Iconic novel filmable to Baumbach
It was early in the pandemic when Noah Baumbach found himself wondering what he was going to do next.
It had been a big year in 2019. He lost his father. He had a child with partner Greta Gerwig. And they both had big movies (his was “Marriage Story,” hers “Little Women”) that had put them on a monthslong awards circuit with an infant up until the Oscars.
When the world shut down, Baumbach picked up Don DeLillo’s 1985 classic “White Noise,” about a professor of Hitler studies at a Midwestern college, his blended family and the airborne toxic event that has everyone in a panic. In it, he found a voice that was inspiring and familiar and the themes a little uncanny in the context of the pandemic, and he decided to try his hand at an adaptation, which is now streaming on Netflix.
This interview with Baumbach has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: People throw around the word unfilmable a lot when it comes to “White Noise” … Did that mean anything to you?
A:
No, I guess if I had known maybe I would have been more daunted. It always seemed filmable to me. I guess what people mean is that it’s very literary, and extremely literary books seem like so much a book and something you can only do in literature. But this one had so many overtly cinematic elements.
Q: Greta makes Babette, who is a tricky character, relatable and empathetic and profound. How did you figure out who she was going to be outside of DeLillo’s gaze?
A:
I have the privilege of having Greta often sitting
across the table from me while I’m writing. I mused aloud, “Who do you think would be good as Babette?” And she immediately said, “Me, I should play her.” And Greta is always right, so I signed her up then and there. I think it gave me confidence in that Greta saw herself in the character. It allowed me to see that character in a clearer way. But in the book, you’re in Jack’s head, so she’s more of a projection.
Q: The kids also become real people in the film and provide some of the white noise, while also getting some of the best lines. A:
They were all so professional and also such kids at the same time, which is the best combination. I suggested to them that they were like a radio that was turned on at the beginning, and then it’s just on for the whole movie. Whether they’re on camera or not, they’re still talking.
Q: You used choreographer David Neumann not just for the dance at the end but also for the crowd scenes and breakfast scenes. Had you worked that way before?
A:
I kind of backed into it on “Marriage Story.” I had brought him into work on the theater stuff in that movie. In this movie, I brought him in from the beginning because I had a feeling that, knowing it’s going to end with a dance, everything is kind of threatening to go into a dance from the very beginning.
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