Tag: Jon M. Chu

Fandango Teams With Director Jon M. Chu to Highlight Movies by Asian-American Auteurs

For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Fandango has asked director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) to share his list of influential films from Asian-American auteurs, with personal essays on why each is meaningful to him.

The Farewell

“I met Lulu Wang at the ‘SNL’ after party when Awkwafina hosted the show. I didn’t know anybody other than Awkwafina and she was busy talking to Lorne [Michaels] but guess who came up to me? Yup, the brilliant and incredibly warm Lulu Wang…Like Lulu making me feel at home at that party that night, this movie will make you feel seen,” Chu said of Lulu Wang’s The Farewell.

“I’ll never forget my father gathering my mother, me and my four siblings into a mini van on a Sunday morning and heading to the small movie theater playing this film…by the end of the film, we were in awe of how much it reflected our family,” he said of Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club.

His full responses are here on Fandango.

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The YouTube channel Fandango Movieclips is debuting a playlist featuring some of the best scenes from Chu’s selection of titles. FandangoNow, the transactional VOD service from Fandango, is also honoring Chu’s choices, with the films available to watch at home here.

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The full list of Chu’s influential movies from Asian-American filmmakers include:

Better Luck Tomorrow (Justin Lin)

Short Term 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton)

The Joy Luck Club (Wayne Wang)

Saving Face (Alice Wu)

Life of Pi (Ang Lee)

The Farewell (Lulu Wang)

Meru (Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi)

The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)

Searching (Aneesh Chaganty)

Tigertail (Alan Yang) — available on Netflix

Gook (Justin Chon)

Netflix Inks Streaming Deal with Thai Boys Soccer Team Rescued from Underwater Cave

Netflix has signed a deal with the Thailand “Wild Boars” boys soccer team and their coach for a future miniseries about their rescue from an underground cave.

Netflix and SK Global Entertainment inked a deal with 13 Thamluang, an LLC established by the boys (ages 11 to 16) and their 25-year-old coach following their 17-day ordeal being trapped underground in a cave filled with rain water.

The exasperating rescue effort garnered global attention as the ordeal went on and a Thai Navy Seal diver drowned.

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The series will be directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and Nattawut Poonpiriya.

“The story combines so many unique local and universal themes which connected people from all walks of life, from all around the world,” Erika North, director of international originals at Netflix, told Reuters.

The miniseries follows Netflix’s strategy focusing on localized content with global appeal. Recent hits include Germany’s “Dark” and India’s “Sacred Games.”

“Thailand is a very important market for Netflix and we are looking forward to bringing this inspiring local, but globally resonant story … to life,” North said.

To date, two books and one feature-film have been completed on the saga.

“We look forward to working with all involved parties to ensure our story is told accurately,” said assistant coach Ekkapol “Ake” Chantapong.