Easily one of the more surprising movies of Fantastic Fest was The Death of Dick Long, and that’s probably an understatement and a half. But considering the film’s director, Daniel Scheinert, is one-half of the filmmaking duo behind Swiss Army Man, maybe we should have expected something truly unpredictable, yet made with a huge amount of heart to it, which is exactly what Dick Long delivers (and so much more).
During our time in Austin, Daily Dead chatted with Scheinert about The Death of Dick Long, and why he loves telling such unusual stories with his films. The director also talked about not passing judgment on certain aspects of Dick Long’s narrative, instead exploring what it means to live in fear of people finding out your truth, and how powerful that can be, and the instant chemistry between the film’s co-stars Michael Abbott Jr. and Andre Hyland.
The Death of Dick Long is currently in theaters nationwide, courtesy of A24.
Congrats on the film, Daniel. This was definitely one of the more unconventional movies I’ve seen here at Fantastic Fest, where it’s relatable at times, but there are moments that are definitely not relatable at all, which is something I would say also sums up Swiss Army Man, too. For you, as a storyteller, are you wanting to push boundaries with the stories you tell, in terms of what people expect? There's something very human about these films, and yet you completely subvert what we would expect along the way, too.
Daniel Scheinert: I think you’re asking, "Why do I make such weird movies [laughs]?" I think I'm kind of numb, like sometimes I watch a movie and nothing registers. Or I’ll watch CSI and like 20 people die, and I don't feel anything. And so, by subverting expectations, you can get at something universal, but by way of something that is batshit crazy. It takes something weird to really remind me of what life feels like. Dan [Kwan, co-director of Swiss Army Man] and I always talk about making crazy movies just to shake people out of their seats a little and get them out of their comfort zones.
But then, at the end of the day, you’re still trying to just talk about the same things that other storytellers are always talking about, but our approach is about just trying to get through to the desensitized babies like me. So, both Swiss Army Man and this one are insane movies, but we're using hyperbolic circumstances to explore the human condition. That’s the goal.
I feel like ultimately, there are two versions of this movie. There's the version that you have made, and then there's a version where things, during the last third of the movie, could have been treated like a joke. And there are some titters of laughter because you’re trying to figure out what is happening, and it’s not the story you think it is. But the way that you guys tap into this honest portrayal of people struggling with who they are, and feeling like they're trapped, was very moving.
Daniel Scheinert: That was a fine line that we had to walk for this movie, because we don't want to make a movie that's passing judgment, because that would be a boring movie if the point of the movie was us wagging our fingers at these characters. At the same time, we also don't want to pass approval on what happens, either, so we had to land somewhere in the middle and be like, "No, we're just trying to dramatize what it feels like to be in a society that doesn't approve of you." Like, how scary is that? To have to weigh the options of telling the truth and being shamed or bottling everything up and feeling ashamed in secret. I think there are a lot of people who feel that way.
I feel like a touchstone to this movie is that it really speaks to a wide gap of people in this country who are in places where people don't understand them, where they feel like they can't speak their truth. And by doing this story the way that we did, maybe somebody out there who's never been able to be honest about who they truly are, this might be something that helps them. I just think that there's something very powerful about the message here, in its own weird way.
But I do hope that it makes people who have kept a secret and had to share it and it hurt, feel like they're not alone. It's hard. Life is really scary and hard sometimes. In some ways, I think we live in reductive times where people like to oversimplify what the right thing to do is, and we forget just how hard it is sometimes to speak your truth or just to make it through life in general.
What I like about this story is that you never treat these characters like they're a bunch of “Podunk” people living in Alabama, which is something I’m familiar with because my mom’s family is from West Virginia. These are real people with real lives, with real things going on. Can you talk about that a bit?
Daniel Scheinert: When you think of a movie set in Alabama, most people think they know what this was going to be and this isn't that movie at all. It was something that attracted me to the project. It's funny, because a lot of people who have zero connection with rural America are the most offended, and they think rural America should be offended. I've had multiple people who asked me, “Why'd you make fun of them?” But we don’t. And a lot of people from the South or from small towns are excited that someone like them are represented with these characters who have nuance and texture to them.
I do feel like a lot of times people make fun of the South for the wrong reasons. I felt like the folks I met from there were fascinating and cool and interesting, and I hope I get to make more stories like this.
Can you talk about working on these performances with Michael and Andre? One of the reasons the movie works so well is because of that chemistry between their characters.
Daniel Scheinert: Thank you. Yeah, that was really important to me. Mike and Andre had never met until they were cast and in pre-production they met each other, so I was a little nervous about their chemistry initially. But we had them live together during the shoot. Contractually, an actor should have their own hotel room or something. But we're like, "Guys, is it okay if we get a house and y'all live together?" And they were down for it. So, for a month and a half, they were eating breakfast together every day and around each other all the time. Andre is such an affable, talkative guy, and I think he just latched onto Mike, and that really paid off because they became so familiar with each other on set.
The believability is just a testament to them as actors, because neither of them were like those characters at all. Mike is such a sweetie who really talks about his feelings and doesn't bottle them up. And then Andre is the nicest guy ever, and he had to play an unapologetic dick here. So, they both were great to work with for this.
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Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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