by wadapan

DANIELS filmography

I like the movie Swiss Army Man, it's neat. I wanted to watch another movie by its writers/directors, Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, but (at least until the release of Everything Everywhere All At Once) they didn't have one, because their commercial background's in music videos and advertisements (something that really comes across in Swiss Army Man), so instead I dug up all their student shorts and assorted nonsense that have survived on the internet. Now you can watch it all too!

Release dates are listed based on the earliest available copies of the videos. There's plenty of stuff that just doesn't seem to be out there any more, which makes sense, because this is mostly like, student films and stuff. Because there's kind of a lot here, I've also compiled a "recommended viewing" list that's just the stuff I think's particularly good:

2007-0?-?? "I'm Nostalgic" (Scheinert)
A portrait of Sarah and Michael, from two strangers who know nothing about each other, to two strangers who know everything about each other. At once hilarious and heartbreaking, this short film attempts to show just an ounce of the ambiguity, joy, and heartbreak of youthful love.

2007-10-29 "Trust" (Scheinert)
A quick story about an office worker named Sydney discovering the joys of team building exercises.

2007-12-29 "Touch & Go" (Scheinert)
Frustrating feelings. Telling that same story to so many different people without really realizing it.

2008-11-11 "Let's Con Filmaka!" (Scheinert w/ Dustin Emerson Straube)
Dustin really wants a nintendo we, so wii decided to enter the filmaka con artest CONtist.

2009-02-07 "Let's Con Filmaka!!! ...Again" (Scheinert w/ Dustin Emerson Straube)
Dustin and Daniel won round one of Filmaka and succeeded in conning filmaka out of $500 dollars. But did they screw it up?

[DEAD LINK]

2009-04-07 "balance" (Kwan)
Basically it's a star falling while two people debate whether or not everything is just coincidence.

2009-04-29 "Prank" (Scheinert w/ Dustin Emerson Straube)
NB: This one's notable in how it informed "Interesting Ball".

2009-05-05 "Timmy and the Tiny Teaser" (Scheinert)
NB: Just a random animation.

2009-07-13 "iceberg: the movie" (Kwan w/ his brother)
The story of the little iceberg who dreamed of one day making history.

200?-??-?? "Bad Smoke" (Scheinert w/ Eleanor Monahan)
A guy bums a smoke.

2009-08-02 "Oh F*** Me" (Scheinert w/ Eleanor Monahan)
A friend of ours asked us, 'what would you do if you could use time travel to meet yourself?' This is sort of about that…

[DEAD LINK]

2009-10-03 "Drawing Assignment #1: Cubes" (Kwan)
Draw a cube, add cubes to it, cut up cubes, rearrange pieces, present in interesting manner.

2009-11-30 "Sexual Fantasy" (Scheinert)
A short sketch about a husband and wife celebrating in the kinkiest way possible.

200?-??-?? "Butterfinger" (Scheinert w/ Dustin Emerson Straube)
NB: An unwinning commercial contest entry, for Butterfinger candy bars.

200-?-??-?? "Old Spice No Residue Deodorant" (Scheinert w/ Dustin Emerson Straube)
NB: Another unwinning commercial contest entry, for Old Spice.

2009-11-10 "Swingers"
Sometimes giving a dude a simple push on a swing isn’t so simple after all.

2009-12-10 "Tides of the Heart"
A pair of friends sit on a bench and discuss their hopes and dreams when things take an unexpected turn.

[DEAD LINK]

2009-12-22 "to grandmother’s house we go." (Kwan)
Just another stroll in the city. Another lame take on the classic little red riding hood story. I know its been over done. Shhhuush.

2010-??-?? "Your Boyfriend's Funeral" (Kwan)
Frank is such a butthole. Ashley waited the whole night for him, and now, the following morning, she’s pissed to say the least. But today she’s in for a surprising, repulsive, heart breaking little adventure.
NB: There aren't any copies of this one online.

2010-03-15 "FAST" (w/ Steve Clemmons)
A balls to the wall action film about Fast, the fastest person alive, who is also named Fast.
NB: Just a direction credit.

2010-05-03 "EVERYTHING a MONSTER is NOT" (Scheinert)
NB: This is a seven-part web series/film/semi-documentary by Scheinert, made with his friends at Emerson College in Boston, including the Cocoon Central Dance Team, for whom DANIELS later produced a film version of one of their performances. A now-defunct tumblr blog for the project showcased some of the cast's work.

2010-11-29 "That New Kanye Song"
Daniel shares his thoughts on the new Kanye West song 'All of the Lights.'

2011-01-21 Funny or Die Presents Tijuana Jackson (Season 2, Episodes 2, 5, and 7)
NB: I have basically no info about these shorts. Do your own research I guess.

2011-03-25 "PUPPETS"
A film about puppets, the creative process, and how conflict can end in resolution. Written by, directed by, and based-on-a-true-story about DANIELS.
NB: Created for EVERYTHING episode #18 as a part of Channel 101.

2011-08-01 "My Best Friend's Wedding/My Best Friend's Sweating"
A groom's best friend comes to his aid on his wedding day with unexpected consequences.

2011-12-29 "goodbye 2011" (Kwan)
NB: For a couple of years, Kwan compiled a bunch of random clips from his phone with music.

