So I mean this as a compliment – you’ve made a career off sequels and taking over other people’s franchises…
Jon M. Chu: I do a lot of number twos! Which doesn’t sound great… [Laughs]
[Fighting juvenile laughter] Jokes aside, you’ve gained fame in a franchise system that chews up and spits out most other filmmakers going your route. How have have you succeeded – and risen – on this sequel path?
Jon M. Chu: It hasn’t been on purpose. I’m a filmmaker who loves challenges. Movies like GI Joe: Retaliation are a challenge because studios want you to come in and change it all up, yet still keep things connected. It only makes you more creative. It’s like, “Here’s this box, now make something cool out of this box.” You have to use your creativity to alter that sculpture. In a weird way, you discover your imprint more closely, and you see the difference between a first movie and your movie. You have to find your voice amongst those things.
I never take a movie I don’t care about. Every movie is my baby. I’ve poured everything into it. As I grow, my tastes change. My abilities shift, they evolve. I love that challenge no matter what story it is. I did the Virgin America Safety Video – where they’re putting safety belts on. Whether it’s a safety video, or commercial, or a movie, to me, that’s what I do. I tell stories in different ways, whatever language they may be. Maybe it’s magic, maybe it’s dance, maybe it’s action. To me, that’s all part of the fun.
So if Trey Songz is “Mr. Steal Your Girl,” can your new nickname be “Mr. Steal Your Franchise?”
Jon M. Chu: [Laughing] Sure!
It’s fun because even for Now You See Me 2, Louis Leterrier did our second unit work. We met up three weeks before shooting, and I was looking for a second unit guy. I met Louis, he was so cool – he’s a shooters shooter. He loves to make stuff. I love meeting people who love the form. “Hey, you got a camera? Let’s go shoot.” He’s like, “Whatever you need, dude. I’ll go shoot crowds.” To have that kind of support, especially after he directed the first one, is just so cool.
He didn’t see it as a conflict?
Jon M. Chu: Not at all! I love that. It’s such a pure love of the form. He helped us out a lot, actually. Some action pieces when the Horsemen were on motorcycles and whatnot.
You mentioned that sequels are all about a continuation in story, so did you see Lizzy Caplan taking over Isla Fisher’s role (in a way) as your biggest challenge?
Jon M. Chu: I wouldn’t say number one, but it was definitely a challenge. All of a sudden the Four Horsemen were the Three Horsemen, you’re introducing a new character, you’ve got to catch up an audience who may not have seen the first movie with who Isla was playing before – why she’s not involved anymore, who Lizzy is, what happened in the last movie to get plot motivations here, who’s in jail and why – you have to do all this in the first ten minutes of the freakin’ movie. THAT was my biggest challenge.
Most of the time you come into a movie and let it suck you in. But because of all these complicated, weird details that needed to be known, along with the setup work, it makes this opening very challenging. How do you still have intrigue, and still have a magic trick introduction? That was part of the nightmare that is setting up a sequel.
We were in Las Vegas, and we were showing the movie. We just got over the hard part, about ten minutes in right as we’re getting to the fun magic, and the entire screening shuts down. But people seem to be liking it, so I think we hit the front-end well. It’s a lot of characters to establish. Every scene we’re covering eight people, and they’re not just anyone. They’re movie stars! It’s a much bigger juggling act than some people assume, which is why I have all these wrinkles. [Laughs]
So if you could hijack a current franchise of your choosing right now, which would it be?
Jon M. Chu: I’ve always wanted to do a movie about dinosaurs, so I’d hijack the Jurassic World sequel, like, yesterday.
So dancing dinosaur troupes?
Jon M. Chu: They’d probably eat a dance troupe along the way! But I’d love the opportunity.
And I guess congratulations are in order because you’ve been announced – I think – as the director for Now You See Me 3?
Jon M. Chu: It’s been announced somewhere, along the lines. [Laughs] We’ll see. It’s all about the audience. If the audience wants us back, we’ll be there for it. If they don’t, we won’t. As we’re working on the script, it has to be at a level I feel appropriate. A third film is difficult because you can’t just up the ante and do all the same things. You’ve got to change. This sequel was fun because we changed the perspective from one side of the curtain to the other side. The next has to take a whole other angle, and those are constant conversations between us.
They’re very motivated. Lionsgate wants to make this movie. All the actors want to come back. Everyone is ready, but it’s about doing it right.
But Crazy Rich Asian is happening for sure, correct? What drew you to that specific story?
Jon M. Chu: It’s a fantastic book. It’s out there. I mean CRAZY. A Jane Austen novel in Asia. Over the top, romantic and insane. It’s an all Asian cast. To me, it’s reality. [Laughs] In Hollywood, it’s a brand new thing that hasn’t happened yet. I can’t wait to create the world, and it’s a perfect opportunity for me. I’ve never done an Asian-driven project before – not for any other purpose than I love movies for movies, and I do whatever’s in my heart. I love this story so much, and it just seems like the right thing to do now.
So the project of yours I’ve been eyeing for a while is your previously-announced 90s dance comedy, but talk has gone dead since. Is Can’t Touch This completely on the backburner at this point?”
Jon M. Chu: No, not totally. It just depends if I’m doing it or not. I’ve been wanting to, but haven’t had that time in my schedule. At this point, we’re in that zone of – well, I can’t say much about it, but it is still moving forward, and we may have another filmmaker coming in to actually direct it, but I’ll still be involved. It’s a really fun world, a fun script, it’s the right time. The reaction I got from its announcement was overwhelming.
So who would your dream director be here?
Jon M. Chu: For Can’t Touch This? Who do you see?
After seeing Dope, Rick Famuyiwa.
Jon M. Chu: I think you might be right. I don’t want to say anything out loud, but we’re definitely in that realm. Someone like that would kill it. It has to feel genuine, but it’s rather over the top, and features plenty of music that’ll bring you back. For sure.
That concludes our interview, but we’d like to thank Jon M. Chu very much for his time. Be sure to catch Now You See Me 2 when it appears in theaters this weekend!