Consider This from NPR : NPR

In 2003, the hit musical Wicked debuted on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in Manhattan.

It turns the story of The Wizard of Oz on its head, focusing on the back story of its misunderstood, green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West.

Wicked was a massive success, and it has broken box office records globally in the two decades that followed.

The Broadway classic now makes its shift from the stage to the screen.

Premiering later this month, the film adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as the Wicked Witch of the West, Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch of the North and Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Behind the film is director Jon M. Chu. Chu is most known for directing 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians.

All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang spoke with Chu earlier this year about his memoir Viewfinder.

Chu always knew he wanted to be a filmmaker – and each step he’s taken has led him to this moment.

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Chu’s path to filmmaking

Chu grew up in Los Altos, California, where his parents have owned a Chinese restaurant for more than 50 years. As a son of immigrants from Taiwan and China, he says his parents wanted to radiate Americanness.

Chu’s parents put him and his siblings in etiquette, dance and music classes to be “as ‘American’ as possible.” He says his family felt like ambassadors for white Americans who had never met Chinese families.

When Chu first got into filmmaking, he says his parents didn’t see it as a serious career path.

“Because when their child is running around with a video camera, running around downtown Los Altos, running through traffic, trying to get fun shots, I don’t think they exactly knew what I was doing,” he says.

One night, Chu was editing a video when his mom came into his room. She unplugged his computer, erasing all his work, and told him he should be studying instead.

“I was just devastated. And I went to her…that night and said: ‘This is what I love. You always said that this is America, the greatest place in the world. You could do whatever you want if you love it.’ And the next day, she came to school, and she had a pile of filmmaking books and said: ‘If you’re going to do this, you have to study it like a craft.’ And from then on, they were right there next to me.”

Awakening the “sleeping dragon”

Chu writes that his decision to make Crazy Rich Asians came at a time of reflection in his career.

“I’d turned 35 without knowing who I was because I’d ignored the sleeping dragon in me.”

The movie was an effort to reconnect with his childhood and heritage.

“The sleeping dragon was the kid that was folding napkins at the bar at the restaurant. I think that kid was fiercely close with his grandma…We’d fold wontons at lunchtime for dinner meals with the whole family. I think that kid is the one who went to Taiwan and looked around for the first time and was like, ‘I feel like family is here.'”

Through that self reflection, Chu says he hopes to bring his own story to Wicked.

“How does the most American fairytale…The Wizard Of Oz… how do you flip it to see it from a new view of a person of color – a person of green? Who is looked at as so different that everyone thinks they’re wicked?”

This episode was produced by Jonaki Mehta and Brianna Scott. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.