Happy Monday!
Every time Adrien and I crack open a new script, there’s one constant. One character who shows up before anyone or anything else does. His name is Carl.
Carl is the ghost in the machine of every Marquet Films project. He’s been in everything: 8-Ball, A Menina das Caixas, I’m Not Supposed To Be Here, A Single Serving Friend - even the stories that are still on the page. If you’ve never noticed him, that’s intentional. Carl is our universal placeholder, the first face in every draft.
When I first met Adrien back in Fall 2022, he was writing what would become 8-Ball. The lead character? Carl. Always Carl. Until he was Vini.
We don’t hate the name Carl. It’s a strong name. A respectable name. The kind of name you’d hand your keys to without asking questions. The name you’d reluctantly trust around your daughter after one firm handshake. Hell, doesn’t the name Carl just sound like a volunteer fireman who also works at an animal shelter on the weekends? But it just…wasn’t our guy.
Vini wasn’t a Carl. Adrien (the character) wasn’t a Carl. Frank Richardson? Definitely not a Carl. Tanner? No chance. But they all began as Carl. It became a weird tradition, almost a superstition. If you ever read a script from either myself or Adrien and there isn’t a Carl in the original first draft, call the police. Identity theft isn’t a joke.
Which brings us to Anthony’s Balls, our fifth co-created short. Like always, the script began with Carl as one of the three friends. But this time, we didn’t swap him out.
Not because of symbolism, or reinvention, or some clever meta joke. We just… forgot. And then decided, f*** it, Carl’s perfect! So Carl stayed. And he ended up anchoring one of the strongest on-screen trios we’ve had so far. Blake H. Phillips, Michael Molloy, and Steel Bey (our Carl) bring such distinct energy that keeping his name, Carl, actually made sense. Carl was Carl.
Or maybe it was Steel’s line delivery of “THESE ARE BALLS, ACTUAL BALLS!” that sealed it.
Balls aside, will Carl keep showing up in future films? Absolutely. He’s the first building block of every character we’ve written, and honestly, probably every character we’ll write next. Everyone has a Carl inside of them, figuratively and literally.
So here’s to new stories, new films, and more Carl.
Have a great week ahead,
Pat and the Marquet Films team