Jon M. Chu in Talks to Direct 'Crazy Rich Asians' (Exclusive)
8:19 AM PDT 5/4/2016 by Rebecca Ford and Borys Kit


Jon M Chu
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The adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book centers on a group of Chinese families preparing for a large wedding in Singapore.

Ahead of the release of his latest film Now You See Me 2, Jon M. Chu is in talks to direct Crazy Rich Asians.

Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures are developing the adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book, which centers on a group of wealthy Chinese families. When the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings his American-born Chinese girlfriend to Singapore for a wedding, the gossip, backstabbing and scheming reaches a fever pitch among the three super-rich families.

Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and John Penotti are producing while Kwan will executive produce. Pete Chiarelli (The Proposal) wrote the script.

Color Force nabbed the film rights to Kwan's debut novel in 2013. The project will feature a predominantly Asian and Asian-American cast, and comes at a time when there's been uproar over some recent adaptations that have recast Asian roles with Caucasian actors (such as Scarlett Johansson in The Ghost in the Shell.)

Crazy Rich Asians, a personal, character-driven story about family and culture, is an interesting next step for Chu who has built up a successful career with several big spectacle films, like his latest, the magic-heist sequel Now You See Me 2, which hits theaters June 10.

The helmer, who is Asian-American, has bounced between music-inspired projects and big actions films, previously directing 2015’s Jem and the Holograms, Justin Bieber’s Believe and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Repped by WME and Principato Young, Chu is also attached to direct and produce Paramount's action-adventure project Escape.
That would be really funny if this was re-cast with Scar-Jo and Tilda.