“Manson Family Vacation” stars Jay Duplass and Linas Phillips recently reunited with director J. Davis and sat down with TheWrap to discuss the indie comedy, which debuted Friday on Netflix following its SXSW premiere earlier this year.
Duplass plays a family man whose oddball brother (Phillips) comes to visit with the goal of visiting famous landmarks related to Charles Manson.
Duplass said that the two sibling characters represented separate sides of Davis, who revealed that his childhood interest in “Helter Skelter” and the Manson family felt like forbidden fruit for him as a young man.
Phillips did a lot of research on Manson, though he lamented that having books about the charming psychopath didn’t do him any favors with women who visited his apartment.
The trio also discussed the film’s alternative distribution plan, the challenge of filming at real life locations and why people have been so fascinated by Manson for decades.
“He’s a phenomenally charismatic human being who 10 percent of the time is wildly profound and reveals truths in very creative ways, said Duplass, who notes that if Manson had made it as a musician, “a lot of people would probably still be alive.”
Duplass also discussed why he got involved executive producing Sean Baker’s “Tangerine” and is mounting an awards campaign for its two transgender stars, Mya Taylor and Kitana ‘Kiki’ Rodriguez.
Watch the “Manson Family Vacation” video above and the “Tangerine” video below.