Transparent Season 3. Part 2 - Heading for Disaster

by Chris Feil

Transparent thrives on impending personal cataclysm and the middle portion of its third season is no exception. Per usual, the Pfeffermans are on track for explosions big and small coming not soon enough for their own good or too fast that they can't see it as its happening. When Eric left us off, Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) had made the decision to fully transition, Sarah (Amy Landecker) was still struggling to get spiritually arrested, and Alli's (Gabby Hoffman) was continuing her relationship with the shifty Leslie (Cherry Jones). In this next section, Judith Light's Shelly takes a backseat, while Josh (Jay Duplass) begins a series of oncoming crises.

Episode 4 - "Just the Facts"

Maura opens the episode with a visit to her plastic surgeon to see the potential outcome from her planned facial reconstruction. She's beginning to see the belabored process of intrusive and endless therapy visits required to fully transition, but the projection of her future self staring back at her is all too promising to get discouraged...

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The Duplass Brothers are Coming to HBO...Again

Kieran, here. Those who were saddened by the cancellation of the Jay and Mark Duplass-helmed HBO series "Togetherness" (if you haven't seen it, get thee to on demand and join in the mourning) may be at least a little bit heartened to learned that the writer-director sibling duo is returning to HBO. Their new project is an anthology series currently titled "Room 104" about a hotel and the different characters who occupy the room at different times. As if reacting to the now wide array of anthology series both on premium and basic cable (some excellent, others...not so much), the Duplass brothers will inject their brand of low-concept, observational human drama and comedy into the format. “We’ve all seen stories set in seedy motels and high-class international resorts, but for years we’ve been fascinated by the funny, weird, sad, scary, absurd things going down in that corporate chain hotel near the airport. That’s what ‘Room 104’ is after… finding some magic in the seemingly mundane," stated the brothers in a recent statement.

With the announcement of this new Duplass brothers outing as well as the upcoming "Divorce" (starring and executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker) and "Insecure" (created by and starring Issa Rae, creator of the very funny webseries "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl") it seems that HBO is trying to make a narratively bold statement with their programming choices. Despite the fact that the network's arguable flagship show is a high-concept genre series, they're not making the mistake of many feature film executives, which is to do lowest common denominator versions of what they think is successful. Yes, television and movies are two different industries and the latter relies much more heavily on mercurial but instant and quantifiable financial success. HBO isn't just looking at the success of "Game of Thrones" and saying "More of this and ONLY more of this." This is not meant to denigrate the quality of "Game of Thrones," so fans please retire your torches and pitchforks. Even "Game of Thrones" fans can agree that we don't need a watered-down version that's simply trying to capitalize on the show's popularity. While our excitement about "Room 104," "Insecure" and "Divorce" may vary, it's heartening to see a major cable network making a concerted effort at this particular kind of storytelling. 

Melanie Lynskey and Mark Duplass on HBO's "Togetherness"

No cast information has been released for "Room 104" which is slated to air in 2017. This leaves the door open for the fun game of casting expectations and wishlists. The plot of the series is so open-ended, one can easily imagine a wide array of actors inhabiting this new Duplass universe. 

Which actors would you like to see pass through "Room 104"? 

Let My People Link

The Daily Beast the Coen Bros on diversity vs the Oscars. But they don't take kindly to complaints about Hail, Caesar!'s whiteness
Decider Joe Reid ranks the top 50 performances in Coen Bros movies. Much to argue with but also to agree with. The #1 is indisputable.
i09 Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) signed as the male lead of X-Men spinoff tv series Legion who may or may not be insane
Variety Jake Gyllenhaal's Boston Marathon bombing movie is a go  
Decider "Let My People F***" amusing piece on the conservative sexual morality of the Duplass Brothers filmography 

IndieWire Viggo Mortensen's new film Captain Fantastic, which sounds intriguing, will open on July 8th. It co-stars Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, and George Mackay (who played the young photographer in Pride)
Theater Mania Mark Rylance, fresh off his Oscar nomination, returns to the New York stage with Nice Fish (and possibly Farinelli and the King)
THR Bel Powley and Martin Wallström who both broke out this past year in Diary of a Teenage Girl and Mr Robot, respectively, will costar in WWII drama Ashes in the Snow
Playbill Oooh, look. They're putting up the marquee for American Psycho on Broadway. Benjamin Walker, currently in theaters in The Choice (and who is a singing charisma machine onstage) is playing Patrick Bateman 
Interview Peter Dinklage interviews Paul Dano 

DANO: I just did this film, called Youth, that Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda are in. And I have to tell you, Michael Caine is so happy. Happy and healthy. I think he enjoys life. I think he's 82 now, and I have no clue if I'll be working at that age, but it was amazing and inspiring to see him bring it, because you know that the search never ends. I talked to Jane Fonda about acting and about what we want to work on, and I was like, "Jane Fonda and I are talking about how to be better actors."

DINKLAGE: It never stops. 

DANO: Which I also find so beautiful and healthy to see in people who have had so much success. They still have skin in the game. 

An Evening With The Duplass Brothers

Kieran, here. When I saw Sean Baker’s Tangerine (discussed here), I was taken aback to see Mark and Jay Duplass (pictured left, in that order) listed as executive producers. While they’re certainly known for micro-budget features (their first film, The Puffy Chair was made for only $15,000), an indie dramedy about transwomen of color in East Hollywood seemed a far cry from their typical oeuvre.  Listening to them talk last night at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, I quickly realized my perception of them was misguided. They themselves seem aware of how they are perceived. Mark joked at one point: 

I think people think we sleep in bunk beds together. We're actually married and we have children--with other people"

Once the conversation turned to Tangerine and why they signed on as executive producers, they were eager to discuss the Sundance breakout hit. [More...]

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