Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians Information

Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Nico Santos, Lisa Lu, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh, and follows a young Asian-American woman who travels to meet her boyfriend's family, and is surprised when she discovers they are among the richest in Singapore.

Crazy Rich Asians was released in the United States on August 15, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is noted as the first film in the modern setting by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority Asian cast since 1993's The Joy Luck Club. The film has grossed over $45 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly Wu, Awkwafina, and Yeoh) and production design. A sequel is currently in development.

Plot

Rachel Chu, an economics professor at New York University (NYU), accepts an invitation from her boyfriend Nick Young, a history professor at NYU, to accompany him to Singapore for his best friend Colin's wedding; Nick will be the best man, while Rachel can meet Nick's family and see her old school friend Peik Lin. Nick's mother, Eleanor, learns of the relationship from rapid online gossip. Rachel is shocked when Nick arranges a first class suite for the flight; he reveals that his family are wealthy real estate developers.

In Singapore, Rachel and Nick join Colin and his fiance Araminta for dinner in a street vendor marketplace. The next day, Rachel visits Peik Lin, who accompanies her to a party thrown by Nick's family. Rachel makes several faux pas and quickly realizes that Eleanor dislikes her, but makes a good impression on Nick's grandmother.

Rachel attends Araminta's bachelorette party at a resort owned by her family, while Nick attends Colin's bachelor party aboard a party barge arranged by their boorish schoolmate Bernard. A woman named Amanda seemingly befriends Rachel, but deliberately undermines Rachel's confidence before revealing that she dated Nick. Some of the women defile Rachel's bed with a dead fish and a message calling her a "gold digging bitch." Nick's cousin Astrid comforts Rachel, who is determined not to make a scene. Astrid admits that her life is not perfect either, as her husband Michael is having an affair. Nick and Colin flee the barge to relax alone on the water elsewhere, where Nick tells Colin he plans to propose to Rachel. Colin is happy for him, but concerned that Nick's family's disapproval and the couple's cultural differences will be insurmountable.

Nick finds Rachel is upset over the women's harassment and Nick's secrecy about his family. He apologizes and takes her to make dumplings by hand with his family. Rachel admires Eleanor's distinctive engagement ring; Eleanor tells her that Nick's grandmother disapproved of Eleanor and denied Nick's father the family ring. Eleanor tells Rachel she will never be good enough for Nick. Rachel considers leaving Singapore, but Peik Lin convinces her to challenge Eleanor. Peik Lin and Nick's rebellious cousin Oliver give Rachel a glamorous makeover immediately before the wedding. Meanwhile, Astrid tells Michael she knows he is cheating on her and they break up. At the wedding, Rachel makes a good impression on everyone. But at the reception, Nick's mother and grandmother call Rachel a liar and forbid Nick's relationship with her. Rachel believed her mother was widowed in China before Rachel's birth, but a private investigator has revealed that Rachel was conceived through an adulterous affair, after which she abandoned her husband. Rachel runs away and Nick chases after her, even though his grandmother threatens to disown him.

Rachel goes to stay with Peik Lin. Rachel's mother arrives and explains that her husband was abusive. She and an old classmate fell in love, and when she became pregnant she fled China, fearing her husband's reprisal. Nick requested and arranged Rachel's mother's presence; she urges Rachel to see him. When they meet up, Nick proposes.

Rachel asks Eleanor to meet her at a mahjong parlour. Over a game, Rachel tells Eleanor that she declined Nick's proposal, not wishing to cost him his family. She notes that any future marriage and family Nick has with Eleanor's approval will be possible because of a poor nobody like Rachel. Eleanor reveals a winning hand after drawing a tile Rachel discards, but Rachel then reveals that her own hand would have won, had she kept the tile.

Eleanor visits Nick, and Astrid moves out of Michael's apartment with their son. Rachel and her mother board an economy flight home. Nick arrives and proposes again--this time, with Eleanor's ring. Rachel accepts and they stay in Singapore an extra day for an engagement party. Eleanor and Rachel acknowledge each other.

In the mid-credit scene, Astrid exchanges flirtatious glances with a man.

