‘Rich’ Contributions
Editor and composer delivered pacing, mood for Jon M. Chu’s ‘Crazy Rich Asians’
Editor, composer set the pace — and the mood — for Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians”
ADAPTING A BEST- SELLING novel for the screen — in this case author Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” — always requires taking a written narrative and adjusting style and pace to create the language of a motion picture. Director Jon M. Chu’s film successfully makes that transition, thanks in part to the work of editor Myron Kerstein and composer Brian Tyler.
As he edited the picture, Kerstein says he deployed the tricks of his craft to incorporate and meld nuances of feel- ing, humor and pageantry. “You have to respect the source material as much as possible,” he says, “but you have to find your own film in the middle of it.”
The final third of the movie, which centers on a climactic wedding and reception, became Kerstein’s favorite part to cut. It was a chance to “tell a story that’s not filled with words but with emotion,” he says. “It’s so beautiful and absurd at the same time.”
In addition to finding the right pacing, Chu relied on the storytelling power of music to fill in some of the words of Kwan’s detailed book. “Music is just as
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