Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

[Fukui San]

How much would you pay for a screening of the movie which served you the foods shown in the movie as they appear in the movie?

[twoods]

Super cute movie and everything was so beautiful, including the wedding scene with the leads looking at each other. When he mouthed “I love you” and she started to cry, I got teary eyed. What a fantastic scene.

I wish we got to see the conversation Nick had with his mother. A few scenes with him interacting and having conversations with his mom and grandmother would have strengthened the plot (I know we had one but it wasn’t enough), but I get they had to condense a lot of plot into a movie that wasn’t too long. Maybe they will have deleted scenes on the DVD.

Edited August 19, 2018 by twoods

[Athena]

Lots has already been said about the casting and the visuals. I loved the soundtrack. I loved the Chinese classics they used alongside the Canto-pop and mandarin covers of Western songs. The use of Yellow at the end was brilliant. I'm going to be listening to the soundtrack for the next few weeks.

[Bruinsfan]

I saw it this afternoon. Very enjoyable; Michelle Yeoh and Gemma Chan blew me away and Awkwafina was a laugh riot. I was surprised to find out that Henry Golding wasn't an actor prior to the film, but upon reflection he did very little of the heavy lifting acting-wise; the character just needed to be exceedingly charming (mission accomplished!).

I thought it was nice that love triangles and exes as a current threat were rom-com tropes that didn't raise their ugly heads for the main couple. Amanda Ling's antagonism was just her being petty; there was never any sign that she would have had another chance with Nick if Rachel weren't in the picture.

Araminta Lee seemed like a walking contradiction to me. When she and Colin welcomed the main couple she seemed very down-to-earth; her resort bachelorette party with its shopping sprees and spa full of vicious social climbers didn't suit that initial impression of the character AT ALL.

[Scarlett45]

28 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

Araminta Lee seemed like a walking contradiction to me. When she and Colin welcomed the main couple she seemed very down-to-earth; her resort bachelorette party with its shopping sprees and spa full of vicious social climbers didn't suit that initial impression of the character AT ALL.

I see what you mean, but I think that was to show that she had many sides to her. I do NOT think Colin’s fiancé would’ve ever been on the plot to terrorize Rachel, but I think she likes her spa time, shopping sprees etc as much as most women in her social circle while still enjoying other types of activities as well. Also some of those women probably grew up with her, and fit into various niches of her life- she was trying have harmless fun at her party, and they took it as a chance to be evil. 

[JustaPerson]

4 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

Araminta Lee seemed like a walking contradiction to me. When she and Colin welcomed the main couple she seemed very down-to-earth; her resort bachelorette party with its shopping sprees and spa full of vicious social climbers didn't suit that initial impression of the character AT ALL.

That's the way she was presented in the novel as well. I think it was meant to show that she and Colin were like Nick: fully a part of wealthy society while still being grounded, not snobby people.

I loved it! I was so excited about this one. I was a bit disappointed that they cut a bulk of Astrid's story in the novel (I'll put it in spoilers just in case)

Spoiler

she finds out that Michael isn't cheating on her -- he sent that text to himself to get Astrid to think so so that she would leave him. She runs in to Charlie Wu (Harry Shum Jr.'s character) when they first separate while she still thinks he's cheating,  who helps her track Michael down and she convinces him to stay with her. Charlie decides to help Astrid by financially helping Michael's tech startup, making him a success and more secure in the marriage. It sets up Astrid's storyline for the second book. 

[Nidratime]

Quote

Araminta Lee seemed like a walking contradiction to me. When she and Colin welcomed the main couple she seemed very down-to-earth; her resort bachelorette party with its shopping sprees and spa full of vicious social climbers didn't suit that initial impression of the character AT ALL.

I don't want to spill too many details from the book in case some of you, who really liked the film, want to read it at some point. So, I'll put my response in spoiler tags.

Spoiler

This is exactly how Araminta was in the book, if not a little worse. She was all sweetness and charm in the beginning, but when she was with her girlfriends she was a bit edgier *and* when Astrid shows up at the wedding in an outfit Araminta knows Astrid wore at another event, she makes biting remarks to Colin and actually seems offended. Astrid is a major fashion plate and Araminta expected her to not only be at her wedding but to wear some high end, fabulous couture especially for her wedding. We are also told that -- since Araminta and her family are nouveau riche -- they went way over the top for the wedding. You get the feeling Colin might not end up having the happiest of marriages, but who knows.

 

There are some other parts of the book that didn't make the movie, as you can imagine, but I think some of these things really give the story added depth. For instance, the backstory on Nick's grandfather which I mentioned earlier. There is also a part that deals with Rachel's mother's life in China and what happened in her marriage, which was pretty bad. It was definitely not one sentence of dialogue.

