The Squid and the Whale and The Meyerowitz Stories are two comedy-drama movies that were written, directed, and produced by American Noah Baumbach. He received a BA in English from Vassar College, and in 1995, he made his writing and directing debut with the movie “Kicking and Screaming.” He received praise from reviewers for the movie he wrote and directed for the first time, which had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. He was also chosen by Newsweek as one of the “Ten New Faces of 1996.” Later, he wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Squid and the Whale,” which helped him become well-known. He won numerous accolades for the movie, including best dramatic direction and scripting at the Sundance Film Festival, in addition to it becoming a worldwide smash hit. He received multiple nominations as a result of it, including one for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Other notable works by Noah include “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which he co-wrote with Wes Anderson, and “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” which he co-wrote with Eric Darnell. He also contributed as a writer, director, and producer to the films “Mr. Jealousy,” “Frances Ha,” “While We’re Young,” “Mistress America,” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
Early Childhood & Life
His parents are Jonathan Baumbach and Georgia Brown. He was born on September 3, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York City, USA. His siblings are number three. His mother, a Protestant, is a critic for the American news and culture weekly “Village Voice,” and his father, a Jew, is an American novelist, professor, and cinema critic.
Baumbach graduated in 1987 from Brooklyn’s Midwood High School. He continued his education at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he graduated in 1991 with a BA in English. After finishing his education, he worked as a messenger for a short time at The New Yorker magazine.
Noah Baumbach’s Career
Kicking and Screaming, a 1995 comedy picture, served as the foundation for Baumbach’s career as a writer and director. The movie had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival before appearing on numerous “Top Ten” lists. In it, Baumbach also played the part of Danny.
On the Sundance Film Channel, the movie “Kicking and Screaming” aired frequently. It earned Baumbach, a debut writer, and filmmaker, well-deserved praise from the reviewers. He was also chosen by Newsweek as one of the “Ten New Faces of 1996.”
The romantic comedy “Mr. Jealousy,” which he also wrote and directed, had its world premiere on September 11, 1997, at the Toronto International Film Festival, and went on to be released in theaters on June 5, 1998. In addition to acting in the movie and producing it, he played Arliss.
He also co-wrote, directed, and starred in the 1997 comedy of manners movie Highball. The director and writer were identified as Ernie Fusco and Jesse Carter, respectively after he repudiated the movie.
He continued to write and direct 2000 short “Conrad & Butler Take a Vacation” after that.
He later collaborated with American filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor Wes Anderson to co-write the 2004 comedy-drama movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” One of Baumbach’s most notable films to date came from the pair’s subsequent cooperation.
The Squid and the Whale was a semi-autobiographical American independent art-house comedy-drama movie that was inspired by Baumbach’s Brooklyn background, his parent’s divorce, and how it affected his family. Wes Anderson served as the movie’s producer, and Noah Baumbach served as the movie’s writer and director.
The Squid and the Whale had its Sundance Film Festival premiere on January 23, 2005, and was subsequently released on October 5, 2005, in the US. The movie was a major success both critically and financially, earning $11.2 million at the box office against a $1.5 million budget, propelling Baumbach to new heights in his career.
Baumbach went on to receive numerous accolades for “The Squid and the Whale,” including best dramatic direction and screenwriting at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Screenplay nominations from the National Board of Review, Toronto Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and New York Film Critics Circle. Additionally, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In addition, the movie received nominations for six Independent Spirit Awards and three Golden Globes.
The family drama “Margot at the Wedding,” written and directed by Baumbach, featured Nicole Kidman, Jack Black, and John Turturro in the lead roles in addition to his then-wife, the actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. The movie had its world premiere on August 31, 2007, at the 34th Telluride Film Festival. It was also shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
He and Wes Anderson co-wrote the script for the 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy movie “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which was adapted from a Roald Dahl children’s book of the same name. It was Anderson’s first animated movie and his first cinematic adaption, and it starred George Clooney and Meryl Streep, among others. The movie achieved both critical and financial success.
He contributed in various ways to a number of films during the coming years. These included working with Eric Darnell to co-write the blockbuster hit American 3D computer-animated comedy “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (2012) as well as producing the American drama “Alexander the Last” (2009), writing and directing the American comedy-drama “Greenberg” (2010), which was nominated for a Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.
The critically acclaimed and financially successful American black-and-white comedy-drama “Frances Ha,” which he co-wrote with American actress/writer/director Greta Gerwig and also appeared in, was his next major picture as a director/producer.
The movie had its world premiere on September 1, 2012, at the Telluride Film Festival. It was then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. On May 17, 2013, it was released in theaters in the US.
The American comedy “While We’re Young,” starring Naomi Watts, Ben Stiller, Amanda Seyfried, and Adam Driver, was his second project as writer, director, and producer. The movie premiered on September 6, 2014, at the Toronto International Film Festival, and opened in theaters on March 27, 2015, in the United States. It received acclaim from critics and became Baumbach’s most lucrative movie to date at the US box office.
The American comedy-drama “The Meyerowitz Stories,” starring Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Ben Stiller, and Elizabeth Marvel, was one of Baumbach’s most renowned works as a writer, director, and producer.
On May 21, 2017, the movie had its global debut at the Cannes Film Festival. It won the Palm Dog that year after being selected to participate in the Palme d’Or in the main competition segment. On October 13, 2017, it was released in a few theaters and began streaming on Netflix.
Other significant works by Baumbach include co-directing the American documentary film “De Palma” (2015) with Jake Paltrow and the American comedy “Mistress America” (2015), which he also produced, wrote, and directed.
He wrote and directed an untitled comedy movie, which sources claim will be released by Netflix on November 30, 2018. Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, and Adam Driver are among the actors who appear in the movie.
Noah’s Personal Life
On September 2, 2005, Baumbach wed Jennifer Jason Leigh, an actress he had first met in 2001. On March 17, 2010, their son Rohmer Emmanuel was born. However, after Jennifer filed for divorce on November 15, 2010, citing irreconcilable differences, the marriage ended in divorce in September 2013. He has reportedly been seeing Greta Gerwig since late 2011.
Estimated Net Worth
The American director Noah Baumbach has a $16 million fortune. In September 1969, Noah Baumbach was born in New York City, New York. In the film Kicking and Screaming, which he also created and starred in, he made his feature film directorial debut.