‘Wicked’ Director Jon M. Chu Talks Ariana Grande, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’
Director Jon M. Chu, who's helmed "Crazy Rich Asians," "In The Heights," and on the film adaptation of the musical "Wicked," chats about all of that and more in this interview with CinemaBlend's Law Sharma.
In addition to a discussion about the director's massive impact on the AAPI community, find out what Chu thinks of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's "Wicked" performances so far.
In addition to a discussion about the director's massive impact on the AAPI community, find out what Chu thinks of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's "Wicked" performances so far.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Well, John, thank you so much for sitting down
00:11 with CinemaBlend.
00:12 I am stoked to be talking to you as not only an Asian that's
00:17 been directly affected by your work,
00:19 but a Bay Area Asian at that.
00:21 So thank you for joining me.
00:22 Yeah, Bay Area.
00:23 Of course, good to be here.
00:24 It's been, you know, four-ish years
00:27 since Crazy Rich Asians came out.
00:28 And I know that it changed my life personally,
00:32 and it changed the community's life.
00:33 If you can just, like, share how you reflect on the impact
00:36 that you've had on the AAPI community and the world.
00:39 Yeah, it's been a journey.
00:41 It's been a journey.
00:42 We were at this event the other--
00:45 last week for Gold House.
00:47 They started the Gold Open sort of phenomenon.
00:52 And I'll never forget when we first
00:53 started having those conversations about--
00:56 we were at my parents' restaurant.
00:57 They have a Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area.
01:01 And Bing, who started Gold House,
01:02 and we all were sitting down there.
01:04 And we had people from Wall Street,
01:05 people from Silicon Valley, people from LA,
01:08 people from the studios, trying to figure out how we can--
01:11 all Asian-- trying to figure out how we can all support
01:16 this movie that's about to come out,
01:18 knowing the opportunity that we had in front of us.
01:20 Of an all-Asian cast, from Asians around the world,
01:25 in a rom-com that--
01:28 rom-coms weren't the hottest thing at that moment,
01:31 especially in the theater.
01:32 So just think of that day and thinking about how impossible
01:38 it felt, but what we were all going to try,
01:39 and all these communities coming together.
01:41 And then to see, last week, everyone there,
01:45 and celebrating movies like Everything Everywhere
01:49 all at once.
01:51 Everyone was so supportive and loving.
01:54 To see Henry Golding there, to see Jimmy O. Yang,
01:58 knowing Awkwafina is shooting another movie,
02:01 and Michelle Yeoh, of course, starring in all these movies,
02:05 to see people like Simu Liu, all these people.
02:09 Just showed that-- how fast it happened is incredible.
02:12 And then we still have a lot more to do.
02:16 But just knowing that that can happen in four or five years
02:18 is insane.
02:19 All those pictures from the Gold Gal look amazing, though,
02:21 especially the one with you, with Miss Yeoh,
02:23 and Destin.
02:25 I love that you brought that up, because you are a role model
02:28 to a lot of us in the community.
02:30 And with the rise in prominence of organizations
02:33 like Gold House, like CAPE, like Character Media, even,
02:36 what does that mean for you, particularly as a filmmaker?
02:40 Well, first of all, they were there before.
02:42 Gold House was new, but CAPE was there.
02:44 Character was there.
02:47 A lot of organizations were there before.
02:50 They gave me scholarships.
02:51 They gave me connections.
02:54 Even Project Involve gave me mentors and people to see.
03:01 So I'm a product of those organizations.
03:06 Having made movies in the business,
03:09 didn't know my place in the community yet.
03:12 And so I needed people in the community
03:14 to tell me that on Twitter, or in articles,
03:18 or in these organizations.
03:20 That there was an opportunity for me to be a part of this
03:24 if I chose to be.
03:26 So I think all those organizations
03:28 are more important than ever, but they were always important.
03:31 They're a reason why this generation of creatives
03:35 are here.
03:36 Without that support, we couldn't have even
03:38 gotten to this step.
03:40 And so they only become stronger and more important,
03:42 especially as we all sort of Voltron together.
03:46 Yeah, Voltron together.
03:47 I like that phrasing.
03:49 And it's not just in entertainment.
03:50 It's in news.
03:52 It's in journalism.
