Noah Baumbach (born September 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Squid and the Whale (2005), with Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, and Anna Paquin; and Marriage Story (2019), with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, and Merritt Wever; both of which he also directed.
He has written and directed a number of other films including Kicking and Screaming (1995), with Josh Hamilton, Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott, Eric Stoltz, Olivia d’Abo and Parker Posey; Mr. Jealousy (1997), with Stoltz, Annabella Sciorra, and Bridget Fonda; Margot at the Wedding (2007), with Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, and John Turturro; Greenberg (2010) with Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Brie Larson and Leigh; Frances Ha (2012), with Gerwig (who also co-wrote); While We’re Young (2014), with Stiller, Naomi Watts, Driver, and Amanda Seyfried; Mistress America (2015), with Gerwig (who also co-wrote) and Lola Kirke; and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), with Adam Sandler, Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson; and White Noise (2022), with Driver, Gerwig, and Don Cheadle.
With Wes Anderson he co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), with Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, Seu Jorge, and Bud Cort; and the stop motion animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), with the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Murray, Dafoe, Gambon, and Wilson. Both films were directed by Anderson. He also co-directed the documentary De Palma (2015), with filmmaker Brian De Palma discussing his long and varied career, featuring footage from his films.
Baumbach has noted that Woody Allen has been “an obvious influence”, stating, “He was the single biggest pop culture influence on me,” citing the films Manhattan, Zelig, and Broadway Danny Rose as influences on his work. He has also cited Ernst Lubitsch, Max Ophuls, Jean Renoir, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Spike Lee, Whit Stillman, Steven Spielberg, as well as the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s, and the films of the French New Wave as influences.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Kicking and Screaming (1995) -director, writer
- Mr. Jealousy (1997) – director, writer
- Highball (1997) – director (credited as Ernie Fusco), co-writer (credited as Jesse Carter) – disowned
- Conrad & Butler Take a Vacation (2000) – director, co-writer
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – directed by Wes Anderson – co-writer
- The Squid and the Whale (2005) – director, writer
- Margot at the Wedding (2007) – director, writer
- Alexander the Last (2009) – directed by Joe Swanberg – producer
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)* – directed by Wes Anderson – co-writer
- Greenberg (2010) – director, writer
- Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) – directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, & Conrad Vernon – co-writer
- Frances Ha (2013) – director, co-writer
- She’s Funny That Way (2014) – directed by Peter Bogdanovich – executive producer
- While We’re Young (2014) – director, writer
- Mistress America (2015) – director, co-writer
- De Palma (2015) – co-directed with Jake Paltrow – documentary
- The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017) – director, writer
- Marriage Story (2019) – director, writer
- White Noise (2022) – director, writer
- Barbie (2023)* – directed by Greta Gerwig – co-writer
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