Jump to content

Jeff Baena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeff Baena
Baena posing
Baena at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival
Born
Jeffrey Lance Baena

(1977-06-29)June 29, 1977
Miami, Florida, U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 2025(2025-01-03) (aged 47)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationNew York University
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Spouse
​
(m. 2021)​
[1]

Jeffrey Lance Baena (/ˈbeɪnə/; June 29, 1977 – January 3, 2025) was an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote and directed Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017), Horse Girl (2020) and Spin Me Round (2022) and co-wrote I Heart Huckabees (2004). He was known for his frequent collaborations with actresses Alison Brie (with whom he co-wrote Horse Girl and Spin Me Round), Molly Shannon, and his wife Aubrey Plaza.

Early life and education

[edit]

Jeffrey Lance Baena was born on June 29, 1977,[2][3] to Barbara (later Stern) and Scott Baena,[4] and grew up in a secular Jewish family in Miami, Florida.[5][6] His family was from New York City, and had moved to Miami due to his father's work as a lawyer. Baena's parents were divorced, which he credited in part with informing his dark sense of comedy.[7] His first stepmother was manic depressive, and under Florida's Baker Act was frequently institutionalized but then released, with Baena later commenting on systemic challenges in mental health care.[8] He had a brother and two step-siblings.[4]

After Killian High School in Kendall, Florida,[9] Baena graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in film, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue directing.[1] He, without really intending, achieved a minor in medieval studies at NYU after taking multiple classes when he "was hard-core into the alchemy shit",[6] and also took classes relating to philosophy.[7]

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Baena became a production assistant for filmmaker Robert Zemeckis on What Lies Beneath and Cast Away (both 2000).[10][11] After working with Zemeckis, Baena became an assistant editor for writer-director David O. Russell. After a year and a half of working together, a minor car accident injured one of Baena's eyes. Partially to keep his spirits up and pass the time during his recovery, Russell began discussing story ideas with Baena. The two ended up collaborating on four scripts together, including I Heart Huckabees, which Russell directed in 2004, and Jay Roach's Meet the Fockers (also 2004), for which they made uncredited revisions.[10][12]: 146–147  The philosophical I Heart Huckabees was not a commercial success, but quickly became a cult hit,[13][9] and received praise for the ambition in its storytelling.[14][15][16]

Directorial debut and producing with Aubrey Plaza

[edit]

Baena had planned for the comedy-drama Joshy to be his directorial debut, but actor and collaborator Adam Pally had to postpone for personal reasons. Baena then decided to work on the zombie comedy Life After Beth, from a script he started writing in 2003,[17] which became his debut.[18][19] This film had been in production but shelved shortly after it was written, and was only picked back up after comic actress Aubrey Plaza was looking for a role and her agent remembered the script; with Plaza attached, the production resumed. Flavorwire wrote that "Baena's control of the material is occasionally uncertain",[20] while Mark Kermode felt Baena "kept things just the right side of believable, eschewing explanation in favour of cracked domesticity."[21] Life After Beth premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014,[18][19] the same festival that Joshy, as Baena's second film, premiered at in 2016.[10]

When production resumed on Joshy, Baena provided his large comedic cast with a 20-page outline, rather than a script, as an experiment to "keep people in the moment." Baena did not audition but cast people he knew would be able to work in such a film.[22] The film's Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus highlighted Baena's direction for "strik[ing] a unique, disarmingly heartfelt blend of dark humor and tragedy".[23] The Los Angeles Times praised that despite its improvisational nature, "the film never feels unfocused or messy",[24] Christy Lemire felt Baena's work had improved since his debut,[25] and Glenn Kenny noted Baena's skill in tonally dictating his film.[26]

Joshy was Baena's first film to feature actress Alison Brie, albeit briefly,[25] before she had a main role in The Little Hours. Baena's third film, a 2017 black comedy, The Little Hours also starred Plaza;[27] he wrote in a Reddit AMA that he "made this movie for [Plaza]",[28] for whom it was her producing debut. Inspired by passages from The Decameron, which Baena had studied,[29] the film was again largely improvised and based in the disconnect of medieval beliefs to modern ones; Baena saw the potential for humor[6] and tragedy in this idea.[30] Reviews were impressed with how well the concept worked,[31][32][33][34] and Sheila O'Malley for RogerEbert.com praised Baena's comedic direction.[35]

