EXCLUSIVE: How ‘Fire Island’s’ iconic Marisa Tomei “Heads Up!” scene came to be
court room plea in My Cousin Vinny. We can hear it now: “The defense is wrong!”But, in our expert gay opinion, if there’s one scene that comes close, it’s the hilarious “Heads Up!” moment in the rom-com Fire Island, in which besties Luke (Matt Rogers) and Keegan (Tomás Matos) try everything they can to get the reserved Will (Conrad Ricamora) to guess Tomei’s name.As they shout at the top of their lungs about actresses (who among us!), the scene exemplifies so much of what we love about Fire Island, particularly its unabashedly gay sense of humor and the specificity of its observations about the way groups of queer friends interact.To celebrate the year in film, Queerty Entertainment Editor Cameron Scheetz honors 2022’s Best Ensemble, Funniest Scene, Steamiest Man-On-Man Action, and so much more.As it turns out, the moment is heavily inspired by writer-star Joel Kim Booster’s own circle of friends, speaking to the foundational culture around “actresses and worshipping actresses.”Unsurprisingly, he says “a lot went into” the “calculus of deciding” which actresses would be referenced in the scene, but we’re glad he landed on Tomei, who never gets enough credit—if you ask us.Both Booster and director Andrew Ahn reveal the origins of the scene and so much more in the brand-new “commentary cut” of Fire Island, which is available now on Hulu.In celebration of the commentary’s debut, Queerty is thrilled to share this exclusive clip, in which the filmmakers discuss their “favorite day to shoot,” and share which lines were ad-libs.
