Breaking Baz: ‘Wicked’s Jon M. Chu On Unlocking The Musical For The Big Screen And How Casting Cynthia Erivo As Elphaba Was “Like A Coup”

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Jon M. Chu learned to use his power in the right way — just as Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba does in Wicked.

Chu says that after 15 years working with studios he knew “how the machine works” because otherwise, he says, it’s very easy to get “overwhelmed by the pressures of fans, by the pressure of the studio, by spending money, by pressures of people who originated the parts …so I already have a sort of resilience to that.” He says that he knew with Wicked that he “had to follow my instincts, and I knew how to manipulate the studio to get the right money, to get the right resources.” After all, he asserts, “I’m protecting them in my mind.

You have gold in your hands. This is an IP that’s never been out onto the screen…” Chu claps his hands and reveals the pitch he made to top executives at Universal. “This is Oz.

This is cinema legacy. We have to do this right for you. I’m doing this for you. Yes, we’re spending all that money. … It’s a huge undertaking, thousands of hands.