We at Collider are happy to exclusively debut a behind-the-scenes look at Brian Tyler’s score for the highly anticipated new romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. Based on the worldwide bestselling book by Kevin Kwan, the film 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.
Tyler is a prolific composer whose memorable work ranges from Iron Man 3 to Furious 7 to Avengers: Age of Ultron, but while Tyler may not be the first name you associate with a studio romcom, he and Crazy Rich Asians proved to be a match made in heaven. In the scoring session video below you get a taste of the delightfully sweeping score that Tyler concocted, all the while watching him conduct his orchestra.
“It all comes together in this eclectic tapestry,” explains director Jon M. Chu about the music. “From old to new and remixed, to rap and hip-hop and jazz—and then, on top of that, we have our amazing composer Brian Tyler, who brings in a giant orchestra like an old Hollywood movie.”
“Jon and I wanted to really make a splash with this score in a way that touched upon the classic film style of the great romantic comedies of old Hollywood with the charisma and beauty of Asian culture,” explained Tyler.
“The idea of combining the spontaneity of jazz with the scope of classic orchestra was a dream. That kind of musicianship on hand combined with such a wide sonic palette enabled me to represent both the sophistication of the crazy rich characters in the film as well as the deep emotional resonance of the central love story,” continued the composer. “The jazz music provided a fun wild throwback tone and the strings brought the main themes to life in a way that articulates both the love and loss in relationships - familial and romantic. This movie makes you laugh and it makes you cry. I adore this film and Jon Chu’s brilliant direction and am so proud of what we made together. I was fortunate to be brought on board to bring this music to life.”
It sounds terrific, and you can get a peek behind-the-scenes below. WaterTower Music will release Crazy Rich Asians: Original Motion Picture Score and the 14-song Crazy Rich Asians: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring songs from Miguel and Awkwafina on August 10th. Crazy Rich Asians hits theaters on August 15th.
