What’s more important for a creative person, authentic inspiration or the esteem that fame and success bring?  Thomas Matthews explores that tension in “Ghostwritten,” about a novelist needing a breakthrough to sustain his relevancy and reputation.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2024

Jay Duplass stars in Matthews’ sophomore feature as a writer who accepts a residency on a secluded island to start on a new work.

Continue reading ‘Ghostwritten’ Trailer: Jay Duplass Is A Writer Getting More Than He Bargained For While On Retreat On February 9 at The Playlist.

How far will a single mom go to keep her family out of debt? “Pain Hustlers” follows Liza Drake, a woman whose life is upended after losing her job. A chance meeting sets this mother on a path to prosperity, but everything comes at a high cost. This Netflix adaptation of Evan Hughes’ book hails from director David Yates — with a screenplay by Wells Tower.

Continue reading ‘Pain Hustlers’ Trailer: Emily Blunt & Chris Evans Profit Off The Opioid Crisis, But At A Cost at The Playlist.

If any show were capable of holding up a mirror to society and reflecting the great pandemic corporate vibe shift underway, it would be HBO’s “Industry.” The hour-long dramedy returns from a nearly two-year hiatus, attributable largely to the pandemic it so acutely depicts on-screen, as sharp and incisive as ever. As the show picks up the thread of the upstart analysts at London’s prestigious investment bank Pierpoint &. Co, it effortlessly incorporates the seismic yet subtle shift in the lives of its characters.

Continue reading ‘Industry’ Review: Season 2 Is A Gripping Look At How COVID Upended The Corporate World at The Playlist.

“Room 104” director Patrick Brice is reteaming with HBO for the upcoming suspense-thriller film, “The Wild.” The film will stream exclusively on HBO Max, developed and produced internally at Warner Max. (Warner Max is the new HBO Max label that will head all feature film development and production for the streaming service.) The film will be based off of Owen Laukkanen’s suspense novel of the same name, and will be adapted, written, and directed by Brice.

Continue reading HBO Reteams With ‘Room 104’ Director Patrick Brice For Horror Film ‘The Wild’ at The Playlist.

HBO‘s acclaimed “Room 104” series will soon have no more vacancy. Created by Mark and Jay Duplass (HBO’s “Animals.” and “Togetherness”), the late-night, half-hour anthology series, which began back in 2017, is winding things down with a final season that begins in July. Known for its versatility in genre and form—anthology series akin to Netflix’s “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone” from CBS, “Room 104”— by its very premise, “Room 104” has given itself a lot of flexibility in the area of storytelling.

Continue reading ‘Room 104’ Trailer: The Final Season Features Dave Bautista, Jillian Bell & Arrives This July at The Playlist.

Greg Kinnear is an Oscar-nominated actor that has starred in dozens of quality films over the last few decades. But up until now, he’s never stepped behind the camera. In the new dramedy, “Phil,” the actor-turned-director not only is the man at the helm but also the star of the show.

As seen in the trailer, “Phil” tells the story of, uh, Phil (Kinnear), a depressed dentist that begins to investigate the life of one of his patients after he learns that the patient committed suicide.

Continue reading ‘Phil’ Trailer: Greg Kinnear Directs & Stars Alongside Jay Duplass, Luke Wilson, Emily Mortimer & More In New Dramedy at The Playlist.

Like “Blue Valentine,” a previous contender for Worst Date Movie of the Year™, “Pink Wall” is a nonlinear tale of a romance gone wrong. But with his directorial and screenwriting debut, actor Tom Cullen intentionally doesn’t leave the audience as devastated as that Derek Cianfrance film did. He offers an insightful portrait of a relationship in decay that doesn’t make us question the concept of love in general, instead offering an intimate view into the world of one couple at various points in their lives together, letting us see both the good and bad moments.

Continue reading Tom Cullen’s ‘Pink Wall’ Is An Intimate, Realistic Look At A Failing Relationship [SXSW Review] at The Playlist.

There are romantic dramas that are big on the romance and less on the drama. Then you have films that are romantic dramas in name only, as they paint a bleak picture of relationships and are sure to scare even the most confident of couples. That doesn’t make the latter any worse than the former. It just means that when you see a film that focuses on the realistic drama of an intimate adult relationship, you’re in for a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

Continue reading ‘Pink Wall’ Trailer: Jay Duplass & Tatiana Maslany Star In The Upcoming SXSW Drama at The Playlist.

Anthology series are all the rage on TV nowadays and for good reason. You see, the beauty of an anthology series is that you can hire incredible talent behind, and in front of, the camera that you wouldn’t normally be able to for an entire season. That advantage is on display, perhaps best of all, in HBO’s series “Room 104.”

As seen in the new trailer for Season 2 of HBO’s anthology series, creators Mark and Jay Duplass have put together an incredible mixture of directors and A-list actors to bring the unbelievable stories of the titular motel room to life.

Continue reading ‘Room 104’ Season 2 Trailer: The Duplass Brothers Enlist A-List Actors & Directors To Tell More Crazy Motel Stories at The Playlist.

Every year, there are plenty of new films that weren’t on your radar but soon become very interesting once they premiere at a film festival. While in the last couple weeks, we’ve seen plenty of those film festival premieres in Venice, Telluride, and Toronto, back in March, at SXSW, one movie stood out and surprised us — “Prospect.”

READ MORE: ‘Prospect’ Is A Western Sci-Fi Hybrid Reminiscent Of ‘Moon’ [SXSW Review]

In the new trailer for the film, which is finally seeing release this fall, you can see why “Prospect” surprised audiences.

Continue reading ‘Prospect’ Trailer: SXSW Sci-Fi Standout Stars Pedro Pascal & Jay Duplass at The Playlist.

