He goes to the country.
For his new show “Penelope,” Mark Duplass said he was inspired by his attitude towards technology – and by his daughters.
“I wrote it during the pandemic. I think we all felt strange and out of touch. We all got addicted to our technology again. But at the same time, I was starting to realize this technology — our phones, our relationships with them — may be destroying us,” Duplass, 47, told The Post.
Four years after he began writing “Penelope,” which is about to premiere (Sept. 24 on Netflix), “There are great movements around the world as we realize what our phones have done to our mental lives,” he said. And, what we have lost by withdrawing from nature.
“So, I am very happy to accept [the show] around the world at a time when people are more open to seeing different ways of living our lives.”
The actor, director, writer and filmmaker recently received an Emmy nomination for “outstanding actor in a drama series” for Apple’s “The Morning Show,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. (His co-star, Billy Crudup, eventually took home the trophy.)
“Awards are a funny thing, I’m in two minds,” Duplass said. “The first point is, I think it is foolish to have any competition in the area of creativity. So, I don’t put a lot of money into them. But, once I’m selected, I’m very happy, and I throw all those things away.”
Along with his brother, Jay, Duplass has also created, directed, and produced a series of documentaries and horror projects, such as the HBO horror anthology series “Room 104” and the 2018 Netflix documentary “Wild Wild Country .”
For “Penelope,” Duplass wrote and co-produced it with Mel Eslyn (and is produced by Duplass Brothers Productions). The coming-of-age show follows a 16-year-old girl (Megan Stott, “Little Fires Everywhere”) who leaves the modern world to live in the wilds of Washington State.
“Like everybody, I just want to throw my phone in the grass all the time,” Duplass said.
“I’m a backpacker, so I’ll be out anywhere from 3 to 5 days at a time, and the phones don’t work there,” the former “The Mindy Project” star added.
“That community in particular inspired me a lot, because it is kind and loving…we are all at war now: culture, society, politics. When you leave camp and pack your bags, everyone is there to support you. And many of the characters in ‘Penelope’ reflect that. ”
The 16-year-old girl has a different personality than Duplass, but she joked, “If you looked at my Spotify algorithm, you’d think I was a 16-year-old girl, because of the crazy in. the taste of music.”
Duplass is married to his “The League” co-star Katie Aselton, 45, and the couple has two daughters: Ora, 17, and Molly, 12.
“I think in particular, the 16-year-old girls that I see often represented on television – whether it’s ‘Gossip Girl’ or ‘Euphoria’ or ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ – are very different from Penelope,” she said. .
“I wanted to provide a different lens … I wanted them to have something like that to watch on television.”
As for how he writes shows like “Penelope,” which runs on “The Morning Show” and produces documentaries like Hulu’s upcoming “Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal” (also out Sept. 24), Duplass he said he likes “balance.”
“I think actually, I start working on something like ‘The Morning Show,’ where I’m relaxed and taken care of. Then, I’m going to break into a show like ‘Penelope’ which is a real project. .That balance helps me a lot.”
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