Creative partnership with Alison Brie

[edit]

He directed Brie two more times in the films Horse Girl (2020) and Spin Me Round (2022), which they co-wrote together. The latter also featured Plaza.[36][37] Both actresses were involved in different capacities in Baena's only television work, Cinema Toast, a 2021 anthology series that he created and executive produced. Baena wrote and directed episodes in the series, which reinterpreted public domain footage to tell modern stories.[38][4]

Having formed a friendship after working on previous movies, and knowing of the creative risks Baena liked to take, Brie pitched the idea for a drama about fear of mental illness to him while on a hike. He had been suggesting that she play a "horse girl" character, and they realized they could combine the ideas to create what became Horse Girl.[39] They wrote the screenplay together, but some of the film's dialogue was improvised. After premiering at Sundance in 2020, Horse Girl began streaming on Netflix[40] and was the most commercially successful of Baena's works.[41] Reviews noted the use and subversion of form to inform the story,[42] which was generally praised[43][44][45] but also criticized by Adrian Horton in The Guardian.[46]

The pair again chose to subvert expectations in Spin Me Round, the shoot of which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, allowing them to write a more detailed script.[47][48] The film combined comedy and thriller genres, and critics noted the story for "a provocative #MeToo statement".[49][48] The Hollywood Reporter felt it was "amusing but the most lightweight" of Baena's films.[50]

Style

[edit]

Baena's films found a cult audience,[31] and critics appreciated the attention and care Baena gave to topics that were not frequently tackled in Hollywood films: Baena's films broadly deal with themes of grief, loss, love and mental health.[30][8][7] In his own words, he described them as "destabilizing, unmoored, and full of chaos".[47] Despite some similarities – his first two directorial efforts, Life After Beth and Joshy, are comedies that explore how a character copes after the death of their partner[30][51][52] – and Baena's films all sharing "some unforeseen emotional kick", Ryan Gilbey wrote in an obituary for The Guardian that "the subjects and styles were strikingly dissimilar, a fact on which [Baena] prided himself" as he did not want to do the same thing again.[9] Baena enjoyed creative freedom to mix genres and expectations.[47]

He "never really audition[ed], ever" for his films, saying he was inspired by Federico Fellini choosing performers based on seeing them in a more natural setting than a line reading. Baena created ideas of characters then, once he knew which actors he would use, would "try to build the part around them, and ... make it more true."[22] He ended up with a group of frequent collaborators, particularly Brie, Plaza and Molly Shannon (who each starred in four of his five films),[48][47] as well as Pally, John C. Reilly, Lauren Weedman, Fred Armisen and Debby Ryan[27][53][54][55] – Baena said this was primarily because he enjoyed working with them and always wanted to bring out new things from actors he enjoyed. He also found it advantageous to work with familiar actors due to his own "slightly nontraditional way" of writing and directing, so that he could rely on performers who understood his process.[47] Baena typically wrote and worked from film outlines, rather than full screenplays, so his films could incorporate improvisation, though his first and final films, Life After Beth and Spin Me Round, were more traditional.[22][47]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Baena met actress Aubrey Plaza during a game night in 2011,[9] and they began dating. In 2021, on their tenth anniversary, they were married in a small ceremony in their backyard.[56][57]

On January 3, 2025, Baena's body was discovered at his home in Los Angeles by his assistant, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 47.[58] The Los Angeles County medical examiner reported the cause of death as suicide by hanging.[59][60] The 82nd Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held on January 5, with Best Director winner Brady Corbet paying tribute to Baena at the end of his acceptance speech.[61]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer Ref.
2004 I Heart Huckabees No Yes No [10]
Meet the Fockers No Uncredited No [12]
2014 Life After Beth Yes Yes No [17]
2016 Joshy Yes Yes No [10]
2017 The Little Hours Yes Yes No [4]
2020 Horse Girl Yes Yes Yes [36]
2022 Spin Me Round Yes Yes Yes [62]

