It has been reported that Noah Baumbach is making a mysterious movie for Netflix, featuring a bumper cast to rival that of his wife Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking outing, Barbie.
Notably, the news comes hot on the heels of Baumbach being nominated for his third screenplay nomination for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ at last weekend’s 96th Academy Awards for his work on Barbie. However, he lost out to Cord Jefferson for his efforts in American Fiction, which he adapted from the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Despite being a critical and commercial success, Gerwig’s box-office smash was snubbed across many categories.
Plot details about Baumbach’s mysterious new film remain under wraps. Still, there are whispers that it is to be a coming-of-age flick about adults that toes the line between comedy and drama, something the director has past form for with titles such as The Squid and the Whale, The Meyerowitz Stories and Frances Ha.
Notably, Baumbach has also toed this emotional line as a screenwriter for others, with two of the most lauded comedy-dramas he has had a hand in bringing to life being Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox, both of which he co-wrote.
A new exclusive report in Variety revealed the expansive cast of Baumbach’s presently untitled Netflix film. It includes Jim Broadbent, Jamie Demetriou, Lars Eidinger, Grace Edwards, Patsy Ferran, Isla Fisher, Greta Gerwig, Thaddea Graham, Josh Hamilton, Eve Hewson, Stacy Keach, Nicôle Lecky, Emily Mortimer, Louis Partridge, Alba Rohrwacher, Charlie Rowe, Parker Sawyers, Alba Rohrwacher, Kyle Soller and Patrick Wilson.
This follows the previously announced names of George Clooney, Billy Crudup, Laura Dern, Riley Keough and Adam Sandler,
The news of this all-star cast for his next movie comes as part of the 2021 deal Baumbach signed with Netflix to exclusively write and direct films for them over several years. His relationship with them started with 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories and was followed up by the lauded Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson-featuring drama Marriage Story in 2019.
“When I started in the film industry I dreamed of having a home. It took me about 25 years, but it was worth the wait,” Baumbach said after the deal was signed. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be making movies with Ted and Scott and everyone at Netflix, who are wonderful collaborators and friends and family.”
Baumbach’s most recent movie for Netflix was the 2022 adaptation of Don Don DeLillo’s 1985 book, White Noise. In a three-star review of the film, Best of Netflix wrote: “It would seem that almost every week, a brand new, highly anticipated film hits the shelves of Netflix. This week, we waited with bated breath for White Noise, the Noah Baumbach-directed adaptation of Don DeLillo’s 1985 novel of the same name. Despite leaning on favoured actor Adam Driver, the movie fails to deliver on the promise of the source text.”
