical weekend?
Sophie: It varies, but I am not someone who fully disappears. I stay connected enough to keep things moving if needed, but I try not to let it take over. There is a difference between being available and being consumed by it.
On weekends it is a more intentional kind of use. I check in, respond, then step away. The aim is to stay available without slipping into endless scrolling or feeling permanently plugged in. It is a work in progress, but one I take seriously.
What have you been watching lately?
Sophie: A mix, depending on my mood. I tend to bounce between something beautifully made that I can get lost in, and something much lighter that requires very little from me after a long week.
Lately I’ve been on a bit of a nostalgia kick, because who isn’t these days? I’ve been revisiting films like “Cool Runnings,” “Casino” and the “John Wick” series, which is not exactly old but somehow feels like it belongs to another era. I’ve also watched “Operation Fortune” more times than I can count. It is just one of those easy, entertaining watches that always delivers.
What do you listen to? What’s on your playlist?
Sophie: It's quite a mix. I tend to move between older, more nostalgic tracks and newer artists I am discovering, depending on what I need from the moment. For me, music is usually less about genre and more about mood. There’s always something slightly indulgent in there, alongside something more current. It is part comfort, part curiosity, which probably mirrors how I approach most things.
In terms of specifics, I go between listening to podcasts like “The Diary of a CEO,” artists like Hozier and London Grammar, and then leaning into some of my favorite film scores, like “The Woman King” title track by Terence Blanchard.
Best weekend live experience of the past year: concert, sporting event, gallery visit, movie? What made it special?
Sophie: Seeing Oasis at the Rose Bowl with my husband and friends. It felt like one of those nights you do not take for granted. There was a real sense of anticipation in the air, and the crowd had that rare mix of nostalgia and excitement. Being there with people I love made it even better. It was one of those moments where everything aligns and you can actually feel it while it is happening, which is rarer than you think.
So it’s Sunday night already! How do you get ready for Monday morning?
Sophie: A bit of light re-entry. I’ll usually scan what is coming up, clear anything urgent, and make sure Monday morning is not walking into chaos. It is less about doing everything and more about removing friction.
Beyond that, I try to keep it calm. Good dinner, minimal screens, and a mental reset. I have learned that how you end Sunday tends to dictate how you start the week, so I aim to be organized, but not overthought.
