CRAZY RICH ASIANS Director Jon M. Chu to Helm THE GREAT CHINESE ART HEIST for Warner Bros.
Jon M. Chu, best known for his hit 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians, has been hired to take on the film The Great Chinese Art Heist for Warner Bros. The studio is still looking for a writer to adapt the story, which is based on the GQ article by Alex W. Palmer.
Deadline reports the following about the article and story:
The article follows a slew of museum art robberies that occurred in Europe, in which Chinese antiquities were stolen, chiefly those that came from the country’s old Summer Palace which was raided in 1860 by French soldiers. No one knows who the thieves are, but the works of art continually wind up back in China. Essentially, there’s a new generation of wealthy Chinese people who are collecting artifacts from the old Summer Palace. Is China’s government behind the art theft wave? The feature questions who gets to own art, and who gets to own history and culture. The GQ piece also poses the question whether there’s some sort of coordinated effort to reclaim Chinese art.
Meanwhile the museums are remaining quiet about the robberies. The thefts put museums in a vulnerable position: Everyone questions their security, no one wants to donate works or materials, and their insurance rates spike as many would question an art institution’s credibility.
Chu jumped at the chance to direct this project, even with his schedule filled. His adaptation of the musical In the Heights is scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max on June 18th, and he is working on a screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, as well as the second and third installments in the Crazy Rich Asians film series.
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