Co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians quits over pay disparity

The co-writer of the Crazy Rich Asians screenplay, Malaysian writer Adele Lim has quit the planned sequels due to a dispute over disparity in pay.

Her representative confirmed her departure from the Warner Bros projects.

The representative declined to comment further and Warner Bros did not respond to a request for comment.

The movie was directed by John M Chu with a script co-written by Lim and Peter Chiarelli.

The romantic comedy was a surprise hit with US$238 million in worldwide box office.

Based on a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Lim’s starting offer from Warner Bros was “US$110,000-plus” while Chiarelli’s starting offer ranged from US$800,000 to US$1 million.

The company explained to Lim’s representatives that the quotes were “industry-standard established ranges based on experience and that making an exception would set a troubling precedent in the business”, said the entertainment news site.

Crazy Rich Asians is based on the 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan and is about a young Asian American woman who meets her boyfriend’s parents – and discovers they’re one of the richest families in Singapore.

Constance Wu played the lead with Henry Golding as her fiance and Michelle Yeoh as her future mother-in-law.

Warner Bros had announced shortly after the film opened that it would develop the next two books in Kwan’s trilogy – 2015’s China Rich Girlfriend and 2017’s Rich People Problems.

Chu and Chiarelli remain on board to develop the sequels along with Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.

The studio has not set any release dates for the sequels.

Lim is also working for Disney on the animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon, which is set for a Nov 25, 2020 release. The title character, voiced by Cassie Steele, goes on a quest to find the last dragon, voiced by Awkwafina.

Disney unveiled Raya on Aug 24 at its D23 Expo, where Variety asked Lim on the red carpet about the Crazy Rich Asians sequels. She was vague about those projects, other than saying, “You’ll have to ask someone of a higher pay grade.” -/TISG