Cast

Constance Wu as Rachel Chu, Nick"?s longtime girlfriend and Kerry"?s daughter
Henry Golding as Nick Young, Rachel's longtime boyfriend and Phillip and Eleanor's son
Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Sung-Young, Nick's domineering mother and Phillip's wife
Gemma Chan as Astrid Leong-Teo, Nick's cousin, Charlie's ex-fiance and Michael's wife
Lisa Lu as Shang Su Yi, Nick's grandmother and the matriarch of the family
Awkwafina as Goh Peik Lin, Rachel's Singaporean college best friend and Wye Mun's daughter
Harry Shum Jr. as Charlie Wu, Astrid's ex-fianc
Ken Jeong as Goh Wye Mun, Peik Lin's wealthy father
Sonoya Mizuno as Araminta Lee, Colin's fiance
Chris Pang as Colin Khoo, Nick's childhood best friend and Araminta's fianc
Jimmy O. Yang as Bernard Tai, Carol's son and Nick and Colin's former classmate
Ronny Chieng as Eddie Cheng, Nick and Astrid's cousin and Fiona's husband
Remy Hii as Alistair Cheng, Eddie's brother and Nick and Astrid's cousin from Hong Kong
Nico Santos as Oliver T'sien, Nick's second cousin
Jing Lusi as Amanda "Mandy" Ling, socialite and Nick's former girlfriend
Carmen Soo as Francesca
Constance Lau as Celine "Radio One Asia"?
Pierre Png as Michael Teo, Astrid's husband
Fiona Xie as Kitty Pong, Alistair's girlfriend and Hong Kong "soap opera" star
Victoria Loke as Fiona Tung-Cheng, Eddie's wife from Hong Kong and Nick's cousin-in-law
Janice Koh as Felicity Young-Leong, Astrid's mother and Su Yi's eldest child
Amy Cheng as Jacqueline Ling, Mandy's heiress mother and Eleanor's friend
Koh Chieng Mun as Peik Lin's mother, Neena
Tan Kheng Hua as Kerry Chu, Rachel's mother
Selena Tan as Alexandra 'Alix' Young-Cheng, Su Yi's youngest child
Kris Aquino as Princess Intan, a Malay princess

Production

Kevin Kwan published his comedic novel Crazy Rich Asians on June 11, 2013. Prior to the publication of the novel, one of the first producers to reach out to Kwan was Wendi Deng. Another one of the producers who was initially interested in the project proposed whitewashing the role of heroine Rachel Chu by casting a Caucasian actress, prompting Kwan to option the rights to the film for just $1 in exchange for a continuing role for creative and development decisions. In August 2013, producer Nina Jacobson acquired rights to adapt the novel into a film. Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson intended to produce under their production banner Color Force with Bryan Unkeless developing the project. Their initial plan was to produce the film adaptation outside the studio system and to structure financing for development and production from Asia and other territories outside the United States. The freedom created by eschewing the typical funding structure would enable an all-Asian cast. Jacobson stated "Getting something in development and even getting some upfront money is an easy way to not ever see your movie get made.".

In 2014, the US-based Asian film investment group Ivanhoe Pictures partnered with Jacobson to finance and produce Crazy Rich Asians. John Penotti, president of Ivanhoe, stated "For us, the book fell in our lap kind of like, "?This is why we"?re doing the company."? Unlike the Hollywood second-guessing, "?Oh my God, will this work? We don"?t know. It"?s all Asian,"? it was exactly the opposite for us: "?That"?s exactly why it will work."?"

Screenwriters Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli wrote the screenplay. Chiarelli was credited with focusing the plot on the triangle between Eleanor, Rachel, and Nick. Lim, who was born in Malaysia, added specific cultural details and developed Eleanor's character. Director Jon M. Chu entered negotiations with Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures in May 2016 to direct the film adaptation. He was hired as director after giving executives a visual presentation about his experience as a first-generation Asian-American. Chu was actually mentioned obliquely in the source novel as Kwan was friends with Chu's cousin Vivian.

In October 2016, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the distribution rights to the project after what Variety called a "heated" bidding war. Netflix reportedly fervently sought worldwide rights to the project, offering "artistic freedom, a greenlighted trilogy and huge, seven-figure-minimum paydays for each stakeholder, upfront". However, Kwan and Chu selected Warner for the cultural impact of a wide theatrical release.

