Jeff Baena, 1977 – 2025

Director and screenwriter Jeff Baena, 47, committed suicide in his L.A. home on Jan. 3. He had his first hit with I Heart Huckabees (2004), and went on to write and direct Joshy, Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl, and Spin Me Around, frequently collaborating with actress Allison Brie and his wife, Aubrey Plaza. “I don’t try to make actors play crazy characters,” Baena said. “I like where there’s a certain element of who they are and truth to their performances. The closer you are to them, the more you know what they’re capable of and really who they are.”