Let's talk about Noah Baumbach, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Greta Gerwig

OP = Jennifer Jason Leigh

I made it because I've worked with him and someone mentioned him in the oscar thread as a contender and I found it despicable and thought it might be gossip of interest.

Greta Gerwig wasn't even born when Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released.

[R2] Is Noah as awful as I imagine? He seems like a total narcissist control freak and Greta is a cloying cunt. Seems like common knowledge that Greta was fucking Noah right after Jennifer had their baby.

This is second hand, but I heard, probably about twenty years ago, that JJL is very nice and sensitive, but keeps picking men who are total jerks. Picking Baumbach fits the pattern (the guy she was dating at the time was an pompous dick, too).

[R5] Yeah, I definitely get the nice, sensitive vibe from her. Yuck, hope karma hits Baumbach hard.

That movie starring Ben Stiller as the nasty guy who moves to LA was supposedly autobiographical so..........

BTW Greta Gerwig seems like sort of a dim bulb in interviews.

[R7] I think that's just Greta trying to be endearing. There are a few interviews where she's serious and seems like a completely different person, like her manic pixie stoner girl schtick is a complete schtick

He gives his brother a lot of acting jobs

I hate him.

The horny acting-out kid brother from Squid and Whale is a prof at Columbia and is reputedly a nice guy and well-liked by his students

I don't think infidelity by consenting adults is a huge priority right now in Hollywood. Even if some of the people involved are dicks.

and cunts

What's Baumbach like to work with OP? Did you work with Greta too?

[R11] Owen Kline?

I can't stand Greta Gerwig as a person, but Lady Bird was pretty good.

[R16] Do you know her personally?

(R15)yes

not the actor Owen Kline, but the character of the Noah's younger brother, who is now a university prof

I liked Lady Bird. Baumbach's relationship with JLL ended ages ago, time to move on.

Owen and his sister are surprisingly homely.

well, certainly not gorgeous, but not grotesque. a stylist for that hair could likely do wonders.

Greta is so fucking annoying and contrived

I went to the NY Film Fest premiere of Margot at the Wedding. When the (tedious) movie ended the lights came on and I realized I was sitting right next to Jennifer, and Noah was on the other side of her. I figured that out when they stood up and everybody in the theater applauded them.

Then they did a Q and A and Noah came off like a real Jewish douche.

Which character in Squid and the Whale was based on Noah?

Was it the younger brother who smeared his jizz all over his middle school?

I know nothing of Baumbach yet the photo at R24 makes me want to beat him with a sledgehammer. A douche face if I ever saw one.

in S&W. Eisenberg was the older Noah, Kline was the younger brother with the jizz problem

I never knew “The Squid & The Whale” was autobiographical. Eisenberg comes off as a real tool. Then again he’s like that in real life so maybe he wasn’t really acting.

R23 I think her music is decent. I have a friend who works for a production company that told me the son Owen is making a big movie right now with the people that put out Ladybird. searched his name and found this thread

I liked SQUID AND THE WHALE, mostly due to the strong performances (at that point Eisenberg wasn't so annoying, and Laura Linney was wonderful).

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING had some strong scenes (the interview scene with Margot and her ex-husband was riveting), but Jack Black was such a bad piece of casting.

GREENBERG was tiresome, and Gerwig was very underwhelming, like JLL on quaaludes. The only other film of his I watched was the MEYERWITZ STORIES, which was mediocre.

I'm not a fan of JLL really - after suffering through her dreadful, lock-jaw performance as Dorothy Parker and her very mannered acting in GEORGIA, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, and her lamentable attempt to play Catherine Sloper in WASHINGTON SQUARE, I tended to avoid her films unless she was part of an ensemble.

Gerwig has talent as a writer and director based on LADY BIRD - certainly more so than as an actress.

I like MARGO AT THE WEDDING for Nicole Kidman at her icy best, even if none else managed to make their character make sense at all, but man, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE epitomised chatty-white-intelegensia-indie-by-the-numbers-hell for me. I tried rewatching it last year and still hated it.

I fucking hated Kicking & Screaming and haven't been able to warm to anything else he's done afterward, either. He's intolerable.