2012-10-08 "Pockets"
A homeless bum, bored of eating the same food every night, promises his girlfriend a special dinner. He plans to take her out with money robbed from a passing stranger. But the bum's in for a surprise when the man he targets for his mugging turns out to have special—and hilarious—powers.

2013-01-04 "goodbye 2012" (Kwan)

2013-07-26 NTSF:SD:SUV:: (w/ Alex Fernie, Nick Wiger, and Jonathan Stern)
Never forget? Terrorism hasn't, and neither will the NTSF:SD:SUV. In a world where threatening danger looms large and Homeland Security won't secure itself, San Diego's citizens can't afford not to trust in the NTSF.
NB: Following on from their work on the promo for Season 2 (see music videos below), DANIELS directed the first and last episodes of Season 3: "Comic Con-Air" and "Wreck the Malls".

2013-10-24 Childrens Hospital (w/ Rob Corddry, Jonathan Stern, and David Wain)
The doctors' trip to Japan comes to a shocking climax involving birth, death, sex, war, and opera.
NB: Following on from their work on the promo for Season 4 (see music videos below), DANIELS directed the finale for Season 5: "Coming and Going".

2013-12-10 Infomercials (w/ Justin Becker and Steve Clemmons)
Denny Boffa wants to save viewers time with his new invention: an all-in-one multi-purpose broom tool called the Broomshakalaka. But when things go violently wrong on set, Denny is the one running out of time.
NB: As with other [adult swim] work, this is just a direction credit, on the fifth of these specials, "Broomshakalaka".

2014-11-03 "Interesting Ball"
A red ball bounces past a cafe and a couple folks’ houses and then goes to the beach.

2015-02-04 "GAP - Spring is Weird"
NB: A "micro-series" of twelve short adfifteen-second ads directed by DANIELS (and co-starring their Swiss Army Man collaborator Paul Dano) with a metatextual twist forto GAPthem.

2015-04-20 "The Pound Hole" (w/ Doug Lussenhop and Daniel Weidenfeld)
The Pound Hole is [adult swim]'s first ever late night dance party, where DJ Douggpound remixes both the audio and visuals of this club into surreal, and sometimes violent, but always danceable situations.
NB: Just a direction credit.

2016-08-03 "Possibilia"
An interactive love story set in the multiverse.
NB: Use the arrows keys to continually switch between versions of the scenes as the movie progresses.

2016-01-22 Swiss Army Man
Alone on a tiny deserted island, Hank has given up all hope of ever making it home again. But one day everything changes when a dead body washes ashore, and he soon realizes it may be his last opportunity to escape certain death. Armed with his new “friend” and an unusual bag of tricks, the duo go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.

2017-30-05 Right Now Kapow
NB: Scheinert has a writer's credit on episode 25 of this cartoon, alongside a bunch of other writers, including Justin Becker and Steve Clemmons. I haven't seen it.

2019-01-26 The Death of Dick Long (Scheinert w/ Billy Chew)
Dick died last night, and Zeke and Earl don’t want anybody finding out how. That’s too bad though, cause news travels fast in small-town Alabama.
NB: Just a direction credit.

2019-07-25 Legion (Kwan w/ Olivia Dufault, Charles Yu and Noah Hawley)
David and company come face-to-face with the consequences of time travel.
NB: Daniel Kwan directed Chapter 23 of this transcendental Marvel television show, which operates on a whole other level from pretty much anything else Marvel has made. The episode deals with themes that have plenty of resonance with DANIELS' other work.

2019-09-15 On Becoming a God in Central Florida (Scheinert w/ Mike Goldbach)
Obie and Louise Garbeau host a lavish motivational retreat at Paradise Cay for Washington-level entrepreneurs.
NB: Daniel Scheinert directed the fifth episode of the show, "Many Masters".

2020-01-26 (w/ a bunch of others)
Chronicling the life of Lay'n Pipe, a 47 foot TopGun Cigarette speedboat, from its conception through the end of human civilization. It's not just a speedboat ride, it's a Miami adventure.
NB: This is a six-part anthology, of which I presume DANIELS did one part, though as a whole it was badly received—there are no copies of it available online, so please get in touch if you can help me get hold of it!

2020-03-11 Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (w/ Kyle Lau)
Grandma tells Nora the story of how she met her husband in the style of a Korean drama.
NB: DANIELS directed the eighth episode of Season 1, "Grandma & Chill".

2022-03-11 Everything Everywhere All At Once
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led. Unfortunately, this sweeps her up into an even bigger adventure when she finds herself lost in the infinite worlds of the multiverse.
"Miracle Work: A Note from the Daniels"
"Tax Season Zine"
"A Vast, Pointless Gyration of Radioactive Rocks and Gas in Which You Happen to Occur"

Music Videos

Most of the DANIELS' commercial work was in advertising or music videos, for which they'd do some exceptionally creative stuff. After some deliberation I've thrown basically everything music-centric here. Highlights from this list include "Turn Down for What", "Tongues", and that one Nike ad.

Interviews

This list isn't comprehensive, because there aren't enough hours in the day and stuff drops off Google, but here's everything I could find in rough chronological order.

Swiss Army Man

The Death of Dick Long

Everything Everywhere All At Once