LOS ANGELES—Make a movie hoping people will respond, but ‘nobody’s involved’All at once, anywhere‘Expect everything this, the cast and crew continued to talk to me in the reception area of the opulent Westwood Theater on Tuesday night. and intended to reposition indie hits as award contenders. But the bigger “this”, the one that really puzzled them, was the fact that they were embarking on a months-long awards campaign right from the start.
“We were in the press all summer, and then we took a break and thought, ‘This is all going to die.’ The emotion and the excitement will subside,” said Daniel Scheinert and co-director. “And then we came back and somehow it got even stronger. At one screening, someone came up to me and said, ‘I’m going to see the movie.’ This is the 14th time!”
Passion is so important during awards season, and ‘Everything Everywhere’ has a lot of it. This sci-fi comedy of his about the Multiverse’s last hope, a Chinese immigrant and laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh), garnered great reviews and plays upon its March release.A few months in theaters and made over $100 million Worldwide with a budget of $14.3 million. In doing so, it became A24’s highest-grossing title and revitalized the specialty film market that had been suffering since the pandemic began.
We expect the film to be nominated at the Oscars in several categories, including best picture, but it hasn’t taken the traditional path toward that goal. “Everything Everywhere” chose a raucous spring premiere at South by Southwest and hits theaters March 25th.
The film also needs to win over older voters. Older voters may resist its quirky appeal. Because “Everything Everywhere” has a lot of his gags and traffic on the site of down-market genres like sci-fi, action and gross-out comedy. Can you get past all these hurdles and become the first significant Oscar contender to feature a dildo fight scene?
“When this came out, I thought it was a total joke. ‘It was an ode to Jackass and the Stephen Chow movie!'”
Still, the film has a strong emotional core that moved audiences. As Yeo Evelyn explores the multiverse, she comes to understand her formerly unnerving people better, including her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) and her daughter. , Joy (Stephanie Hsu), and even her tax auditor, Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis). And that empathy extends from the screen to the movie star. Quan, the first actor to appear at the party, is attacked by well-behaved people who try to admire his sensitive performance. “I was so hungry for a role like this,” Kuan, 51, told me.
After breaking out in the 1980s as a child actor in roles like Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies, Kuan’s fortunes quickly faded. “I had to face a terrifying reality and leave because my phone stopped ringing,” he said. “Hollywood didn’t write roles for Asian actors.”
Disillusioned, Quan moved behind the camera in 2000 to work choreographing stunts, but undoubtedly continued to pay his monthly Screen Actors Guild dues. just be patient”
After seeing ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ in 2018, he was inspired to return to acting and called on an agent friend to represent him. Two weeks later, the agent sent him “Everything Everywhere.”
“Having this as my comeback movie, to get this recognition and warm hugs? I cried so much over the past six months from people reading the comments and approaching me,” Quan said. Told.
Inside the world of “everywhere at once”
In this mind-expanding idiosyncratic take on a superhero movie, a laundromat owner becomes the focal point of an epic, multidimensional showdown.
The most meaningful interaction took place at Disney’s stellar D23 convention in September. Marvel series “Loki”. Harrison Ford was there pitching the fifth Indiana Jones movie, due out next year. Quan was worried that he would not be noticed by his old co-stars, but Quan turned around, pointed and said, “Are you Short Round?”
“Yes, Indy,” Quan replied. And as they embraced, memories flooded in from the beginning of Quan’s career.
“How often do men in their 50s have a chance like this? How often do actors get a second act?” Izumi asked. “I sincerely hope that people reading my story will give them hope and the courage to voice the dreams they once had. I hope for those who have doubts and those who have dreams that fade away because they think they can’t come true…”
Quan became too emotional to finish his thoughts, swallowed and collected himself. “Anyway,” he said.
According to Scheinert, the events of recent awards ceremonies for films often end in tears.It all started viral GQ video When Yeoh cried while reading and speaking the script for “Everything Everywhere”, she was asked to play more modes than before. “Funny things, real things, sad things. Finally someone understands that I can do it,” she said in the clip.
On set, Yoh was more likely to affectionately offend them than to confess her deepest feelings, so it impressed her directors and surprised them. “Some of the things she said in interviews she never told us,” Kwan said. .”
Just in time, Yeoh finally arrived. It’s his vision of Gucci in yellow. “I’m Canary, nice to meet you,” she said, shaking my hand.busy actress coming soonAvatar: Path of Water‘ and the Disney+ series ‘American Born Chinese’ have partyed wildly from the premiere of ‘school of good and evilis a Netflix fantasy movie in which you play one of the teachers at an enchanted boarding school. The red carpet was filled with Ingenyu and TikTok stars. Yeoh was surprised when a young girl recognized her and gave her a letter of thanks.
“I thought, ‘You’re out of my league here. No one will know you,'” Yeo said.
“Michelle, you are huge,” Kwan replied. He was at a screening of “Everything Everywhere” in San Francisco, as the large Asian crowd who had admired Yeo since her appearance in the Hong Kong action flick roared and cheered. The actress was afraid to go on stage so as not to get too emotional in public.
“For a long time they said, ‘I have to tell everyone about my experience,’ but I couldn’t do it because it overwhelmed me,” Yeo said of Kwan and Scheinert. turned and said. “And when I heard your story… one time — gave an interview and I was gasping! Oh, I was so embarrassed. ”
Was she referring to that GQ clip? “Yes,” said a chagrined Yeo, burying her face in Kwan’s shoulder. “Look, everyone knows!”
Yeoh explains why she struggles to articulate what “Everything Everywhere” means to her. And as the years go by, it slips out of her fingers and can’t be put back in because she’s aged, and at 60 she still has a lot to do! don’t put me in a box ”
While her recent supporting roles in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Crazy Rich Asians” were meaningful, being listed first on the call sheet for “Everything Everywhere” made her I was able to get a sense of ownership.d I’ve never felt that before. She hopes Hollywood will continue to consider her for the lead role, but she’s traditionally well aware of who she’s written for.
“I’m the man who reads the script and goes on a big adventure, and he goes out with my daughter!” she said. “I no no”
Yeo allowed herself to meet Roger Spottiswoode, who directed the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, which helped introduce her to American audiences. Meanwhile, “Star Trek Into Her Darkness” screenwriter Roberto Orci greeted Quan with her polite bow. The cast and director then gathered in the theater to introduce the film, alongside a huge cohort that included combat choreographers, composers, visual effects artists, and costume makers as the men in the audience chanted, “You rock!” ’ he cried.
This kind of sheer success is a new sensation for Kwan and Scheinert. He recently signed a five-year deal with Universal and began making quirky productions, including his face-melting music videos and his debut.swiss army man(2016) saw Paul Dano riding a dead Daniel Radcliffe like a flatulence-powered jet ski. How does it feel when their openly left-of-center sensibility happens to be culturally targeted?
“I’m worried,” Scheinert said.
“I feel like I messed up somewhere,” Kwan joked. “I like the whole world? What did we do wrong?”