WICKED Director Jon M. Chu to Drop Memoir on IN THE HEIGHTS & More

Wicked film director Jon M. Chu is releasing his new memoir this summer.

"Viewfinder," set to hit book shelves on July 23, documents Chu's experience growing up in Silicon Valley, attending film school at USC, and directing the In the Heights movie musical.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Chu worked on the project with Jeremy McCarter, who collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on books like Hamilton: the Revolution and In the Heights: Finding Home. Pre-order the book here.

"I felt compelled to make it when I met Jeremy McCarter. We were working on In the Heights and he was doing an In the Heights book. He did the Hamilton book and he was front row to a change in culture with that show. We got to know each other, and I started talking to him about my life. After Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights, my whole life changed about what I want my art to reflect and what I want my stories to be."

After recently wrapping filming on the two-part Wicked movie, Chu reveals that The Wizard of Oz has "always been a big part of his life," and that the impact that the American fairytale has had on his life is felt throughout this book.

"There's this yellow brick road and there's this wizard at the end of it that's going to give you all your hopes and your dreams and your heart's desire. Where we are now, the yellow brick road doesn't necessarily exist. It's off the beaten path that you find yourself, and there's no wizard on the other side who's going to give it to you all. We have to figure it out together."

In the book, Chu is also reportedly upfront about his disappoint in In the Heights' performance at the box office. The film, released in 2021 in both theaters and streaming on HBO Max, grossed $45 million at the box office. It had a $55 million production budget and a break-even point of $200 million.

"It's very scary to talk about any of those things, but this was a book to expose the rawness of the journey. It's important for creative people in the next generation to know that when you're changing things, you will get some things wrong, you'll get some things misinterpreted, or you'll find a blindside that you never had before. That's great for growth; that's necessary for things to change."

The memoir's July release comes before the first part of the highly-anticipated Wicked movie musical is released in theaters. The film stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James and Keala Settle. Watch a first look here.

Aside from Wicked and In the Heights, Chu has directed Crazy Rich Asians, several Step Up movies, and Now You See Me 2. He is attached to helm a movie musical adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

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