Mark Duplass, along with his brother, Jay, have been indie film mainstays for well over a decade. And with the world being turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that the Duplass Brothers are trying to leverage their indie clout and partnerships with streaming platforms to help newer filmmakers find a home for their projects.
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Speaking to IndieWire, Mark Duplass talked about how the global pandemic has been affecting his career and why he feels that now is the perfect time for his company to partner with streaming services, especially when so many indie filmmakers struggle to find distributors with festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca, and others being canceled.
For the Duplass Brothers, they may not have the money to distribute films themselves, but they have connections and trust with streaming services that can help land indie filmmakers a home without having their films premiere at a festival.
“[The streamers] are all doing their best overtime watching pretty much every movie that’s being submitted to them from the festivals that didn’t have their premieres,” Duplass explained. “We as Duplass Brothers have also come forward to those people and said, ‘If you find a movie where you feel like “This is really great but it’s not there yet,” bring it to us and we will help partner with you to make that movie what you feel like it needs to be for your service.”
And even though Duplass understands that streaming is a great solution for many filmmakers, like himself, he knows that not every director is interested in showcasing their pride and joy on a small TV or phone screen. And that’s okay.
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“I’m not making Terrence Malick movies,” he said. “I am making movies about faces and feelings, and it’s fine if they’re seen on a 42-inch television in your home. But some people really need that, and the communal experience is beautiful.”
As for how Duplass is passing the time, you probably shouldn’t be shocked to find out that he’s doing what he does best—creating.
“I am writing more and better than in the pre-coronavirus world, because I have less phone calls, less meetings,” he said. “That opened up this massive gap in my life. All the jobs postponed for that sucked for so many people. For me, it is an unexpected gap, and I don’t [typically] have a lot of quote-unquote free time, so that has allowed me this space. I am writing a whole TV series on spec right now that I never would’ve had the time to do.”
We’ll have to see how the Duplass Brothers and their company are able to help indie filmmakers in the weeks to come, as more and more festivals and film events are canceled. But it’s nice to see people such as Mark and Jay Duplass give back however they can.