While the Duplass brothers hit a slight bump in the road this year when HBO canceled their excellent dramedy “Togetherness,” the prolific pair tend to have many projects on the go simultaneously, so it’s not a surprise there’s something new on the horizon from the duo. And this time around, it sees them bring their perceptive eye on comedic tragedy to a wedding day in the first trailer for “Table 19.”

READ MORE: The Quietly Radical ‘Togetherness’ Season 2

With a story from Mark and Jay Duplass, starring Anna Kendrick, Tony Revolori, Stephen Merchant, Lisa Kudrow, and Craig Robinson, and directed by Jeffrey Blitz (“Spellbound,” “Rocket Science“), the story centers on a woman who, after being dumped by the best man, attends a wedding anyway and sits at the dreaded singles table, unceremoniously relieved of her maid of honor duties.

Continue reading Anna Kendrick Is The Maid Of Dishonor In First Trailer For The Duplass Brothers’ ‘Table 19’ at The Playlist.

With HBO going through some very public upheaval with major executive changes and creative switch-ups, one of the most heartbreaking casualties was the cancellation of “Togetherness.” The dramedy series from Mark and Jay Duplass didn’t feature explicit sex, huge fantasy worlds, or even a hip soundtrack — but that was exactly what made it special. It was an ordinary show, about ordinary people, facing regular problems, but executed with a commitment to character, that drew the drama close to your heart.

Continue reading Jay Duplass Was “Very Surprised” That ‘Togetherness’ Was Canceled, Talks Changing Landscape At HBO at The Playlist.

Review: The Quietly Radical ‘Togetherness’ Season 2

Continue reading Review: The Quietly Radical ‘Togetherness’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

Watch: 'Do The Right Thing 2: Do The White Thing' Reflects Brooklyn Of Today

Continue reading Watch: ‘Do The Right Thing 2: Do The White Thing’ Reflects Brooklyn Of Today at The Playlist.

Watch: Trailer For SXSW Winner 'Manson Family Vacation' Starring Jay Duplass

Continue reading Watch: Trailer For SXSW Winner ‘Manson Family Vacation’ Starring Jay Duplass at The Playlist.

SXSW Review: Unexpected Charmer 'Manson Family Vacation' Starring Jay Duplass

Continue reading SXSW Review: Unexpected Charmer ‘Manson Family Vacation’ Starring Jay Duplass at The Playlist.

TV Review: Jill Solloway's 'Transparent' Is Marked By Comfort, Intimacy & Humor

Continue reading TV Review: Jill Solloway’s ‘Transparent’ Is Marked By Comfort, Intimacy & Humor at The Playlist.

5 Reasons to Binge-Watch Amazon’s New Series ‘Transparent’ This Weekend

Continue reading 5 Reasons to Binge-Watch Amazon’s New Series ‘Transparent’ This Weekend at The Playlist.

Watch: Dad Is A Woman In Trailer For Jill Soloway's Amazon Series 'Transparent'

Continue reading Watch: Dad Is A Woman In Trailer For Jill Soloway’s Amazon Series ‘Transparent’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Jonah Hill & John C. Reilly Tear Up The Interwebs In Viral ‘Cyrus’ Mash-Up Clip at The Playlist.

We have twenty double passes to the advance screening of Jay & Mark Duplass’ “Cyrus” starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener taking place Monday, June 28th, at 7 PM at the AMC Forum in Montreal, Quebec.

To win, all you have to do is email us your name and the answer to this question: Who plays Jonah Hill’s Mom in the film?

Continue reading Contest Giveaway: 20 Double Passes To The Montreal Advance Screening Of ‘Cyrus’ at The Playlist.

There are few new players on the scene (and the ones that are, such as Kris Swanberg and Katie Aselton aren’t unfamiliar with the territory due to their relationships with their husbands), and the veterans such as Joe Swanberg (“Alexander the Last”), Andrew Bujalski (“Beeswax”), and Mark and Jay Duplass have all found a decent amount of success and are now working a bit more comfortably — Swanberg’s latest was produced by Noah Baumbach and Bujalski’s working on a studio film based on of the book, “Indecision.”

The Duplass brothers have arguably gotten the best deal so far, working with Hollywood actors such as Marisa Tomei, John C.

Continue reading The Duplass Brothers Break Out Of The Mumblecore-Ghetto With The Major League Comedy, ‘Cyrus’ at The Playlist.

A profile in the New York Times has revealed that the brothers are already in post-production on their next big feature, a stoner-comedy starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon and Judy Greer titled “Jeff Who Lives At Home.”

The story centers on two brothers— one who is going through a mid-life crisis (Helms) and believes his wife (Greer) is having an affair, and the other a lovable loser pothead (Segel) still living with his mom (Sarandon) — as they set out to spy on the wife, a journey with all sorts of unintended consequences.

Continue reading The Duplass Brothers Wrap ‘Jeff Who Lives At Home,’ Forgotten Sports-Comedy ‘The Do-Deca-Pentathalon’ Gets Picked Up at The Playlist.

Talent quickly circled the project. Hill and buddy Jason Schwartzman were pretty much immediately attached as the leads and then Jason Segel and director Akiva Schaffer, known for his SNL Lonely Island skits with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone soon followed.

Continue reading Could ‘Adventurer’s Handbook’ Also Star James McAvoy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Or Chris Pine? Jonah Hill Talks ‘Zoolander 2,’ Plus ‘Cyrus’ Rollout Sched at The Playlist.

Continue reading ‘Cyrus’ Says “Don’t F**k My Mom”; ‘Three Musketeers’ vs. ‘Scream 4’ On April 15, 2011; ‘Inception’ Scares ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ & More at The Playlist.