| Birthname: | Jonathan Murray Chu |
| Jon M. Chu | |
| Birth Date: | 2 November 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | University of Southern California (BFA) |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
| Children: | 2 |
Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979)[1] is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, one of the first films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993.[2]
The films that he has directed often include musical elements, including the dance films (2008) and Step Up 3D (2010), musicals Jem and the Holograms (2015) and In the Heights (2021), and the live concert films (2011) and Justin Bieber's Believe (2013). Chu is an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Chu was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up in nearby Los Altos. He attended Pinewood School from kindergarten through 12th grade.[3] Chu is the youngest of five children.[4] He began making movies in fifth grade, when his mother gifted him a video camera to document their family vacations. Chu instead began making home movies starring his siblings.[5]
His mother, Ruth Chu, was born in Taiwan; his father, Lawrence Chu, was born in Sichuan.[6] [7] [8] His family owns the restaurant Chef Chu's.[9]
Chu obtained a BFA in Film & Television Production from University of Southern California in 2003, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He won the Princess Grace Award, the Kodak Student Filmmaker Award,[10] the Dore Schary Award presented by the Anti-Defamation League, the Jack Nicholson directing award, and was recognized as an honoree for the IFP/West program Project: Involve.
After making his student short, When the Kids Are Away, Chu was signed to William Morris Agency and attached to several high-profile projects. Chu was hired by Sony Pictures to direct their feature Bye Bye Birdie, but Sony never green lit the film due to budget concerns. Sony re-hired Chu to direct their updated version of The Great Gatsby,[11] which did not pan out as the project was purchased by Warner Bros. Pictures for their 2013 film.
He is in a dance crew called AC/DC or Adam/Chu Dance crew. In an interview, Chu addressed a question he is often asked, "Why do all of your films have dance?" He responded, "I don't know why. It seems so obvious. But there's something about the dancers that motivate me the most. I don't know if it's just dance, but I do think that the dancers are amazing artists, and every time I meet a new dancer, that triggers something in my brain, and I'm more creative than I could ever be. When I feel that creativity burst, I go with it."[12]
In 2013, Chu was awarded the Visionary Award by East West Players (EWP), the longest-running theater of color in the United States, for his contributions to the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. In an online Q&A, Chu revealed that he had attended EWP's productions as a child and was excited "to push boundaries with them in the future."[13]
In 2013, Chu directed a pre-flight safety video for Virgin America. The video was structured like a musical number that incorporated multiple styles and high-energy dance.[14] The video was played before flights through 2018, when Virgin America was folded into Alaska Airlines.
Chu directed Crazy Rich Asians, which was the highest-grossing film over the August 17, 2018 weekend, earned over $35M at the US box office during its first five days,[15] and received a 93% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Within a week of the film's release, Variety reported that a sequel was already in development by Warner Bros. with Chu scheduled to direct.[16] Director Chu is part of Rachel Chu's family in the book, as a distant cousin.[17]
Chu directed In the Heights, based on the Broadway musical of the same name for Warner Bros. Pictures. It was previously set for a June 26, 2020 release, though it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released on June 10, 2021.[18] [19] [20] [21]
In October 2020, it was announced that Chu would be directing the pilot for the Disney+ series Willow, based on the film of the same name, with Warwick Davis returning as the title character.[22] [23] The following month, Chu entered talks with Disney to direct a live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch,[24] which he ultimately passed on due to other obligations.
In January 2021, Chu left directorial duties on Willow due to production delays and personal reasons with the birth of his next child.[25] The following month, it was announced that Chu would direct the two-part film adaptation of Wicked for Universal Pictures, with both parts set for November 2024 and 2025 releases.[26] [27]
Chu will direct an adaptation of Dr. Seuss's Oh, The Places You'll Go!, produced by the Warner Animation Group alongside Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Bad Robot Productions.[28]
In March 2022, it was announced that Chu would be producing (and possibly directing) an animated film based on the children’s modeling compound Play-Doh. It will be produced by Entertainment One and Hasbro.[29] [30]
In April 2023, it was revealed that Chu will direct and co-produce a feature film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a passion project he had been hoping to make for some time, for Amazon MGM Studios and the Really Useful Group. It will be produced by Scott Sanders and Mara Jacobs, reuniting with Chu after working with him on In the Heights.[31]
In August 2024, it was announced that Chu will direct the film adaptation of the Britney Spears biography The Woman in Me for Universal, re-teaming with Wicked producer Marc Platt on the project.[32]
Chu is married to Kristin Hodge. Their daughter, Willow Chu, was born in 2017; she is named after the 1988 fantasy film Willow.[33] Their son, Jonathan Heights Chu, was born in 2019. His middle name comes from the film, In the Heights, which Chu was in the middle of directing at the time.[34]
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Silent Beats | Also sound and production designer | |||
| 2002 | When the Kids Are Away | ||||
| Gwai Lo: The Little Foreigner | |||||
Director
| Year | Title | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | |
| 2010 | Step Up 3D | |
| 2013 | Paramount Pictures | |
| 2015 | Jem and the Holograms | Universal Pictures |
| 2016 | Now You See Me 2 | Lionsgate Films |
| 2018 | Crazy Rich Asians | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| 2021 | In the Heights | |
| 2024 | Wicked | Universal Pictures |
| 2025 | Wicked Part Two | |
Producer
Executive producer
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Writer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 | The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers | Creator; Also editor | ||||
| 2019 | Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho | TV special | ||||
| 2019–present | Good Trouble | Pilot | ||||
| 2020–present | Home Before Dark | |||||
| 2022 | TV special | |||||
| 2023 | The Company You Keep |