Jeff Baenahas marked out a truly anomalistic path through the film industry. Beginning as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis, he eventually became an assistant editor forthe great David O. Russell. When Baena had a freak accident that resulted in serious damage to his cornea, he found himself on the floor of Russell’s house, healing from the injury, brainstorming ideas with the director into what would eventually become the script forthe brilliantI Heart Huckabees.
A decade later, he began a fascinating and fun run of iconoclastic films, writing and directingLife After Beth, Joshy, The Little Hours, andHorse Girl, amassing a veritable acting troupe of great comedic improvisers along the way. From film to film, Baena would imagine distinct, artistic scenarios and work with his actors (including wife Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, and more) to improvise film after film.
That was supposed to be the plan with his new filmSpin Me Round, but Covid-19 put a halt to that like everything else around the world. Instead, he spent a year on and off Zoom with Brie concocting a weird, subversive, funny film, and spoke with MovieWeb about the production, his themes, and his frequent collaborations.
Jeff Baena on His Process as a Director
Baena makes funny films with funny people, but they’refrequently offbeat comedies, a little uncomfortable, very loose, and not like much else in comedy right now (perhaps Riley Stearns is doing something a little similar, but his films feel like Baena’s on a handful of Xanax). They’re all very different movies (one about 14th-century nuns, one about the zombie resurrection of a dead girlfriend, one a brutally sad film about schizophrenia), because Baena is essentially genre-averse; he can find or create humor in anything (with the help of brilliant actors).
For Baena (and Brie, his writing partner onHorse GirlandSpin Me Round), the genre or the story are less important than the characters themselves. “Generally, when I come up with a movie, there’s always like one scene that I envision, plus a strong character, and then the movie is all about kind of getting to and going from that scene to some extent,” said Baena. “I would say that characters are super important to me. The story itself should be subordinate to the characters since it’s the choices they’re making. I think sometimes you may sort of force characters into situations, but that’s not as interesting to me as the consequences of characters making decisions.”
Related:Exclusive: Alison Brie Discusses Writing Her Own Movie Spin Me Round
There was actually a partially real impetus forSpin Me Round, however. “This one started off as a general idea. I read an article about a certain franchise restaurant that has a program in Italy, where you learned about food and culture, and how it was sort of a disaster and not well organized. I sort of extrapolated that and went to a more extreme place than anything that actually really happens.”
Alison Brie Headlines Spin Me Round
That extreme place is the heightened absurdity of Baena’s Tuscany, Italy. InSpin Me Round, several employees of the chain restaurant Tuscan Grove are invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to the country to be taught new cooking techniques and be celebrated as hard workers. The employees (the always wonderful Brie, accompanied by the hilarious Zach Woods, Molly Shannon, Tim Heidecker, Debby Ryan, and Ayden Meyari) expecta lavish vacation, but instead, convene at a cheap motel where they’re led by a creepy guide (Ben Sinclair) and a grumpy chef (Lauren Weedman).
While there, the CEO of the Company (Allesandro Nivola) and his assistant (an absolutely perfect Aubrey Plaza) set their sights on Brie’s character, Amber. The result is a funny, tonally weird, clever subversion of thetypical clichéd romancestories geared toward women (with the film’s poster literally replicating a paperback romance novel). Baena (with Brie’s help) has a wonderful way of exploring the psyches of women in his films.
“I grew up with a lot of strong women in my life, said Baena. “I’ve been drawn to a lot of interesting female characters.Nights of Cabiriais probably one of my all-time favorite movies, and3 Women. You watch these movies, and they’re just such strong, interesting characters, but also flawed and real […] Pedro Almodóvar is one of my favorite directors, and hisWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdownis one of my favorite movies, so I’m definitely drawn to a female perspective.” At the same time, though, being a character-based director means seeing the human condition in everyone, and Baena doesn’t play identity politics. He elaborated:
I can tell you, I don’t see people in terms of gender. I just sort of see people in terms of their personalities. So, even when I cast movies, I don’t audition people. I just get a lunch with them or go on a walk with them, and just get a sense of who they are. I’m just drawn to interesting people, and I guess I’m gender-blind when it comes to that kind of stuff […] It’s not like you have to do a lot of math in your head to create a female character; over half of the people in the world are women. I think me happening to be a man, I don’t know if that is a disability in terms of portraying women, but I just like to think that it’s equal footing. It’s just people.
The Improvised Movies of Jeff Baena
Like many artists, Baena trusts his unconscious and his instinctual aesthetic abilities, preferring not to think too much about things like ‘exploring the female psyche’ or any other themes. “It’s not something that you consciously approach,” said Baena. “It’s something that I think is obviously unconscious.” Instead of his films feeling completely aimless as a result, however, it’s Baena’s wonderful working relationship with actors and his talent as a kind of actor’s director that allows this all to work.
Related:Spin Me Round Review: Alison Brie and a Wonderfully Funny Cast Get Weird in Italy
“Most of mymovies have been improvised,” said Baena. “I think for some people that’s daunting and grueling, and for some people, it’s so much fun. I think in order to create and collaborate on that level, you bond with people. And so the people I’ve worked with, I feel completely connected to, I’ve fallen in love with their performances and their brains.” With a dedicatedensemble cast of actorshe loves to work with (and vice versa), Baena often has the advantage of outlining a film based on the people he knows will already play the part. Baena explained:
I’m definitely accruing more and more people, so my cast is getting bigger and bigger. There’s a limit to that, ultimately, but all actors are great. There’s a reason why they’re all professionals and know what they’re doing, but at the same time, it’s like I do feel especially connected to certain people and their performances. It’s the same thing with food for me. If I find something I really like, I just go to restaurants and stick with the same thing.
Aubrey Plaza Stuns in Spin Me Round
“Ultimately, it is a trust issue. I think when you find someone you really adore, it’s hard to let go of them.” Of course, the actor that immediately comes to mind when Baena says thisis Aubrey Plaza, who starred in his first film as a director (Life After Beth) before appearing in almost all of his films and eventually marrying him. She is a kind of muse for Baena, a fluid actor who feels like a different person in each film but still retains a kind of mischievous, unbridled energy.
“She’s more of a method actor than some people that are more technical actors that I work with,” said Baena. “It was shocking at first to work with someone with those considerations, but now it’s like an absolute boon. I think the intensity and commitment she brings to every character is astounding, and I’m in awe of her performances. They’re all so real and deep and rich. So knowing that that is the case and being able to sort of tap into that [with each film], to me, it’s invaluable.”
Plaza gives one of her best performances here, an utterly cool gust of wind who blows into people’s lives and shakes up the place. It’s a performance that, likeSpin Me Rounditself, has to be seen to be believed. From IFC Films and AMC+,Spin Me Roundis a Duplass Brothers Production and Limelight Production and will be in theaters, On Demand, and streaming on AMC+ on August 19th. The film is produced by Jeff Baena, Alison Brie, Mel Eslyn, Chris Parker, and Dylan Sellers.
