‘Was It Enormous Pressure?’: Jon M. Chu and Shawn Levy Bond Over Beating Expectation With ‘Wicked’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

variety.com:

Jon M. Chu has photographic evidence. Before he directed “Wicked,” the hit adaptation of the Broadway musical about a pair of witchy BFFs, Chu was an extra on “The Secret World of Alex Mack.” And that Nickelodeon series, part of the TV diet for anyone growing up in the 1990s, marked the directorial debut of Shawn Levy, who would go on to make “Stranger Things,” “Free Guy” and last summer’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The two are meeting in New York to discuss their journeys to the top of Hollywood’s A-list, as well as their talent for making unabashedly commercial movies, featuring heroes and heroines with extraordinary abilities, that are also deeply personal.

But before they get to that, Chu shares a screen grab of his fleeting moment being directed by Levy. Levy is stunned, then reflective about those early days. “I remember thinking, ‘It’s happening,’” he says. “‘All my dreams are coming true.’ Then you realize there’s no straight lines in these careers.

It’s ebbs and flows that take you to surprising places.” The two directors are enjoying professional peaks, having made the highest-grossing films of their careers.

Yet they’re more interested in discussing the detours and hurdles they’ve faced, and their love for making movies that are empathetic and hopeful at a time when those things are in short supply. Shawn Levy: Why did you become a director? Jon M.