Everything Everywhere All At Once directors ‘the Daniels’ on this year’s craziest film – which just happens to be an Oscars frontrunner
There’s no doubt that this year’s Oscars frontrunner for best picture is not your standard awards fare.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is an existential exploration of relationships and love via a launderette, taxes and the multiverse, with themes of nihilism and absurdism thrown in for good measure.
The film’s writer-director duo, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – known collectively as “the Daniels” – admit they knew it would be a lot for audiences to take in.
In fact, they told Sky News they were almost looking for a tipping point.
Daniel Scheinert, left, and Daniel Kwan pictured at the Oscars preview luncheon. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
“We thought there would be the people who loved the movie and then for everyone else it would be like, this is too much,” said Kwan.
“Because we kind of made this movie as a stress test, to be like, how much can an audience member hold in their brain? How much can they experience before they give up?
“So we were expecting a lot more people to be like, ‘this was too much for me’ – and some people are saying it’s too much, and that’s fine, but this reception has been mind-blowing.”
The journey this film has been on has indeed been mind-blowing, with the Oscars coming almost a year to the day since its world premiere at the South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival.
From there it became a massive word-of-mouth hit, eventually becoming US studio A24’s highest-grossing film to date – taking more than £90m at the box office worldwide.
Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Pic: A24
It has since gone on to sweep awards season – stars including Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan have already picked up gongs at ceremonies including the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards for their performances – and it looks set to continue that success at the Oscars, where it’s nominated for 11 awards and is the clear favourite to win best picture.
For Kwan and Scheinert, who started out making music videos together before their first feature Swiss Army Man – which featured Daniel Radcliffe playing a flatulent corpse (yes, really) – it’s been curious to see their work finding a completely new audience.
‘We’re used to the weirdos of the world’
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Everything Everywhere star on Oscars nod
“We’ve been making strange things our whole careers,” Kwan said. “It’s been over a decade of just us putting weird things onto the internet and seeing how the world reacts.
“We’re used to a very specific crowd who loves our stuff – you know, the weirdos of the world… and they just connect with it because they see us as weirdos and it’s a beautiful thing where they love it, it’s some of their favourite stuff they’ve ever seen.
“But then for everyone else, they’re like, ‘it’s not my cup of tea’. We’re used to that.”
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But he also admits many compromises were necessary during the making of the drama.
The filmmakers were mindful to tread a line in order to make this movie appealing to viewers, with certain scenes (not least one involving a sex toy), raising some questions.
Making the strangeness accessible
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“[We asked ourselves] Okay, If we include the butt plug trophy fight scene, what percentage of our audience do we lose and is it worth it? There was a lot of bartering with ourselves, just being like, okay, selfishly, I want this, how many people are we going to be pushing away?” Kwan said.
“Because one of our barometers is always: can we show this to our moms? Which is a very funny thing to be asking ourselves when there’s so much vile stuff in our movies, but it is really important that we really want to make the strangeness accessible.”
Content wasn’t the only area of compromise – budget constraints also led to some difficult decisions about what could and couldn’t be included.
But Scheinert says there were some advantages to being somewhat constrained. “Sometimes the challenges really can be demoralising when you’re like, ‘oh man, we bit off more than we should have’. But a lot of times that process makes the movie so much better because it forces us to have conversations about like, ‘Does this matter’?”
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With the film’s release coming so soon after the pandemic changed attitudes to cinema-going, the pair say their intention was to make something that justified the extra length audiences go to in order to see a film on the big screen.
“This is a movie that if you have a short attention span, it doesn’t matter,” Kwan said. “If you want to just have a good time, this movie’s for you; if you want to just feel things and just feel catharsis, this movie has something for you.”
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“If you want to go with friends, leave the theatre and talk for a few hours at the bar, this is for you,” Scheinert continued.
“It is a love letter to all the reasons we like going to theatres – fight scenes are an obvious thing that people like in a theatre, but I love feeling uncomfortable in a theatre, I love hearing people around me get uncomfortable, I love seeing other people cry while there’s tears in my eyes – and I also love the movie Jackass and I love screaming, ‘oh no, no’, at the screen.”
You can watch the Academy Awards on Sunday 12 March from 11pm exclusively on Sky News and Sky Showcase. And for everything you need to know ahead of the ceremony, don’t miss our special Backstage podcast, out now, plus look out for our special episode on the winners from Monday morning.
Davina McCall’s partner has said she is out of surgery after undergoing an operation to remove a brain tumour.
The 57-year-old television presenter had revealed in a video posted on Instagram earlier today she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
She said the chances of having it were “three in a million,” and she had discovered it a few months ago, after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
She also announced she would be having the surgery this evening.
Now her partner – hairdresser Michael Douglas – has posted on social media to say the operation went well.
He said: “Hey all. Davina is out of surgery and according to the surgeon it was textbook! She’s currently recovering in ICU as a precaution, as you can imagine she’s utterly exhausted.
“Thanks so much for all the love from everyone on here… it’s powerful stuff, we are super grateful.”
McCall at the National Television Awards this year. Pic: PA
McCall earlier said the tumour’s discovery came as a shock.