Casting

"? Constance Wu, correspondence to Jon M. Chu (2016)}} The film stars Constance Wu as the lead Rachel Chu, while newcomer Henry Golding was cast to play the male lead Nick Young. Michelle Yeoh also co-stars as Eleanor Young, Nick's mother. Rounding out the supporting cast is Gemma Chan as Nick's cousin Astrid Leong and Sonoya Mizuno as Araminta Lee. On April 18, 2017, Filipina actress Kris Aquino was cast in a cameo role. On May 12, it was announced that Ken Jeong had joined the cast. Although Jeong had a minor role involving less than a week of filming, he stated "It"?s just something I wanted to be part of. It"?s about wanting to be part of something monumental. Something that"?s bigger than me. I"?m so giddy I"?m part of this, I can"?t even tell you."

Filming schedule and locations

Although she had initially auditioned for the role of Rachel in mid-2016, Constance Wu could not accept due to a conflict with her work on Fresh Off the Boat. However, Wu wrote to Chu explaining her connection with Rachel's character, and convinced him to push back the production schedule by four months. Production was slated to begin in April 2017 in Singapore and Malaysia. Principal photography began on April 24, 2017.

The film was shot at locations in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Penang, Malaysia and in Singapore.

The ancestral Young family home, set at Tyersall Park in Singapore, was actually filmed at Carcosa Seri Negara within the Perdana Botanical Gardens of Kuala Lumpur. The two abandoned mansions at the real-life Tyersall were in disrepair and "filled with monkey feces". However, the abandoned mansions inspired the set designers to decorate the interior set at one building at Perdana in the Peranakan style. Kevin Kwan, who was born in Singapore and lived with his paternal grandparents before moving to the United States, contributed vintage family photographs for the set. The interior scenes were filmed in one building, and the exterior scenes were filmed at another, both of which had originally been built as residences for the British Governor in the early 20th century.

During the opening, urban scenes set in the West Village were shot in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The scenes where Rachel and Nick arrive at Changi Airport and are then whisked away to Newton Food Centre were shot on location. After settling in, Rachel and Nick stay at the Raffles Hotel instead of the ancestral Young estate at Tyersall. Colin and Nick escape the party barge (shot in a parking lot in Malaysia) to relax on Sentosa Island, and the bachelorette party takes place at the Four Seasons on Langkawi. After her disappointment at the bachelorette party, Rachel and Peik Lin discuss their feelings on Bukit Pasoh Road. The wedding of Araminta and Colin was shot at CHIJMES, a former convent in Singapore built in the 19th century. After the wedding, the reception is held in the Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay. Rachel agrees to meet Nick at Merlion Park before she returns to New York. The film's closing scenes are set at the Marina Bay Sands.

The film was shot by Vanja ?ernjul using Panasonic VariCam PURE cameras equipped with anamorphic lenses.

Music

During the production process, Chu and music supervisor Gabe Hilfer assembled a list of hundreds of songs about money, including songs by Kanye West ("Gold Digger"), Hall & Oates ("Rich Girl"), the Notorious B.I.G. ("Mo Money Mo Problems"), Lady Gaga ("Money Honey"), and Barrett Strong ("Money (That's What I Want)"). Seeking to create a multilingual soundtrack, Chu and Hilfer compiled Chinese songs from the 1950s and 1960s by Ge Lan (Grace Chan) and Yao Lee, as well as contemporary songs, then searched through YouTube videos for singers fluent in Mandarin Chinese to provide cover versions of songs.

Two versions of "Money (That's What I Want)" were performed"?one in English and one in Chinese"?by Malaysian singer Cheryl K, who had originally auditioned for the film singing "Mamma Knows Best" by Jessie J. Awkwafina, who is also a rapper, contributed a few verses to the end credits version, but recorded her parts in a separate studio. The soundtrack includes a Chinese cover of "I Want You to Be My Baby" performed by Ge, and another version performed by Chinese jazz singer Jasmine Chen, who was also featured in the film. A choreographed dance number accompanied the song, but was ultimately cut for the theatrical release.

