Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu has supported the film’s writer Adele Lim in regards to the pay gap controversy.
Lim, who co-wrote Crazy Rich Asians was expected to return to the team for the film’s upcoming sequels.
However, it was recently revealed that Lim has exited the project after she was offered a salary that was 8 times less than her white male counter part.
Unnamed sources stated that Peter Chiarelli (who co-wrote Crazy Rich Asians with Lim) would make $800,000 to $1 million from the two sequels whist Lim would make $110,000 to $125,000.
Kevin Kwan wrote Crazy Rich Asians as part of a trilogy – 2015’s China Rich Girlfriend and 2017’s Rich People Problems followed on from the original story. Warner Bros has the option to complete the series on screen.
Now, Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M Chu has publicly backed Lim in the controversy. In a post on Twitter on Monday, Chu revealed that he had fought for a better deal for Lim but negotiations went south.
“For those of you who are asking, you bet your ass I stand with Adele!” Chu tweeted. “I believed in her before we ever shot the movie and believe in her beyond.”
“When I discovered she was unhappy with the initial offer, the producers, myself and studio executives leapt into action to ensure we got to a place of parity between the two writers at a significant number,” Chu continued.
“It was both educational and powerful to hear all facets of the debate. Unfortunately by the time we came up with several different ways to satisfy everyone’s needs, a lot of time had passed and she declined the offer.”
“I’m proud that she was able to stand up for her own measure of worth and walk away when she felt like she was being undervalued,” Chu added, saying he had personal experience with making compromises during past film projects. “I will work with Adele in the future and respect the hell out of her. She was my sister and co-conspirator all the way through the film.”
Crazy Rich Asians grossed $34 million on its opening weekend, bringing in $174.5 million in total in the US and Canada. The film starring Constance Wu even broke an 11-year-old Labor Day weekend record.
In related news, Gook director Justin Chon recently said that Crazy Rich Asians did not represent the “majority” of Asian Americans.