03:53 It's in so many things.
03:55 Politics, tech, and sports.
04:00 So that's what's fun, is that all the rise is happening.
04:06 And we're all, even if we're not in the same business,
04:09 sort of being inspired by each other.
04:12 Yeah.
04:13 Now, I do want to bring up-- because being a filmmaker
04:16 is hard on its own.
04:17 And then now with the ever-changing kind of way
04:20 we distribute films, it must be a little mind-boggling
04:24 as a filmmaker.
04:25 But what do you feel, especially after "In the Heights"
04:27 release, how do you feel about that hybrid release model?
04:30 Or just streaming in general?
04:32 As a filmmaker, what does that mean to you
04:34 to have access to that as well?
04:36 Listen, I love watching streaming movies.
04:39 I love watching movies in the theater.
04:41 I love watching YouTube clips on my iPhone.
04:46 Any of those things.
04:47 I think entertainment is--
04:51 storytelling can be told in many, many forms.
04:54 What I want to make sure we protect is the movie experience.
04:57 Because I think the movie experience says something.
05:00 It's the place where it forces you to see something
05:04 differently.
05:05 That you're paying money for something that has value.
05:08 You're establishing what a hero looks like, what beauty is,
05:14 what kindness looks like.
05:18 And movies, you're paying money up front and sitting back
05:22 and not being on your phone.
05:23 And you're in the dark.
05:24 And you're forced to be that.
05:26 And so movies have a cultural shifting relationship
05:30 with the audience, with the world, that has proven
05:32 itself over and over again.
05:34 I get that the landscape is changing.
05:36 But I love that more people are getting opportunities
05:38 to tell stories in different ways with streaming.
05:42 But I do think protecting some space
05:45 between a theatrical experience and saying,
05:47 you've got to see Spider-Man.
05:49 You've got to see Top Gun.
05:50 You've got to see Crazy Rich Asians.
05:52 Because you've got to see Shang-Chi.
05:55 Because it's worth your money and your time.
05:57 And then when people do that, you
05:59 get into a habit of putting those people and people who
06:02 look like that on a pedestal.
06:03 I think that's very, very important for us
06:05 to continue to have alive.
06:08 I'm all about change.
06:09 I grew up in the Silicon Valley.
06:11 Change is progress.
06:13 But it's also nice to protect the things that we know,
06:17 has space in our lives, our busy, crowded lives,
06:20 that allow us to just reflect on what we're going through.
06:24 Well said.
06:25 Now, it's no secret to people who
06:27 are familiar with your work that music and dance
06:30 is a big part of your storytelling
06:32 style in a lot of ways.
06:34 And so I got to ask about Wicked.
06:36 I'm wondering, one, how is it going?
06:39 And two, what songs did you think
06:41 were so good that you couldn't cut or inspired
06:45 you to make it into two movies?
06:46 I'm very curious about that.
06:48 Law, I can't tell you all that.
06:51 That's all coming.
06:52 That's all coming.
06:52 But I can tell you that I'm having a blast.
06:54 I spent the last year getting to know
06:57 Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holtzman, who wrote the book.
07:02 Mark Platt, working with our creative team.
07:06 Paul Tazwell's doing the costumes.
07:08 He did Hamilton and West Side Story.
07:11 And we have Nathan Crowley, who's
07:14 done a lot of Chris Nolan stuff.
07:15 And he just did Wonka.
07:19 And we have Alice Brooks, our DP,
07:20 who I worked with on In the Heights and Tick, Tick, Boom.
07:23 We have a great team.
07:24 And we're coming up with some great stuff.
07:26 And when you see Cynthia sing the songs,
07:28 and when you see Ariana sing these songs,
07:31 they interpret it in a way that I've never
07:34 experienced Wicked before.
07:36 It means something different.
07:38 So we're getting in there.
07:39 I love a lot of the songs, all the songs.
07:42 I will not tell you my favorites yet.
07:45 They will come.
07:46 But I will say that I also love the show.
07:49 And I understand the responsibility of this
07:51 is the first time we're going to crystallize this show.
07:53 So I'm not here to make it the hip-hop version or some
07:57 remixed millennial version.
08:01 I'm here to give honor to what it is.
