Mark Duplass - Like Brothers

D O NOT PUT Mark and Jay Duplass on your sitcom. Ever. I made that mistake. Six years ago, they guest-starred on my show, The Mindy Project. They were just supposed to come in, play funny midwife brothers, and leave. But within a day and and a half, the entire cast and crew liked them better than me. There was something about Mark and Jays Southern affability, their genuine interest in the people around them, their low-key stylish clothes, and their fascinating Hollywood stories that drew everyone to them. They even sang and played the guitar really well. How eyeroll-emoji-inducing is that? Suddenly everyone on my show had abandoned me to be around Mark and Jay and hear stories of how theyd made their wonderful films The Puffy Chair,Safety Not Guaranteed, Cyrus, Tangerine, and many more. Then everyone wanted to know what it was like to star in their own television shows, Transparent and Togetherness. It was all too much for a leading actress to hear, so now they are banned from set.

But somehow I still like to hang out with them. Just privately. Because theyre funny, theyre woke as hell, and they have a way of making you feel like the best version of yourself. Theyre artists, with that kind of tireless entrepreneurial spirit that inspires. When you hear them talking about their projects, suddenly youre excited about making a movie too! Maybe youll direct a film that you wrote! Maybe youll go to Sundance and have Ted Sarandos from Netflix throw obscene money at you for all your artistic endeavors! These two act, they write, they foster talent, they take chances on young artists, and they do it all while being married and raising kids. I guess white men can have it all. And Im glad this book exists to explain how. And to make you feel like I feel when Im hanging out with them.

In closing, Id just like to say this:

Wright. Ringling. Jonas. Im sure you could name a bunch of famous brother teams. Theyre all garbage compared to Mark and Jay. I cant wait for you to read this book. But please dont mention them if you ever run into me.

Love,

Mindy

Los Angeles, California

T HE ROYAL WE is a tricky thing. Its certainly helpful at times. It allows us to share that collective first-person-plural voice that makes us The Boys (a label thats stuck since childhood). The royal we perfectly sets up those inspiring twenty-to-thirty-word quotes in articles written about the beauty of our long-term film and TV collaboration. How we share the same brain. How one pronoun can encompass us both. Basically, we use it to talk about ourselves because it brings our voices together. Making us stronger.

But it also sucks sometimes. Because theres a distinct lack of I in that we. And the bizarre, undefinable edges that make us uniquely ourselves get rubbed out so that the we can come across more clearly. Is it reductive? Sometimes a little bit. Sometimes a lot. But its for the greater good, right? Because no one wants to listen to Lindsey Buckinghams solo record (sorry, Mr. Buckingham, as much as we love your technically proficient acoustic finger-picking, this is just a reality). People want to listen to Fleetwood Mac. That magical blend of disparate talents that creates the special soup you can eat all week, not just on Tuesday afternoon when youre hungover and feeling weird.