Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, otherwise known as the Daniels, have picked up their second Oscar of the night at the 95th Academy Awards, this time for Best Director — they first scored gold earlier this evening when they won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
The duo won for their direction of A24's smash hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, which saw Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan battling to save a multiverse full of talking rocks, Wong Kar-wai homages, and raccoon chefs. The Daniels faced stiff competition from a field that included Steven Spielberg, whose semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans could have landed the legendary filmmaker his third Best Director Oscar.
However, given Everything Everywhere All at Once's strong awards season showing, it's no surprise that the Daniels prevailed in this category, especially after taking home directing accolades at the Critics Choice Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards.
The Daniels are the first directing duo to win Best Director at the Oscars since Joel and Ethan Coen won the award in 2008 for No Country for Old Men. Only one other pair has won: Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for the original West Side Story.
The two delivered an incredibly heartfelt speech. "We want to dedicate this to the mommies, all the mommies of the world," Scheinert said. As he continued, he also drew attention to the anti-trans and anti-drag legislation being passed around the United States. "To our moms, specifically my mom and dad, Ken and Becky, for not squashing my creativity when I was making really disturbing horror films or really perverted comedy films, or dressing in drag as a kid — which is a threat to nobody."
Kwan went on to thank the team behind Everything Everywhere All at Once. "The world is opening up to the fact that genius does not stem from individuals like us onstage, but rather genius emerges from the collective."
He would go on to say: "There is greatness in every single person. It doesn't matter who they are. You have a genius that is waiting to erupt, you just need to find the right people to unlock that."
