50 Fun Facts About Everything Everywhere All at Once

Who directed Everything Everywhere All at Once?

Known as the Daniels, they had previously made Swiss Army Man; the Russo brothers were producers on this one.

Who plays Evelyn Quan Wang?

The lead character was initially named Michelle after her, until Yeoh objected that Evelyn 'deserves her own story'.

What kind of business do Evelyn and Waymond run?

They eloped to the United States two decades earlier and settled in Simi Valley, California.

Which government agency is auditing Evelyn when the multiverse breaks loose?

The family return to the same building at the end of the film to refile their taxes.

Who plays Waymond Wang, Evelyn's meek husband?

He had retired from acting in 2002 for lack of roles; the Daniels tracked him down after seeing a Short Round meme.

Who plays Joy Wang and her multiverse alter ego Jobu Tupaki?

Awkwafina had been cast in 2018 but left in January 2020 over scheduling conflicts.

Who plays IRS agent Deirdre Beaubeirdre?

She based the look on a photo of a real IRS agent and used her real belly rather than a prosthetic.

Who plays Gong Gong, Evelyn's demanding father?

Critics noted his sinister Alpha version echoed his Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China.

What does 'Gong Gong' mean in Cantonese?

His Alphaverse counterpart wants Evelyn to sacrifice Joy to stop Jobu.

What is the name of the universe that Alpha-Waymond comes from?

It is where the late Alpha-Evelyn developed verse-jumping technology.

How do characters trigger a verse-jump?

The bizarre acts range from eating lip balm to declaring love to an enemy.

What is the name of the doomsday object Jobu Tupaki has created?

Kwan said it 'started as just a throwaway joke' about the American bagel loaded with every topping.

Why does Alpha-Waymond believe Evelyn in particular can defeat Jobu?

Her unfulfilled potential is exactly what makes her able to reach every other version of herself.

What is Jobu Tupaki actually looking for, she eventually reveals?

She wants to use the bagel so she and Evelyn can truly die; Waymond's plea for kindness changes Evelyn's mind.

What are Evelyn and Joy in the universe where they communicate through on-screen captions?

The scene was inspired by the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and the video game Everything.

Which children's book helped inspire the rock universe?

A 2017 video game called Everything was the other influence on the scene.

Which Hong Kong director's films inspired the universe where Evelyn is a martial-arts movie star?

Vulture said those scenes conjured 'a mood of exquisite romantic yearning' recognisable from his work.

Which Pixar composer voices Raccacoonie, the raccoon chef?

The character is a riff on Ratatouille; three puppeteers operated him.

Which Pixar film is Raccacoonie a reference to?

Harry Shum Jr. plays Chad, the teppanyaki chef controlled by the raccoon.

Which actor was the script originally written for, before the lead became a woman?

The Daniels felt a female lead made the husband-wife dynamic more relatable.

Which actress was originally cast as Joy in 2018 before dropping out?

She left in January 2020 over scheduling conflicts and Stephanie Hsu took over.

A meme comparing which politician to Short Round prompted the Daniels to seek out Ke Huy Quan?

They realised Quan was the right age for Waymond; he had just come out of retirement inspired by Crazy Rich Asians.

Which former Goonies co-star acted as Ke Huy Quan's lawyer for his contract?

Cohen, who played Chunk, became an entertainment attorney after acting.

Which Marvel series were the Daniels invited to discuss developing around the time filming began?

They declined, being about to shoot their own multiverse film.

How many days did the shoot take?

The fanny-pack fight was shot in a day and a half; filming wrapped in early March 2020 as the pandemic hit.

Roughly how long was the first cut of the film?

The finished film runs just under two and a half hours.

How many artists made up the in-house visual effects team?

Led by Zak Stoltz, they worked in Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro after a bad experience outsourcing on Swiss Army Man.

What was the Daniels' previous feature film, released in 2016?

It starred Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent corpse; the negative post-production experience led them to do effects in-house this time.

Which band composed the score?

The trio spent two to three years on it and produced more than a hundred cues.

Which two musicians feature on the single 'This Is a Life'?

André 3000 also appears on the soundtrack, playing flute.

Which 2000 Nine Days song recurs throughout the film?

Singer John Hampson recorded three alternate versions specially for the film.

Which Debussy piece serves as Deirdre's theme?

It plays in the universe where Evelyn and Deirdre are lovers with hot dog fingers.

At which festival did the film have its world premiere in March 2022?

A24 gave it a limited release two weeks later and went wide on April 8.

Approximately how much did the film gross worldwide?

It became A24's highest-grossing film ever, passing Hereditary in June 2022.

Which film did it overtake to become A24's highest-grossing release of all time?

It passed Uncut Gems for the domestic record first, then Hereditary's $79 million worldwide.

How many Academy Awards did the film win at the 95th ceremony?

That was out of eleven nominations, including a record-tying six above-the-line wins.

Evelyn's actress became the first Oscar winner from which country?

She was also the first Asian Best Actress and only the second woman of colour to win, after Halle Berry.

Ke Huy Quan was the first Oscar-winning actor born in which country?

His Best Supporting Actor win completed a comeback two decades after he quit acting.

Which Oscar did the star playing Deirdre win, the first of her career?

Co-star Stephanie Hsu was nominated in the same category.

How many Screen Actors Guild Awards did the film win, a record?

They included Best Ensemble, alongside two Golden Globes and five Critics' Choice Awards.

What is the name of Joy's girlfriend, whom Evelyn struggles to accept?

Tallie Medel plays her; Evelyn finally acknowledges the relationship to Gong Gong at the end.

Which comedian plays Debbie the Dog Mom, one of Evelyn's customers?

Her dog becomes a weapon in one of the IRS-building fights.

What does the Chinese title used on the poster and end card, 天马行空, literally mean?

The idiom describes the unimaginable and fantastical; the calligraphy was by Kwan's late uncle.

Which two Marvel producers were attached to the film as producers?

They came aboard when the project was first announced in August 2018 as an 'interdimensional action film'.

In which California city do Evelyn and Waymond run their laundromat?

Most of the 38-day shoot also took place there, with much of the film shot at a very high frame rate for its effects.

Which 1986 documentary introduced the Daniels to modal realism and started their multiverse research?

Kwan later found Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Rick and Morty 'painful' to watch, fearing they had already used his ideas.

What condition did Daniel Kwan discover he had while researching an early draft's protagonist?

Early drafts made the lead a professor with the undiagnosed condition; the character was later reconceived as a laundromat owner.

What was the lead character called in the script before its star asked for the name to change?

Yeoh felt Evelyn 'deserves her own story' and did not want herself woven into the character.

How did Jamie Lee Curtis approach Deirdre's physical appearance?

Kwan had found a photo of a real IRS agent online, and Curtis wanted the character to look as real as possible.

What Oscar milestone did EEAAO reach as a genre movie at the 95th Academy Awards?

It also became the first sci-fi film to take five of the top six Oscars, though it won three of the four acting categories, not all four.