Television

Year Title Director Writer Creator Executive
Producer 		Notes Ref.
2021 Cinema Toast Yes Yes Yes Yes Directed 1 episode, wrote 9 episodes [4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Filmmaker Jeff Baena, husband of Aubrey Plaza, dead at 47". BBC. January 4, 2025. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. ^ Igoe, Katherine J. (January 17, 2023). "Aubrey Plaza's Low-Key Husband Jeff Baena Is So Supportive and Cute". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via AOL.
  3. ^ "Jeffrey Baena Obituary". Legacy.com. The Miami Herald. January 8, 2025. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Piña, Christy (January 4, 2025). "Jeff Baena, Indie Film Director and Aubrey Plaza's Husband, Dies at 47". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 5, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ^ Lindner, Emmett (January 4, 2025). "Jeff Baena, film director and screenwriter, dies at 47". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Russell, Anna (June 26, 2017). "Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza's Medieval Adventure". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Zaltzman, Lior (January 7, 2025). "Jewish Director Jeff Baena Made Movies that Were Dark and Divine". Kveller. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  8. ^ a b LW (January 6, 2025). "Aubrey Plaza's husband Jeff Baena's tragic death shines light on his most personal film". MARCA. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d Gilbey, Ryan (January 17, 2025). "Jeff Baena obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e Zax, David (February 3, 2016). "How A Freak Eye Injury Became A Career Turning Point For The Director Of Joshy". Fast Company. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  11. ^ "'Outline Over Screenplay' Jeff Baena On 'Spin Me Round Interview'". International Screenwriters' Association. December 19, 2022. Archived from the original on January 5, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Robert De Niro: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center". Harry Ransom Center. Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via University of Texas at Austin.
  13. ^ "BBC - Movies - review - I Heart Huckabees DVD". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  14. ^ Edelstein, David (October 1, 2004). "I Hate Huckabees". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  15. ^ Dargis, Manohla (October 1, 2004). "On a Stroll in Angstville With Dots Disconnected". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  16. ^ Rooney, David (September 12, 2004). "I Heart Huckabees Review - Read Variety's Analysis Of The Movie I Heart Huckabees". Variety. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008.
  17. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (August 10, 2016). "Joshy Director Jeff Baena: Why Marketing Can Ruin a Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 24, 2014). "Sundance: A24 Nearing Domestic Deal on Life After Beth". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Gupta, Shipra Harbola (July 18, 2014). "Watch: Molly Shannon Steals the Show in New Life After Beth Clip". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  20. ^ Bailey, Jason (January 20, 2014). "Sundance 2014: Aubrey Plaza Reinvents Herself in 'Life After Beth'". Flavorwire. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Kermode, Mark; critic, Observer film (October 4, 2014). "Life After Beth review – rotting heroine steals show in sparky rom-zom-com". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Allen, Nick (August 9, 2016). "MAINTAINING REALITY: JEFF BAENA ON "JOSHY"". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  23. ^ "Joshy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  24. ^ Walsh, Katie (August 11, 2016). "Review: The comedy 'Joshy' shows how men confront — or avoid — emotional pain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Joshy movie review & film summary (2016) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  26. ^ Kenny, Glenn (August 11, 2016). "Review: In 'Joshy,' Wedding's Off, Bachelor Party's a Go". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  27. ^ a b McNary, Dave (April 26, 2016). "Alison Brie's Dark Comedy The Little Hours Selling at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  28. ^ andrew1586 (July 14, 2017). "Hi jeff & aubrey…". r/movies. Retrieved January 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Lee, Ashley (June 28, 2017). "'Little Hours': Aubrey Plaza Makes Producing Debut Amid Catholic League Uproar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  30. ^ a b c "Horse Girl director Jeff Baena on creating the awkward mental health alien abduction movie of the year". SYFY Official Site. February 14, 2020. