By Garry Maddox
Indie filmmaker Jeff Baena, husband of actor Aubrey Plaza, has died suddenly at the age of 47.
After breaking through by co-writing the quirky comedy I Heart Huckabees in 2004, Baena wrote and directed the films Life After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round as well as creating the anthology series Cinema Toast.
Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza at the premiere of The Little Hours In Los Angeles in 2017.Credit: AP
A graduate of New York University Film School, he was a production assistant for director Robert Zemeckis and then an assistant editor for David O. Russell, co-writing I Heart Huckabees with him.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Plaza, 40, and Baena celebrated 10 years together when they wed during the pandemic in 2020.
“We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show the following year.
A celebrant married the couple in their backyard.
Kate Micucci (left), Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza in The Little Hours, a black comedy written and directed by Jeff Baena.Credit: AP
The couple worked together on five films, starting with The End of Love.
In Baena’s first film as director, the zombie comedy Life After Beth, Plaza starred as a woman who suddenly reappears after dying from a venomous snake bite.
Plaza, who came to fame in Parks and Recreation, has also starred in Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Dirty Grandpa, The White Lotus and Megalopolis.
“My parents were divorced, so I’m sure the trauma of divorce helped inform my sense of humour,” Baena said in an interview in 2022. “Most comedy probably comes from drama.”
The New York Times reported that Baena’s death, at a residence in Los Angeles, was confirmed by a press representative with no cause being cited.
The Sundance Film Festival, where Baena had premiered many of his films, thanked him on X for “sharing his stories and contributing to the lasting memories we’ve built together”, adding: “Jeff, we’ll miss your wit, humor, and daring vision. Rest in peace, friend.”
Among the tributes on social media, comedian and podcaster Marc Maron posted: “Very sad about the tragic loss of a true artist and sweet guy.”
Deadline reported that Baena’s family was devastated and that the filmmaker took his life.
Plaza had been reportedly due to present at the Golden Globe awards on Monday, Australian time.
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