Duke’s ‘Arkansas’ to be released Tuesday
After a decade in the planning, Glenwood native Clark Duke’s directorial debut will be released this Tuesday on streaming platforms.
“Arkansas,” written and directed by Duke, will be available to stream online, and it will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, which happens to be Duke’s 35th birthday.
“That was not planned,” Duke said about the coincidence of the release date falling on his birthday. But, he also said, if the public watches the movie,
“it would be a very nice gift for me.”
The movie follows two drug couriers who find themselves in trouble with the drug kingpin they work for. Duke plays one of the drug couriers, as does Liam Hemsworth. The kingpin is played by Vince Vaughn. The movie also features John Malkovich, Vivica A. Fox and Eden Brolin.
“I’m excited. It’s just all emotions at once,” Duke said about the movie finally being released. He shot the film in 2018, which included filming a few scenes in Hot Springs at both Hot Springs National Park and at Maxine’s. Over the last year, the film has been edited together.
While the film is debuting on streaming services, it was originally supposed to open at South by Southwest, and have a theatrical run. Duke said he was disappointed the COVID-19 pandemic prevented both of those things from happening, but he
sees the positive of making the movie available to people to see in their own homes.
“As a filmmaker, and as someone who loves going to theaters, it’s a bummer to not see it with an audience,” Duke said.
“I think it would have been well received” at SXSW, he said. “At the same time, I do think that art and entertainment is a service for people … people need entertainment right now.”
With many people quarantined at home due to the coronavirus, Duke said that “maybe some people will get a kick out it.”
Duke said “Arkansas” “is a fun look at the South” that shows places like Hot Springs, “a place you don’t really see in films.”
While he has been in the film industry for decades as an actor, Duke said his goal all along was to direct and he intends to continue doing both in the future.
“I’ve got two or three feature screenplays ready to go,” Duke said, adding that he didn’t know when the industry would start making movies again. Most studios have stopped filming during the pandemic.
“I’ll be ready when we can,” Duke said.
As far as acting, Duke said “I feel like I’ll always act, but I wouldn’t mind” acting in “my own projects.”
“My intent going forward is mainly … in writing and directing,” he said.
Using “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau and “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi as examples of professionals who are mainly directors but who still appear in movies, Duke said “I know both of those guys. They do it, and they do it well, so that’s my goal.”
Like the rest of the country, Duke’s life has changed due to the coronavirus. “I’m fine, I’ve been out in LA, most of my family is in Arkansas,” Duke said, adding “I’m healthy, I’m safe.”