Update On My Work

So after (nearly) three years of studying, today I handed in my final pieces of work, concluding my time at Falmouth University. It's a pretty big day, but I thought I would update you guys on what I'm hoping is going to happen next!

So after studying all this time, I have realised that screenwriting is the route for me. One of my final projects was a feature length screenplay, and that is what I will now be looking to sell. Obviously, that is just one screenplay, so I'm going to need to write some more! I have my house in Falmouth for the next couple months, so I will be doing a lot of writing work during my break, before looking for a part time job, so I can begin to have some income and pay off the annoyingly high student debt, as well as use the money to submit to festivals, competitions and what not.

So yeah, lots of screenwriting is about to begin, or has begun, because I have already developed another idea which I am about to write a first draft for!

The screenplay I have already written, and gone through a number of drafts with, is titled The Pursuit. And if any producers/agents/directors/managers out there are reading, then let me tell you, it is a Young Adult Sci-Fi film, which I would pitch as a cross between The Hunger Games and Moon.

The logline goes like this:

Born onto a mission to explore the stars, Lily only dreams of going home to Earth. What was once an impossible dream becomes suddenly more achievable when the ship regains a lost connection with Earth, and Lily becomes friends with a lonely technician named Bry on the other end. 

Sound like some something you might want to read/pursue further? Get in contact!! (alex-moppy@hotmail.com) 

Other shameless plugs on this post include; an article I wrote recently on Jay and Mark Duplass's TV show Togetherness  for Steam TV. You can read that one here.

Don't worry though, I'm not giving up the blog just yet! In fact I'm celebrating my hand in with a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road, because that's just what film students do. Keep an eye out for a review of that in the next few days!

Thanks for reading!

An Evening With Mark Duplass

So today I have decided to sit down and watch a marathon of films that star Mark Duplass or have been directed by him and his brother. This post will be updated throughout the day as I have seen each film and written a short review.

Baghead

So I started with Baghead which was directed by Mark Duplass and his brother Jay. The story is about four struggling actors who retreat to a cabin to write a screenplay. One of the ideas is about a serial killer who wears a bag on his face. Trouble starts when the script becomes real life and the group find themselves being stalked by Baghead. The style of the Duplass brothers is the most interesting quality of the film, it feels like a found footage film with the amount of shaky camera shots and quick zooms, this adds to the scariness but we never forget who are the filmmakers of this piece. I enjoyed the film and I liked its take on the horror genre,a  genre I am not particularly a fan of. The only problem was that it was too obvious where the storyline was heading which took away some of the scares but not all of them. It was a pretty good film to start my evening but nothing really special, I am giving Baghead a rating of 3/5.



The Puffy Chair

This is more like the Duplass brothers we now know . Though it may not be that apparent at first with Mark Duplass not being as likable a person like some of the characters we have seen him play. The film is about Josh (Duplass) and his girlfriend Emily who go on a road trip to pick up a puffy chair for Josh's dad's birthday. On the way they pick up Josh's brother Rhett and the three of them end up going on a life changing journey about love and relationships. The film looks like a documentary with not a lot of shaky cam and not a lot of change in the captured image as to the one we see on screen. Thankfully the acting is good enough to pull this off and a lot of the time it feels like a home video. If it wasn't for the editing and soundtrack then you could easily   mistake it for one. Even the problems are very real and it can be very powerful, and then you get those sweet moments that really make the film. You end the film feeling like you have been through a similar journey with the characters and you feel good. Something I love about all the films Mark Duplass is associated with, that is why I am giving The Puffy Chair a rating of 4/5.


Your Sister's Sister

Now you may have already seen me rave about this film, it was actually number 4 on my top 10 films of 2012. Watching it again is just as good even though you know what is going to happen. The idea is so simple yet effective, the plot goes like this 'Iris invites her friend Jack to stay at her family's island getaway after the death of his brother. At their remote cabin, Jack's drunken encounter with Hannah, Iris' sister, kicks off a revealing stretch of days.' The themes are similar to a Duplass brothers directed movie but the director Lynn Shelton makes it her own piece at the final product is something that I fell in love with (twice now). Mark Duplass is the 'nice guy' character again and pulls it off... again and this one of the reasons I love seeing him on film. I also believe this to be one of Emily Blunt's best performances as she just feels so real in this, one of the reasons she is one of my favourite actresses. The film is very interesting and will leave a lot to talk about once the credits start rolling. It can be little slow in places but over all this is a really lovely film which I am rating a 4.5/5.


Safety Not Guaranteed

I LOVE THIS FILM. You may have already seen it at number 2 on my top 10 films of 2012, this movie is awesome. Everything about it is perfect and it is the best feel good film out of all the films I have seen today. I doubt I will ever get tired of this film. Mark Duplass's best performance and his character is the one I most want to be friends with out of his work. The imagery, the soundtrack, the incredible story, I love it all. If you don't know already Safety Not Guaranteed's plot goes like this; Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel. kIt really is such a great film and I recommend everyone should watch it, I haven't met someone who doesn't like it yet. I am giving Safety Not Guaranteed a big fat juicy rating of 5/5.

Thank you for joining me on my Mark Duplass movie marathon. Other works of his I have seen at a different time include Jeff Who Lives At Home and Hump Day, both of which are great and I recommend.

What do you think of my reviews, do you agree with them? Are you a massive fan of Mark Duplass or is he overrated? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!