"Everything Everywhere All at Once": She was the one who stood out at the 95th Oscars!

This year, a film released last year stood out and stole the limelight at the 95th Oscars, it had a good reputation, and the protagonist won Best Actress. When she went on stage to accept the award, her acceptance speech inspired countless women and encouraged many Asian filmmakers.

Today, I want to talk about the heroine of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Chinese actress Michelle Yeoh, who reached the peak of her career instead of fading out of the filmdom at 60.

After the release of "Everything Everywhere All at Once," various interviews about her appeared. Neil Gaiman, the author of American Gods, even wrote directly, "Thank you for the existence of Michelle Yeoh."

So, what kind of person is Michelle Yeoh? Many movie buffs believe that Michelle Yeoh is back, but I think it's time we should get to know her again, a real Michelle Yeoh.

01

Side A: Michelle Yeoh, A Martial Arts Actress 

Michelle Yeoh's previous label has always been a veteran martial arts actress. How hard did she work and fight? It is useless just talking, and I'll show the GIFs directly.

There was no stand-in, no green screen, she fought and jumped by herself, and the risk factor was extremely high. I got goosebumps just watching through the screen. In the era of Michelle Yeoh's popularity, the characteristic of making films was they didn't care about their lives. They had to shoot many action scenes without rehearsal.

Among the actresses who made action movies, Michelle Yeoh suffered the most. In Police Story III-Super Cop, 1992, there was a chase scene in which Michelle Yeoh was dangled from a truck and swung around in the street.

This scene was not designed in advance but was caused by the staff's misoperation with the steering wheel. So, Michelle Yeoh's struggles at that time were real, and if she was accidentally thrown out, the consequences would be unthinkable.

That year, Michelle Yeoh became the highest-paid Martial Arts actress in Asia for this film. In later films, she no longer acted as foils for the male actors, but they acted as foils for her instead. This kind of preferential treatment had rarely happened before.

In 1997, Michelle Yeoh entered Hollywood and starred in Tomorrow Never Dies, becoming the first Asian Bond girl. She went to Hollywood studios with her martial arts team and played all the roles without stand-ins. At last, her Bond girl was no longer an eye candy but a partner in Bond's mission.

Entertainment Weekly said of her: "Michelle Yeoh is not the first Bond girl to share equality with Bond, but she is the only notable woman who has made her mark in Hollywood with her excellent skills." 

I can only agree with half of this comment. After all, Brosnan's Bond is worse than her more than a little in terms of the professionalism of the fight scenes. She doesn't need a hero to save her!

02

Side B: Michelle Yeoh, the daughter of a wealthy family

With Michelle Yeoh's background, she doesn't need to work so hard, but being an actress is more of a calling for her. Therefore, she always goes all out to prove herself in every film.

Michelle Yeoh is the daughter of a wealthy family. Her grandfather founded a bus company in Malaysia in the 1930s. Her father was a famous lawyer with the title of Datuk. Michelle Yeoh began studying ballet at 4, went to England with her parents at 15, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dance.

Before she became an actress, she was the winner of a beauty contest. In 2005, the fan dance performed by 43-year-old Michelle Yeoh in Memoirs of a Geisha still made me sigh and admire. Looking at the classic group photos of her and other famous Chinese female stars, no matter her appearance, temperament, or aura, is not inferior at all. I can only describe her as "so beautiful."

Michelle Yeoh had many opportunities if she just wanted to be an eye candy. But she chose a difficult path, becoming a Martial arts actress. Perhaps because she refused to play eye candy only and just wanted to prove that women could act in fight scenes as men could.

After learning kung fu, her martial arts image was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and no one dared to question her anymore. But from then on, every time she acted, she suffered injuries all over her body, such as dislocated arms, burst blood vessels, bruises all over her body, head, waist, and leg injuries, all were common. She even had a brush with Death once by luck.

03

Side C: Michelle Yeoh, A Child

In 2004, Michelle Yeoh went to Hollywood to develop her career, which is beautiful but dangerous. Even though she had already starred in "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," it did not mean that Hollywood had opened the door to her, discrimination and injustice had always existed, and she entered the second "bottleneck period."

That year, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film, but not any acting awards. When it came to this topic, Michelle Yeoh was always upset. At that time, she felt the real opportunity had never come.

In 2010, Michelle Yeoh turned 50 and acted in more and more Hollywood movies, such as Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi, but her roles were becoming monotonous. Therefore, Michelle Yeoh shed tears rarely when talking about Everything Everywhere All at Once in an interview. 

"This is the script I've been looking forward to for a long time," she said, "It gives me a chance to show my fans, my family, and my audience that I can be funny, sincere, and sad," what a moving passage!

I wonder how long she would have waited if Hollywood hadn't become more Inclusive and open in recent years. But it's not too late for her to get such a role. At 60, she is persisting. Perhaps that "childlike innocence" supports her, not thinking much about anything, just doing it.

At the opening of the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2017, after Michelle Yeoh got off the car, she was photographed and asked for autographs. On the red carpet, the hostess interviewed her, which was her highlight moment.

In 2019, Michelle Yeoh walked the red carpet at the Oscars. The media said of her: "Michelle Yeoh is the definition of Regal at the 2019 Oscars." 

2022 may be the first year of Michelle Yeoh's glory. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, two generations of Spider-Man, were photographed watching Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Garfield even went out wearing Michelle Yeoh's hot dog finger gloves.

The amazing thing is not that Michelle Yeoh is still acting, but she has just come to her time. What awaits her is a bigger and more wonderful multiverse in the future. Finally, I want to say that she deserves the Best Actress!