Jon M. Chu Says AI Couldn’t Have Made One of Wicked ’s Best Moments

At WIRED’s Big Interview event in San Francisco, the onetime YouTuber and Crazy Rich Asians director said that working with acts like Justin Bieber taught him the value of connecting with fans online during the creation process. While directing Bieber’s concert film, Never Say Never, in the late aughts, Chu said the then-14-year-old star used Twitter to introduce him to fans. After Bieber posted a clip joking that the director was following him around on set, Chu told WIRED’s senior culture editor, Manisha Krishnan, that he began to watch his online followers grow by tens of thousands of people almost instantly, something that really drove home the power of direct connection with a fanbase.

Working with Bieber, Chu said, made him realize that “the story is being told before you even start shooting, and after you’re done with the movie, you have to continue that story ...