Crazy Rich Asians director supports script writer's protest

Director Jon Chu, left, supports Adele Lim's decision to reject co-writing sequels to 'Crazy Rich Asians'

A week after the new broke that the Crazy Rich Asians movie's co-writer, Adele Lim, had decided to not write the sequels because of a huge 10-1 pay disparity, CRA director Jon M. Chu wrote a lengthy tweet in support of her decision.

“For those of you who are asking, you bet your a— I stand with Adele!” Chu wrote. “I believed in her before we ever shot the movie and believe in her beyond. As many of you can imagine, negotiations are tough and more often than not messy — no matter who you are in this industry.”

Chu, 39, went on to explain that a second offer was made to the Malaysian American writer but by that time, Lim had moved on to other projects and ultimately rejected the offer that was reportedly fairer.

On Sunday, Lim made it clear that she remains personally close to the Chu, the cast and crew of the ground-breaking film. Close friendships developed among many members of the cast and crew because they rallied around the common cause of Asian and Asian American representation and inclusion in the Hollywood studio culture.

When CRA first showed success at the box office and was praised by critics, Chu said, "It's more than a movie. It's a movement."

So it was surprising that the CRA cast, crew and producers didn't rally around Lim's cause. Monday, Chu tweeted his message in response to the controversy:

Shortly thereafter, actress Gemma Chan joined in and retweeted Chu's post. "Pay disparity disproportinately affects women and POC and there is still a long way to go ..." Chan wrote.

Breakout actress, Awkwafina, also tweeted out her support:

Lim rejected the first offer which was about one-tenth of the $1-million offered to co-writer Pete Chiarella. After he leaerned of the pay disparity, Chiarella reportedly agreed to give up some of his pay in order to lessen the pay gap.

However, by that time, Lim had moved on. She signed a four-year deal with Disney and was already working on the animated tale of Raya and the Last Dragon based on a Southeast Asian myth.  Filipina Canadian actress Cassandra Steele and Awkwafina will be doing the voices of the main characters. The film is set to be released in November 2020.

Chu ended his tweet by saying that the door remains open for Lim to return to CRA's sequels with the hope that the contract dispute did not reflect their professional and personal relationship.

Chu concluded: “That said, the door is always open for Adele and if there’s another shot at making it work I know we are all for it but that’s a personal and private conversation between ourselves. In the meantime, thank you for being loud, thank you for caring and your support. More to do. More to say. More to learn.”

UPDATED: Sept. 10, 4 p.m. PDT to include Awkwafina's comment.

_________________________________________________________________