Joel Kim Booster Reveals the Scene From ‘Fire Island’ That Was ‘Ripped’ From His Real Life
Fire Island, written by and starring Joel Kim Booster, may be inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but one scene in particular was taken from Booster’s real life.
“The ‘Heads-up’ scene in Fire Island is ripped from the headlines of my life,” Booster, 36, tells Us Weekly exclusively as part of his 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature. “My friends and I are big on game nights and things get competitive. It’s how I found out my boyfriend didn’t know who Natalie Imbruglia was.”
The movie — which also stars Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully and Margaret Cho — follows a group of gay friends who go on vacation to Fire Island, an island off of New York known for its queer-friendly community.
The “Heads-Up” scene Booster references follows the group as they play an intense round of the iPhone game, which prompts the players to guess the name of a person, place or thing which can be read on the phone held on the forehead of one player.
The players hilariously try to get Ricamora’s character, Will, to guess the name of Marisa Tomei by acting out some of her iconic movie scenes.
“No, the defense is wrong!” Keegan (Tomas Matos) and Luke (Matt Rogers) exclaim, imitating Tomei’s line in My Cousin Vinny. “My biological clock is ticking like this and the way this case is going, I ain’t ever getting married!”
“That’s actually the problem with Hollywood,” Luke adds. “It’s people like you who forget about Marisa Tomei, but they remember Alicia Vikander.”
Keep scrolling for 25 things you might not know about Booster, including more exclusive behind-the-scenes facts about Fire Island:
1. One of my biggest splurges was the complete Gilmore Girls series box set. I took part of my student loan to pay for it. It was an insane amount of money. I don’t regret it.
2. The three items I can’t leave the house without are my phone, wallet and nicotine.
3. Being nominated for an Emmy [for Fire Island] was honestly a surprise. I woke up to a s—t ton of texts [and] my group thread had already moved on by the time I found out.
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4. My favorite memory from working with Maya Rudolph on Loot was watching her film the “Hot Ones” scene in season 1. An absolute master class.
5. My favorite book is White Teeth by Zadie Smith.
6. I decompress with a big joint and American Idol.
7. One look I’d never be caught dead wearing is skinny jeans.
8. The tattoo I have on my thigh is fun and stupid. It’s poppers.
9. The extracurricular activities I did growing up were Bible quizzing, speech team and theater.
10. My favorite movie is My Best Friend’s Wedding.
11. My celebrity crush growing up was Jeri Ryan — but secretly Paolo Montalban.
12. Dev Patel is my current celebrity crush.
13. My most starstruck moment was [meeting] Ariana Grade backstage at the Hollywood Improv.
14. My first car was a 1992 Honda Accord [that] I bought for $500. My parents didn’t want me to have a car, so I hid it until I made eye contact with my dad at an intersection while on my way to school.
15. My alternate profession would be a librarian.
16. While shooting Fire Island, I’d blast “Last Summer” by Zara Larsson in my trailer every morning. I can’t hear it without feeling good now.
17. I make a killer bolognese.
18. My craziest fan encounter was one guy who followed me across the country and at each show, would beg me to read his manifesto.
19. I’m fairly introverted around new people, depending on the setting. All of my boyfriend’s friends thought I was a cold bitch when they first met me.
20. The “Heads-up” scene in Fire Island is ripped from the headlines of my life. My friends and I are big on game nights and things get competitive. It’s how I found out my boyfriend didn’t know who Natalie Imbruglia was.
21. I played basketball my sophomore year and was terrible. However, I was in [my] church’s intramural volleyball team, and that, I nailed.
22. My first job was a page at the library.
23. The best gift I’ve received was from executive producer Tony Hernandez, who sent me a PS5 to celebrate Searchlight saving Fire Island.
24. On Saturday nights, you can find me at a firetrap downtown.
25. On Sunday afternoons, I’m still in bed waiting for my boyfriend to wake up because we got home at 10 a.m.
