Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in English
Mark Duplass‘ main passion is creating independent television shows and films — but he understands that in order to do so, that means sometimes he has to take on a “money grab.”
After receiving the Impact Award at the Miami Film Festival on April 12, the actor and producer opened up about being hesitant to sign on to both “Good American Family” on Hulu and “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.
“Why are we making a rip from the headline show, other than a money grab, honestly? Which I’m not above! I like a money grab. I need ways to fund all my independent productions, and that’s part of it, if I’m being honest,” he said of joining the series, which tells the story of Natalia Grace. Once he heard more about it and dove into becoming Michael Barnett, he was intrigued.
Before joining “The Morning Show” in 2019, he was also hesitant.
“I had promised myself and my company that I wouldn’t take another acting job where I wasn’t the boss and in control, because it’s tricky. I have a full life as a producer, and then you throw this acting show on top of it, they have to tell me where I gotta be and when, and it really throws a wrench into things,” he said. “Then Apple calls, and was like, ‘Would you like to costar in the show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon?’ And I was like, ‘Guys, remember where I said that whole thing? This is gonna be hard!’”
Erin Simkin
Ultimately, “The Morning Show” was the exception to the rule, as it allowed him to work with people he’d always admired.
“You don’t understand how complicated these shows can be when you have big movie stars and multiple producers. They can be such fucking shit shows of personality, and it can get quite awkward, where no one really wants to talk to each other anymore. This show is a dream,” Duplass said of the Apple TV+ drama. “Everyone is so kind, and I think it’s because it’s run a lot by Reese and Jen, who have been on really shitty sets, and had shitty bosses through the 90s and the 2000s. They know what to do and do it right.”
Luckily, Duplass is then able to use his big-budget projects to fund his independent projects, like “The Long Long Night” and “The Creep Tapes.” And there are perks of both.
“It’s a wonderfully balanced life to be on a show like ‘Good American Family’ or ‘The Morning Show,’ and I come in and my fucking breakfast is waiting for me in my trailer… Then after six weeks of that, I start to get a little soul sick and think, God, what about that 15-year-old indie rock kid who used to run around in his van and like and make an independent film?” he laughed. “So then I go out and I make ‘Creep’ and I’m hanging lights and I’m cooking for the crew in the morning, and we’re just doing our thing, and it’s wonderful. And after a few weeks of that, I’m like, I kind of miss when they bring me my breakfast!”
Duplass, who has produced and directed dozens of projects with brother Jay Duplass, notes that the “really good” paychecks on these shows ultimately benefit his “whole ecosystem” in a very important time.
“Where we are right now, where our country is and where our culture is at, I’m thinking more carefully about the kind of stories that I do want to put out there,” he says of taking on new series and films. “So it’s always this conversation I have with my brother, my parents, my wife and my close friends, and we just pros and cons it and see what makes sense.”
Duplass’ first major TV role was on FX’s “The League,” a sitcom that ran from 2009 to 2012, in which he acted alongside wife Katie Aselton. At the time, SAG and AFTRA hadn’t merged yet, which meant actors’ pay worked a bit differently.
“They had AFTRA contracts so that they could basically pay you a lot less. My agents brought me the contract, and they’re like, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’ And it was $8,000 an episode, which was criminally low by leaps and bounds,” Duplass recalled. “And I saw it, and I was like, ‘We’re rich! This is incredible!’ Because Katie and I were making double salaries as a couple. So that’s what we worked for on the first season.”
