Featuring an all-Asian cast, “Crazy Rich Asians” tells the story of Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu – of “Fresh of the Boat” fame) as she travels to Singapore for a friend’s wedding. Once there, she begins to discover secrets about her boyfriend’s family’s financial fortune and what sort of implications it may have on her life. Here’s the synopsis:
The story follows Rachel Chu, an American-born Chinese economics professor, who travels to her boyfriend Nick’s (Henry Golding) hometown of Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. Before long, his secret is out: Nick is from a family that is impossibly wealthy, he’s perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.
Creating the diverse ensemble alongside Constance Wu and Henry Golding “Crazy Rich Asians” also stars Michelle Yeoh (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), Gemma Chan (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”), and Awkwafina (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” “Ocean’s Eight”).
With any film that features a diverse cast and pitches truthful stories, the development and casting processes require more effort and care, as director Jon M. Chu recalls. He spoke with EW about casting: “We’ll have to look in places that we don’t normally look for a movie. Normally you go to agencies, and they tell you who could fit, and you go and meet or greet them or have them come in and audition.Where we are right now is we know that we’ve seen a lot of people who are working right now, we’ve seen a lot of overseas Chinese actors, but who are the people we are missing? Who are the unknowns, the undiscovered, that we need to find?”
While Chu expressed the importance of a diverse cast, he emphasized the significance of authenticity within the narrative: “The one thing I’m supposed to do is make this movie great and entertaining for everybody, and of course, to be as true and to make this the example of what a movie like this can really be so that others can follow, and we can open up a gate for other Asian stories.”
Based on the novel by Kevin Kwan, and now written for the screen by Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli, “Crazy Rich Asians” is slated to release August 17.
