The new Wicked movie is in theaters and is already a box office hit. Less than two weeks after its release, the motion picture has already become the highest grossing Broadway-based movie ever. With a star-studded cast of Tony, Grammy, and Emmy-winning Broadway star Cynthia Erivo, Grammy-winning singer Ariana Grande, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, Hollywood icon Jeff Goldblum, and more, Wicked was bound for greatness. Whether it be the stellar live vocals or immersive set design, this movie was able to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Although a runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes may feel excessive to only convey Act 1 of the original Broadway musical, every scene felt full fleshed and well-utilized with a clear direction; no director was more fit for this multi-dimensional film than the one and only, Jon M. Chu.
Of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, Jonathan Murray Chu was born and raised in Palo Alto, California to immigrant parents. He went to the University of Southern California where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film and television production. He is famous for directing numerous notable films, including Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Now You See Me 2 (2016), and In the Heights (2021). The latter is a movie musical, based on the original Broadway production written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda. He worked with Chu on the movie adaptation of In the Heights, so Chu is no stranger to the world of movie-musicals. Not only is his ability to derive captivating, inviting scenes onto a screen from the confines of a stage impressive, but his forte lies in his ability to utilize every minute of the movie, musical or not, to artfully craft a storyline progression that hooks the audience from start to finish. For instance, in the film adaptation of the book Crazy Rich Asians, Chu’s strategic cinematography and vision for the actors not only curated one of the most engaging and lively films of the past decade, but captivated audience members to the twists and turns of the movie, whether they read of the plot or not.
Jon M. Chu is the forefronted mastermind behind the sensation that is the 2024 Wicked film, but with his background in world-crafting and talent for fully immersing an enthralled audience, this is no surprise. One of the most iconic quotes of the show is from Glinda, the good witch, where she inquires, “Are people born wicked, or is wickedness thrust upon them?” This is the question the audience is presented with and Chu, through his visionary rendition of the narrative, hopes to answer.
Sources:
https://deadline.com/2024/11/wicked-box-office-record-broadway-musical-1236190290/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jon-M-Chu
Photo Credit: Broadway Direct
