Actress Constance Wu is in discussions for a leading role in movie Crazy Rich Asians.
The Fresh Off The Boat star is set to star in the big screen adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s New York Times best-selling book, which will be directed by Jon M. Chu and stars an all-Asian cast.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Constance is being tapped to play American-born Chinese economics professor Rachel Chu in the movie, which focuses on the lives of wealthy Chinese families living in Singapore. Rachel travels to the city for the wedding of her boyfriend Nick’s best friend, only to discover Nick is from an extremely wealthy family and is the most eligible bachelor in Asia. Her arrival sparks jealousy and plenty of scheming from the women in his high-class social circles as they plot to split the couple up.
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/832052912578715649
Constance shared her joy on Twitter, retweeting the Hollywood Reporter story about the casting, and adding, “Some very exciting news for y’all, so much love and gratitude for this.”
The 34-year-old actress has raised her profile thanks to her role as Jessica Huang on the ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, now in its third season. She has received multiple nominations for best actress in a comedy series from the Broadcast Critics Association and Television Critics Association for her work.
Her upcoming film credits include the independent movie The Feels.
Constance was also recently at the centre of a “whitewashing” row, after she criticised actor Matt Damon for playing the hero in action movie The Great Wall, which follows the story of a band of soldiers battling an ancient Chinese monster more than 1,000 years ago.
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/759086955816554496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In a lengthy letter posted on social media, Constance wrote: “On The Great Wall: We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world. It’s not based in actual fact. Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon. They look like Malala (Yousafzai). (Mahatma) Ghandi (sic). (Nelson) Mandela… When you consistently make movies like this, you ARE saying that… We don’t need salvation. We like our colour and our culture and our own strengths and our own stories. We don’t need you to save us from anything.”
Crazy Rich Asians has not been officially greenlighted, but according to editors at the Hollywood Reporter, it’s on the development fast-track.
