Jeff Baena, the writer/director of films including “Spin Me Round” and “The Little Hours,” has died at age 47, IndieWire has confirmed.
The filmmaker behind “Life After Beth,” “Joshy,” and “Horse Girl” also co-wrote “I Heart Huckabees” with David O. Russell. Deadline reported the news of his death on Saturday, January 4. Baena’s representatives have not shared an official cause of death, though TMZ reported his body was found Friday at a Los Angeles home, and that law enforcement said he died by suicide.
Baena was married to actor and producer Aubrey Plaza, who starred in the zombie comedy “Life After Beth,” “The Little Hours,” and “Spin Me Round,” Baena’s final film. IndieWire reached out to Plaza’s representatives, who have no additional comment at this time.
Baena co-wrote “Horse Girl” and “Spin Me Round” with star Alison Brie, who also acted in “Joshy” and “The Little Hours.” After graduating from NYU, Baena cut his teeth in Los Angeles first as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis, working on “Cast Away” and “What Lies Beneath.” He went on to become an assistant editor for David O. Russell, their collaboration leading to co-writing 2004’s existentialist comedy “I Heart Huckabees,” starring Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, and Naomi Watts.
Baena’s 2014 directorial debut “Life After Beth,” starring Plaza, competed for the Grand Jury Prize at that year’s Sundance Film Festival before receiving a release from A24. His 2016 comedy “Joshy,” like “Life After Beth,” revolved around the death of a girlfriend, here starring “Silicon Valley” comedian Thomas Middleditch plus Alex Ross Perry, Nick Kroll, and Jenny Slate.
The 2017 medieval dark comedy “The Little Hours,” inspired by Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” was a cult hit and remains widely regarded as one of Plaza’s funniest performances, here playing a nun. Baena’s subsequent indie films earned steady acclaim, with Netflix acquiring and premiering 2020’s dark comedy “Horse Girl.”
His last film, 2022’s romantic comedy “Spin Me Round,” premiered at the SXSW Film & TV Festival before opening from IFC Films.
Baena is survived by Plaza and, according to Deadline, his mother Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena, brother Brad Baena, and step-siblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman.
