“Everything Everywhere All at Once” co-director Daniel Kwan is telling fans of his A24 hit not to get toxic on social media when it comes to film critics snubbing the movie on their “best movies of 2022” lists. Some “Everything Everywhere” admirers stormed Twitter to criticize The New York Times film critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott for leaving the movie off their top 10 lists. Films that did make the cut included Jordan Peele’s “Nope” and foreign films like “EO.” One fan called Scott “pretentious” and an “upper middle class zealot” for snubbing “Everything Everywhere.”
“I know the end of year discourse on film twitter can be toxic [as fuck] with all of the ‘Best of’ lists that come out, but this really needs to stop,” Kwan wrote on Twitter to outraged fans. “The act of ranking any piece of art is so absurd and should only be seen as an incredibly personal and subjective endeavor.”
Kwan continued, “This was an incredible year for movies and there is so much to celebrate, why waste your time on anger?…These end of year lists are a great opportunity for people to discover films they haven’t heard of (our film doesn’t need that), to help smaller films make money (don’t need that), and to celebrate the hard work of filmmakers we admire (don’t need anymore celebrating).”
“Next time you see something about our film that makes you angry, take a step back, remind yourself why you fell in love with our movie,” the director added. “Those feelings are infinitely more important to you than any list from some critic who has a completely different lived experience from you.”
Kwan concluded by encouraging any follower of his to send the following message to a fan who might be outraged with “Everything Everywhere” not making a top 10 list: “Hi, I’m Dan Kwan, one of the directors of EEAAO. I appreciate your love of the film, but maybe next time you can try to cool it on the aggression. This place is filled with shitty discourse, don’t add to it (what would Waymond do?). Don’t feel bad, its tough to keep your cool here.”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” was co-directed by Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The duo, collectively known as Daniels, previously worked together on the Sundance hit “Swiss Army Man.” Michelle Yeoh stars in “Everything Everywhere” as an overburdened laundromat owner who becomes a multiverse hero. The film earned over $100 million at the worldwide box office. Yeoh just won best actress honors from the National Board of Review.