She said: “I slightly put my head in the sand for a while, and then I saw quite a few neurosurgeons, I got lots of opinions. I realised that I have to get it taken out.”
McCall described it as “big”, 14mm wide, adding: “It needs to come out, because if it grows it would be bad.”
She explained that she would have it removed via a craniotomy, describing the procedure: “They go through the top of my head here and through the two halves of my brain to the middle.
“They get the cyst, take it out, empty it, and Bob’s your uncle.”
She added before the surgery: “Say a prayer for me, I am in good spirits.”
She said she would be in hospital “for around nine days”, but during her recovery, she would be “off my phone for a while”.
Joking and smiling, she urged fans “not to worry about me”, admitting, “I’m doing that enough!”
She went on to counter that, explaining: “I’m not worrying too much, and I am in a good space, and I have all the faith in the world in my surgeon and his team, and I’m handing the reins over to him. He knows what he’s doing, and I’m going to do the getting better bit after.”
She signed off saying, “see you on the other side”.
Celebrity friends were quick to send their support, with stars including Rylan, Alan Carr and Holly Willoughby sending love.
According to the NHS, non-cancerous brain tumours are slow-growing and unlikely to spread, but are still serious and can be life-threatening.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and currently presents ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
McCall with the first UK Big Brother winner Craig Phillips in 2000. Pic: PA
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
In recent years, McCall has spoken regularly on women’s health and the effects of menopause in a bid to break taboos around the subject. Her 2022 book, Menopausing, won book of the year at the British Book Awards.
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The same year, McCall fronted the Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, and told the BBC that the perimenopausal symptoms caused her difficulties multi-tasking and she considered that she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer’s disease at the time.
The presenter has previously raised money for Cancer Research UK by running for Race For Life in honour of her late sister, Caroline Baday, who died from lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 50.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.
Stars have rushed to share their support after Davina McCall revealed she’s undergoing surgery to remove a rare brain tumour.
The presenter shared the news in a short Instagram video, telling fans the benign tumour is called a colloid cyst and is around 14mm wide.
McCall explained it “needed to come out, because if it grows it would be bad,” and described a procedure called a craniotomy which would remove the cyst through the top of her head.
The former Big Brother host said she was “in good spirits,” and would be in hospital “for around nine days” following the procedure.
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Davina McCall diagnosed with rare brain tumour.
It’s not clear on which day McCall’s surgery is scheduled, or if she has had the procedure yet.
Quick to share his love with the 57-year-old star, presenter Rylan wrote: “We’re all thinking of you beautiful,” while comedian Alan Carr wrote: “Big love my darling!!”
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Ex-This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby wrote: “I’m sending you all the love and then a whole lot more,” and singer Ashley Roberts added: “All the love gorgeous one!! Sending all the healing vibes. Love you!!”
Former Popstars judge and presenter Nicki Chapman wrote: “You and I have chatted about this day… you are in amazing hands with your surgeon and the team. Everyone loves you.
“Thank you for not only being a brave girl but for sharing your condition. You will help sooooo many other people. big hugs. 30-second rule. See you soon N xx.”
Actress and chef Lisa Faulkner wrote: “Sending all my love to you. Best wishes and all positive prayers for a speedy recovery”.
McCall’s current partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, has said he will be sharing updates from her account while she is “off-grid” and recovering, assuring fans the presenter is “in great shape and in very good hands”.
Other celebrities to share positive thoughts included Stacey Dooley, Donna Air, Helen Skelton, Denise Van Outen and Kimberly Wyatt.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, and last year was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
She has three children with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
Conan O’Brien has been announced as the host of next year’s Oscars.
It’s the Emmy Award-winning comedian’s first time heading up the ceremony, which is Hollywood‘s most high-profile showbiz event.
“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien said in a statement.
Conan O’Brien. Pic: AP
He also shared a spoof short video on social media, showing him clasping an Oscar statuette and thanking the Academy for his Oscar, before clarifying he was hosting the show rather than receiving an award.
The 61-year-old TV presenter, writer, producer and comedian is best known for hosting the late-night talk shows Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Conan.
Before fronting his own self-named shows, he wrote for the enormously popular US late-night sketch show Saturday Night Live and the long-running satirical cartoon The Simpsons.
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Recently fronting a travelogue, Conan O’Brien Must Go, he currently hosts the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Over his career, he has won five Primetime Emmys and earned 31 nominations for his work.
The last two years of the Oscars were hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who recently became emotional about Donald Trump’s re-election, and before that Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes shared the stage.
Between 2019 and 2021 the Oscars went without a main presenter.
O’Brien filming in Mexico in 2017, for his show Conan Without Borders. Pic: AP
Oscars executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan said in a statement: “Conan has all the qualities of a great Oscars host, he is incredibly witty, charismatic and funny and has proven himself to be a master of live event television.
“We are so looking forward to working with him to deliver a fresh, exciting and celebratory show for Hollywood’s biggest night.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
While voting is yet to get underway, The Brutalist, Emilia Perez and Anora are among the early favourites to pick up gongs, according to bookmakers.
The 97th Oscars, which will celebrate films from 2024, will be held on Sunday 2 March 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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