"My New Swag" is a collaboration with Chinese rappers VaVa and Ty., both of whom competed on The Rap of China. Taiwanese singer Sally Yeh had previously recorded a Cantonese cover of Madonna's "Material Girl"; since Madonna was not one of its songwriters, the artist's permission was not required for the song's inclusion. To accompany the film's wedding scene, a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" was re-recorded for the film by Japanese-American singer and YouTuber Kina Grannis.

A Chinese cover of Coldplay's 2000 song "Yellow" plays over the final scenes of Crazy Rich Asians. Warner Bros. was hesitant about the song's use, due to the title's racist associations, but Chu sought to reappropriate the word. Coldplay initially turned down the request for the song's use, but Chu was unsatisfied with using other songs like "Stay" by Rihanna and songs by Sia in its place. He subsequently wrote a passionate letter directed to the members of the band to convince them, and the request was approved in less than 24 hours. After Li Wenqi, a Chinese singer from the third season of The Voice of China, declined to reprise her cover of the song from the competition series (which had been used by Hilfer in test screenings), "Yellow" was eventually recorded by Katherine Ho, who competed on the tenth season of The Voice (U.S.). "Vote" is an original song by Miguel, produced by Mark Ronson and Hudson Mohawke.

The film's soundtrack album and score album, by Brian Tyler, were both released on August 10, 2018 through WaterTower Music. </ref> | collapsed = yes | extra_column = Performer(s) | title1 = Waiting for Your Return | note1 = | writer1 = | extra1 = Jasmine Chen | length1 = 2:58 | title2 = Money (That's What I Want) | note2 = | writer2 = | extra2 = Cheryl K | length2 = 3:12 | title3 = Wo Yao Ni De Ai (I Want Your Love - I Want You to Be My Baby) | note3 = | writer3 = | extra3 = Ge Lan | length3 = 2:43 | title4 = My New Swag | note4 = | writer4 = | extra4 = VaVa featuring Ty. and Nina Wang | length4 = 4:05 | title5 = Give Me a Kiss | note5 = | writer5 = | extra5 = Jasmine Chen | length5 = 3:01 | title6 = Ren Sheng Jiu Shi Xi | note6 = Dian Ying "Ru Shi Jia Ren" Cha Qu / from the soundtrack to the film Ru shi jia ren | writer6 = | extra6 = Yao Lee () | length6 = 3:04 | title7 = Ni Dong Bu Dong (Do You Understand) | note7 = | writer7 = | extra7 = Lilan Chen () | length7 = 2:32 | title8 = Wo Yao Fei Shang Qing Tian | note8 = Dian Ying "Kong Zhong Xiao Jie" Cha Qu / from the soundtrack to the film Air Hostess | writer8 = Ming Yao | extra8 = Ge Lan | length8 = 3:18 | title9 = Material Girl (200 Du) | note9 = | writer9 = | extra9 = Sally Yeh | length9 = 4:29 | title10 = Can't Help Falling in Love | note10 = | writer10 = | extra10 = Kina Grannis | length10 = 3:21 | title11 = Wo Yao Ni De Ai (I Want Your Love - I Want You to Be My Baby) | note11 = | writer11 = Hendricks | extra11 = Jasmine Chen | length11 = 2:04 | title12 = Yellow | note12 = | writer12 = | extra12 = Katherine Ho | length12 = 4:08 | title13 = Vote | note13 = | writer13 = | extra13 = Miguel | length13 = 3:22 | title14 = Money (That's What I Want) | note14 = | writer14 = | extra14 = Cheryl K featuring Awkwafina | length14 = 3:12 }}

Release

Crazy Rich Asians was released in theaters on August 15, 2018, after previously being stated to be released on August 17. The film premiered on August 7, 2018 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Prior to the release there was a social media use of #GoldOpen to bring attention to the release.

As with other films, the release date differs in other parts of the world. It is scheduled to be released in Singapore on August 22, 2018, but much later in Europe, like in the UK on November 2, 2018. The Release date for the UK has been moved to September 14, 2018.

Reception

Box office

Three weeks prior to its United States and Canada release, Crazy Rich Asians was projected to gross $18-20 million over its five-day opening weekend. By the week of its release, estimates had reached $26-30 million, with Fandango reporting pre-sale tickets were outpacing Girls Trip (which debuted to $31.2 million in July 2017). The film held special advance screenings on August 8, 2018 and made an estimated $450-500,000, selling out most of its 354 theaters. It then grossed $5 million on its first day and $3.8 on its second. It went on to gross $26.5 million in its opening weekend for a five-day total of $35.2 million, finishing first at the box office. 38% of its audience was Asian, which was the highest makeup for a film in the previous three years (besting The Foreigners 18.4% in 2017).

