Jeff Baena | |
|---|---|
 Baena at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival | |
| Born | June 29, 1977 Miami, Florida |
| Education | New York University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Spouse | |
Jeff Baena is an American screenwriter and film director known for Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017), Horse Girl (2020), Spin Me Round (2022), and for co-writing I Heart Huckabees (2004). [1] He is known for his frequent collaborations with actresses Alison Brie and his wife Aubrey Plaza.
After graduating NYU Film School, Baena moved to Los Angeles to start building his career. He became a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis, working on a number of films. [2]
After working with Zemeckis, Baena took a job as 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 from that, Russell began discussing story ideas with Baena. The two ended up collaborating on four scripts together. [2]
One of those four scripts was I Heart Huckabees , which Russell directed in 2004. At the same time, Baena began to focus his career on writing and wrote the zombie comedy Life After Beth , which would wind up being his debut feature as a director. [2]
Baena had planned for Joshy to be his directorial debut, but actor and collaborator Adam Pally had to pull out for personal reasons. Baena then decided to work on Life After Beth, which he had begun writing in 2003. [1]
The next film for Baena was The Little Hours , which was released in 2017. The film features actors Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon along with multiple cameos. [3]
Baena's film Horse Girl , which he wrote with Alison Brie, who stars in the film, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. [4]
He has been in a relationship with actress Aubrey Plaza since 2011. [5] In May 2021, Plaza revealed that she and Baena were married. [6]
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | I Heart Huckabees | No | Yes | No |
| 2014 | Life After Beth | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2016 | Joshy | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2017 | The Little Hours | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2020 | Horse Girl | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2022 | Spin Me Round | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Cinema Toast | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy Romancing the Stone (1984), the science-fiction comedy Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–1990), and the live-action/animated comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). He subsequently directed the satirical black comedy Death Becomes Her (1992) and then diversified into more dramatic fare, including Forrest Gump (1994), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director. The film also won the Best Picture. He has directed films across a wide variety of genres, for both adults and families.
I Heart Huckabees is a 2004 independent existential black comedy film directed and produced by David O. Russell, who cowrote the screenplay with Jeff Baena.
Used Cars is a 1980 American satirical black comedy film co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story follows Rudy Russo, a devious salesman, working for affable, but monumentally unsuccessful used-car dealer Luke Fuchs. Luke's principal rival, located directly across the street, is his more prosperous brother, Roy L. Fuchs, who is scheming to take over Luke's lot. The film also stars Deborah Harmon and Gerrit Graham, and the supporting cast includes Frank McRae, David L. Lander, Michael McKean, Joe Flaherty, Al Lewis, Dub Taylor, Harry Northup, Dick Miller, and Betty Thomas.
David Owen Russell is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. His early directing career includes the comedy films Spanking the Monkey (1994), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Three Kings (1999), and I Heart Huckabees (2004). He gained critical success with the biographical sports drama The Fighter (2010), the romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and the dark comedy crime film American Hustle (2013). The three films were commercially successful and acclaimed by critics, earning Russell three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, as well as a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Silver Linings Playbook and a Best Original Screenplay nomination for American Hustle. Russell received his seventh Golden Globe nomination for the semi-biographical comedy-drama Joy (2015).
William Todd Field is an American filmmaker and actor. He is known for directing In the Bedroom (2001), Little Children (2006), and Tár (2022), which were nominated for a combined fourteen Academy Awards. Field has personally received six Academy Award nominations for his films; two for Best Picture, two for Best Adapted Screenplay, one for Best Director, and one for Best Original Screenplay.
Safety Not Guaranteed is a 2012 American comedy film directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. The picture was screened at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. The film was inspired by a joke classified ad that ran in Backwoods Home Magazine in 1997.
Eric Caudieux is a French sound engineer and producer. An accomplished player of the keyboards and rhythm guitar, he is best known for his work with Joe Satriani, appearing on many of his albums and as a member of his backing group when he is on tour. As an engineer, editor, producer and composer he has worked with other artists including Guns N' Roses, Katy Perry, Dido, Brad Mehldau and Blake Mills. As a guitarist, he is left handed.
Aubrey Christina Plaza is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), played Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023), and featured as the Shadow King and Lenny Busker in the FX superhero series Legion (2017–2019). In 2022, she starred in the second season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus, for which she received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.
Alison Brie Schermerhorn is an American actress, writer, and producer. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series Mad Men (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition for her role as Annie Edison in the sitcom Community (2009–2015) and voicing Diane Nguyen in the animated comedy series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). For playing Ruth Wilder in the comedy-drama series GLOW (2017–2019), she received nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards.
The End of Love is a drama film written and directed by Mark Webber. It stars Michael Cera, Amanda Seyfried and Mark Webber. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States on March 1, 2013.
Life After Beth is a 2014 American zombie comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, and John C. Reilly. The film premiered in competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014, and was given a limited release on August 15, 2014. This was Garry Marshall's final film appearance, although he would continue to write and direct films and act in television until his death in 2016.
The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. The closing night film was Louis Black and Karen Bernstein's Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny.
Joshy is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeff Baena. It stars Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Nick Kroll, Brett Gelman, Jenny Slate and Lauren Graham. It was shown in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released on August 12, 2016, by Lionsgate Premiere.
The Little Hours is a 2017 American medieval black comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena. The film is loosely based on the first and second stories of day three of ten of The Decameron, a collection of novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio, a 14th-century Italian writer. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, and Molly Shannon.
Ingrid Goes West is a 2017 American black comedy drama film directed by Matt Spicer and written by Spicer and David Branson Smith. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, Billy Magnussen, Wyatt Russell, Pom Klementieff, and O'Shea Jackson Jr., and follows a young woman who moves to Los Angeles in an effort to befriend her Instagram idol.
Happiest Season is a 2020 American holiday romantic comedy-drama film directed by Clea DuVall, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mary Holland. Starring an ensemble cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Holland, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, the film follows a young woman who struggles to admit to her conservative parents that she is a lesbian while she and her girlfriend visit them during Christmas. DuVall has said the film is a semi-autobiographical take on her own experiences with her family.
Horse Girl is a 2020 American psychological drama film directed and produced by Jeff Baena, from a screenplay written by Baena and Alison Brie. It stars Brie, Debby Ryan, John Reynolds, Molly Shannon, John Ortiz, and Paul Reiser.
Spin Me Round is a 2022 American dark comedy film co-written by Jeff Baena and Alison Brie and directed by Baena. It premiered at the 2022 South by Southwest festival on March 12, 2022. It was released on August 19, 2022, by IFC Films in theaters and by AMC+ on video on demand.
Emily the Criminal is a 2022 American crime thriller film written and directed by John Patton Ford in his feature directorial debut. Starring Aubrey Plaza as the titular character, alongside Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Gina Gershon in supporting roles. The film follows Emily Benetto, a young woman saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a criminal record, who gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.
The following is a list of unproduced David O. Russell projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, film director David O. Russell has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
