Vince Del Rio (lost unreleased Duplass Brothers movie; 2002)

Photo of filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass.

Status: Lost

After starring in the 1997 Troma Entertainment film Connect 5, the Duplass Brothers (Jay and Mark Duplass) started production on their first feature length film, Vince Del Rio, which was slated for release in 2002. For a multitude of reasons, with the most prominent one being they were unsatisfied with the final product, the film was left unreleased. They would later find more success with their 2005 film The Puffy Chair, which is often considered to be one of the first movies to influence the Mumblecore genre.

Plot

The plot of the movie is as described by Jay and Mark Duplass in their 2018 autobiography Like Brothers:

We decided on a story about a former standout high school cross-country runner (played by Mark) from the Texas border town of Del Rio. This runner, Vince, cheats in an Olympic Trials qualifying race and lands a spot in the actual Olympic Trials. It was inspired by our deep love of the original Rocky film. About a man who gets a fluke shot at redemption and greatness.

Background

Jay and Mark Duplass were both born in New Orleans, Louisiana in the mid 1970's. Both brothers were inspired by the works of the Coen Brothers, Jim Carrey, and Mr. Miyagi, and would regularly create short films in their spare time. As they grew up, their drive to create films grew more serious, and would star in the film Connect 5, which Jay Duplass would also co-direct and executive produce. After attending college, Jay and Mark would start business in Austin, Texas as freelance editors in 1996, at a rate of $5 an hour, inspired by the works of Richard Linklater.

According to Mark, he and his brother were hired by a company named Gardening.com to edit a gardening documentary within the several hundred thousand dollar range. However, just as they finished production and delivered the film, the company shut down, and the film never saw a release. With extra money from the gig on the side, the duo decided to put their money into a Canon GL1 and a high-effort film, with both Jay and Mark directing.

Production

In late 2000, with the help of their recently employed editing partner Jay Deuby, the brothers started writing a drama screenplay titled Vince Del Rio.

After nearing the final editing stages of the film, the brothers had grown to detest it. Although they were overambitious with their production, it had resulted in a work that they considered "a pile of steaming elephant dung". Even though they were happy with the production design and how the film was shot, they both felt something was off about it. Despite this, they completed their first cut of the movie, and premiered it in a room composing of fifty friends and local filmmakers. The film was met with mixed reception from the audience.

Trying to salvage the story, propositions of rewrites and retakes had led the Duplass brothers to scrap the movie altogether. Years later, the brothers would begin to recognize the glaring flaws of the film itself: the lackluster performances and story. Although they had spent much time editing the movie to the best of their ability, they were amateur actors and writers. Another factor in the movie's failure is attributed to the brothers trying to make a "professional" film with a $65,000 budget. No footage of the film has ever seen the light of day.