In a pretty tight race, Palo Alto-born filmmaker Jon M. Chu did not get an Academy Award nomination for best director Thursday, but his blockbuster movie “Wicked” garnered an astounding 10 nominations for an array of awards, including the top prize of best picture.
And Chu couldn’t have been more delighted, even though he wasn’t personally nominated. The son of South Bay restaurateurs shared a video clip of himself jumping up and down at the moment the best picture nomination was announced, shortly before 6 a.m. PST. He declared that working on “Wicked,” a musical prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” has been “the greatest adventure of creativity I have ever been apart of.”
“It’s way too early. I had way too much coffee,” Chu began his statement on Instagram Story. “But I was really happy for our movie. Couldn’t be more proud of our cast and crew and everyone in between who made this movie possible”
Chu also paid tribute to “Wicked’s” two female stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who each scored nominations for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively, for playing future witches Elphaba and Glinda. Chu shared someone else’s post of side-by-side childhood photos of each of the women, saying, “Someone tell these little girls they’re nominated for an Oscar.”
“Wicked: Part 1” (Part 2, titled “Wicked: For Good,” hits theaters in November) also scored a host of other nominations, including a key nod for editing, along with original score, sound, production design, costumes, makeup and visual effects.
In interviews and on red carpets, Chu certainly has been enjoying “Wicked’s” success. The musical fantasy film has grossed more than $600 million at the global box office and become a pop culture sensation for many movie fans.
“Wicked” also was nominated for four Golden Globe awards and came away winning the prize for cinematic and box office achievement earlier this month. At the Golden Globes ceremony, Chu accepted the prize on the production’s behalf.
Surrounded by Erivo, Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and other cast and crew members, Chu began his speech by mentioning his upbringing by Chinese immigrant parents in the South Bay. His parents, Lawrence and Ruth Chu, happen to be local icons who run the famous Chef Chu’s restaurant in Los Altos. For decades, Chef Chu’s has been a destination for Silicon’s Valley elite.
“They’d tell us about the yellow brick road and the place over the rainbow, where all dreams come true if you dare to dream it,” Chu said. “So I’m up here looking at you, living the dream and looking at this beautiful, beautiful cast. It’s more beautiful than I ever thought it could be.”
Chu also talked about his upbringing in his memoir, “Viewfinder,” which was published before “Wicked” was released into movie theaters in November In the book, he shares his somewhat unconventional journey from Silicon Valley to Hollywood. Chu said he grew up doing his homework or helping out in his family’s restaurant, absorbing his parents’ love of American pop culture as well as the spirit of entrepreneurship alive in some of his parents’ customers.
Chu also began making home movies and eventually studied film at USC, winning early notice for his directorial aspirations from Steven Spielberg. He built his resume by directing concert films for Justin Bieber and several sequel movies, including “Step Up 2” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” with Hayward native Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But Chu said his parents always encouraged him to make a movie about Chinese people, which led him to make “Crazy Rich Asians,” his eighth feature film.
With “Crazy Rich Asians,” Chu was credited with rewriting the rules of Hollywood. He scored a critical and box office hit with a movie based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan. Unusual for Hollywood, the movie also told a story focused on Asian people, and it was the first mainstream American movie in 25 years that featured a mostly Asian cast.
Now, Chu is gearing up for the Academy Awards. Whatever happens at the awards ceremony on March 2, Chu will immediately turn to promoting “Wicked: For Good,” which is scheduled to be released in November 21. He’s also been hired to develop and direct a feature film about the life of Britney Spears, based on her best-selling memoir, “The Woman in Me.”