Crazy Rich Asians (CRA) director Jon M. Chu came to the help of Adele Lim when the screenwriter and Hollywood movie studio Warner bickered over her fee to work on a sequel.
Chu, who wanted to keep his creative team intact, posted on Monday (Sept 9) that "by the time we came up with several different ways to satisfy everyone's needs, a lot of time had passed and she declined the offer".
Malaysia-born Lim was upset that she was offered a reported US$110,000 (S$152,000), versus US$800,000 to US$1 million for Peter Chiarelli.
Both had worked on the first 2018 film that netted US$238.5 million worldwide.
Warner apparently offered Chiarelli more because he has a longer track record than Lim who, before CRA, had written for TV shows.
"I agree with Adele that parity for women and people of colour is crucial to the continued enlightenment of our industry and we still have a long way to go," Chu wrote.
"What I discovered personally through this process is there are still things to debate among ourselves… which I am sure won't be simple answers but I know we must try to figure it out to keep the needle moving."
Chu said L