I love Jennifer Jason Leigh. I loved her Dorothy Parker. I loved Georgia. I loved Tra La La. And Pepper in Miami Blues and the licking jizz off her son's tube sock mom in Skipped Parts and pretty much every single thing she's ever done.

Gerwig...Lady Bird didn't show anything about teenage-girlhood or mother/daughter relationships that we haven't already seen before. And I find her onscreen persona grating.

I was surprised that Greta said things like I would not work with Woody Allen again, I would never dare to accuse a man who has not been convicted by a court (correct me if I'm wrong please). And she is the least suitable person to talk about morality considering that she has been with a man who is old enough to be his father. And all I know about Noah is that he was married to the discreet and wonderful Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was once the girlfriend of Jason Patric, the handsome actor from 'Lost Boys' and with whom she coincided in Rush.

[quote]I was surprised that Greta said things like I would not work with Woody Allen again, I would never dare to accuse a man who has not been convicted by a court (correct me if I'm wrong please). And she is the least suitable person to talk about morality considering that she has been with a man who is old enough to be his father.

Woody Allen's father would be 117.

re r11, what do you mean? the horny acting kid brother from Squid and the Whale is Kevin Kline's son. are you saying the character he played is now an academic?

Greta Gerwig is basically Lena Dunham but thinner. She can go fuck herself.

I loved Kicking and Screaming but I credit that to writer Nicole Holefcener. It doesn’t even feel like Baumbach movie to me. GG is a turd and deserves NB. She’ll get the same treatment as JJL one of these days.

Bravo, R36. Perfect definition.

I'm team JJL. I've always thought she was one of our most underrated actresses. I actually love her in Georgia. I've known girls like that in real life and she really captured them well. She was also a great Sally Bowles in Cabaret on stage.

I am not "anyone's team" but I only give my opinion about what I believe happens when people believe they have the right to make judgments towards others. Mrs. Gerwig would not like to be mentioned in the case of Jennifer Jason Leigh, it is probably the invention of the tabloids that she and Noah Baumbach began to leave when he was still with his then wife ... but there is doubt left. That yes, she says she will not work with Woody Allen again, without being sure that he has abused her daughter, and only believing a single part, when this man has not been condemned by a court of law. They realize? In the end in this industry all are very worthy, and very implacable with the mistakes of others. I do not defend neither Woody Allen, nor Jennifer Jason Leigh (although I appreciate her work) nor Greta Gerwig ... and what these people do not think is that life is so many twists that even Greta in a few years have to ask work to Woody Allen, or that she and Jennifer Jason Leigh have ended up working fair, would be a very dirty play of fate, but it could happen.

I don’t know anything about her ex or his new gf but i love JJl and she looks fantastic for 55.

Not sure about his taste in women but love his films. "Kicking and Screaming", "Margot...", "Squid...", I even like 'Mr. Jealousy" and, yes, bad as it is, "Highball". For those of us who only want to see movies about human beings that don't have superpowers, we need all the Baumbachs we can get.

I liked GG in 20th Century Women. I don't think she's a star, but she worked in a supporting part. Also liked Ladybird. Jennifer JL, despite the occasional misfires, is a far more interesting actresses. GG was kind of annoying in Frances Ha.

I remember liking The Squid and the Whale, but I remember almost nothing about it--so the definition of "forgettable."

I love JJL in Rush, a film that according to Jennifer herself was very hard to shoot because of her plot. In addition, its premiere was not as it was thought, it was successful, but it was overshadowed by the woman who left at that moment with her co star. Then, in 'white woman' she was very successful again, she did great.

JJL is great. Greta is a big time feckless cunt.

[quote]I loved Kicking and Screaming but I credit that to writer Nicole Holefcener.

She didn't write Kicking & Screaming. Walking & Talking, yes.

Sorry, R40: what are you trying to say?

It was the indie love triangle to end all love triangles!

They were the Brad, Jen, and Angie of independent cinema!

reply 47I'm just making a comment. I do not pretend to accuse or defend anyone, but Mrs. Gerwig, who declared not long ago saying that I would never work with Woody Allen is a worthy woman, and if we pay attention to the tabloids she also has her dirty clothes, and I'm sure that if I mention Jennifer Jason Leigh to her, as well as her 'new boyfriend' would not be amused, not even a bit. She and Mr. Baumbach claim that this relationship began when he had already divorced when his relationship with Greta Gerwig began.

