1. The author of Crazy Rich Asians (which the film is based on), Kevin Kwan, actually has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo during the "who is Rachel Chu?!" montage.
2. The cast had a dumpling-making party the first evening they arrived in Kuala Lumpur.
3. This is Henry Golding's (Nick Young) first movie.
4. And he actually turned down auditioning for the role of Nick Young several times.
5. In fact, an accountant told director Jon M. Chu about a "good-looking gentleman" he’d seen on a travel show, so he began ~stalking~ Henry on his social media accounts.
6. Henry had to cut his honeymoon short after the studio required him and Constance’s to fly out for a screen test.
7. Once word got out that the film was being made, luxury designers “clamored” for the stars to wear their clothes.
8. And Michelle Yeoh even loaned “hefty” jewelry pieces from her own personal collection to the film.
9. Mary Vogt custom designed Araminta’s gold wedding dress and bachelorette body suit.
10. The halter dress Peik Lin loans Rachel for the party (the "disco Cleopatra" look) is by Missoni.
11. While the blue dress she wears to the wedding is by Marchesa.
12. Awkwafina admitted that she wanted to steal the wig that she wore.
13. The film’s production designer, Nelson Coates, told Architectural Digest that the location where the Young's estate was filmed was “filled with monkey feces” before production took over.
14. The lavish wedding scene in the film was modeled after author Kwan’s personal experiences.
15. Kwan was going through a very dark period in his life when he started writing Crazy Rich Asians, and he would keep a Post-It note on his computer that said, "Joy."
16. And the Mahjong scene toward the end of the film, which isn't in the book, is a nod to The Joy Luck Club.
17. That amazing 3-towered hotel featured in the movie is a REAL hotel!
18. Awkwafina and Ken Jeong got along so well they had a short-hand on set playing off each other's comedic senses.
19. The film’s screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim worked on the script in separate places, sending it back and forth to each other.
20. Awkwafina stated that Jon Chu really trusted all the actors on set and let them improv some of the scenes, like the “bak bak” one between Rachel and Peik Lin.
21. When Awkwafina’s grandmother saw the trailer for CRA, she thought Awkwafina was being herself on screen.
22. Director Jon Chu knew the film would be a watershed moment, but he didn’t realize how personally affected he’d be by it.
Oh wow. The eve of the release of #CrazyRichAsians . I never thought we’d get here...😳...Whatever happens just know that we all came together and once we have each other there is nothing we can’t achieve... #GoldOpen https://t.co/xJy2MZLH74
He told The Root that he and the cast cried nearly every day on set when rewatching scenes. “It was emotional, cathartic.”
23. And Awkwafina kept crying on her way to the premiere because she realized how impactful the movie would be.
Thank you guys for believing in Awkwafina.
SAME.
24. Netflix actually tried to buy the rights to all three Crazy Rich Asians books in a bidding war...
25. ...but Warner Bros. ended up winning the rights — and, very interestingly, is run by Kevin Tsujihara, who is the first (and only) person of Asian descent to run a major Hollywood studio.
26. And finally, the entire cast and crew got along so incredibly well they created a WhatsApp group to stay in touch.
Related Video:
"Henry Golding From Crazy Rich Asians Plays With Kittens (While Answering Fan Questions)"
