Mark Duplass is a fan of Netflix: And I talk briefly about The Puffy Chair and Safety Not Guaranteed

I saw The Puffy Chair when it came out to rent, and was not a fan. I thing for me, it fell victim to a lot of good buzz so I had high hopes and it fell flat. I saw Cyrus and I really loved Cyrus, so much so that I decided to look into who directed it and maybe check out some of their other movies. Surprise, it was Mark Duplass. This guy was very sneaky.

            Things get weird, then for me. Because of Netflix streaming, it’s hard for me to put things in their proper order on a timeline. For me Cyrus came first then The League, but I guess The League came first? Either way, I am very bored by sports. I can’t even sit through a whole movie about a sport without rolling my eyes and eventually turning it off. The League though looked funny, and to kind of make fun of the whole fantasy football thing (which I do in my head every year to those at my work who drone on about it incessantly), and after seeing Cyrus I decided to give the show and Mark Duplass a second try (you’re welcome Mr. Duplass) and I was very surprised how much I loved The League (of course Taco steals the show every time, but they are all funny).

            Mark Duplass was rising to a level of coolness in my book that I am sure he would be very pleased to know about. On a side note, the actress Katie Aselton in The League is funny so I thought I’d check to see what other movies she’s been in and I find out that Mark Duplass has married her. Unfortunately for Mr. Duplass, he fell many levels in my book for tricking someone as amazing as Katie Aselton into marrying him. 

            I put my feelings aside to watch Safety Not Guaranteed. Because time travel.

And Safety Not Guaranteed was – and is – an amazing movie. Mark Duplass really showed that he can be a great actor in that movie. He was such a calm and quiet person, so sad and real, he was a guy that anyone may know or drive pass on the highway. My wife and I watched it and we loved it, we both felt that he was such a sad man that we were pulling for him to win, no matter if he does really have a time machine or not, we wanted him to win something – and because of that, we knew that this could go either way for him, and if it went poorly the whole movie could fall apart.

            Safety Not Guaranteed are words to watch the movie by, because you may not like this movie (and if you don't it's because of the reporters and their stories, which are not as interesting or important or well done as the whole time travel plot, and not because of Mr. Duplass), and then if you do like the movie as you’re watching it – you may not like the ending. I mean, it can only end one of two ways, either he really does have a time machine, or he does not, and how either one is handled is something that can determine if you enjoyed the whole movie or not. Putting yourself in the movie’s hands I think that one could not be disappointed in the turn out.

            Of course this has nothing to do with why I am writing this.

            I just saw an article from Sundance that quoted Mark Duplass as saying:

“I’m gonna say something controversial here. And this is no slight to all my friends who distribute movies, (but) the most important part of making a movie is making sure that film streams on Netflix. .. . Getting yourself into theaters is great, getting a big VOD pop is great,but my first movie made a grand total of $220,000 in theaters but about 5 million people have seen it on Netflix because they can click on it and they can try it out. And so I really recommend to get your get goddamn movie on Netflix. It made my career.”

            Now I don’t know the whole numbers or how Netflix handles their money with the movies they show. Maybe Netflix doesn't give that much for a year or two, and maybe they take advantage of a newer filmmaker. I certainly don’t agree with any of that if it that’s true, but I do know that Mark Duplass is not saying you’re gonna make a ton of money on Netflix, but you will get your name out there. I think much like songs and downloads on iTunes being used to gauge the success of a song, the same will be done for movies before long.

            Basically I love movies, good or bad, I enjoy them and if I can hang out at home with my wife and we can have a great time talking while enjoying a movie, I’m all for more and more filmmakers putting their movies on Netflix and using Netflix as a point of origin for their careers as Mark Duplass – I believe – is suggesting.

            I agree that Netflix needs newer movies quicker, I enjoy a blockbuster movie as much as the next guy, but for now – and probably always – I will enjoy the chance to see an independent movie by someone who will years later possibly be making that blockbuster movie that Netflix won’t stream until 2 years has passed since its theatrical release. I’m patient (I waited nearly 30 years for my wife), I can wait a bit longer for the big movies to arrive, and until then, you know what . . . I may just give The Puffy Chair another try.