08:04 But also, this is 2022.
08:06 Things have changed.
08:06 Perspectives have changed.
08:08 And the movie is about perspective and change,
08:13 and how hard it is to change.
08:15 Sometimes you have to pop your bubble
08:17 and come out and engage with the world.
08:19 And sometimes that engagement means feeling angry.
08:23 Maybe sometimes that engagement means feeling sad.
08:28 Maybe that engagement means it's not the easy yellow brick
08:31 road for you, that it's off the beaten path.
08:34 Maybe it's about the wizard's not
08:36 going to solve all your problems.
08:38 It's up to us to face each other.
08:39 And I think those messages are very important today.
08:42 And I can't wait to express that in something like "Wicked."
08:45 Ooh, that was like listening to you recite poetry just now.
08:47 A lot of good analogies in there.
08:49 Wait till you see the movie.
08:50 If you like that.
08:51 The "Willow" trailer just dropped yesterday.
08:53 I know that--
08:54 Oh my goodness.
08:55 Yeah, you were previously attached to it.
08:56 But I know that you are a big fan of "Willow."
08:59 And I just want to know what your reaction
09:01 is to seeing that teaser.
09:02 It looked amazing.
09:03 I texted-- I didn't just text Jon Kasdan.
09:06 I sent a voice memo basically screaming, jumping up and down.
09:11 Like, you did it, bro.
09:13 Like, I'm so happy for the team.
09:15 I'm so happy.
09:16 Like, I mean, half that cast, I was there
09:19 helping to choose that.
09:20 So I'm so excited for them.
09:22 They were-- their auditions are great.
09:24 They're so funny.
09:25 They're so memorable.
09:26 People are going to fall in love with them.
09:28 But when I see them, the scope that they were to pull off
09:30 during the pandemic, which is--
09:34 the reason I didn't go, it was just too much for my family
09:37 to get over that.
09:37 But when I watch that stuff, I'm just so, so proud.
09:40 And I know, since I've read most of those scripts,
09:44 I know how it's going to end up.
09:45 And I think people are in for a good ride.
09:48 Oh, man, I can't wait.
09:49 I was watching it.
09:50 I was at "Star Wars Celebration" when they premiered it.
09:52 Oh, you were?
09:53 Yeah.
09:54 I got emotional.
09:55 Of all the teasers, that was the one that got me.
09:57 I was just like, that just blew me away.
09:58 So I was genuinely curious.
10:00 I was kind of emotional, too.
10:01 I got-- I definitely, like--
10:03 I started playing on my iPhone.
10:04 I was like, uh-uh, I got to play it on the big screen.
10:06 And I turned it on my big screen, and I was blown away.
10:09 I'm so excited.
10:11 You know, when you see-- even just seeing the name up there,
10:13 even seeing Ron Howard announce it and saying--
10:16 like, it's just--
10:18 it brings back so many memories.
10:20 Yeah, yeah.
10:21 And now, you have-- you know, you adapted
10:24 "A Gem in the Holograms."
10:25 And I know at one point, you were attached to Lilo
10:27 and stitched live action.
10:28 But now, you're kind of headed into the animated realm
10:31 with "Oh, the Places You'll Go," which is
10:33 one of my favorite Seuss books.
10:35 Is it daunting taking on a project that's, like,
10:37 almost like a decade long, you know,
10:39 like, with all the planning and stuff that goes into animation?
10:42 Is it intimidating in any way?
10:44 Listen, every movie I do is very different than the--
10:47 I mean, from the "Step Up" movies
10:48 to then a Justin Bieber documentary to then "G.I.
10:51 Joe," "Gem in the Holograms," "Now You See Me 2,"
10:54 "Crazy Rich A--" I mean, should I just say my whole IMVP?
10:57 No.
10:59 Each is so different.
11:00 But that's kind of what I love, that as a storyteller,
11:06 I won't get it all right.
11:07 But I love exploring different genres.
11:11 And animation has been a love since I've been little, little.
11:15 I was in love with Disney animation.
11:18 I mean, we were in the golden age of Disney animation
11:22 with "Beauty and the Beast" and "Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin."
11:27 And so I always wanted to be an animator, actually,
11:29 before I wanted to be a filmmaker,
11:31 a live-action filmmaker.
