>> Stephen: THAT IS "THE
LATE SHOW" BAND RIGHT THERE. I WISH ALL OF YOU WERE HERE TO
HEAR THEM TONIGHT. IT'S ELEVATED.
IT'S UP THERE SOMEHOW. IT'S A VIBE.
WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. MY FIRST GUEST IS AN ACTOR
YOU KNOW FROM "CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON,"
"TOMORROW NEVER DIES," AND "CRAZY RICH ASIANS."
SHE'S NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR HER PERFORMANCE
IN "EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE."
♪ ♪ PLEASE WELCOME
TO "THE LATE SHOW,"& MICHELLE YEOH!
♪ ♪ MICHELLE YEOH!
♪ ♪ [APPLAUSE] PLEASE.
>> Michelle: THANK YOU. WOW.
>> Stephen: HOW LOVELY TO HAVE YOU HERE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. >> Michelle: THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME. >> Stephen: I WANT TO GET INTO
"EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE" RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE
THERE IS TOO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT. THIS FILM IS "EVERYTHING
EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE." THE PERFORMANCES, SUCH BEAUTIFUL
PERFORMANCES, HEARTFELT, TENDER, EXCITING AT THE SAME TIME.
ACTION, SCIENCE FICTION. IT'S A FAMILY DRAMA.
IT'S PSYCHOLOGICAL INTRIGUE. DID YOU HAVE SOME SENSE WHEN YOU
ARE MAKING THIS FILM HOW MUCH IT WAS GOING TO GRAB THE AUDIENCE
BY THE RIB CAGE? >> Michelle: I SHOULD HAVE
TAKEN YOU WITH ME EVERYWHERE. YOU DESCRIBED THE MOVIE SO WELL.
>> Stephen: DID YOU HAVE A SENSE THAT YOU HAD SOMETHING
SPECIAL? >> Michelle: FROM THE SCRIPT I
KNEW I HAD REALLY A GEM, UNPOLISHED BY GEM.
IT WAS WACKY, WEIRD, WONDERFUL. WHAT RESONATED WITH ME WAS THIS
VERY ORDINARY AGING IMMIGRANT WOMAN WHO WAS TRYING TO, YOU
KNOW, LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM AND FAILING MISERABLY.
BUT THEN THE DANIELS GAVE HER AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE EXTRAORDINARY,
TO BE A SUPERHERO. THAT WOMAN IS LIKE OUR MOMS OR
OUR AUNTIES. >> Stephen: SO FAR, YOU HAVE
WON FOR YOUR PORTRAYAL A GOLDEN GLOBE, YOU HAVE WON THE
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD. YOU NOW HAVE AN OSCAR, OSCAR
NOMINATION. YOU HAVE CALLED THIS A ROLE YOU
HAVE BEEN REHEARSING TO PLAY ALL YOUR LIFE.
HOW SO? WHY IS THIS THE ROLE YOU BEEN
POINTING TOWARD? >> Michelle: LIKE YOU HAVE
DESCRIBED, THE MOVIE'S FIVE GENRES.
SCIENCE FICTION, COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANTIC, LOVE.
I REALLY TRULY FELT THAT IT WAS BECAUSE I HAVE THE EXPERIENCE
OVER THE YEARS. YOU KNOW, HOW YOU TAKE ON,
GATHERING IT ALL. A YOUNGER PERSON WOULD NOT BE
ABLE TO FULFILL ALL OF THIS. BUT AT MY AGE, 6-0.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] WELL, I GUESS 60 IS THE NEW
PRIME, OKAY. WHAT CAN I SAY?
[LAUGHTER] >> Stephen: I WANT TO SHOW A
PICTURE OF SOME OF THE PREP THAT YOU DID.
HERE'S YOUR COPY OF THE SCRIPT. THERE IS THE COVER OF YOUR COPY.
THIS IS THE THING THAT I LOVE. TELL ME WHAT THESE TABS ALL MEAN
IN THE SIDE RIGHT HERE. THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY.
THE AMOUNT OF PREP. WHAT DO THE COLORS REPRESENT?
>> Michelle: YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR SCRIPT.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST INSANE SCRIPTS.
IT DEALS WITH NOT JUST ONE UNIVERSE.
GOING ACROSS EIGHT MULTIUNIVERSES AND THEN EVERY
UNIVERSE HAS THEIR OWN STORY TO TELL.
