The Everything Everywhere All At Once Scene That Left Jamie Lee Curtis Covered In Bruises
Daniels' film "Everything Everywhere All at Once" has been playing in theaters to great success since its release back in late March, and enthusiasm for it has remained unabated. At last measure, it was studio A24's most financially successful film, and it is the third highest-grossing live-action non-sequel of 2022. Daniels' film stars international superstar Michelle Yeoh as a humorless laundromat owner in trouble with the IRS (represented by Jamie Lee Curtis), on the rocks with her nebbish husband (Ke Huy Quan), and on the precipice of alienating her queer daughter (Stephanie Hsu). When at the IRS office to strike some sort of deal, her husband shifts in personality and reveals he is from another dimension, and that Yeoh must join him to stop a mysterious dimension-hopping supervillain named Jobu Tupaki (also Hsu). Through a series of bizarre actions and meditation, Yeoh finds she can absorb talents from her parallel selves. What follows is a swirling action tilt-a-whirl punctuated by multiple existentialist conversations about nihilism and meaning. It's one of the best films of the year.
In one of the parallel universes that Yeoh visits, human beings evolved to have large, floppy hot dog-like fingers. Yeoh and Curtis were fitted with heavy, outsize silicone hands, and had to lift things with their feet. Additionally, Yeoh's and Curtis' characters were married to one another in the hot dog universe, a contrast to the bulk of the movie wherein they traded punches instead of kisses.
Contrary to what one might expect, it was the kissing and heavy petting scenes that left Curtis with more injuries than any of the stunt scenes.
Just go for it
In a recent interview with Variety, Yeoh talked about the hot dog hands and how she inadvertently left bruises on Curtis during their love scene because of them. The scene in question was meant to read as a glorious rush of love and affection to stand apart from the fighting and violence seen throughout the bulk of the film, as well as an antidote to Jobu Tupaki's temptation toward misanthropy and meaninglessness. Love conquers all in the world of "Everything Everywhere," and Yeoh's and Curtis' hot dog hand romance had to reflect that. Says Yeoh:
"The hot dog scene is the most beautiful love story in that universe. We had these hot dog fingers. This is where I believe that filmmaking is a complete collaboration on all the different levels. It's never about one person or two people or whatever it is. It is a true collaboration. And when you work with someone like Jamie, we looked at one another and said, 'Let's go for it.'"
Their mutual enthusiasm agreed upon, Curtis and Yeoh did indeed go for it, but ultimately to an unexpectedly harmful degree. Yeoh recalls seeing Curtis the following day with some battle damage:
"This is the scene where we're going at it with our hot dog fingers, and those things are like hoses. They're made to fit, but they're made of silicone. The next day she came back and was covered in bruises and I asked her if she had had an accident. She had all these bruises on her thighs from just going for it."
The weight of silicone
It's worth remembering that silicone, a common substance used in practical body effects, is quite heavy. It can weigh, at room temperature, 2.330 g/cm³. Calculating that out, a pound of silicone is about the size of an average bar of soap. Yeoh and Curtis, then, were likely wearing about two or three extra pounds of weight per finger with their enormous hot dog hands. Silicone is soft and fleshy, but its heft appeared to be an issue for Curtis and Yeoh, and pawing about with the prosthesis willy-nilly could easily have left bruises. A viewer can see how cumbersome the hands are, as the hot dog fingers seem largely out of control.
Curtis may have arrived on set the next day with bruises on her legs, but Yeoh doesn't speak to any injuries she might have sustained, hot dog fingers, fighting or otherwise. Yeoh, however, has an extensive career as an on-screen fighter (she even finds herself in a version of her own life in one of "Everything's" parallel universes), so perhaps had a better time of avoiding attacks from Curtis.
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" is currently playing in select theaters, and is available for rent for $19.99 on various rental platforms. It will be available on Blu-ray on July 5, 2022.