The success of “Backrooms” and “Obsession” is a glimmer of hope for young creators who are forging their own path online, Mark Duplass said in a video shared on social media Saturday. “I don’t want to overstate it. I know how complicated and dire things can be. But this is cool,” he began.
“We now know we have the democratized access to technology,” Duplass continued. “We’ve been wondering where to put these things because the distribution system is so fractured. But we’ve got an example of creators woodshedding things, putting them online, building an audience, and now the people with the purse strings are going to notice probably a little bit sooner because they see what they can do at the box office in the form of these two films that are overperforming.”
“So it helps to double down on what I’ve always believed in, which is we should be woodshedding at home with our friends,” he continued. “We should be using the tools that we have available to us, our iPhones and Blender and swing the sword that’s in your hand, make your stuff and when it’s really good, start putting it out there. And there’s a path.”
“Backrooms” enjoyed a $118 million opening weekend, and Kane Parsons became the youngest director to to top the box office in one fell swoop. “Obession” also premiered this month.
While speaking at the Produced by Conference Saturday, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum said, “Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ are edgy and weird and f–king nuts, and to me, there’s almost this feeling of the ’70s, of this new generation of young people who are making edgy movies that are connecting in theaters in a crazy way.”
“And what I think is so incredible about ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ is that they’re a new kind of movie. They’re made by non-traditional directors, directors who really honed their skills as creators online.”
