I’ve come to the conclusion that Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” will be the go-for-broke statement of his career. After dishing out some truly great indies in his filmography, he’s decided to swing for the fences with this Don Dellilo adaptation.
These last few weeks, I’ve somehow managed to speak to half a dozen or so people who worked on “White Noise,” mostly due to their contacting me about the behind-the-scenes piece I had published.
Best of all, here’s an in-the-know person telling me about a private “White Noise” screening that occurred earlier this month in Los Angeles:
I've been following the online “White Noise” chatter and I believe most of it to be overstated. [Michael] Seresin was replaced as DP because he was unkind on-set and contested Baumbach's desire for multiple takes. Lol Crawley was a better visual fit as the film is Baumbach's most audacious and formally ambitious project yet. All on film, nonetheless. I've heard good and exciting things regarding the film and its performances, especially Adam Driver, as it has been recently screened and shown for a few lucky people. Most are telling me that the film is visually appealing, with lots of long take master shots and unlike anything Baumbach has put on screen before. He’s stepped his game up visuall and cinematically and as a result the performances from Driver and Gerwig are very committed and dedicated.
“White Noise” is an adaptation of DeLillo’s shocking, aggravating, brilliant, mysterious novel of the same name. Never, not once, did it cross my mind while reading this novel that it should be adapted into a movie. It honestly reads like something that would be unfilmable and non-cinematic, but consider me very excited by the prospect of Baumbach turning it into a film.