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Filmmaker Jeff Baena , best known for Life After Beth (2014), Joshy (2016), and The Little Hours (2017), died at the age of 47. His body was found on Friday at a Los Angeles residence, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. The cause of death was not immediately available.
(Also Read | When Aubrey Plaza said isolating with husband Jeff Baena in pandemic ‘could have gone either way’ ) Who was Jeff Baena? He was the husband of Aubrey Plaza , who starred in his films The Little Hours, a 2017 black comedy set in a 14th-century convent, and Life After Beth. Jeff was born and raised in Miami. He later attended film school at New York University and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating to begin his career in entertainment.
The son of an attorney and teacher, Jeff told podcaster, Marc Maron, in a 2017 interview that his interest in cinema was sparked after watching Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 as a child. “I was always drawn to left-of-centre things,” he told Jim Alexander two years ago in an interview for the Reel Talker YouTube channel. About Jeff and Aubrey In the same interview, he said that it was “amazing” to work with Aubrey, who appeared in four of his five films.
“The opportunities to create together, to do something creative where we're both fulfilled, it's like how rare is that? She's down and she's so talented, so I'm really lucky," he had said. He had been dating Audrey for three years before she starred in his 2014 directorial debut, the zombie comedy Life After Beth. The couple married in 2021.
About Jeff's films Apart from the ones mentioned, Jeff's other directing credits include 2022's Spin Me Round, a dark comedy that stars Allison Brie, who co-wrote the script. Allison and Jeff also collaborated on Horse Girl, a 2020 psychological drama. He also helmed Joshy, a dramedy with Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, and Nick Kroll.
Joshy featured Thomas as a man who gets together with friends months after his fiancee commits suicide. He also co-wrote I Heart Huckabees, a 2004 David O Russell film that examined existentialism with humour. His films were showcased at prominent festivals such as Sundance and South by Southwest and were released by distributors such as Netflix, IFC, and Lionsgate.
About Jeff's family He is survived by Audrey, as well as his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather, Roger Stern; father, Scott Baena; and stepmother, Michele Baena. He also has stepsiblings, Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman. The circumstances of his death remained unclear on Saturday, and the office said it was investigating and a full report would not be available until the case is closed.
with AP inputs.