Ladybird was like an after-school special with a very high caliber performance by Saoirse Ronan and some very boring appearances by Timothee Chalamet and Tracy Letts and a just-OK turn from Laurie Metcalf (she's been better elsewhere). Lois Smith did a nice job with her supportive nun bit, and her character makes a good point: for all her complaining, Ladybird loves Sacramento. I wasn't really rooting for her to get out of Sacramento or California; she just needed to get away from the penny-pinching, unappeasable mother. Ghost World (and God help us, even Juno) did a much better job in conveying what was at stake, character-wise. Most of Baumbach's movies have similar shortcomings: lots of whining, few pay-offs. He and GG deserve each other, though I will say that Frances Ha had some fun little set-pieces and GG somehow managed not to overkill with the twee.

Hoping to see a real Jennifer Jason Leigh renaissance culminating with a Geraldine Page-like sixtysomething Best Actress win.. Also , she made a decent directorial debut and it would be fun to see her play fillmmaker again.

What R50 said.

[quote]I liked GG in 20th Century Women.

I did like her in that, but everyone was good in that one, and Bening was marvelous.

I first saw Gerwig in Frances ha and I could not stand her in it. My god, the pretentiousness. (Also, Baumbach can't lick Leos Carax's feet.)

I'm only 26 years old, but I'm learning. Thanks to my love for Jason Patric I discovered the cinema of the 80s and 90s, for me unbeatable. I know this is not the place to talk about Jason's movies but I want to do a couple of reviews if you allow me, Rush loved it, Narc was great (2001), Lost Boys very special for me .. and if you live in the United States and you can do with her I advise Denial, directed by Erin Dignam with Robin Wright and Rae Dawn Chong.

Greta Gerwig is a small town phony who spent 15 years of her life trying to "become" an artist. A few years ago she was telling everyone who would listen that Woody Allen is her God and a religious figure for her.

Then she got asked the question after winning and didn't say anything, saying she hadn't had time to really think about it.

A media storm and a lot of criticism came her way right away and her team told her to come out and make the statement against Woody. It's so simple.

She's totally full of shit. Much like Kate Winslet.

R54 Yes, It's total bullshit. For the record I have no clue what happened in that family and neither do they. If working with him was truly against their principles they would not have done it. I actually respect Scarlett Johansson for being honest and not keeling to the screechy twitter mob. I think the next time one of these actors is questioned about the whole thing they should say "I have no clue what happened. Neither do you. I'll work with who I want ".

reply 55,I liked that comment that you have made and it seems to me a very great hypocrisy that now everyone is worthy, the worst thing is that the person who is not against Woody Allen now, as he dares to say that if he would work with him, they automatically a cross and they are capable of not hiring him anymore to work in that industry. Timothy Chalamet was forced to pronounce himself to such an extent that he wrote a letter saying that he would donate his money, according to him he asked for advice from none other than Greta Gerwig. I do not like Penelope Cruz, but I agree with her when she said in an interview that she supported the idea of ​​reopening the case against Woody Allen to be investigated, but it turns out that now Woody Allen's ex-wife does not want to, to be scared by the mess that has been organized, or are you afraid to be caught in a lie? I do not know, I ask, if I were in her place, I would be jumping on one leg knowing that they will open the case to prove that an abuser has raped my daughter. I do not know all this very strange.

R56 Yes, you make very good points

I've stayed away from baumbachs films. I know I'd find them very tiresome.

Greta Gerwig got rammed down America’s throat during awards season for the VERY overrated “Ladybird”. She was being asked to weigh in on everything, much like DL fave Lens Dunham, and was equally obnoxious.

Ladybirds Oscar heat deteriorated immediately after GG threw Allen under the bus and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. She was the strongest challenger to Get Out and more typical of Oscar favorites

I do not believe that, actors like Scarlett Johansson was criticized for defending Woody Allen and many people now say they will not spend money on their films, Jennifer Jennifer Leigh herself said she would not work with him either. For my part, I repeat it again, a court of justice should investigate this case against the will of Mrs. Mia Farrow, and if it is found that he is a rapist put him behind bars, but if it is discovered that he is innocent to catch this Mrs. and her daughter and give them a good lesson. The 'Me Too' movement is helping many victims but it is also giving the green light to false accusations, and this should not be allowed. Justice yes, a witch hunt does not.

