The Puffy Chair is the Duplass Brothers' first feature.
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The Puffy Chair is the Duplass Brothers' first feature.
When the Duplass Brothers were young dudes, they made many "films" in their hometown of New Orleans. There was The Blob, starring their blue bean bag, followed by The Invisible Man Walking Across the Den and the epic saga about the robber versus the karate expert. Jay (the elder) would film, and Mark (the younger) would act and lug the VCR, which was connected to Jay's camera. These films premiered in the mid-80s in their parents living room to rave reviews.
Later on, Jay and Mark moved to Austin and went to college. They studied film, grew sideburns, and talked about the French New Wave. While still in college (22 and 19 years old), they made a film. It was a bad film. This was a low moment for the Duplass Brothers.
In 1997, to remedy Jay's depression, both brothers sold their cars and started an editing business with the money. They edited many of the indie films in Austin, learning much about what makes movies bad. However, they couldn't seem to make a good movie themselves.
Then, one day in 2002, while moping about in their Austin apartment, Mark stood up and said, "We're going to make a movie today." They used what they had - a kitchen and a cheap digital camera. Jay shot it, and Mark acted. It was called This is John, and it's about a guy who tries to perfect the personal greeting of his answering machine and fails. It came from personal experience for both brothers, and people seemed to really connect with this one. It played the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and earned them a representation deal with The William Morris Agency. Next came Scrabble, also shot in a kitchen for a few dollars. It's about the horrible things we do to the people we love over a board game (personal experience again). It played Sundance in 2004 and won a few awards that year. Then came The Intervention which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February of 2005, winning the Silver Bear and the Teddy Award.
The Puffy Chair is the Duplass Brothers' first feature. It premiered at Sundance 2005, was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, and was acquired for theatrical distribution by Roadside Attractions/Netflix in January of 2006.