As a filmmaker highly reputed for his work and described as witty and insightful, Noah Baumbach has carved out a unique space for himself in today’s film industry. Following his very personal Marriage Story, the director is set to return this year with another highly anticipated film, White Noise. Netflix broke the news of Baumbach coming on board to write and direct the film back in January 2021.

Marriage Story proved that Baumbach can make films that are artistic yet accessible. The picture became his biggest commercial success and earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Adam Driver, and Best Original Screenplay for Baumbach. Considering that White Noise is an adaptation of the 1985 novel by Don DeLillo, it has the potential to be one of the most successful films of the year. It could help in Baumbach’s gradual transition from the realm of independent films into the mainstream to become one of America’s most significant contemporary directors. With many fans having high expectations for the film, here’s all we know about White Noise.

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Updated August 2022 by Jessica Peerez: If you’re excited about the highly anticipated film White Noise, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated this article with new information on the movie.

White Noise: The Plot

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The film, being an adaptation, is based on Don DeLillo’s famous postmodern novel White Noise, a subtly satirical story about a professor of “Hitler studies” (Adam Driver’s character) at a liberal arts college in Middle America and his fourth wife. The couple must face their crippling fear of death when an “airborne toxic event” from a chemical spill creates potentially lethal clouds. This leads the cynically ruminative academic to gather his four precocious children and sarcastic wife and head through endless traffic to some kind of barely-possible safety.

The dark comedy was one of DeLillo’s most important books, bringing his uniquely stylized, intellectual vision to the mainstream. DeLillo’s work is one of his best examples of sly cultural commentary and acts as a strange, funny, and damning critique of American consumerism, academia, marriage, and other institutions.

Related Link: Adam Driver’s Most Underrated Movies, Ranked

Judging by the wardrobe and location choices seen in pictures of the production, it looks like the film will retain the novel’s 1980s setting. Passage Pictures, one of the production companies behind the film, has released a synopsis:

White Noise: The Cast

Baumbach is once again working with some favorite collaborators for White Noise. In true Baumbach style, the filmmaker has enlisted some noteworthy talent for his latest project. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig lead the project and have been confirmed to helm the film as Jack and Babette Gladney, respectively. Jack is set to play the role of a professor of Hitler studies who is in his fourth marriage.

At once hilarious and horrifying, White Noise dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempt to deal with the mundane conflicts of day-to-day life while grappling with the larger philosophical issues of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.

As mentioned, Driver played the protagonist of Marriage Story in a critically-acclaimed performance that saw the Star Wars actor emotionally and empathetically play a theatre director going through a rocky divorce. Opposite Driver is Baumbach’s real-life wife and acclaimed writer-director of Little Women and Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig. This is the fourth time that the duo has collaborated cinematically. The pair met on the set of his film Greenberg, co-written with Baumbach’s wife at the time, actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. Leigh’s divorce from the director has been rumoured to be the inspiration of Marriage Story since the main character in the film cheats on his wife.

Many people have therefore speculated that the movie was autobiographical and indicative of Gerwig and Baumbach’s new romance, which the director denied to The Hollywood Reporter, saying it was merely a “personal” film. Gerwig and Baumbach went on to collaborate in films like Frances Ha and Mistress America, and they both wrote the screenplay for Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie.

Related Link: Will White Noise Be an Outlier in Noah Baumbach’s Filmography?

Other cast members include Don Cheadle as Murray Siskind, a fellow professor and one of Jack’s colleagues, and Alessandro Nivola and his two children, Sam and May Nivola. Sam will take on the role of Fritz. Raffey Cassidy will play Debbie, one of Jack’s children. Jodie Turner-Smith is also set to take on a role alongside OutKast member André 3000 in an unknown role.

White Noise: Other Details

White Noise is an important film for Baumbach because it is the first to be released under his official partnership deal with Netflix. While the director has made movies with the streamer in the past (The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story), Baumbach decided to make Netflix his home for the long-term when he signed a deal under which he will write and direct films exclusively for Netflix for the next several years.

As reported by IndieWire, Baumbach said:

Production for White Noise began in June 2021, with rehearsals taking place in Wellington and Oberlin in the state of Ohio. Local news sources like Cleveland.com and The Chronicle-Telegram reported that filming took place on a closed set at a former Walmart and around the suburbs of Cleveland, and filming ended around September.

“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. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be making movies with Ted [Sarandos] and Scott [Stuber] and everyone at Netflix, who are wonderful collaborators and friends and family.”

Release Date

Unfortunately for fans of Driver and Gerwig, neither Netflix nor Baumbach has announced an official release date for the film. However, we do know that viewers will get their first glimpse of the movie on August 31, 2022, at the Venice Film Festival. So for a few lucky viewers, White Noise isn’t too far away! The wait will be a bit longer for the rest of those waiting in hopeful anticipation for the movie since its debut on Netflix hasn’t been confirmed yet.

However, in terms of a release date, considering the film includes Oscar-nominated actors and talent, Netflix will want to save White Noise for award season to maximize its chances of winning Academy Awards and Golden Globes. Given this, a global premiere for the film may not be too far away. Regardless of a release date, be it in the near future or a bit further away, the film is sure to make some considerable noise when it finally does hit screens.