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After breaking out at Sundance with their 2003 short \u201cThis Is John,\u201d brother filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass went on a nearly decade-long tear in the feature world, which cemented their reputation as figures at the vanguard of independent cinema. It seemed for a time that their run would never end, but remarkably, it\u2019s now been over a decade since the duo joined forces on a project for the big screen.<\/p>\n
During a sit-down today at Deadline\u2019s Sundance Studio, Mark Duplass explained that there have been a number of factors behind the Duplass Brothers\u2019 absence from theaters. \u201cI decided to stop directing about 10 years ago so I could spend more time with my kids, and so I could have these wonderful partnerships with someone like Mel [Eslyn],\u201d he said, \u201cwho\u2019s going to work harder, and I\u2019m not just saying this, I honestly believe is a better director than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duplass said he\u2019s identified at this point that while he\u2019s known for wearing many hats \u2014 writing, directing, producing and starring in his own features, while appearing in the projects of others \u2014 his primary skillset is as \u201ca writer and a team builder and producer.\u201d<\/p>\n
This \u201cdoesn\u2019t mean,\u201d he explained, that he\u2019s \u201cnot going to direct again,\u201d though \u201cit felt like that for a while.\u201d Meanwhile, Duplass said, \u201cJay\u2019s just starting to embark on his own journey as a solo director, which is really wonderful, exciting, heartbreaking for both of us, all the things you\u2019d imagine it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duplass clarified that there\u2019s \u201cno doubt\u201d in his mind that he and Jay will be directing films together again at some point. \u201cIt\u2019s a long road. I don\u2019t know when that\u2019s going to be,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I have a little heat lamp in my heart for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In any case, it\u2019s not as if either of the Duplasses has had too much time on their hands while taking a break from helming features. In recent years, Mark has alone co-written, starred in and produced (or EP\u2019d) such acclaimed indies as Biosphere, Language Lessons and Paddleton. While producing those films alongside his brother, Jay has put in appearances on shows like Industry and The Chair, as well as in such recent features as Pain Hustlers and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.<\/p>\n
While Mark and Jay Duplass have also collaborated recently on numerous acclaimed docs, they\u2019re perhaps most prolific at this point in the arena of prestige TV. After co-creating such acclaimed HBO series as Togetherness and anthology Room 104, the pair have gone on to produce the beloved Max dramedy Somebody Somewhere, as well as award-winning docuseries like Wild Wild Country.<\/p>\n
Most recent for the Duplass Brothers on the TV front is Penelope, a coming-of-age drama series starring Megan Stott and Austin Abrams, which is currently in the spotlight as part of Sundance\u2019s Episodic Pilot Showcase. Co-written by Mark Duplass and Eslyn, who heads up Duplass Brothers Productions as President, the show centers on Penelope (Stott), a 16-year-old who finds herself almost cosmically drawn to nature, in a moment when she\u2019s come to feel entirely out of place in the modern world. With no plan in place, she leaves her family behind for the beguiling wilderness, where she begins to establish a different kind of life for herself.<\/p>\n
Mark began writing the show during the pandemic, as he found himself \u201cspending a lot of time alone\u2026thinking about what had gone on in my life that had led me to a place that I just don\u2019t feel myself anymore.\u201d After conjuring the character of Penelope as an avatar for himself, he approached Eslyn about collaborating on the project, ultimately seeing her come to direct and showrun all eight episodes.<\/p>\n
By the time she was approached, Eslyn says, Duplass had established \u201ca pretty good base\u201d for the storytelling, to which she would bring much of her \u201c16-year-old self,\u201d as well as a female POV.<\/p>\n
Similarly to the Duplass brothers\u2019 HBO shows Animals and Room 104, Penelope was self-financed \u2014 in this case, at least, out of necessity. While there was a time, Duplass says, when he\u2019d develop a show, write out a set of episodes and sell it in a bidding war with ease, the culture in Hollywood has changed to the point that it can seem like there\u2019s only room for smash hits like Euphoria, with beautiful little gems of stories more often getting overlooked.<\/p>\n
Emptying the bank account to produce the show was \u201cvery scary,\u201d Duplass admits, but at the same time necessary to preserve the vision at hand. Beyond any one project, he says, what\u2019s become most important to him is the tenacious \u201cfight\u201d to preserve a mode of storytelling that might otherwise go missing from the world. \u201cI kind of feel a little Norma Rae-ish where we\u2019re just like, \u2018We have to not let these stories die,’\u201d Duplass said. \u201cThere is a system in place for independent film, but there is not in television, and so I kind of want to beat the drum of, \u2018We\u2019re going to have to do this in TV, or else this stuff\u2019s going to die.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently in search of a distributor, Penelope has CAA handling sales.<\/p>\n
View this article at Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mark Duplass On Reasons For Long Hiatus From Features, Decision To Self-Finance New YA Series \u2018Penelope\u2019 \u2013 Sundance Studio: After breaking out at Sundance with their 2003 short \u201cThis Is John,\u201d brother filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass went on a nearly decade-long tear in the feature world, which cemented their reputation as figures at the
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