The big screen adaptation of the bestselling book Crazy Rich Asians is getting bigger and better. Author Kevin Kwan has confirmed on his Facebook page that Singaporean actors Pierre Png, Fiona Xie and Tan Kheng Hua will be a part of this Warner Bros film.
Singapore-based anchor and social media influencer Henry Golding and Sonoya Mizuno of La La Land fame will play the role of Nick Young and Araminta Lee respectively. Interestingly, both of them are ethnic Chinese characters.
"Three years ago I sat across a table from Nina Jacobson in LA and told her that my dream was to make Crazy Rich Asians, a showcase for the amazingly talented actors of Asian descent from all over the world. Nina promised to make my dream come true, and she kept her promise. Today, on the first day of filming, we can reveal more of our brilliantly talented and incredibly international cast: Awkwafina! (from Queens, NY), Jing Lusi! (Shanghai, China) Chris Pang! (Melbourne, Australia), and Ronny Chieng! (Johor Bahru, Malaysia) join some of Singapore's finest actors - Pierre Png, Fiona Xie, and Tan Kheng Hua!" Kwan announced.
A synopsis of the book on Channel NewsAsia reads: "Pitched as a combination of Devil Wears Prada and Pride and Prejudice, the book centres around economics professor Rachel Chu (played by Fresh Off the Boat's Constance Wu) and her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding). Rachel realises Nick is Singapore's most eligible bachelor when attending his best friend's wedding in the city-state, where the story unfolds."
A press release by Warner Bros has confirmed that New York-based rapper Awkwafina will join the cast as Rachel's college friend Peik Lin, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as Nick's mother while the supporting cast comprises of comedian Ronny Chieng as well as Marco Polo's Chris Pang. The filming began on Tuesday and the movie will be shot entirely in Singapore and Malaysia.
Crazy Rich Asians became a bestseller and was followed by the sequel China Rich Girlfriend in 2015 and Rich People Problems coming in 2017. The novel was described as "a sprawling, multi-generational mock epic that centers on a clan of Singaporeans whose various factions gather from their respective lairs around the globe for a wedding that is the year's most talked-about event among the international Chinese aristocracy."
