‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why the historic Hollywood Rom-Com Matters

This summer marks the return of the splashy, big-budget Hollywood romance — but with a crazy historic twist.

Featuring lush sets, glamorous locales and an ensemble of talent from all over the globe, Warner Bros.’ “Crazy Rich Asians” is adapted from Kevin Kwan’s international bestseller about a New Yorker meeting her boyfriend’s sprawling, intimidating Singaporean family for the first time. And when it opens nationwide Wednesday, it will mark the first studio film in 25 years to tell a contemporary story centered on an all-Asian cast.

The significance is not lost on its stars and filmmakers. Fans, too, have rallied around “Crazy Rich Asians,” cheered the watershed moment on social media and bought out theaters in hopes of boosting its crucial opening weekend box office returns — the barometer by which studios, financiers and gatekeepers will surely measure the value of greenlighting similar diverse stories.

Because the truth is that in spite of increased calls for industry change in recent years, significant progress has not hit the big screen. According to an Annenberg study of the top 100 films of 2017, only 4.8% of movies featured a character of Asian descent with a speaking role.

(Excerpt) Read More at: LATimes.com