Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians, posted to his Twitter a weighty statement about former co-writer Adele Lim. Lim, for those who haven’t been following, co-wrote the original film and was in negotiations to co-write the sequel before leaving due to an equal pay dispute. Chu wrote in his lengthy statement that he “stands with” Lim and offered a little bit more insight into the pay problem while staying relatively in the middle (likely because he still wants to be employed).
Among the many notes in his statement, Chu outlined the standard practice in pay negotiations and then followed with his impression that the studio offered something more in line before she again declined, stating that she had moved on, and he offered an understanding and proud viewpoint.
Chu asked that readers not berate or attack Peter Chiarelli in his statement, writing that Chiarelli has been working steadily in the business for years doing uncredited rewrites and polishes, and that he does not deserve to be attacked for being involved. In fact, Chiarelli offered up a portion of his pay to get the two writes to equal ground, a noble gesture that I’m not sure I would be strong to have made (but I hope so).
To me, Chu’s statement is nice and all but he rides the middle-ground here, making his statement ultimately not worth a lot. He sides with Lim but also sides with the studio, and I think he buried a lot in his very long post when he could have simply sided with Lim and moved on. It’s nice and all, but I wouldn’t expect Lim to return to the project, but hopefully this will add another exclamation point to the issue, one that will force studios to pay more attention when entering price negotiations.
What do you think? How did you take this statement from Chu? Let me know/Drop a comment below.
-Kyle A. Goethe
GOAT Film Reviews 
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