Jeff Baena, Acclaimed Indie Filmmaker and Aubrey Plaza’s Husband, Dies at 47

Screenwriter and director Jeff Baena, identified for the indie movies Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), The Little Hours (2017), Horse Woman (2020), and Spin Me Spherical (2022), has died. Deadline studies Baena, who has been married to actor and producer Aubrey Plaza since 2021, has died at age 47. Per TMZ, regulation enforcement officers instructed the information outlet that the filmmaker died by suicide.

Sources from regulation enforcement said that an assistant discovered Baena’s physique at a Los Angeles-area residence at roughly 10:30 a.m. native time on Jan. 3 and he was pronounced useless on the scene. Individuals studies that representatives for the filmmaker, who additionally co-wrote I Coronary heart Huckabees (2004) with David O. Russell, didn’t reply instantly to the outlet’s request for remark.

Baena, after graduating from New York College Movie Faculty, moved to Los Angeles to start his profession, per Deadline. He labored as a manufacturing assistant for Robert Zemeckis on various the director’s movies earlier than transferring on to a job as an assistant editor for writer-director Russell. Baena’s I Coronary heart Huckabees, which starred Jude Legislation, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, and Mark Wahlberg, was nominated for a Gotham Award for Greatest Function in 2004.

The Filmmaker Was Nominated for A number of Awards Throughout His Profession

Ten years after I Coronary heart Huckabees, Baena wrote and directed Life After Beth, which starred Plaza, Dane DeHaan, and John C. Reilly. It was the story of a younger man whose girlfriend lately died and mysteriously returns from the useless. The movie was launched by A24 after its preliminary premiere on the 2014 Sundance Movie Pageant, the place it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

Subsequent on the slate for Baena was the 2016 movie Joshy, which he additionally wrote and directed. Plaza once more appeared within the movie together with Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Nick Kroll, Lauren Graham, Jake Johnson, and Alison Brie. Joshy was additionally nominated for the Grand Jury Prize on the Sundance Movie Pageant that very same yr and was launched by Lionsgate. In 2017, Baena wrote and directed The Little Hours, starring Brie, Plaza, Reilly, Pally, Paul Reiser, Nick Offerman, Dave Franco, Molly Shannon, and Fred Armisen. The film was nominated for the Viewers Award that very same yr on the Edinburgh Worldwide Movie Pageant.

Baena Additionally Labored in Tv

In 2020, Netflix launched Beanea’s Horse Woman, after it premiered on the 2020 Sundance Movie Pageant. His 2022 movie, Spin Me Spherical, was launched by IFC Movies after it premiered on the 2022 South By Southwest Movie Pageant. Baena additionally labored in tv on the 2021 Showtime sequence Cinema Toast, which he wrote, directed, and government produced.

Baena is survived by his spouse, Aubrey Plaza, his mom Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, his father Scott Baena and stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, stepsister Bianca Gabay and stepbrother Jed Fluxman. The household is asking for privateness throughout this tough time.

Supply: Deadline, TMZ

For those who or somebody you recognize is considering suicide, emotional assist is obtainable 24/7 by way of the 988 Suicide & Disaster Lifeline, accessible by texting or calling 988. A chat choice can be accessible on the official web site.