A new issue of W Magazine sees White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge in her final form – as a pink sword-wielding Power Rangers villain, and as a giant lime-green kaiju with black spots terrorising a city. The brains behind this colourful, science fiction movie-inspired photoshoot are none other than The Daniels – the directors of Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The photoshoot is inspired by such gems as Queen of Outer Space (1958), Barbarella (1968), and Muppets from Space (1999). The kaiju shots are a tribute to tokusatsu – a genre of campy Japanese cinema that birthed such legendary creatures in monster movies such as Godzilla and Mothra, and robot movie characters e.g. Giant Robo and Ultraman.
“Tokusatsu is so well done, but the special effects are always kind of handmade. If you look at the stuff from the ’60s, you can feel the fingerprint. You can tell there’s somebody inside the costume,” says Daniel Kwan, referring to the motley crew of stunt doubles, friends, and colleagues cosplaying as Ultraman and Power Rangers on set. “There’s something very charming about that, especially nowadays, when you can create anything digitally and nothing impresses you anymore.”
The Daniels have been sweeping awards season with their monster hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, and it looks like they’ll be going home with a veritable treasure trove of little gold men when the Oscars finally arrive on March 12. They have a very good chance of nabbing Best Picture, as well as Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, and Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan.
Our Everything Everywhere All at Once review says that the A24 movie “knows how to craft an entertaining journey through its exhilarating cinematography, choreographed fight sequences, and shocking creativity.”
If you’re excited for more Gozilla and Kong movies – and who isn’t? – check out our guide to the best action movies.