I also enjoyed all the footnotes Kevin Kwan included, some of which were very humorous, explaining some of the cultural moments and the Chinese phrases included in the book. Plus, a huge help is the family tree that is in the front of the book laying out all the different families and parts of families and their relationships. For instance, you learn that Ah Ma and her husband, Sir James Young, the doctor, had four daughters and one son. The son is Nick's father, Philip. So, you can see why Nick was important since he was the only son of the only son. The only one who will be carrying on the Young name.

ETA:

Spoiler

There's something else that's not in the movie, or more correctly, was changed for the movie. Peik Lin's family, at first, has no idea who Nicholas Young is and have no idea that Tyersall Park (Nick's grandparents' home and huge property) even exists. The Youngs are so private, so against any public attention, that most people don't know who they are, even though they own a major portion of Singapore, have a huge shipping business, and are so well-connected.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Nidratime

[TheOtherOne]

4 hours ago, twoods said:

I wish we got to see the conversation Nick had with his mother. A few scenes with him interacting and having conversations with his mom and grandmother would have strengthened the plot (I know we had one but it wasn’t enough), but I get they had to condense a lot of plot into a movie that wasn’t too long. Maybe they will have deleted scenes on the DVD.

The Nick-Eleanor conversation is one that was cut, so presumably it will turn up as a DVD extra. The last paragraph of this article describes it:

Spoiler

In the film, Eleanor’s visit to Nick to give him her blessing is shown in silent glimpses, and we don’t know that he has the ring until he pulls it out to propose to Rachel on the plane. But a deleted scene, which Lim calls “one of the most heartbreaking ones that got cut,” had Nick confronting his mother more openly. Per Chu, who was also sad to let the scene go: “They talk about Eleanor’s sacrifice for her son, how she allowed Ah Ma to raise him so that he would be her favorite and his future would be secure. Nick says ‘I needed you, and you put me there, and you think that was worth it?’ Her response is ‘Absolutely,’ but you can see her heart is just crushed and that she is questioning her decision. Ultimately, it gave away too much, I thought, and we wanted to keep the focus on Rachel’s journey.”

[Nidratime]

And just by chance EW has an article about the differences in the movie and book. (But, their headline is wrong. These are definitely not the only differences.)

Crazy Rich Asians: All the differences between the book and the movie

https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/19/crazy-rich-asians-book-movie-differences/

[VCRTracking]

[Silver Raven]

3 hours ago, Athena said:

Lots have already been said about the casting and the visuals. I loved the soundtrack. I loved the Chinese classics they used alongside the Canto-pop and mandarin covers of Western songs. The use of Yellow at the end was brilliant. I'm going to be listening to the soundtrack for the next few weeks.

Totally agree.  The performance at the wedding was beautiful.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Totally agree.  The performance at the wedding was beautiful.

That was Kina Grannis for anyone who’s interested:

[Silver Raven]

28 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

That was Kina Grannis for anyone who’s interested:

 

Right, I looked her up after the fact, but I didn't know who she was. She got her popularity first on YouTube.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Silver Raven

[ElectricBoogaloo]

30 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Right, I looked her up after the fact, but I didn't know who she was. She got her popularity first on YouTube.

I remember her from the earlier days of the internet. I think I first saw her on MySpace (!). I remember when they used one of her songs on some MTV show about ten years ago, I was so proud that she’d made it that big because that was on par with Michelle Branch’s song being used as the theme song for Sorority Life. 

???

Anyway, I like that they found a way to include her in the movie in a natural way (sometimes cameos are really obvious, especially when they are shoehorned in and the person sticks out like a sore thumb).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

How a Mandarin cover of Coldplay’s Yellow showed up in Crazy Rich Asians (you can read the letter that director Jon Chu wrote to Coldplay here)

 

On 8/17/2018 at 4:34 PM, hendersonrocks said:

I saw it at an Alamo Drafthouse, and there was a great program on the history of Asian Americans in Hollywood before the previews began. I love that they did that (they had a special menu, too).

 

I would have been happy with just the program beforehand but a special menu too? I hope they had some delicious dumplings!

Thanks to @argrow's warning about wanting to eat delicious food afterward, I had planned to go to an earlier show so I would have plenty of time to get some good Chinese food afterward. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate how popular the movie would be. I tried to buy tickets online the day of the show and the one showing in the Dolby theater with reserved seats was almost completely sold out. There were only a few seats left and they were all in the front row. I ended up going to a later show at 6:30pm but after the 20+ minutes of previews, we didn't get out of the movie until 9pm and I didn't want to rush to get to dinner and then have to hurry while eating.

