- I want to know who's saying that it's not Asian enough.
It's so Asian.
It brought comfort when I was watching it.
It made me laugh how ridiculous the characters are
because there are Asian people who are that ridiculous.
- [Interviewer] What were your thoughts on the movie
and how it addressed Asian culture?
- So, I loved the movie.
- Love, love, loved the movie.
- The first movie in 25 years, since the Joy Luck Club
to feature an all Asian cast.
- I have a lot of feelings about it.
Obviously Asian culture is very wide.
But I did feel like it was accurate
in terms of representing some of the common themes
that I see across Asian cultures.
- How important food is in Asian culture.
- You know, the importance of family.
- The stereotypes were there, you see the mansion,
and then there's the Filipinos help,
and then there's the Indian servants.
And those are real life things that,
I think are important details.
- They, you know, say that she's Chinese-American.
But, you still see how they don't think
she really understands, you know, the family values
that are so important to Asians and that's because
she's ultimately American.
- [Interviewer] The film is being touted for being
a Hollywood feature with a majority Asian cast.
What did you make of the casting selection?
- I love the casting selection.
I mean, beautiful Asian people, like, this is awesome.
Constance Wu was great.
Henry Golding, good looking guy.
- Constance Wu really carried the movie.
- Awkwafina stole every scene she was in,
and she was great as Peik Lin.
- [Interviewer] Some viewers have said Crazy Rich Asians
is actually not Asian enough.
One critique saying it doesn't adequately represent
Singaporeans as a whole.
- I think it is a fair critique,
but I will say that I don't think the film
was trying to represent Singaporeans as a whole.
It represented a very wealthy Singaporean family.
- Ultimately this is focusing on
this extraordinarily wealthy family, right.
- [Interviewer] Hollywood gets a lot of heat over
casting actors in roles they don't actually represent.
Whether it comes to race, gender,
sexual orientation, so forth.
- Hi Scarlett Johansson.
- [Interviewer] Do you think Crazy Rich Asians
is actually making a positive stride at correcting this?
- Oh absolutely, absolutely.
- This was a movie that absolutely couldn't be whitewashed.
- It's kind of giving the message that
everyone is worthy of having stories
and it doesn't matter if you're a particular race,
gender, we all have complicated stories.
And I think that it's a huge step for the industry.
- [Interviewer] Diversity in Hollywood
has become a focal point for many.
Black Panther was a defining movie earlier this year
for black actors and black culture.
What precedent do you think movies like Black Panther
and Crazy Rich Asians are setting for Hollywood?
- Well, I think for starters,
you're saying that there's a demand
and that people are willing to show up.
- My god, just making the mainstream audience aware
that there's other color.
- Everybody goes to the movies,
but not everybody sees themselves in the movies
as often as they should.
I think that that needs to change, it's starting to change.
- I think movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians
is setting a precedent in terms of the fact that it's saying
these stories matter.
- [Interviewer] It feels like Hollywood is trying
to diversify their roster of both films
and also actors and casts.
What do you think Hollywood needs to do
to truly get to a point of equal representation
both on screen and what's playing at the box office?
- Hollywood also needs to hire people of color
behind the scenes.
- Diversity behind the camera is just as important
as who's on screen.
- There's still so few female directors, for example.
Or women who are in positions of power
where they can make these decisions and green light films.
And same goes for people of color.
- Hmm, I mean, I think they just need to
keep making more of these movies, to be honest.
Because it's not gonna be a quick process.
- The importance of a diverse slate of movies goes beyond
letting people feel that they've been represented.
I think it's also,
there's an educational component for people.
And it makes people more knowledgeable about other cultures.
- Anything that will make an audience
ask questions, change their perception,
probably open their minds to something new.
I think that's why we go to the movies.