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A multiverse of 'Everything Everywhere' props are auctioned, raising $555K for charity

This item, described as "Googly eye rock boulder stunt double from the Rockverse," sold for $13,200, with proceeds going to the Asian Mental Health Project.
A24
This item, described as "Googly eye rock boulder stunt double from the Rockverse," sold for $13,200, with proceeds going to the Asian Mental Health Project.

Lucky bidders have gotten their (presumably non-hot dog) hands on pieces of one of this season's buzziest movies, after entertainment company A24 auctioned off dozens of props from Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The online auction, which closed Thursday, raised $555,725 for three different charities: the Asian Mental Health Project, the Transgender Law Center and the Laundry Workers Center.

"This means the whole universe to us," tweeted the Asian Mental Health Project, which focuses on educating and empowering Asian communities in seeking mental healthcare.

The film's directors, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as Daniels), chose the charities themselves, according to A24.

Everything Everywhere All at Once tells the story of a Chinese-American immigrant family, led by middle-aged matriarch Evelyn, who simultaneously fights a tax audit of their struggling laundromat and a powerful being intent on destroying the multiverse.

Naturally that requires Evelyn (played by Michelle Yeoh) — tutored by her husband Waymond (portrayed by Ke Huy Quan) — to jump between different versions of herself from a variety of parallel universes, each with their own distinct storylines and aesthetics.

The movie is part sci-fi martial arts film, part absurdist comedy, part family drama and full-on awards season darling. It won four SAG awards last weekend — the most by a single film ever — and leads Oscar nominations with a whopping 11 (including best picture and best director).

So it might not come as a surprise that some fans were willing to spend thousands of dollars on memorabilia, including elaborate Kung Fu warrior and Elvis costumes, a laundry delivery van ("not street legal"), and even relatively ordinary-looking props, such as a calculator and a carton of half-and-half.

This pair of hot dog hands sold for $55,000, with proceeds benefitting the Laundry Workers Center.
/ A24
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A24
This pair of hot dog hands sold for $55,000, with proceeds benefitting the Laundry Workers Center.

"You may only see a pile of boring forms, but I see a story," reads the description of a pile of crumpled, colorful receipts, which sold for $7,000.

The 43 items were divided up into three themed collections: Laundry & Taxes, In Another Life, and Mementos from the Multiverse.

They represented some of the film's most iconic visuals: A pair of hands with hot-dog shaped fingers ($55,000), Waymond's trusty leather fanny pack ($48,000), an "auditor of the month" trophy ($60,000) and a rock with googly eyes ($13,200).

The priciest item was none other than Raccaccoonie, the taxidermied-turned-animatronic raccoon who moonlights as a hat-hidden hibachi chef in one of Evelyn's parallel universes, thanks to her misremembering of the title of the beloved Pixar film Ratatouille. He sold for $90,000.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rachel Treisman (she/her) is a writer and editor for the Morning Edition live blog, which she helped launch in early 2021.
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