IFH 241: An Evening with the Duplass Brothers | From a $3 Short Film to Netflix & HBO

I had the pleasure the other night to see two of my inspirations speak on stage. Mark and Jay Duplass or as they are known The Duplass Brothers, were at a book signing for their new book, Like Brothers, and gave an awesome talk about how they got started, playing the Hollywood game and making​ up your own rules.

Many of you know that the Duplass Brothers are the reason why I got off my ass and made my first feature film This is Meg. Their “just go out and do it” attitude inspired me to go and do it. The further inspired me to make my latest film On the Corner of Ego and Desire. If you have seen their $3 short film, This is John, that got into Sundance and launched their careers you can watch it in the show notes​.

Here’s a bit on their new book Like Brothers:

How do you work with someone you love without killing each other? Whether producing, writing, directing, or acting, the Duplass Brothers have made their mark in the world of independent film and television on the strength of their quirky and empathetic approach to storytelling. Now, for the first time, Mark and Jay take readers on a tour of their lifelong personal and professional partnership in LIKE BROTHERS, a unique memoir told in essays that share the secrets of their success, the joys and frustrations of intimate collaboration, and the lessons they’ve learned the hard way.

Part coming-of-age memoir, part underdog story, and part insider account of succeeding in Hollywood on their own terms, LIKE BROTHERS, is also a surprisingly practical roadmap to a rewarding creative partnership. From a childhood spent wielding an oversized home video camera in the suburbs of New Orleans to their shared years at the University of Texas in early ‘90s Austin, and from the breakthrough short they made on a $3 budget to the night their feature film Baghead became the center of a Sundance bidding war, Mark and Jay tell the story of a bond that’s resilient, affectionate, mutually empowering, and only mildly dysfunctional. They are brutally honest about how their closeness sabotaged their youthful romantic relationships, about the jealousy each felt when the other stole the spotlight as an actor (Mark in The League, Jay in Transparent), and about the challenges they faced on the set of their beloved HBO series, Togetherness—namely, too much togetherness.

From their obsession with people-watching at airports to their always-evolving “top 10 films of all-time” list to their personal email conversations to their defense of Air Supply, LIKE BROTHERS is as openhearted and lovably offbeat as Mark and Jay themselves.

I highly recommend any and all filmmakers and screenwriters read this book. Enjoy an evening with the Duplass Brothers.

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