If you love hearing directors talk about the artistic roots behind their biggest projects, this is a beautiful look at how Wicked found its cinematic identity. Jon M. Chu returns to the Curran Theatre, where he first saw the musical over twenty years ago, to unpack the emotional, personal, and creative journey that shaped Wicked: For Good, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omG-lFNFpg8
In the video, Chu reflects on:
- How seeing Wicked with his mother changed the trajectory of his life as a storyteller
- Why his filmmaking instincts are grounded in theatre, audience perspective, and emotional proximity
- How he and his team approached building two films at once, shot simultaneously
- His “emotion wall” approach, focusing on what the audience should feel in each scene before making technical decisions
- The surprising moment during rehearsal for “For Good” that reshaped the entire sequence
- The role of instinct, collaboration, and risk-taking on a massive musical production
It’s an intimate and generous breakdown of directing at scale, filled with insights about visual storytelling, musical structure, and the emotional truth at the heart of adaptation.
What resonated with you most from Chu’s process: the emotional mapping, the theatrical influence, or the way he embraces instinct on set?
The way Jon embraces instinct on set, Ashley Renee Smith. Embracing instinct on set, when outlining a script, etc. is important. Sometimes I come up with a scene for a script that seems weird or I'm not 100% sure about at first, but I write the scene anyway, and it turned out to be the right thing for the script.