I don't think it would be entirely insane to say that James and Robert do some of their best story work when they're basing a movie off an idea that was not created specifically to be a movie idea, but rather through a series of jokes tossed around while hanging out. Unless I'm very much mistaken, this is the first significant example of that (it was also sorta the case with A Wind to Shake the Stars, though not completely). Actually, the real first examples were Gangster Movie and The Price of Failure. James and Robert apparently don't count these as official Dastoli Digital movies because they were Shakespeare adaptations for Directing 2, but both concepts originated from improvisational jokes made while hanging out, and they are both real Dastoli Digital movies, no matter what James and Robert tell you.

Equal Justice exists because James and Robert watched an episode of Montel (Twins: Alike or Different?) with my brother Alejandro, who had recently watched A Time to Kill on TV. He started joking with them about a movie that would expose these ridiculous ideas people have about twins, using the template of a courtroom drama set against a racist southern backdrop. At the time, I don't think any of us imagined that James and Robert would seriously consider making this movie (or that it would become far and away their most expensive project to date), but as their Directing 3 class neared and other options became less likely, James and Robert moved it up on the list until it became what is known in the industry as a "go picture." Makes you wonder if Montel ever did an episode back in the 30's about William Randolph Hearst, and if Orson Welles and his idiot friends were watching at the time.

My brother and I wrote the first draft of this based on conversations with James and Robert about what plot points they wanted to hit and what twin [mis]conceptions they wanted to include, and when we finished, James and Robert did a final pass, notably adding some man-on-the-street reactions to all the courtroom scenes. My brother and I love courtroom movies, and hopefully other courtroom movie lovers can appreciate that when viewing Equal Justice. Some inspirations included A Time to Kill (obviously) and Philadelphia, with a phobia of identical twins in the place of racism and homophobia (respectively).

As far as I know, James and Robert had never seriously addressed what it's like to be a twin in any of their movies before this (they'd made three about siblings, two of them Star Wars fanfilms, one of which did not really deal with any sibling issues). With that taken into consideration, this movie couples well with their other Directing 3 short, Another Way Home, as a two-pack of Dastoli Digital movies that deal with personal issues.

As for the movie itself, what can I say? It's a fuckin pearl. Just chock full of symbolism. The fact that the Mulligan twins are played by one actor is the ultimate insult to how the world sees twins as being two of the same person. Once again, Dastolis treat us to a series of wonderful visuals topped with a sharp understanding of satire and wit. As Wally Fong said in his REwindVideo.com review of Equal Justice, "George Lucas would have something to learn from these real life twin brothers." You hit the nail on the head there, Wally. How the hell does Amidala just fall in love with Anakin for no goddamn reason in Episode II?

Fun fact: Starting with Equal Justice, James and Robert began interviewing other people besides themselves for the Behind the Scenes. This is something they had done only once before, in the Behind the Scenes for The Black Iris. In my opinion, it is what made Behind the Scenes of The Black Iris the undisputed best Behind the Scenes featurette in Dastoli Digital history, so I was thrilled that they brought it back, as well as honored to be included.

You'll notice in the Behind the Scenes, I am apparently unaware that anyone besides me and Carl was playing dual roles in this movie. This is because James and Robert purposely waited to finish that one panning shot of all the twins (half of whom were not really twins), because Equal Justice was supposed to be the 33rd Dastoli Digital movie, and they couldn't allow themselves to finish it before Another Way Home, or it would have to be the 32nd. One of their passions is posterity.

Here is what the Dastolis have to say about Equal Justice:

JAMES:

"I think the biggest issue with this movie is that the first laugh doesn't come in until a few scenes into the movie. People don't even know they're watching a comedy until then, even though we had wanted the main titles to be so over the top that they get it there."

I suppose you could consider this an issue, although "a few scenes" is actually just the one scene, which serves essential setup duties. I am confident that this movie plays ideally for its intended audience, which is why I'm also glad we didn't stick with the unofficial working title, Twin Courtroom Drama, and left that discovery for the viewer.

ROBERT:

"When making Equal Justice, we faced the dilemma of shooting in a sub-par half classroom courtroom for free, or paying hundreds of dollars to shoot in an authentic old-fashioned perfect looking courtroom. I think we made the right choice."

Definitely. It may have put a serious hurt on your wallets, but you know what they say. Pain is temporary. Dastoli Digital is forever.