EXCLUSIVE: How ‘Fire Island’s’ iconic Marisa Tomei “Heads Up!” scene came to be

In the grand history of cinema, few scenes will ever be as iconic as Marisa Tomei’s Oscar-winning 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.

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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.”

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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. (Hint: It’s a lot of them.)

Check it out below:

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, you can now revisit Fire Island and watch along with its delightful commentary cut by visiting the “Extras” section of the film’s page on Hulu.

Fire Island‘s exclusive new commentary cut arrives as part of Hulu’s special Valentine’s Day collection, which asks, “Who Do You Love?,” inviting audiences to find their perfect streaming match this holiday—whether that be a cheeky geek, a hopeless romantic, or a fellow Marisa Tomei enthusiast.

By the way, Fire Island is among this year’s Queerties nominees for Best Studio Movie. You can vote for it below, and support all your faves here—including Conrad Ricamora, nominated for Best Film Performance—now through February 21.