Jennifer Jason Leigh won't work for Allen (as if he ever asked her) but she went and married the Xerox version? That turned out well.

And why was not he going to ask? She is a great actress, very credible, which today unfortunately that is something that shines by its absence, in actors who are very predictable and act as if they were in a movie instead of real human behavior (wow, without realizing it I have repeated the same words of Jason Patric but how real they are) the actors of now are so predictable that they are not credible.

He makes a film a year since 1972 or whatever and if he hasn't asked JJL: since she came onto the scene in 1983, he must not be a fan. I like her too but she's pretty much doing that "I quit" after being fired thing, turning down an offer that never came and probably never would.

(May I also add that I hate that grandstanding bullshit in general. If you don't want to work with someone, just say no and move on. But this jumping on the popular bandwagon and denouncing Allen now that it is fashionable is revolting. I still have trouble forgiving Timothee Chalamet for being so stupid and doing it -- with a movie in the can waiting to be released. What a dick.)

Let's suppose (and I know it's a lot to assume) Woody Allen's film opens and all the faces have to be seen on the red carpet, what face are they going to look at each other? Besides, it seems very suspicious to me that Allen's ex does not want the trial to be repeated, if you were a victim or your daughter, you would not want to lock up the culprit? And the auction, she says she does not want a circus and that's why she does not take him to trial, really? I am the only one who thinks that justice should ignore the wishes of this woman, investigate thoroughly, and that once we know what really happened? And the public also right to know, not in valde, the accusation itself has already been made public!

Wasn't Jennifer Jason Leigh Woody Allen's first choice for Hannah in "Hannah in Her Sisters"?

Oh dear typo..."Hannah and Her Sisters." NOT Hannah all up in her sisters!

good points, R66, but if the alleged victim refuses to testify, there's no case. I would imagine that Dylan is very much led by her mother; if Mia doesn't want a trial, Dylan won't cooperate with prosecutors. This way they keep the story alive and damaging at no risk to themselves.

That whole mumblecore, to-cool-to-live scene is anathema to me. Like, man...

Baumbach and Gerwig are total fucking scummy whores.

R69 Dylan's whole life seems to revolve around being a professional twitter victim. It must suck to be friends with her, she probably constantly mentions her supposed molestation. She is the millennial Lorna Luft.

JJL was late teens/early 20s in 1983 in "Fast Times..." "Hannah..." was 1986. How could she play Woody's ex-wife with a gaggle of kids?

"Jennifer Jason Leigh was considered for Hannah, but Woody Allen wanted a more experienced actress."

Someone of the nrw era that I like a lot is Brit Marling.

Hannah was written for Mia. Don't believe all that stuff about other actresses being considered. Maybe they were considered for the Barbara Hershey role but the other two sisters were written for Farrow and Diane Wiest. Back then Mia was always the lead in his films.

I once researched the whole Woody/Mia scandal for a job I had. I read all the books, watched all the interviews. My conclusion was he probably had a strangely obsessive attachment to Dylan and obviously the Soon Ye thing was a lousy thing to do to Mia BUT the rape story seems very questionable.

When it supposedly happened he was already being watched and says to 60 Minutes that he was in a hostile household where all the staff was told to be on guard for him. The story is he somehow got Dylan alone in the attic (and yes see the Dory Previn song) pulled her away from all the other people in the house and raped her within a few minutes? He was like 55 years old at the time. The blood doesn't flow that quickly to the penis at that age.

My ultimate conclusion studying both Mia and Woody was this was a case of when crazy met crazy and it clicked for a while but then the crazy took over and they fell apart.

I could see Jennifer Jason Leigh playing the bright student Juliette Lewis role in "Husbands and Wives" but nothing in "Hannah..." Hannah was not only a big actress who'd just done "A Doll's House" but also had come out of retirement.

r78, Jennifer Jason Leigh would've been fun in that role. She was probably by that point perceived as too gritty, having played so many prostitute roles, though she turned down "Pretty Woman" in favor of "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Miami Blues."

Or to morose, a word I used to hear associated with her a lot in the early days. A bit wan too. She, needless to say, turned that around along the way.

