Jon M. Chu is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993. The films that he has directed often include musical elements, including the dance films' and Step Up 3D, musicals Jem and the Hologramsand In the Heights, and the live concert film '. Chu is an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
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 got back into business with Chu to direct their updated version of The Great Gatsby, which did not pan out but, after being purchased by Warner Bros. Pictures with Baz Luhrmann attached, developed into the 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." In 2013, Chu was awarded the Visionary Award by East West Players, the longest-running theater of color in the United States, for his contributions to the Asian Pacific American 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." 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, and garnered a 93% certified fresh 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. Director Chu is part of Rachel Chu's family in the book, as a distant cousin.
In 2018, Chu married Kristin Hodge. They have a daughter, Willow, born in 2017. They have a son named Jonathan Heights Chu, born in 2019, whose middle name comes from In the Heights, which Chu was in the middle of directing at the time of his birth.
