After news broke out yesterday that The Daniels had directed an episode of the upcoming Disney Plus series, “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” the internet blew up. There was some backlash from fans of the EEAAO duo who accused them of selling out.
I didn’t say anything ill about their latest endeavor. You can read my writeup.
The backlash was, I guess, fierce enough, that Daniel Kwan posted an Instagram story clearing up the initial reports about ‘Skeleton Crew.’ Kwan is basically saying they are only directing one episode of the series.
“Lol, all of the people @ing us about getting sucked up by the ‘corporate machine’ can chill. These headlines are always misleading. Don’t worry. We aren’t working on a whole series, we guest directed one episode. Jon Watts approached us to do an episode awhile ago (before ‘EEAAO’ even came out). We love Jon, love ‘Star Wars,’ love learning new tech, we love meeting new cast and crew, and we needed the days to keep our healthcare (!!!) so it was an easy yes. We shot it last year and had an incredible time working with the most talented cast and crew and i’m excited for you all to see it.”
He added, “Our next film will be an original Daniels project so you can stop worrying (and stop bothering me about it).” Phew. What we need is more EEAAO-styled films, the fans demand it!
What Kwan seems to be saying is they they agreed in directing one episode of ‘Skeleton Crew’ before “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was even released. They are not sellouts. They are Oscar-winning auteurs of the highest order.
More ‘EEAAO,’ more “Swiss Army Man”, please!
In all seriousness, if you actually want to watch a very good movie directed by a Daniel, you should actually check out Scheinert’s 2018 film “The Death of Dick Long.” No, really, its well-worth seeking out this film about two dim-witted guys who are in over their heads trying to cover up the accidental death of their friend Dick Long.
A pitch-black comedy akin to a white trash version of “Fargo.” It’s a idiosyncratic winner. And, just like Joel and Ethan Coen‘s crime thriller, Scheinert’s film is infused with the playful embrace of cultural stereotypes that come with the genre. It’s a gut-bustlingly hilarious, good time at the movies, all due to his gift for infusing tonally perfect humor.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.