The obituary for Jeff Baena, beloved accomplice of Aubrey Plaza, has been printed, celebrating his life and legacy.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office decided that Jeff’s dying was a suicide, and the movie director handed away on January 3 on the age of 47. Aubrey, the spouse who spoke out final week in regards to the terrible information, began courting Jeff in 2011 and so they had been married in 2021.
Jeff was described as a “beloved son, husband, brother, uncle, and good friend to many” and a “gifted filmmaker” in his obituary.
“Jeff left us too quickly however regardless of his woefully too-short life, he left us with treasured reminiscences of a gifted filmmaker, in addition to a really particular individual on so many alternative ranges,” stated the obituary printed in The Miami Herald.
“Jeff was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He attended Killian High School in Kendall, Florida.
“He graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 1999. Upon commencement, Jeff relocated to Los Angeles to pursue writing and directing motion pictures. He started as a manufacturing assistant for Robert Zemeckis. He then grew to become an assistant editor for writer-director David O. Russell, with whom he collaborated on I Heart Huckabees, and uncredited revisions to Meet the Fockers.
“Beginning in 2004, Jeff routinely obtained credit score for writing and directing the movies with which he was related; nevertheless, every now and then, he collaborated with others.
“Jeff fell in love with movie at 11 years outdated watching A Clockwork Orange and Felini’s 8 1/2, components of which influenced his personal motion pictures many years later. His physique of labor is testimony to his eager mind. Each of his movies displays a fastidiously crafted stability of the logical and the implausible.
“His juxtaposition of mind and creativity challenged us. He embraced impartial movie making due to his unalterable distaste for institutional guardrails on creativity. Those who labored with him reward his imaginative and prescient, style, technical competence, and skill to coalesce actors into an ensemble that performs in excellent concord. A household environment at all times ensued. He beloved nature and highlighted it cinema-graphically in his movies at any time when and wherever doable.
“Jeff’s physique of labor contains: I Heart Huckabees which was nominated for the 2004 Gotham Award for Best Feature; Life After Beth which premiered on the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the place it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize; Joshy which premiered on the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was additionally nominated for the Grand Jury Prize; The Little Hours which was nominated for the Audience Award on the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival; Horse Girl which premiered on the 2020 Sundance Film Festival; and, Spin Me Round which premiered on the 2022 South by Southwest Film Festival. Jeff’s spouse, Aubrey Plaza, starred in most of his motion pictures.
“On tv, Jeff created, wrote, directed and govt produced the Showtime collection, Cinema Toast, to fill the void left by the suspension of moviemaking through the COVID lockdown. As a lot as anything, Jeff beloved the corporate of his pals, some from way back to elementary college, and he most frequently was the organizer of sport nights, poker nights, pool events, basketball video games and get-togethers.
“Jeff was a real relationship builder with a present for bringing individuals collectively on and off the film set. His magic sauce was guaranteeing everybody was having enjoyable and nobody ever left his get-togethers as a stranger. When he was a boy, Jeff beloved studying The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Ironically, in it, the Little Prince exclaims, “I have never a lot time. I’ve pals to search out and so many issues to be taught.” And so it was for Jeff.
“Jeff is survived by his spouse, Aubrey Plaza; dad and mom, Barbara Stern (Roger) and Scott Baena (Michele); brother, Brad (Ivette); step-sister Bianca Gabay (Maurice); step-brother Jed Fluxman(Nicole); nephews Jake Baena and Leo Fluxman; nieces Brielle Baena, Ava and Olivia Gabay. Jeff joins his beloved Stevie. We shall at all times love and deeply miss Jeff. His presence, in addition to his work, made the world really feel higher. He had heaps extra to supply. Alas, all that’s gone. Sweet goals, our Little Prince.”
Last week, Aubrey shared a brief assertion by way of a consultant, as she stated: “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everybody who has provided help. Please respect our privateness throughout this time.”
