By Ramona Saviss By Ramona Saviss | February 13, 2023 | Style & Beauty, Movies,
MICHELLE CHUNG PORTRAIT BY DREW AIELLO
Veteran makeup artist Michelle Chung talks working on Everything Everywhere All at Once, her favorite looks from the movie and the importance of creating a film family.
Michelle Chung, makeup department head on Everything Everywhere All at Once, helped transform actress Stephanie Hsu into her dual characters Joy Wang and Jobu Tubaki. FILM STILLS BY ALLYSON RIGGS/COURTESY OF A24
“When I got sent the treatment for Everything Everywhere, I instantly knew I wanted to do it. The story was so interesting, with both grounded, real characters and also wild, exciting makeup looks,” says L.A. native makeup artist Michelle Chung, the makeup department head on this year’s awardscontending film Everything Everywhere All at Once. “I was excited to work with a mainly Asian cast as well. Michelle Yeoh is such a legend, it was really exciting to get to work with her,” she adds.
FILM STILLS BY ALLYSON RIGGS/COURTESY OF A24
The film, by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (also known as Daniels), was a departure from other projects Chung has worked on before, including The Terminal List and Boo, Bitch.“This was my first time working with the Daniels. It was such an amazing experience. They really have a clear vision of what they want, but give their crew the freedom to play within their world,” she says. On set, Chung adds that Daniels create a “film family” by conducting group activities like morning exercises and weekly awards that would bring the cast and crew together, making it a more collaborative way of filmmaking. “Between the directors, wardrobe and hair, we all had inspiration boards that helped build the look of the characters,” Chung, who made mood boards for many of the different looks, says of the collaboration between departments.
FILM STILLS BY ALLYSON RIGGS/COURTESY OF A24
As for actress Stephanie Hsu’s dual character of Joy Wang and Jobu Tubaki, she played up the various characters using makeup. “There was a huge difference between the characters Joy and Jobu—Joy was very natural, almost a no-makeup look, and Jobu went almost the complete opposite with huge, elaborate, over-the-top looks.” One of her many favorite looks is what she calls “jumbled Jobu.” “It’s the one when she’s fighting her mom at the top of the staircase,” Chung explains. “It was such a simple but striking makeup that just looked insane when she was fighting.”
“This set and film was so different than anything I’ve done in the past. I really got to stretch my creativity on this one and work outside the box,” Chung says of the freedom given to her by Daniels. “We were really moving so fast there wasn’t much time to think—we just had to go and make it work. It was also such a great atmosphere to step into. The Daniels have worked with a lot of the crew for so many years, and they really welcomed me into the family.”
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