Mark Duplass isn’t happy about allegations that Kane Parsons didn’t actually direct “Backrooms.”
“A lot of takes going around right now about whether Kane Parsons, at the tender age of 19, actually directed ‘Backrooms’ or whether it was more ghost directed by one of his more experienced producers,” Duplass said in an Instagram video. “I was there. I suspect one of the reasons I was hired was because I mentor a lot of young filmmakers, and they may have thought it was good to have someone there who’s sensitive to that, and I was prepared to help out. And what happened was he didn’t need any of us. He was intensely prepared.” You can watch the full clip below.
Duplass, who stars in “Backrooms” alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, rushed to the defense of Parsons, now just 20 years old, after users on social media started accusing the filmmaker of not actually being in control of his feature debut.
“We all know Kane Parsons absolutely didn’t direct this movie,” one X user said in response to a post about the “Backrooms” box office projections, which are currently in the neighborhood of $40-$50 million domestic. “But the needle is moving in the right direction.”
Duplass quickly shut this unfounded rumor down.
“Hmmm, with all due respect I don’t remember seeing you on set,” he said. “When I was there, Kane was 100% in control. More so than many directors 3x his age.”
The rumor seems to stem from Parsons being given the keys to an A24 horror feature at just 19 years old, becoming the studio’s youngest director to date. Users like @TheTologist, who claimed to work in the industry, speculated that a studio wouldn’t give someone as young as Parsons that kind of film without significant oversight.
But Parsons had experience in the “Backrooms” world well before A24 came knocking. The filmmaker began uploading videos about the liminal space creepy pasta phenomenon back in 2022, using the 3D software Blender and his YouTube channel Kane Pixels to flesh out the concept through found footage short films. Will Soodik wrote the screenplay for the film, based on Parsons’ work.
“He spent the last five years of his life building out one of the most detailed mythologies I’ve ever been a part of,” Duplass said in his video. “Worked incredibly closely with his crew, particularly his DP and shot design, and was very sensitive and calm and smart in dealing with actors. So, for those of you who have all these thoughts, were you there?”
“Backrooms” releases in theaters on Friday, May 29.
