Jeff Baron's Original Screenplays

Jeff broke into Hollywood by writing original screenplays, all of which sold very quickly to prominent producers and studios, and none of which was produced.

Jersey Girl

Jeff’s first screenplay, a romantic comedy about a young corporate guy in NYC who falls in love with a waitress at the coffee shop where he goes every morning. (no connection to the Ben Affleck movie)

This sold to the first producer who read it, Marcia Nasatir, who had just been nominated for an Academy Award for The Big Chill. Frank Perry, also an Academy Award nominee was going to direct, and Mare Winningham was going to star, but it never happened.

Maid of Honor

A big comedy where an NYC power couple take advantage of their South American nanny one too many times, which sets off a city-wide nanny strike that paralyzes Manhattan for a certain class of parents.

A number of producers wanted this, and Jeff went with David Brown, who produced Jaws, The Sting, The Verdict, The Player and many other great movies. Just not Maid of Honor.

House Swap

A big comedy set in New York and California, this screenplay had many suitors, but Jeff opted to go with Disney. It had an Oscar-nominated producer attached, and a multiple Emmy-winning star, but did not get made.

Custody

This was a courtroom drama about a lesbian couple fighting for custody of their daughter with the sperm donor who signed away his rights thinking he was helping an infertile heterosexual couple. Jeff’s wrote it to be his film directing debut, after the success of his short, The Bruce Diet. Studio, independent and HBO producers made offers for Custody. In the interest of reaching a broader audience, he decided to go with an established network tv producer, who did not get it made. Jeff directed a sold-out benefit reading of Custody for MADRE, a human rights organization. The inviting committee included John Sayles, Tony Kushner, Anna Quindlen, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. The cast of 17 included Brooke Smith, Joanna Going, Lois Smith, Estelle Parsons, John Heard, David Margulies, John Christopher Jones, Lynn Cohen and Chris McGarry.