AND WHO IS EVELYN WONG? THAT IS THE KEY.
YOU MUST HAVE A SOLID FOUNDATION.
WHEN I RECEIVED THE SCRIPT I SAID TO THE DANIELS, YOU HAVE TO
CHANGE HER NAME. SHE'S NOT GOING TO BE CALLED
MICHELLE. I LOVE DANIEL QUAN.
YOU KNOW, SO I SAID BECAUSE THIS WOMAN, SHE DESERVES A VOICE, SHE
DESERVES TO BE SEEN. IF YOU CALL HER MICHELLE, YOU AS
AN AUDIENCE WILL KEEP GOING, THAT IS MICHELLE TRYING TO PLAY
THIS AGING IMMIGRANT WOMAN BUT WE STILL SEE MICHELLE.
I HAVE TO ALLOW EVELYN TO HAVE HER OWN VOICE BECAUSE THERE'S SO
MANY EVELYNS IN THE WORLD AND THEY SHOULD GET A CHANCE TO BE
SEEN AND HEARD AND TO BE A SUPERHERO.
>> Stephen: MY WIFE'S NAME IS EVELYN.
UNRELATED TO THE FACT THAT SHE SHARES THE NAME, I'VE NEVER SEEN
HER CRY SO OPEN HARDLY THEN SHE DID AT THE END OF THAT FILM.
>> Stephen: DO YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?
>> Michelle: I HAVE A DAUGHTER.
SHE WASN'T WITH US IN THAT MOMENT.
BUT WE HAVE A DAUGHTER. I THINK THERE WERE A LOT OF MOMS
AND DAUGHTERS WHO WERE CRYING THAT WAY, TO ME, AS MUCH AS I
WAS ENJOYING THE FILM, I WAS COMPLETELY UNPREPARED FOR THE
EMOTIONAL DEPTH OF THE ENDING. WERE YOU PREPARED FOR THE
EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE ENDING? >> Michelle: IMPACT.
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THE MOVIE, THIS WAS QUITE AN
INCREDIBLE SHOOT. WE DID THIS MOVIE IN 38 DAYS.
>> Stephen: EXTRAORDINARY GIVEN HOW MUCH YOU ACHIEVED, AND
RIGHT BEFORE COVID. >> Michelle: ON THE DAY OF
COVID LOCKDOWN, THAT WAS OUR LAST NATIVE CHUTE.
THEN WE ALL WERE SEPARATED. WE WERE BONDED.
WE STARTED OFFICE CAST AND CREW BUT WAITED UP HIS FAMILY.
WE HAD TO DO TOGETHER IN THE DANIELS HAD A LOVELY RITUAL.
EVERYONE HAD COME OUT FROM WHATEVER CORNERS OF THE
BUILDING. IT GROUNDED US BECAUSE IT GAVE
US A BASE WHILE WE WERE WANDERING THROUGH ALL THESE
UNIVERSES. THIS BASE WAS ROCK-SOLID.
EVERYBODY WOULD GATHER. BEING AN INDIE FILM, EVERY
MINUTE COSTS MONEY. WE TOOK THE TIME TO LOOK AT EACH
OTHER IN THE EYES. WE LOOKED AT EACH OTHER.
WE SAW EACH OTHER. EVERYONE KNEW THAT WE WERE THERE
TOGETHER. WE WERE FAMILY.
THERE WAS NO HIERARCHY. WE WERE ALL EQUALS BORING OUR
LOVE INTO THIS LITTLE GEM AND POLISHING IT.
FOR 15 MINUTES, WE WOULD DO WARM-UP EXERCISES.
WE WOULD TAKE TURNS AND LEADING THE WARM UP, COURSE JAMIE LEE.
I DID LIKE THE DRAGON DANCE. ALL THE CREW NORMALLY THAT YOU
DON'T SEE BECAUSE THEY ARE BUSY, VERY BUSY DOING PROPS AND THINGS
LIKE THAT, THEY WOULD COME OUT AND FOR 15 MINUTES WE LOOKED AT
EACH OTHER'S EYES AND SAID COME ON.
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER. WE ARE GOING TO GIVE IT OUR
HEART AND SOUL BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN IT AND WE LOVE IT.
SO WE EMBRACED EACH OTHER, LIKE THE EVERYTHING BAGEL.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE MICHELLE YEOH, EVERYBODY.
STICK AROUND.
