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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.
Jan. 15 birthdays: Actor Margaret O’Brien is 86. Actor Andrea Martin is
76. Director Mario Van Peebles is 66. Guitarist Adam Jones is 58. Actor Chad Lowe is 55. Actor Regina King is 52. Actor Dorian Missick is 47. Rapper Pitbull is 42. Actor Jessy Schram is 37. DJ Skrillex is 35. Actor Dove Cameron is 27.
Dear Amy: I do not feel welcome in my own house.
Every week my wife asks me for my schedule (I am retired) for the coming week to make sure that I am out of the house for the better portion of several days.
Fortunately, I have elderly and disabled family members to care for, volunteer work and friends so I can usually find a reason to be gone, but some days I just leave the house to make her happy.
For those days or parts of days when I am home, my wife wants me to agree to the specific time I will be leaving and returning.
My wife does not work, have family nearby or volunteer.
In her defense, she does not drink, take drugs or spend money excessively, and I am quite sure my being gone is not so she can arrange a tryst with another man (although we have not been physically intimate for over 12 years).
Perhaps 50 times I have suggested that we should see a marriage therapist for this and other reasons, but she refuses.
My impression is that this is my wife needing to exercise control, but perhaps this is normal in marriage, and I am too sensitive.
How do I get her to join me in marriage counseling when she refuses to go?
I do not want to live the rest of my life like this.
— Controlled Husband
Dear Controlled: I agree with you that this is an extreme example of control.
It’s your house, too. You have the right to spend time there whenever you want.
Retirement can be a very tough transition for couples, especially if one partner has spent their career taking care of house and home while the other leaves for work.
When that balance changes, it can throw both of you off.
You don’t report asking your wife why, exactly, she wants you out of the house so much. She might respond that she is used to her privacy during the day, and she wants to bleach her mustache or dance to oldies in her bathrobe without you being there.
Or she might say that when you’re home you make little nests in every room and that she feels like she is always picking up after you.
I think it’s a good thing for couples to sit down and more or less map out their schedules for the week.
But you should not leave the house most days just to make your wife happy.
Your wife cannot make you leave your own home if you don’t want to, and you cannot make her join you in marriage counseling if she refuses to go.
You should seek therapy on your own. Think of it this way — it will be another hour or so every week where you will be elsewhere.
Dear Amy: I have to admit that I actually enjoyed one aspect of the global pandemic: staying put over the holidays.
Now that travel and activities seem to be returning to pre-pandemic states, I’m wondering how to retain this one thing I enjoyed.
— Homebody
Dear Homebody: Now that we have all had the somewhat unusual experience of staying home for two
(or more) years’ worth of holidays, those that have enjoyed this experience should do their best to maintain it. Stay put!
Maybe we all need to do less for ourselves and our own families. Those of us who are privileged with abundance and want to stay put — it would be great to donate our own holiday travel to others who want (and need) it.
Dear Amy: I loved your answer to the quibbling about Santa Claus and qualms over telling children a fairy tale (“No Gaslight”).
I am an old man now, and one of my fondest memories is from the Christmas Eve when I was 5. We had just moved into a new house, and my mom was visiting her sick mother. There were boxes and confusion everywhere.
My dad had set up only one bed, and when he put me into it, he said, “I want you to listen for Santa’s footsteps on the roof.”
I fell asleep listening. Seventy-five years later, I can remember that so distinctly, as though it were yesterday. It is one of my fondest memories of my dad. I don’t resent the fiction one bit.
— Santa Fan
Dear Fan: This is so sweet. I’m glad your father granted you this wonderful memory.
Copyright 2023 by Amy Dickinson
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