Jon M Chu talks about tremendous success of Asian creatives, says ‘striving to be the greatest’

WASHINGTON: Film director Jon M Chu was honoured with the Legend award at the fourth annual Gold House Gold Gala in Los Angeles. He spoke about a shift in Asian representation and the tremendous success of Asian creatives.

‘Wicked’ director Jon M. Chu was honoured with the Legend award at the fourth annual Gold House Gold Gala in Los Angeles, reported Variety.
Chu, a Gold House co-founder and progenitor of the history-making #GoldOpen movement, received the A1 in Entertainment and Media for his historic directorial accomplishments in ‘Wicked’ and to celebrate its forthcoming sequel, ‘Wicked: For Good’, as per the outlet.

The filmmaker talked about how far Asian representation had come in the last ten years, Chu said, “We’re not just guests at the table anymore. We built the damn house, and guess what? It’s made of gold, and we’ve got more work to do”, adding, “I’m ready, if you all are.”

Chu, who also helmed ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘In the Heights,’ said it wasn’t until #OscarsSoWhite that he didn’t “feel alone anymore.” The filmmaker observed a shift in Asian representation and the tremendous success of Asian creatives and athletes across the board over the last decade, which filtered down to the set of last year’s ‘Wicked,’ according to Variety.

He said, “I’m standing there with now Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh and ‘SNL’ superstar, Bowen Yang, and he says, ‘Oh, we’re gonna kill this shit.’ And Michelle turns to him and says, ‘Of course, we are.’ That’s the energy now, a new level of not just begging for representation, but striving to be the greatest there ever was.”

The Gold Gala honoured the 100 AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) individuals who have impacted American culture and society in the last year, according to Variety. (ANI)