Crazy Rich Asians is based on Kevin Kwan's best-selling novel of the same titular name. The movie is inspired by Kwan's elite upbringing in Singapore. As a child, he bred arowanas — an exotic fish that sells for up to $300,000 each. While his grandfather helped invent Chinese Tiger Balm and his cousin is Nancy Kwan, one of Hollywood's first Asian stars.

In August 2013, producer Nina Jacobson acquired rights to adapt the novel into a film. Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson produced the film under their production banner Color Force. By 2016, the team had a working screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and was ready to bring a director on board. Jacobson and Simpson approached contenders that were of Asian descent.

Jon M. Chu who had just completed production on Now You See Me 2 and was looking for his next project. According to Vulture, he said, "I really wanted to tackle something that dealt with my cultural identity being Asian and American, something I never really touched before because it’s sort of scary to me. The whitewashing movement was all over Twitter and I’m reading things from Constance Wu, Daniel Dae Kim, Alan Yang and really agreeing: ‘Why haven’t we had a romance of Asian leads in a movie? Why haven’t we had a full Asian cast in a movie?’ I suddenly looked myself in the mirror and thought, ‘Oh shit. I am Hollywood. I’m in this business and I’ve got enough relationships that if I want to push one through, I get one.’”

Chu brought in Malaysian-born TV writer Adele Lim, who worked with him to incorporate not just more cultural specificity into Chiarelli's script, but also emotional authenticity to hit Asian audiences. Lim said, "This hold that parents have on their children is a specifically Asian thing. It presents itself in really aggressive ways sometimes, but it comes from a place of deep devotion."

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However, finding the male lead for the film proved to be difficult. According to Terri Taylor, who played a role in casting with casting director PoPing AuYueng, Nick Young was the type of human being that walks between raindrops. Talent agencies scoured their rosters, and some drama schools in the U.S. and U.K. told the casting directors that they hadn't seen anyone who fit Nick's type because they hadn't searched for an Asian lead in a long time.

Just days before the team had to deliver a candidate to Warner Brothers, Constance Wu was set to read with four finalists in L.A. and four in China. But they weren't quite right to Chu.

Then Chu received a tip from an accountant in the production's Malaysian office who recalled watching a travel video years earlier that was hosted by an attractive Asian man with a British accent. Intrigued, Chu and Taylor began cyber-stalking the social media accounts of Henry Golding, a Singapore-based presenter. Chu began following Golding on Instagram, shortly after Chu reached out to him through a mutual friend. Golding sent a self-tape for what he figured would be a bit role.  That led to a 17-hour trip to Los Angeles for a chemistry read with Wu. Days later, a screen test with the studio was required for the duo.

Despite the studio's choice in casting Golding as the lead man, there was backlash for its casting choice, since the Malaysian-British actor is biracial while Nick is Chinese-Singaporean. Golding responded to the backlash, he said, "What is the level of Asian-ness you need to be to be profiled as Asian? Spending my childhood in England, I was always labeled as Asian. I’m Asian. I was born in Asia, I’ve grown up most of my life in Asia. Jon would not have chosen me if he didn’t think I was right for the role.” Playing Nick Young was Golding's breakout role and required a global search. But like many people including Wu believe that there are plenty of talented actors of Asian descent waiting to be discovered. She said, "People so often, say, 'Oh my gosh, I want to cast more Asians, but it's so hard to find them.' It's not. So I think it's kind of an insult to say that they don't exist. Maybe they don't have a lot of credits, or any credits, on their resume, but that's because they haven't had the opportunity to build those credits. There are other good ones. You just have to seek them out."

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Nelson Coates, the production designer of the film talked about putting together in the wedding scene which is supposed to cost $40 million in the movie. He said, "You go through the book, and it’s like, "Okay, well, that chapter alone is more money than we have to make the movie!" It’s about capturing the ambiance of wealth. To create a sense of immersion in the wedding, Jon Chu and I decided to have the guests seated amidst plants. We created green velvet benches made of freeform shapes, so that no-one’s actually sitting in rows. They’re in and amongst the grasses.”

Hollywood has warmed up to more diverse and inclusive stories, the film created a watershed movement with its all Asian cast. Asians continue to be misrepresented in mainstream media, the film pushed the boundaries that Asians are capable of playing lead roles. Chu said, "We can sugarcoat it all we want, but the moment you bring up an Asian-led movie, there's one example to point to, and that'll be us. To be on the biggest stage with the biggest stakes, that's what we asked for."

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