It’s been 25 years since Hollywood released a film with predominantly English-speaking Asian actors and some celebrities, as well as people in the Silicon Valley, can’t contain their excitement.
Actor Harry Shum Jr., and singer Kina Grannis are among the list of people who have bought out movie theaters in the Bay Area to celebrate the representation of Asian-Americans on the big screen in “Crazy Rich Asians.”
Shum, known for his role in teen musical drama “Glee”, says he and a friend bought out a Saturday screening at the AMC theater in San Francisco. They’re giving away the tickets on a first come, first serve basis for the 1 p.m. showing, Shum said in a tweet.
On the other side of the Bay, Grannis bought tickets for a Friday showing in Emeryville at 7 p.m.
“I’m so excited for you all to see this movie!”, the singer who made herself known to the Asian-American community on YouTube wrote on Twitter.
The buy-out is part of #GoldOpen, a nationwide effort to guarantee the success of the film, because many say the film is long overdue in America where Asians are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups.
Former Facebook employee and co-founder of A3 (Asian American Artists Foundation), Philip Fung, is also another person who bought out entire theaters in the Bay Area, and across the country, to boost ticket sales.
“We’ve done well for ourselves and we wanna give back in any way we can,” Fung told NBC Bay Area. “Seeing any type of representation and a person that looks like you on screen is very interesting to us, and something we’ve always wanted to see,” he said.
“Crazy Rich Asians” is based on a novel by Kevin Kwan of the same title. It tells a story of a New York University professor, Rachel Chu (portrayed by “Fresh Off The Boat” star Constance Wu), who finds out her boyfriend Nick is filthy rich when she goes to attend his best friend’s wedding in Singapore.
The film’s director, Jon M. Chu, and the main character are both from Cupertino. Chu’s father, Lawrence Chu, owns a Chinese restaurant in Los Alto called Chef Chu’s.
The historic film comes a quarter of a century after “The Joy Luck Club,” a film about group of Chinese women in San Francisco.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Source: NBC Bay Area
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