Last spring, as I prepared to interview the director duo the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) upon the release of their second feature film Everything Everywhere All at Once, I came across something I hadn’t seen before.
No, I’m not referring to the hot-dog fingers and butt-plug-shaped candles sold by A24 but rather a comprehensive pronunciation guide for the names of the cast and characters, as shared by the film’s PR team for the press: Michelle Yeoh’s surname should be pronounced “yo”, Stephanie Hsu’s is “shoe”, Ke Huy Quan’s name is pronounced “Key Hway Kwan” and the surname of the family at the center of the movie (Wang) rhymes with “song”. It was a small but meaningful gesture infused with respect: yes, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, veering often into the manic and puerile – but say our names properly.