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With a terrific cast and a surfeit of visual razzle dazzle, Crazy Rich Asians takes a satisfying step forward for screen representation while deftly drawing inspiration from the classic "? and still effective "? rom-com formula." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 85% positive score and a 65% "definite recommend".

Criticism

The film's casting has been met with both praise"?in the U.S. for its all-Asian cast"?and criticism for its lack of ethnic diversity, based on issues ranging from non-Chinese actors (Golding and Mizuno) playing Chinese roles, and the film's ethnic Chinese and East Asian predominance as being poorly representative of Singapore, and as being a perpetuation of existing Chinese dominance in its media and pop culture.

Non-Chinese multiracial actors

Some criticized the casting of biracial actor Henry Golding, who is of Malaysian Iban and English descent, as the Chinese Singaporean Nick Young. Korean American actress Jamie Chung, who had auditioned for a role but was turned down allegedly for not being "ethnically Chinese", responded to a question about Golding's casting with "That is some bullshit. Where do you draw the line to be ethnically conscious? But there's so many loopholes..." in an interview published on April 24, 2017. Chung's remarks were met with backlash on social media, with some accusing her of being bigoted against Eurasians, while another felt her comments were hypocritical as she had previously played Mulan, an ethnic Chinese character, in the television series Once Upon a Time. Chung apologized for her comments on April 28, and again to Golding in a Twitter exchange on December 2.

John Lui, an ethnic Chinese Singaporean reporter of The Straits Times, criticized the casting including that of costar Sonoya Mizuno, who is of Japanese, British and Argentinian descent: </ref>}}

Golding weighed in on the controversy, calling it "quite hurtful," explaining: </ref>}}

Golding's costar Awkwafina also defended the casting, stating: </ref>}}

Sociologist and author Nancy Wang Yuen stated that criticisms of the movie"?s casting point to deeper issues of racial purity. By deeming Golding "not Asian enough", the detractors were choosing to ignore his Asian heritage. Yuen contrasted Golding's situation to the public perception of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who is also biracial. She noted that "the world sees President Obama as black, but his mother is white...[it's] contradictory to erase Golding's Asian ancestry while obliterating Obama's white ancestry."

Representation and Chinese predominance

In stark contrast to those demanding Chinese or East Asian actors fill its roles, others, particularly those in Asian countries, expressed disappointment in the film's lack of ethnic South and Southeast Asians, who are prominent in Singapore. Kirsten Han, a Singaporean freelance writer, said that it "obscur[ed] the Malay, Indian, and Eurasian (and more) populations who make the country the culturally rich and unique place that it is." Many were critical towards the omission of the country's Malays and Indians"?the second and third largest ethnic groups in the country, respectively"?thus not representing Singapore's multiracial population accurately. As Han points out:

Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, noted "It represents the worst of Singapore. Erases minorities. Erases the poor and marginalized. All you get are rich, privileged ethnic Chinese." Alfian Sa'at, a Malay Singaporean poet and playwright, commented on the film's title referring to it as "Crazy Rich EAST Asians", further adding "Does a win for representation mean replacing white people with white people wannabes[?]" Referring to Kwan's book, one commenter noted "The book is aware of its lack of minority representation [and] actually alludes to the closed minded attitude of some social circles in Singapore. One of the family members got disowned for marrying a Malay."

Some commenters criticized the film's use of British and American English over that of Singlish.

Sequel

Prior to the film's release, Chu said he would be eager to return to direct a sequel if the first film was a success, adding, "We have lots of plans if the audience shows up. We have more stories to tell. We have other stories outside of the Crazy Rich Asians world that are ready to be told too from filmmakers and storytellers who haven't had their stories told yet." On August 22, 2018, following the film's strong opening, Warner Bros. confirmed a sequel was in development, with Chiarelli and Lim returning to write the script. Chu and actors Wu, Golding and Yeoh all also have options for a sequel.