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With Crazy Rich Asians opening this week in theaters, I recently sat down with director Jon M. Chu for an exclusive video interview. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s based on the worldwide bestselling book by Kevin Kwan and stars Constance Wu as a New Yorker who accompanies her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to Singapore to attend a wedding. But her first visit to Asia is soon thrown for a loop when she learns that Nick actually hails from an incredibly wealthy family. The film also features an international cast of stars that includes Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Michelle YeohSonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remi Hii, and Nico Santos.

During the interview, Jon M. Chu talked about what it means to helm a film with an all Asian cast, why he sought out a project like this, if it was tough getting financing, what he learned from test screenings and what he changed as a result of those screenings, deleted scenes, why they passed on having Netflix release the film, why they don’t explain too much in the film and just drop the audience into the world, and so much more.

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Finally, towards the end of the interview, he played “Ice Breakers”. If you haven’t yet seen it, it’s a fun game that includes questions like which TV show you would want to play a guest spot on, favorite sci-fi/fantasy movie, which film scared you as a kid, what you collect, if you own any movie/TV show props, what’s your phone background photo, and more.

Check out what Jon M. Chu had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.

Jon M. Chu:

  • What it means to be releasing Crazy Rich Asians which features an all Asian cast.
  • Talks about how he got involved in the project and how he sought out a project like this.
  • How tough was it to get financing?
  • How Netflix wanted the film but Chu talks about why they wanted to release the film in theaters via Warner Bros.
  • What did he learn from test screenings and friends and family screenings that impacted the finished film?
  • Talks about what he changed as a result of test screenings.
  • Will any of the deleted scenes end up on the Blu-ray?
  • Did he have the cast watch any films prior to filming?
  • How they don’t explain too much in the film and just drop the audience into the world.
  • What does this film mean to his family?
  • What TV show would he love to guest direct?
  • crazy-rich-asians-images
    Image via Warner Bros.
    Does he have a favorite sci-fi or fantasy film?
  • What film scared him as a kid?
  • What does he collect?
  • Does he own any movie or TV show props?
  • What would people be surprised to learn about him?
  • What TV show has he watched all the way through more than once?
  • What’s the background photo on his phone?
  • Does he have a favorite pair of sneakers or shoes?
  • What’s the most he’s spent on sneakers or shoes?
  • How he has a pair of Yeezy’s from Kanye’s last collection with Nike.
  • What first got him interested in the entertainment industry?
  • What movie has he seen the most?
  • We chat about Batman from 1989.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.