Tag: Duplass Brothers

Who Wants to See CYRUS With the Movie Geeks?

Howdy folks! We here at We Are Movie Geeks love your faces… and will be giving away passes to the July 1st screening (at the Saint Louis Tivoli Theater at 7pm) of CYRUS, the new Fox Searchlight film starring Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei, directed by the Duplass Brothers… the guys who brought us BAGHEAD and HUMPDAY.

Plot Synopsis: John (Reilly) has finally found the woman of his dreams, after living a dirty, single ed existence. There’s only one problem… her jealous 21-year old son Cyrus, played by Jonah Hill. Now, John needs to decide if he’s willing to fight for his dream girl, or walk away because of her crazy son.

So, here’s how to win the passes:

  1. First and foremost… this is a St. Louis screening. If you will not be in St. Louis on the evening of July 1st , please do not enter to win this contest.
  2. Enter your name and email (it won’t be seen by the public or shared) into the comments section below along with your favorite John C. Reilly or Jonah Hill quote, and you will be automatically entered into a raffle!

For your health!

Sundance Video Interview: The Duplass Brothers

We had a cool little chat with the directorial duo the Duplass brothers. Mark and Jay give us the deets on their new film which premiered here at Sundance, “Cyrus”.

The Duplass Brothers Sundance Interview from Anthony Meadows on Vimeo.

Sundance Review: CYRUS

Jay and Mark Duplass are pretty much what you would consider Sundance royalty. These guys always show out here because they do incredible work and this year is no different. When I heard that Fox Searchlight was backing these guys for a studio flick that they would write and direct starring the likes of Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei… there is no way this movie wouldn’t be hit.

I missed the premiere screening of the film, but was lucky to snag a seat in the press screening today. I thought with a cast like this we would get your typical comedy that Reilly or Hill wouldn’t typically star in…I was wrong. The Duplass Brothers have sculpted a super awkward, but seriously funny film about life, growing and moving forward.

John (Reilly) is a divorced guy in his late 30’s, early 40’s who is still struggling to get over his ex wife (Catherine Keener) and move on. She convinces him to attend a party with her and her new fiance to help him meet some prospects. He unsuccessfully talks to a couple of women at the party only to be shot down.

Through a series of events he runs into Molly (Tomei) who quickly develops a little crush on him. They flirt it up at the party and eventually hook up. After a couple of dates John realizes that Molly has a son, Cyrus (Hill), that still lives with her. Molly and Cyrus don’t have your typical mother/son relationship which John quickly realizes. Cyrus seems to have some mommy issues and Molly cant seem to let go.

There is a lot more than I can go into about Cyrus, but lets just say that he creates some issues for John and Molly. Wow… I kept that mostly spoiler free.

Jay and Mark Duplass do an amazing job of combining laugh out loud comedy that is infused with some pretty real drama. The really great quality is that they didn’t go for a polished “big studio look” with the way the film was shot. They stuck to their roots and shot it like they have previously done with BAGHEAD and THE PUFFY CHAIR which excited the hell out of me. CYRUS is a big studio film with an indie heart and the two exist to perfection.

Jonah Hill gives a pretty outstanding performance as the title character. He showed quite a bit of range and proves that he can definitely do more than just raunchy comedy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a full blown drama in the near future. John C. Reilly is also incredible in the movie. He is just as funny as he always is, but he also tosses in some of the straight faced non-comedic elements that we have all come to love from MAGNOLIA and BOOGIE NIGHTS.

Everyone in the film does an incredible job, delivering very convincing performances. The Duplass Brothers definitely know how to pull characters out of actors, and I had no doubt they would do the same with all of the huge names they had attached here. There isn’t much you can say that is negative about the film… its pretty much perfect.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Duplass Brothers join forces with Jason Reitman

Mark and Jay Duplass have jumped into another project, this time with Golden Globe award winning director Jason Reitman. Reitman will be serving as producer with The Brothers Duplass coming on as directors for a filmed titled JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME. The film is being described by Mark Duplass as a “quest movie” with elements of “THE SWORD IN THE STONE” which is what he sat down with MovieWeb and talked about. Here is more of the quote:

“Our next movie is called Jeff Who Lives at Home. It’s our take on a quest movie. It’s like a Sword in the Stone movie. But it’s starring a stoner who is looking for wood glue. We are always going to mess with genre and use it to our favor. I can’t say too much, because my press team will maul me. Jason Reitman is producing for us. We are shooting in the spring. This is the movie we were born to make. We are more than ready to jump into this one.”

So… searching for wood glue is the basis for this film… interesting. I don’t care, anything the Duplass Brothers do I can get behind so it should be a good time.

Sundance 2010 Preview: CYRUS

The Duplass Brothers are 2 of my favorite people in the business, and I am glad they are finally getting a shot at a big(ger) budget film with more well known actors (not that I don’t absolutely LOVE Greta Gerwig!) and being distributed by a studio that knows exactly how to handle the film. Mix that with the fact it stars Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei… this film is an almost guaranteed hit. Actually I am counting on it!

PS: If you are going to see this one, you better get tickets ASAP because it only plays 3 times at Sundance.

Official synopsis:

Alone and acutely depressed, having just learned of his ex-wife’s wedding plans, John can’t believe his luck when he encounters beautiful, charming Molly at a party. The two get along famously and launch a passionate affair, until Molly’s 21-year-old son, Cyrus, enters the scene. Will Molly and Cyrus’s deep and idiosyncratic bond leave room for John? Cyrus becomes a dark, poignant, sometimes hilarious war dance as Molly, Cyrus, and John walk the line between creepy and sympathetic. Each member of this awkward triangle teeters somewhere between bare honesty and furtive manipulation as he or she lets loose all manner of dysfunctionality. The excruciating, delightful fun is seeing where the boundaries ultimately land.

CYRUS plays at the following times:

6:15 PM Sat, Jan 23 Eccles Theatre
8:30 AM Sun, Jan 24 Library Center Theatre
9:00 PM Sat, Jan 30 Prospector Square Theatre

Untitled Duplass Brothers project gets some details

duplassbrothers

The Duplass brothers have been shooting their “Untitled Duplass Brothers Project” for the last 6 weeks and we finally get some details on the film. It stars Jonah Hill as the son of a single mother (Marisa Tomei) who begins a relationship with a 40-something guy (John C. Reilly) with a failed marriage in his past. We get this from MTV Movie Blog:

“[Tomei’s character] is very much out of his league,” Duplass explained to MTV News in a recent interview. “They light up an incredible relationship but she doesn’t really let him in and he finds himself on the other side of the coin, like wanting the snuggle and he can’t get it.”

Reilly soon discovers that she’s been hiding the fact the she has a grown son. The three of them end up having “a very bizarre, codependent relationship,” he said. “It almost develops into some obtuse love triangle, as John and Jonah wrestle for the feelings of Marisa.”

Whatever the film ends up being called—and whenever it comes out; Fox Searchlight is shooting for late this year or early next—it will strive for the same tone as “Puffy Chair” and 2008’s “Baghead.” “It’s very funny, but it’s also rooted in the humanity of these characters and a lot about what it means to be a little lonely and a little lost and trying to find your way in the world, but at the same time, all the ridiculous funny s— you do trying to find your way,” Duplass said.

Its not secret that I absolutely love everything these guys work on, and this film is packed with a star studded actors instead of their normally indie casts. This movie sounds fantastic and I think this will really elevate these guys into the spotlight more than they already are.