What a 'Wicked' Surprise! Jon M. Chu Scores Upset Win as Best Director at Critics Choice Awards
At last night's Critics Choice Awards, actor/presenter Orlando Bloom noted that the last 7 winners for Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Director. Well, Jon M. Chu broke that streak. Even though ''Wicked'' garnered 10 Oscar nominations and been up for Best Picture at various awards, he's largely been overlooked for Best Director, not just by the Academy, but the Golden Globes, BAFTA and the Directors Guild of America. However, the Critics Choice DID nominate him in a field of 8, which included Oscar nominees Jacques Audiard, Sean Baker & Brady Corbet.
Chu graciously and gratefully accepted his prize, but started off by joking about his Academy snub: ''I'm gonna win that Oscar!'' He called America ''the greatest place where dreams can come true,'' rejoicing in his love of storytelling and growing up in his family's Chinese restaurant in Los Gatos, Calif.
And ''Wicked'' won two other Critics Choice prizes for Costumes (Paul Tazewell) and Production Design (Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales).