The directors behind Swiss Army Man want to remake White Chicks and do it right

By Sam Barsanti  |  June 26, 2016 | 9:39pm
Aux Features Film

Based on premise alone, Swiss Army Man is already staking its claim as one of the weirdest movies in recent memory. It stars Paul Dano as a man who’s shipwrecked on an island all alone and is just about to hang himself when he discovers a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) that releases surprisingly useful flatulence. Naturally, the two become best friends. As weird as Swiss Army Man is, though, the fact that it’s being generally well-received is almost just as surprising, and it’s causing the movie industry to take another look at its directors, Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—a.k.a. “the Daniels.”

Having proven their ability to take a super weird movie and make it pretty good, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the Daniels and asked what their “dream project” would be. Apparently, Scheinert in particular dreams of remaking the 2004 Wayans Brothers flop White Chicks, but as a “hard-R, Oscar-worthy drama.” Plus, he wants to bring back the original cast and make it “about gender and race relations in the 21st century.” As he explains, the original had “a lot of meat” and examined topics like “class, gender, race, the handicapped, and age,” it just did it—as Kwan explains—“in the worst way possible.” Much like Swiss Army Man, it sounds like a ridiculous idea on paper, but that doesn’t mean the Daniels wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

The Hollywood Reporter also asked if there are any actors they want to work with, to which the Daniels offered up Rowan Atkinson, Jackie Chan, and Shia LaBeouf—who they’d need to “find the right project” for. THR pushed for what that right project might be, and Scheinert suggested “something where he lights his hair on fire and it doesn’t ruin the movie,” adding “some sort of concept where the actor goes insane.” If the White Chicks remake sounds weirdly possible, than this “Shia LaBeouf lights his hair on fire” movie might as well be in the works right now. He’d probably do it for free.

 
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