Jeff Baena

Jeff Baena (born June 29, 1977) is an American screenwriter and film director known for Life After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, and for co-writing I Heart Huckabees with David O. Russell.[1]

Jeff Baena
Baena, 2017
Born
(1977-06-29) June 29, 1977

Miami, Florida, U.S.
Occupation
  • Director
  • writer
Years active2004–present
Partner(s)Aubrey Plaza (2011–present)

Personal life

Baena was born in Miami, Florida. He grew up in South Florida, and later studied film at New York University. He lives and works in California.

He has been in a relationship with actress and comedian Aubrey Plaza since 2011. They live together and often work together.[2]

Career

After graduating, Baena moved to Los Angeles to start building his career. He became a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis, working on a number of films.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[4]

Baena's next 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.[5]

Filmography
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

References
  1. Kate Erbland, ‘Joshy’ Director Jeff Baena: Why Marketing Can Ruin a Movie, Indie Wire, 10 August 2016.
  2. Bahr, Lindsey (7 July 2016). "Aubrey Plaza, rising: A Hollywood dreamer with a biting wit". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  3. David Zax, How A Freak Eye Injury Became A Career Turning Point For The Director Of "Joshy", Fast Company, 3 February 2016.
  4. Dave McNary, Alison Brie’s Dark Comedy ‘The Little Hours’ Selling at Cannes, Variety, 26 April 2016.
  5. Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
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