EEAAO‘s Daniel Kwan makes one final plea for fans to please be chill about the Oscars
"The last thing I ask of any fans of our film is to be gracious and kind tomorrow, especially if we don’t pick up awards that you might have felt we deserved."
Aux News Daniel Kwan
As half of writing-directing team Daniels, Daniel Kwan is one of the people largely responsible for one of this year’s more surprising Oscars contenders, sci-fi comedy Everything Everywhere, All At Once—which is, to the best of our knowledge, the only Best Picture nominee in the long history of the Academy in which martial artists give themselves combat-vital power-ups by literally shoving things up their own butts. (Although it’s been a minute since we’ve watched On The Waterfront.)
That also makes Kwan partially, if not responsible for, then at least associated with, the reactions the film has garnered from fans—most of which have been rapturous, energetic, and kind, in keeping with the spirit of a film that ultimately skews optimistic about people’s potential to be good. But also occasionally not, which might explain why Kwan (not for the first time) has issued a brief request to fans ahead of the film’s performance at tomorrow night’s awards, which we’ll paraphrase thusly: Please do not act like rampaging dicks if EEAAO doesn’t win any awards.
Kwan was more eloquent, admittedly, hopping on Twitter (alongside a notification that he’s going to be making himself scarce on social media for a bit) to make his request:
The last thing I ask of any fans of our film is to be gracious and kind tomorrow, especially if we don’t pick up awards that you might have felt we deserved. I love every one of the films we are up against for different reasons. More importantly, I have grown to love the people behind each of the films as I have gotten to know them this year. I already have everything I could ever want, and there is no need to be angry on our behalf.
Fingers crossed that some of those lessons in cross-dimensional empathy sunk in; meanwhile, Kwan also released an Instagram post this weekend with more personal reflections on the year since the movie had its SXSW debut; it’s lovely stuff. Everything Everywhere, All At Once is nominated for 11 awards this year, with Kwan personally up for two, for Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay.
21 Comments
Why would anyone want to act like a rampaging dick, in any case? Sure, careers are made, reputations are affected, etc. etc., but people in the biz should know the game by now. If audiences can’t deal with a loss that doesn’t even affect them in any way then maybe its time to step back from cinema-going.
Because Social Media and the algorithm feeds on outrage. So people write articles with click -bait hyperbolic headlines. And then other people read those articles, feel validated in their outrage, and post even more hyperbolic statements in support on Social Media. Which then gets reposted and amplified by others, etc, etc ad nauseum.Until eventually some poor actress is having to justify why she “deserves” an award over Michelle Yeoh (although I do hope Yeoh wins) because a large Twitter mob is calling the best moment of her life an example of the triumph of racism and injustice.
Yeah, I don’t waste time with twitter. Only the famous/outrageous are even heard and they’re generally heard everywhere else too. Ironically enough, those who are famous and truly talented should avoid it to save their sanity.As you’re suggesting, I think, people WANT to be outraged. Immediate dopamine hit, etc.,…. People aren’t “losing” their minds; they’re giving them away.
I remember a time when you could legitimately cite tweets in academic writing.
Now it’d probably be similarly frowned upon as citing Wikipedia.
Yep – in real life I know people who loved EEAO (like me), people who thought it was just fine, and people for whom it was not their cup of tea, and the discussions about it that I’ve been part of have been perfectly nice and reasonable even when we disagree in our assessment of the film. But more often than not when I see EEAO come up on twitter it seems like the movie has some rabid supporters who think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and you’re an elitist snob if you disagree and some rabid detractors who think it’s treacly, cringeworthy garbage that doesn’t deserve all these awards. Social media just has a way of finding the most extreme opinions on any topic and amplifying them so that people think they are much more widely held attitudes than they actually are.
Social media has created a world where everyone is trying to make their “mic drop” moment.
It’s kind of like how if you teach everyone to be a leader, then you just wind up with a room full of people who all believe they deserve to be the one in charge, and thusly, nothing gets accomplished.
Some Things, In the Appropriate Places, Only at the Appointed Time.
EEAAO is the noise fans will make if they don’t win.
we’ll paraphrase thusly: Please do not act like rampaging dicks if EEAAO doesn’t win any awards.
And I’ll extrapolate thusly: Could AV Club please not incite the rampaging dicks if EEAAO doesn’t win any awards.
The commenters here are wise to your shtick. Show us you’re smarter than this: https://www.avclub.com/12-4-million-people-tuned-in-to-watch-the-grammys-snub-1850080939
What’s the use asking. It’s their bread and butter now. It’s everyone’s meal ticket now. I can’t even get decent google search results anymore. It’s all sponsored content.
I tend to agree with you.
I just find it remarkable that AV Club would ask “Please do not act like rampaging dicks (their words) if EEAAO doesn’t win any awards.” when they evidently behave similarly dickish themselves.
You’ve always been one of the nicer, more level-headed commenters on G/O Media.
Thanks, though I’m sure the local RWNJs would disagree. 🙂
The day after on the front page:So, you don’t think it was wrong EEAAO didn’t win Best Documentary? Well, here’s why you’re racist
Soon as I read it, I knew you were right.
Ok, that made me laugh. It also made me think uncomfortably of the crapfest in the comments section for last week’s “…Bends the Knee” article.
I have to say, reading the entirety of Kwan’s tweet story was so beautiful and empathetic and I can only imagine how overwhelming the past year has been. Like he said, just getting the opportunity to make the film, let alone to find an audience felt like a huge victory. I have been rooting for this film ever since I saw it last spring, but I also know that these awards that pit works of art against each other like rottweilers at a dog fight is antithetical to the whole point of making art. I can see why he feels uneasy and while I would love for them to win, and win big, I also understand that all of their lives have already changed. This film is destined to be a classic regardless of what happens. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. I hope (and bet) it’s something so strange and off-putting that they won’t have to worry about this kind of hoopla again.
Well said. I think it has a very good shot of winning big at the Academy Awards based on its success at other awards shows, but I’ll only be mildly disappointed if not. It has already done amazingly well and the fact that so many people are talking about it and how it resonated with them is much more meaningful.
It would be awesome if they become like the Coen brothers: win big for Fargo, becomes media darlings as the new hot directors and writers, and then follow that up with a total weirdo flick like Big Lebowski…which at the time it came out, was absolutely hated by most critics and audiences who were in complete expectation of another Fargo, only to have in time, see that film become one of the biggest cult favorites ever.
the toxic positivity brigade is ready to call us all racist because we didn’t like Rick and Morty: The Movie😭😭😭
Can life get any more like a high school assembly?
“Now before we begin, I want to remind you all to be polite, sit still and give them your undivided attention.”