"too" morose, what the hell is wrong with my keyboard.

The Woody Allen trolls repeat themselves all the time. I was reading through this old thread and both old and new replies are nearly verbatim from the 1000 Woody-Mia threads we've had. The person who claims they did "research" on the case has been on DL for years saying the same thing.

It's psychotic. Why do people act like this?

the Squid & the Whale conceit of having the boy claim credit for writing a well known Pink Floyd song he performs is false. In a sophisticated small town full of baby boomers, that song would be instantly identifiable and his scam wouldn't have been believed for a second.

I felt the same way about the bizarre search for the elusive song in "Perks of Being a Wallflower" -- as if any boy whose favorite band (as presented) was the Smiths would not know Bowie and "Heroes" by the time he was age 10. It felt so out of touch that it ruined the whole movie for me.

R77, if you did all this research, you'd know no one has ever claimed Woody Allen raped Dylen. The accusation is that he fondled her inappropriately.

Not true r85. Dylan has changed her account of what happened

What? Where is this revised account, r86?

“Someone of the nrw era that I like a lot is Brit Marling.”

Like her though she has a tendency to be a bit too precious.

I have always liked JJL in everything I have seen her in over the years. She is underrated and I am glad for her career resurgence.

I will only say, and I keep in my news, if this man is guilty or not who should determine it is a court of justice, not the people of the street. I'm not saying it will not happen, but for me he is, and will always be innocent until proven otherwise. And if he is found guilty of what is being blamed, I hope that justice will be implacable with him, but I hope that justice will be just as implacable with this woman for all the suffering caused and that it will serve as an example for others who claim to falsely accuse of rape .. This is not a game, because of a revenge you can destroy a person's life for life. Let's not become villagers of the middle ages.

Um, what?

So, getting back to Greta Gerwig. I liked “Lady Bird”, but her schtick is thin.

[quote]The Woody Allen trolls repeat themselves all the time. I was reading through this old thread and both old and new replies are nearly verbatim from the 1000 Woody-Mia threads we've had. The person who claims they did "research" on the case has been on DL for years saying the same thing.

Right and he spells Soon-Yi, Soon Ye.

I won't be hiring him to investigate anything for me anytime soon.

I thought Lady Bird was was overrated. And, one of GG's earlier films Frances Ha is a rip off of a 70's movie called Girlfriends starring the fab and frizzied Melanie Mayron. As far as acting goes, Greta does the same ditsy shit in every fucking movie. The one time she played it straight was Jackie where she pretty much faded into the background.

[quote]And, one of GG's earlier films Frances Ha is a rip off of a 70's movie called Girlfriends starring the fab and frizzied Melanie Mayron.

I don't see the similarity at all. I don't know what you're talking about. Frances HA was as bad as its title.

[quote]I thought Lady Bird was was overrated. And, one of GG's earlier films Frances Ha is a rip off of a 70's movie called Girlfriends starring the fab and frizzied Melanie Mayron. As far as acting goes, Greta does the same ditsy shit in every fucking movie. The one time she played it straight was Jackie where she pretty much faded into the background.

Greta's acting comes across as a millennial Diane Keaton character. Nothing new there, move on.

I wonder how half these new 'actresses' even have careers.

What's worse is how she directed every actor in "Lady Bird' to act like her too and not just Ronan. It was too twee by half.

I thought Ladybird was a truthful and accurate portrayal of a contemporary family but where did the Latino son come from? Laurie Metcalf or Tracy Lett's previous relationships? is it ever explained?

Isn't it mentioned up front that he's adopted?

“Lady Bird” is indie darling (and one-time mumblecore muse) Greta ... live modestly (unemployed dad Tracy Letts and adopted brother Jordan ...

As opposed to "Peggy Sue Got Married" where WASP Kathleen Turner had a very dark ethnic looking Italian little sister (Sofia) sired by WASPs Barbara Harris and Don Murray. No explanation given except that she was the director's daughter (and not very good in this role either).

I fucking hated The Squid And The Whale.

ThE Squid and the Whale was good because it showed what some awful people are like.

Is Baumbach a hot fuck?

Little Women is going to suck

Greta's Little Women can't suck more than the June Alyson/Margaret O'Brien version. But I really thought the Ryder/Sarandon/Danes was the best.