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  31. ^ a b Staff, T. H. R. (January 20, 2017). "'Little Hours': Film Review | Sundance 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  32. ^ Debruge, Peter (January 20, 2017). "Film Review: 'The Little Hours'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  33. ^ "Sundance 2017: "The Incredible Jessica James" & "The Little Hours" | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. January 20, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  34. ^ "'The Little Hours' review: 14th century sex comedy finds nuns on the run, in pursuit of a Franco". Chicago Tribune. July 12, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  35. ^ "The Little Hours movie review (2017) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  36. ^ a b Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  37. ^ "Jeff Baena death: Filmmaker and Aubrey Plaza's husband dies, aged 47". The Independent. January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  38. ^ Petski, Denise (April 12, 2021). "'Cinema Toast' Anthology Series From Jeff Baena & Duplass Brothers To Stream On Showtime". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  39. ^ "The Alison and Jeff Show: Alison Brie Talks Horse Girl". Paste Magazine. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  40. ^ Hood, Cooper (February 10, 2020). "Director Jeff Baena Interview: Horse Girl". ScreenRant. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  41. ^ "Aubrey Plaza speaks out after 'unimaginable tragedy' of husband's death". The Independent. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  42. ^ Fear, David (February 7, 2020). "'Horse Girl' Review: Alison Brie, From Daffy to Dangerously Unstable". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  43. ^ Walsh, Katie (February 6, 2020). "Review: Alison Brie reveals new layers in subversive and playful 'Horse Girl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  44. ^ "'Horse Girl' Hides Mental Health Trauma with Quirky Indie Vibe │ Exclaim!". 'Horse Girl' Hides Mental Health Trauma with Quirky Indie Vibe │ Exclaim!. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  45. ^ Kiang, Jessica (January 28, 2020). "'Horse Girl': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  46. ^ Horton, Adrian (February 7, 2020). "Horse Girl review – Alison Brie shines in frustrating Netflix psychodrama". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  47. ^ a b c d e f "Spin Me Round writer-director Jeff Baena on falling in love with his actors". AV Club. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  48. ^ a b c Bergeson, Samantha (August 19, 2022). "Aubrey Plaza's Jilted Queer Love Story in 'Happiest Season' Led to Twisted 'Spin Me Round' Romance". IndieWire. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  49. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 24, 2022). "'Spin Me Round' Review: You'll Never See Alfredo Sauce the Same Way Again". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  50. ^ DeFore, John (March 13, 2022). "'Spin Me Round': Film Review | SXSW 2022". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  51. ^ Eggert, Brian (July 15, 2014). "Life After Beth (2014)". Deep Focus Review. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  52. ^ Staff, T. H. R. (January 19, 2014). "Life After Beth: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  53. ^ Gularte, Alejandra (January 7, 2025). "Adam Pally Remembers Jeff Baena as 'Fosterer of Possibility'". Vulture. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  54. ^ "SPIN ME AROUND – Review by Rachel West – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS". August 10, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  55. ^ Bailey, Jason (March 29, 2023). "'Spin Me Round,' 'Small Town Crime' and More Streaming Gems". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  56. ^ Russian, Ale (May 7, 2021). "Aubrey Plaza Marries Longtime Love Jeff Baena: 'My Darling Husband'". People. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  57. ^ Macke, Johnni (December 15, 2021). "Aubrey Plaza Details Her Secret Wedding to Husband Jeff Baena: 'We Got a Little Bored One Night'". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  58. ^ Rico, Nicholas (January 4, 2025). "Writer and Director Jeff Baena, and Aubrey Plaza's Husband, Dies by Suicide at 47: Report". People. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  59. ^ Hunt, Brice (January 2025). "Jeffreey Baena". County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  60. ^ Quadri, Sami (January 5, 2025). "Cause of death revealed for Aubrey Plaza's husband Jeff Baena after tragic loss". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  61. ^ Minton, Matt (January 6, 2025). "Brady Corbet Wins Golden Globe for Directing and Says 'My Heart Is With Aubrey Plaza' and the Late Jeff Baena's Family After His Death". Variety. Archived from the original on January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  62. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 6, 2021). "Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Alessandro Nivola Top Ensemble Comedy Spin Me Round From Limelight & Duplass Brothers". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Baena&oldid=1271077856"