Jon M. Chu, director of Wicked, surpassed several Oscar-nominated filmmakers by winning the Best Director accolade at the Critics Choice Award on Friday evening.
Acknowledging his Oscar snub, Chu began his speech saying, “I’m going to win that Oscar!” evoking laughter from the star-studded audience, before he quickly waved it off with a smile, adding, “I’m not nominated, I’m not nominated.”
The In The Heights filmmaker explained that he hadn’t prepared any speech as he wasn’t expecting the award. However, he said, “I will be real with you. We get to tell stories for our life. I’d been waiting to not think about algebra or grammar ever again.”
“I wanted to work with my friends. I wanted to share whatever it is we had in our heads that week, that year, in our childhood.”
He expressed his gratitude, saying he felt very “privileged” to have the opportunity of sharing stories with the rest of the world.
Chu went on to thank his wife and five children, acknowledging the challenges of loving an artist. “We are selfish people,” he admitted, “But you guys pick us up.”
While Wicked receiving 10 nods in Oscars, Chu was surprisingly left out of the best director category.
At the Critics’ Choice Awards, Chu beat out Oscar nominees Sean Baker (Anora), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) and Edward Berger (Conclave).
