Mark Duplass
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“I’m the Little Boy Believing That There’s a Pony in a Pile of Shit”: Mark Duplass (Back To One, Episode 257)
Mark Duplass is the living patron saint of the indie filmmaker. Honest, simple, modest, positive, affirming about the work, Duplass, first with his brother Jay and now on his own, has become a household name in the film world for producing projects in a DIY style foregrounding authenticity, improvisational humor, and human connection. As an actor, both in his own productions and also series like The Morning Show, he finds a way to keep that homegrown genuineness alive in front of the camera. His latest film, Biosphere, which he co-wrote with director Mel Eslyn, is a true two-hander (with the wonderful Sterling […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 13, 2023 -
“We Had to Come Up with Whole New Protocols”: DP Jeremy Mackie on Making Zoom-Recorded Pandemic Film Language Lessons
On a microbudget feature with a skeleton crew, you often end up wearing multiple hats. But a different metaphor is required to describe cinematographer Jeremy Mackie’s contribution to Language Lessons. It’s more like Mackie made the hats from scratch, then mailed them to the actors with instructions on how to wear them. The film stars Mark Duplass as a grieving Angeleno who platonically bonds with his Costa Rican tutor (Natalie Morales, who also directed) via Zoom during weekly Spanish immersion lessons. Though the movie—which debuted at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival before playing South by Southwest—never mentions Covid, it’s […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Sep 17, 2021 -
“…Liz was Isolated as a Felon on the Run, Transitioning Alone”: Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker on Their HBO Docuseries The Lady and the Dale
Binge-worthy doesn’t even begin to describe The Lady and the Dale, Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker’s four-part, one-of-a-kind docuseries, premiering January 31 on HBO. Produced by the Duplass brothers, this twist-and-turning saga stars a three-wheeled car called the Dale (that may or may not have been viable) and its marketer extraordinaire, a visionary female entrepreneur (and longtime serial con artist) named Elizabeth Carmichael. With a promise of 70 miles to the gallon at a time when the 70s oil crisis was leaving Americans to linger at gas stations in Soviet-long lines, the Dale seemed to many a dream come true. And […]
by Lauren Wissot on Feb 5, 2021 -
“We are All Cracked Vessels”: Writer/Director Lynn Shelton on Her First Feature in Four Years, Outside In
After several years working in television, veteran independent filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Laggies, Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday) returns to the big screen with Outside In, a tense relationship drama dealing with the complexities of romance. Co-written by Jay Duplass and produced Washington-based Mel Eslyn and Lacey Leavitt, with both Jay and Mark Duplass on board as executive producers, the film opens today in theaters followed by a Netlix release on June 1. Jay Duplass stars as 38-year-old Chris, who is granted early parole thanks to the advocacy of Carol (Edie Falco), his former high-school teacher. As he struggles with the challenges […]
by Tiffany Pritchard on Mar 30, 2018 -
“Every So Often a Train Would Come Rumbling By and the Set Would Shake”: DP Doug Emmett on Shooting HBO’s Room 104
An octogenarian couple returns to the hotel room where they spent their first night together — it’s a logline that would typically preface an elegiac rumination on love and mortality. But by the time that set-up arrives in the season finale of HBO’s new anthology series Rooms 104, it seems just as likely to give way to horror or violence…or interpretive dance. That’s the joy of the newest Duplass Brothers creation — each episode begins as a blank slate capable of unexpectedly evolving into any genre or tone. The 12-episode series — which debuted last Friday night — unfolds entirely […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Aug 1, 2017 -
Making Blue Jay in Black and White
It’s been a momentous year for cinematographer Alex Lehmann, who successfully made the transition to director/DP with his first two features. His documentary feature Asperger’s Are Us, about the first comedy troupe consisting of openly autistic people, premiered earlier this year at SXSW, where it was bought by Netflix. Blue Jay, Lehmann’s narrative feature debut, recently premiered at TIFF and will hit select theaters on October 7 before heading to digital on October 11 and Netflix later this year. Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass executive produced both films. Starring Mark Duplass (based on his screenplay) and Sarah Paulson as two former high school sweethearts who reconnect […]
by Paula Bernstein on Oct 7, 2016 -
“A Little Like Borat but Without the Punchlines”: Five Questions for Rainbow Time Writer/Director Linas Phillips
Back in 2005, young filmmaker Linas Phillips paid homage to a cinematic hero by recording a cross-country pedestrian journey in Walking to Werner — the “Werner” being, of course, Werner Herzog. At the time, he told Filmmaker, “I remember Werner saying if there is a big decision in your life, it should be done on foot.” Over a decade later, Phillips’ career has ambled through a number of interesting digressions, including acting in Manson Family Vacation and this latest, a narrative feature about the strange relationship between two brothers, one mentally challenged. It’s premiering at SXSW, and below Phillips updates […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 13, 2016 -
Programmer Ryan Edgington on Videology’s Move to Theatrical Runs with Mark Duplass Production Creep
In a flurry of recent announcements that include the launch of Metrograph, a repertory and indie cinema on the Lower East Side, and the expansion of Greenwich Village’s IFC Center, New York is beating back against the so-called deterioration of the theatrical experience. The Williamsburg bar-video rental store-screening room Videology, along with its neighboring Spectacle, is also dipping its toe into the weeklong run, with an exclusive release of Patrick Brice’s first film, Creep, on the heals of its extended runs of Drafthouse titles Roar and The Tribe. Filmmaker spoke to programmer Ryan Edgington about the venue’s transition, if “eventizing” is necessary to draw audiences, and what else […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Sep 4, 2015 -
At Sundance Producers Brunch, Mark and Jay Duplass Offer Ten Pieces of Advice for Making Movies Today
Keynote speakers at today’s Producers Brunch at the Sundance Film Festival, independent powerhouses Jay and Mark Duplass issued a passionate and witty call to all the producers in the jam-packed house: keep making small movies. At an event that saw their own producing partner, Stephanie Langhoff, receive the Sundance Institute Red Crown Producers Award, they told producers to learn from their own decision to stay invested in the independent sector after receiving a measure of larger Hollywood success. Along with Sundance Dramatic Competition entry The Bronze, which Langhoff produced, the Duplass Brothers have, as executive producers,two other productions at the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 25, 2015 -
Five Questions for Adult Beginners Director Ross Katz
Five years after transitioning from producer to director with the HBO veteran drama, Taking Chances, Ross Katz returns to the director’s chair with a comedy about going home. Nick Kroll plays a young entrepreneur whose product launch has flamed out, who has burned through his investors’ dough, and who has lost his girlfriend. He returns home to work as a nanny for his sister’s young child in what is described as a movie about beginning again. Adult Beginners world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, September 8. Filmmaker: After having written and produced your directorial debut, you’re […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 8, 2014
