Revisiting Jeff Baena’s Film Career Before Dying At 47

Jeff Baena wrote and directed a series of indie TV shows and films before his untimely death in January 2025.

“[Directing is] all I want to do; it feels really free and fun,” Baena told Seensome in 2014, talking about the directorial debut. Life After Beth. “I’ve been a writer for 12 years now and it’s always been a means to an end, I never wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a director so this has always been my goal and it feels right.”

Life After Beth which has an asterisk Aubrey Plazawho started dating Baena four years earlier. The couple, who got married in 2020, later collaborated in films Three Little Hours again Spin Me Round.

“It’s amazing to work with your colleagues like this,” Plaza gushed to MovieFreak in 2017. “I have worked with Jeff since his first movie. I’ve seen him grow up, I’ve seen him grow up. It’s a really special momentum that we have. It’s challenging at times, but it’s also really rewarding to do something together.”

Baena echoed Plaza’s sentiments a few years later, telling Reel Talker in 2022 that he was “great.”

“I would have worked with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is,” Baena joked. “It’s an opportunity to do something creative [together] where we are both fulfilled – how rare is that?”

Baena died almost three years later in January 2025, aged 47. Keep scrolling to revisit his star-studded film:

‘The Heart of the Huckabees’

Baena co-wrote the 2004 film David O. Russellwho served as director. The film starred Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin again Isabelle Huppert.

‘Life After Beth’

Life After Beth it was Baena’s directorial debut, which he also wrote before its 2014 release. Outside the Plaza, there was a movie Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Anna Kendrick again Matthew Gray Gubler.

‘Joshy’

He wrote and directed Joshy in 2016, working with actors Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate, Brett Gelman, Lauren Graham again Alison Brieabove the Plaza.

“Jeff [came] in the set of Community in our sixth season and he asked me to play a small role in his film, Joshy,” Brie recalled working with Baena during an interview with Collider in 2022. “There was no script for that. All his films I have been involved with, before this one, have been completely improvised. So, he came to my clothes [room]. We set up a meeting, he met me. … I knew a lot of the actors in that film. Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate and Adam Pally were my friends. I just thought, “Yeah, that sounds fun to do.” It was one day. I’m in two scenes in that movie. I thought the story was cool. And of course, it just grew from there. “

Related: Aubrey Plaza’s husband Jeff Baena has died at the age of 47

UPDATE – January 4, 2024 at 7:01 pm EST: The medical examiner’s records have been updated to reveal that Baena died by suicide at her home in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, January 3. Original story: Aubrey Plaza’s husband, director Jeff Baena, has died at the age of 47, according to medical examiner’s records reviewed by Us Weekly. […]

‘The Small Hours’

The following year, Brie and Plaza reunited to play Nuns in 2017 Small Hours. Brie’s husband, Dave Francowho also stars in the flick, as well Kate Micucci, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke again Nick Offerman.

Brie told Collider in 2022 that Baena is on board Small Hours on the phone with him and Franco, both of whom were excited at the prospect of working on a fully developed film.

‘The Horse Girl’

Brie also led Baena’s Horse Girlwhich started in 2020. The film also featured Shannon, Goldenite, Stella Chestnut, John Ortiz again Debbie Ryan.

“Dave and I lived very close to Jeff and Aubrey. “Jeff and I started hiking together every now and then, as friends, and during these long hikes, we talked about different ideas,” Brie told Collider two years later. “Finally, I felt comfortable enough to talk to him about my idea Horse Girlwhich we co-wrote and produced together. It was a great experience.”

‘Cinema Toast’

Baena created and wrote the eclectic 2021 TV show starring the likes of Brie, Christina Ricci, Chloe Fineman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph again Jake Johnson.

“This project is going up my alley. I just loved the idea of ​​it,” Plaza told AwardsWatch in 2021. “It almost felt like new art to me, like, it’s more than just over-inventing a movie, it’s creating a new movie out of old stuff, and I’m not doing it. I don’t know, there’s just something film noir nerdish about it. For me, it spoke to the logic of my film school. “

‘Spin Me Round’

Baena cowrote in 2022 Spin Me Round and Brie, who also starred in the romantic comedy alongside the Plaza. Also included are other players Jake Picking, Lil Rel Howery, Ego Nwodim, Alessandro Nivola again Zach Woods.

“It’s a perverse benefit to have someone you work with on every level and be on the other side of the camera,” Baena told The AV Club in August 2022 about working with the film’s leading lady, Brie. “Because in addition to understanding, obviously, where the script is coming from and what the intent is, they can also set the tone in terms of acting.”