Crazy Rich Asians - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Crazy Rich Asians or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Crazy Rich Asians

[carla]

Henry Golding had to cut his honeymoon short after the studio required him and Constance Wu to fly out for a screen test.

[darrell]

In the novels, Eleanor Young is friends with Carol Tai, who married Dato Tai Toh Lui (which means "too much money" in Cantonese). In real life, Michelle Yeoh (Eleanor) was given the title of "Dato" (similar to the term meaning British knighthood) by the Sultan of Perak.

[elmer]

If Constance Wu was obvious for the role of Rachel Chu, finding her partner on screen was more complicated. It needed an actor from Singapore who grew up in England and with a particular accent. Thousands of actors had been auditioned around the world and via the Internet. It was thanks to a production employee, the film's budget accountant, Lisa-Kim Kuan, who suggested Henry Golding to a producer, as someone who could play Nick Young. He was spotted while he was broadcasting travel programs, but had never shot in film and so he almost did not participate in the adventure, convinced he was not good enough for the role, nor legitimate enough.

[bernice]

The tiger in the foyer of Tyersall Park (where Nick and Astrid would hide their cigarettes) was an interesting movie prop. Per the Hollywood Reporter, "The mansion's taxidermied tiger was problematic. The best specimen was in London, and the production designer realized he'd have trouble getting it across international borders. Instead, he hired sculptors in Thailand, to create a tiger out of foam and fur, only to have it held up in Thai customs because agents thought it was the real thing. 'We finally got it installed the night before we filmed the scene,' he says."

[janice]

Although the film received praise in the United States for its casting, which made "history for Asian American representation," it was criticized elsewhere for not exclusively using actors of Chinese descent in ethnically Chinese roles. This film was also criticized for using British and American English over Singaporean English. In addition, the film received criticism for poorly representing the actual makeup of Singapore, virtually erasing non-Chinese citizens.

[darrell]

In the novel, Michael is actually not cheating on Astrid. The text message Astrid found on his phone was fake. Michael intentionally left the message because he thought it would make Astrid more willing to get a divorce. Michael feels that Astrid's family will never accept him despite his professional accomplishments. Astrid begs Michael to stay, but he pleads with Astrid to let him go.

[brent]

Calvin Wong originally auditioned for the part of Bernard. Although he lost out to Jimmy O Yang, he was given the lesser role of PT instead.

[gerald]

In the arrival scene, Rachel commented on the Butterfly Gardens, which can be found in Changi Airport Terminal 3, the only terminal with that feature.

[claude]

Director Jon M. Chu revealed that Michelle Yeoh was dissatisfied with the mock-up ring that her character, Eleanor, was going to wear. She showed him a ring from her personal collection and this eventually became the emerald and diamond ring Eleanor wears in the movie.

[francisco]

The mahjong scene, toward the end of the film, was not in the book; it was added as a nod to The Joy Luck Club (1993).

[gerald]

Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the "first" Western-produced major studio film with an extensive East Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club (1993). Other major studio backed, North American releases featuring an extensive East Asian cast as leads include: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) released just two years earlier, Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014), A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) and Rumble in the Bronx (1995) to name a few. Even Mulan (1998) was significant. (This misnomer also neglects to recognize movies and animation extensively featuring Pacific Islanders and East Indians produced in America by major film studios such as Life of Pi (2012), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Moana (2016), and excluding The Last Samurai (2003), which featured a majority East Asian cast but with a white male lead.) It also fails to note relevant cinema produced overseas that feature Asians in America such as Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet (1993) and many others. Truer portrayals of actual real live Asian Americans, who are more remarkable than typical, can also be found in recent non-fictional documentaries such as Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016), Tyrus (2015), Linsanity (2013), and many more.

[christina]

Lisa Lu previously appeared in another Singapore-set film, Saint Jack (1979), which was made under a fake title to evade the attention of the country's authorities.

[cameron]

Awkwafina was supposed to wear several different wigs throughout the movie; however, after putting on the blonde wig, it was decided to scrap other wigs and just keep the one. The joke about this was kept in the scene where actor Ken Jeong starts calling her "Asian Ellen [Degeneres]".

[lynn]

The bartenders at The Astor Bar inside the St. Regis Hotel Kuala Lumpur, a film location where socialite Astrid Young Teo, played by Gemma Chan, is introduced, had created a cocktail called 'The Astrid'. The concoction consisted of Jose Cuervo silver tequila, pomegranate juice, lemon bitters, and elderflower foam.

[janice]

The film's screenwriters, Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, worked on the script in separate places, sending it back and forth to each other. They said it "was like having shared custody of a child."

[bryan]

Most of Awkwafina's lines as Peik Lin Goh were improvised.

[jessica]

Araminta's gold bachelorette bodysuit and the wedding dress is custom designed by Mary Vogt; the "disco Cleopatra" halter dress Rachel wore by Missoni; and her blue dress worn to the wedding by Marchesa.

[steve]

When Rachel asks about her dress "I thought red was a lucky colour, right?", Wye Mun Goh answers, "Yeah, if you're an envelope..." This refers to the Chinese tradition of giving "Ang Pao" envelopes containing money to family and staff on special occasions, in particular Chinese New Year.

[ray]

Despite its success in English-speaking countries, in many international territories the film was not even released on Blu-ray/DVD.