‘Jeff, Who Lives at Home’ screens at AFI

The Duplass brothers unveiled their new dramedy “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” on Tuesday at the AFI Fest.

Starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms, the duo’s follow-up to “Cyrus” tells the story of a 30 year-old stoner (Segel) who is trying to determine his fate from his Mom’s basement in Baton Rouge. Susan Surandon co-stars.

“This movie is twenty percent better than ‘The Godfather,’” Mark Duplass wryly promised the Mann's Chinese audience.

The Duplass siblings, who have long dominated the indie circuit with such films as “Puffy Chair” and “Douchebag” admitted the Paramount pic was a rather daunting affair, particularly one action sequence that involved the Coast Guard, bridge jumping and a number of actors submerged underwater.

“That scene alone was harder than all of our previous movies combined,” co-director Jay Duplass confessed during a post-screening Q&A. “We (always) work in controlled chaos.”

“There was an alligator in the water an hour before shooting that!” said Segel, who sat and watched the film with his parents.

While much of Tuesday’s conversation was filled with laughter, Jay Duplass was eager to stress the importance of being true to one's self as a filmmaker.

“In our twenties, we wanted to be the Coen brothers,” he said, “but we quickly realized they’ve got that shit locked up.”

Follow Stuart Oldham on Twitter