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A director without his brother. A comedian without his bottle. A belt that wouldn’t hold. A partnership that couldn’t last.
Sometimes the universe breaks you perfectly—right along the lines where the light needs to get in.
In Baltimore, two displaced artists discovered that permission is a prison and breaking out only requires one thing: beginning before you’re ready.
My guests today are Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner, two artists whose paths converged through Instagram DMs to create something anachronistic in today’s film landscape. Jay, co-architect of the mumblecore movement and one-half of the Duplass Brothers filmmaking partnership, returns to solo directing after 14 years with The Baltimorons. Michael, a comedian whose journey from The Groundlings to rock bottom to seven years sober, stars in this semi-autobiographical exploration of early recovery.
“I did not want to be sober. I was so afraid of what life looked like without this thing that I had for so long.”
– MICHAEL STRASSNER
Today, we discuss:
- Jay’s 14-Year Solo Directing Journey
- Michael’s Path From Rock Bottom to Recovery
- Making Movies Without Hollywood Permission
- The Myth of Substances Fueling Creativity
- Why Vulnerability Is The Ultimate Superpower
- The ZTP Foundation honoring Zachary T. Paff
For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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- Connect with Michael: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | X
- IMDb: Michael Strassner
- IMDb: The Baltimorons
- The ZTP Foundation: honors the memory of Michael’s brother Zachary T. Paff, who tragically lost his life after a battle with addiction.
- Connect with Jay: Instagram
- IMDb: Jay Duplass
- Article: The Guardian: Jay Duplass: ‘Rocky is my favourite movie of all time. I’ve seen that film probably 20 times’
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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Jason Camiolo for audio engineering, production, show notes and interstitial music; with additional audio engineering by Cale Curtis and additional music by Moby; Dan Drake & Morgan McCrae for video, & editing; graphics by graphics by Alejandro Ribadeneira & Bryan Lawrence; portraits by Davy Greenberg; copywriting by Ben Pryor; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
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