11:33 And so to be able to jump into there, it's been-- it's daunting.
11:37 I'm learning.
11:38 But I'm sort of used to that.
11:40 I love working with Bad Robot, JJ, and that team over there,
11:43 Hannah.
11:44 And then we have some tricks in the Dr. Seuss estate.
11:49 And we have some other tricks up our sleeves
11:50 I can't announce here.
11:51 But there's some other fun collaborators
11:53 that are going to be taking it to a whole other level.
11:56 Of course, Warner Brothers.
11:57 But we're creating something very special with that.
12:00 We know that that was his most special creation,
12:05 about much bigger than--
12:09 it's about learning about life and our journey through this,
12:13 especially a creative or a journey with purpose.
12:17 So we're here to build a epic Seussian world that maybe we
12:22 haven't fully experienced before.
12:24 But this is-- it's going to be very special.
12:26 Oh, by the way, I also called up Domi Shee,
12:29 who just did "Turning Red."
12:31 And we've been-- she's been giving
12:33 me some advice along the way.
12:34 So I have some good mentors going in.
12:36 Amazing.
12:37 She's amazing.
12:38 "Turning Red" blew my mind.
12:39 I joked with Michelle Yeoh that my favorite genre of film
12:42 right now is generational trauma.
12:45 You know what I mean?
12:46 You know, it's healing to watch, yes.
12:48 Yes, it is very healing.
12:50 It's very therapeutic.
12:51 I wonder if you do have a dream project and a dream actor
12:55 you'd love to work with.
12:56 I'm sort of working on my dream project right now, "Wicked."
12:58 I mean, I chased this movie for 10 years.
13:01 I saw the opportunity of what we could say with it.
13:04 And so I called the studio every six months.
13:09 And they would always ignore me.
13:10 So when I got the call to step in, I was like, yes.
13:13 Put me in, coach.
13:15 So that's something that I'm really passionate about.
13:17 And in terms of an actor, I have a lot.
13:24 I have a lot.
13:25 But I also like--
13:26 you know, when I work with Awkwafina or Michelle or Henry,
13:33 you're just starting.
13:34 You've just started to work with them.
13:36 And I'm like, I want to do more with them.
13:39 Anthony Ramos and Leslie Grace and Corey,
13:43 I want to do more with them.
13:46 And so those are the people that I'm--
13:49 you know, when you look for projects, I'm like,
13:51 how do I get back in the ring?
13:52 Because I know they have so much more to give.
13:54 And I'm glad that they're all blossoming.
13:58 I just wish I was part of that, too.
13:59 I want to work with Bruno Mars.
14:01 I would love to work with Bruno Mars sometime.
14:03 I know he's very--
14:04 I don't know if he hasn't really stepped
14:05 into that acting place.
14:06 But I think he's one of the greatest
14:07 entertainers of all time.
14:09 So Bruno, if you're out there, let's go.
14:11 Let's get this together, bro.
14:13 Just to close out this interview,
14:15 I was wondering if you had any encouraging words
14:17 for the community that may be not having the best time right
14:20 now with everything going on.
14:22 I would say, look around you.
14:25 We have a strong community that is together,
14:30 that we can mourn together, we can celebrate together,
14:35 and we have power together.
14:37 So don't get overwhelmed by all the screaming
14:42 and yelling everywhere.
14:43 I would say stay focused on what we can all
14:46 add to this conversation creatively
14:49 through your writing, through your reporting,
14:51 through your creations online, on cinema, whatever, on TV.
14:57 I think we have to be laser focused
14:58 and keep this boat moving.
15:00 So do it.
15:01 Do it now.
15:02 We need you.
15:02 We're all here.
15:04 And you're going to have a bunch of people
15:05 on the other side of your project, win or lose,
15:07 that are going to be there for you.
15:08 And thanks for what you're doing.
15:09 I think it's really important.
15:11 And it's people like you that keep us in the conversation
15:14 and keep everything developing and evolving forward.
15:17 I really appreciate that.
15:19 Thank you for your time.
15:19 And I'm so excited for what the future holds for you.
15:23 I'm stoked.
15:24 Thanks a lot.
15:24 See ya.
15:26 (upbeat music)