Everything Everywhere All at Once: Which martial arts star Michelle Yeoh did…

The Daniels

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Les Daniels is the pseudonym under which Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who have written and directed music videos together for more than ten years (including Turn Down for What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon in which Daniel Kwan shows off his dancing skills), episodes of television series, shorts and feature films . Their previous and first feature, the cheeky Swiss Army Manstaged Paul Dano who, stranded on a desert island, befriended the corpse of Daniel Radcliffe.

From Jackie Chan to Michelle Yeoh

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Originally, the directors wanted to have Jackie Chan headlining but the collaboration was unsuccessful. When redefining their project, the Daniels had the idea of ​​​​choosing an actress who had given the line to him on several occasions: Michelle Yeoh.

A choice that acted as a click, according to Daniel Scheinert “I really felt like the script came to life when Michelle was cast to play the lead mother role. It got borderline scary because we couldn’t imagine anyone else in her place if she said no. Luckily Michelle Yeoh wasn’t a terrible person, because otherwise there wouldn’t have been a movie!”

The comeback of a Goonies

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The role of Waymond, Evelyn’s husband, marks the return of Ke Huy Quanwho played Demi-Lune as a child in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies. Despite his participation in these two emblematic productions of the 80s, the actor could not find a role as a young Asian actor. He even went to film school at USC and largely stayed behind the camera. He collaborated with Wong Kar-wai as assistant director and choreographer on 2046but he eventually left Hollywood for decades.

This is after watching Crazy Rich Asians (with his future on-screen partner, Michelle Yeoh) that he considered his return to the industry, telling himself that things had changed in Hollywood. A week after taking an agent, he received a phone call offering him an audition for Everything Everywhere All At Once. It turned out that, by chance, the director Daniel Kwan came across a reference to Quan on the Internet, and wondered what had become of him all this time. This is Jeff Cohenwho became a lawyer after playing Choco in The Goonies, who handled Quan’s contract for the movie!

A new arrival

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The film offers Stephanie Hsu her first major role, with the character of Joy, Evelyn’s daughter. The Daniels met her while directing an episode of the show Awkwafina is Nora From Queens. “We reworked his character based on his sense of humor and quirkiness. It’s a chance for a filmmaker to be able to write a role inspired by the actress who will play it. Her personality has opened up so many possibilities for us, and I think she has a very promising future.”