Edited August 20, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

interview with Gemma Chan

Best part of the entire Q&A:

Quote

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Scarlett Johansson. Just kidding.

[Frost]

I was a little confused by the characters relentless focus on being "Chinese."   I went to university in England and one of my flatmates was Singaporean.  And that's what she considered herself and her family - Singaporean.  Obviously one person is a very small sample size...but Aruna is the only person from Singapore that I know!

I had a day long layover in Singapore a few years ago and wandered all over, ending with afternoon tea at Raffles Hotel.  I enjoyed it but I was surprised the hotel kind of came across as a tourist trap.  It didn't seem like the hotel Nick would have chosen for him and Rachel to stay.  Singapore is such a beautiful city, it was a shame more screen time wasn't devoted to the incredible gardens planted everywhere.  Even a basic crosswalk was sumptuous!

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

for instance, the opening scene that really has nothing to do with anything else in the movie

Quote

Oh, that scene had everything to do with the rest of the movie.  It establishes exactly who these people are and what they can do with a metaphorical snap of their fingers because of how unbelievably wealthy they are, and it also establishes the grace and etiquette with which they can annihilate people who are beneath them in the ways that matter to them.  The quiet, deadly way in which Eleanor eviscerates Rachel later in the film is a callback to that opening scene and the way she similarly destroyed those English pricks at the hotel; only someone with the power of such extreme wealth (especially old-money wealth) can be that lethal in such a placid way.

Agreed. I think it also shows how fucking fierce is Eleanor is when it comes to her kid. Remember how the scene started with Nick & cousins making a muddy mess of the hotel? She was not going to tolerate either 1) the blatant racism on display, or 2) looking down on and treating her kid as less than a prince. 

[Bruinsfan]

14 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I do NOT think Colin’s fiancé would’ve ever been on the plot to terrorize Rachel, but I think she likes her spa time, shopping sprees etc as much as most women in her social circle while still enjoying other types of activities as well. Also some of those women probably grew up with her, and fit into various niches of her life- she was trying have harmless fun at her party, and they took it as a chance to be evil. 

Oh yeah, Araminta was nothing but kind to Rachel. I assume she would have been horrified by the bloody fish bed and scrawled message if she'd been made aware of it. I guess maybe she was never on the receiving end of that level of jealousy and spite from her friends group (at least not to her face) so that she could have foreseen the minefield she was inviting Rachel into? It just seemed so over-the-top though—Amanda Ling's faux-friendly antagonism was the sort of thing one could reasonably expect, but not a scene out of The Godfather.

[Athena]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:58 AM, Frost said:

I was a little confused by the characters relentless focus on being "Chinese."   I went to university in England and one of my flatmates was Singaporean.  And that's what she considered herself and her family - Singaporean.  Obviously one person is a very small sample size...but Aruna is the only person from Singapore that I know!

There is Chinese the nationality and there is Chinese the ethnicity, cultural identity, and heritage. The latter can be a big part of lives of Chinese everywhere. Even though the Youngs are Singaporean and I would say Nick considers himself local, his family is ethnically and culturally Chinese. Part of how expat Chinese have operated abroad especially in SE Asia is that they have link to their roots through their culture. Even if they do not have any family left in China, the culture exists with them. The book feels more seamless about that. Rachel considers herself Chinese as well but she will never be considered be as Chinese or Asian as anyone who grew up in Asia. It's a lot of context. Pop Culture Happy Hour had a panelist who said that Eleanor's "You'll always be foreign," is reflective of how Asians/Chinese see foreign born Chinese like Rachel. It's very accurate. There's different levels of boxes in Asia as well.

[calliope1975]

Here's the Notes on a Scene with the director, Jon Chu. I am impressed, as I would have never guessed that much CGI was used.

[Silver Raven]

I went to the Raffles Hotel website to see if their rooms look like the one in the movie, but the hotel is closed for renovations till the end of the year, so the website doesn't have room pictures.

[Frost]

What does Nick do in NYC?  I don't remember that ever being established.  Is he managing one or more family properties there?  Or just living off an allowance?  Rachel believed they were both 'economy' folks when they arrived at the airport so I assume she believed Nick made a 'normal' level salary at something.

Also, I guess I'm hopelessly naïve because I've been to London quite a bit, including when I was at university in the mid '80s and I was absolutely shocked that the opening scene was supposed to take place in 1995.  I can't imagine a high class hotel refusing the allow someone of Chinese ethnicity to even stay there.  I know they looked bedraggled because of the rain, but people that work in those kinds of establishments can tell at a glance from the coats, shoes, luggage, etc whether or not someone has money.   It seemed like a scene out of the 1950's not 1995.  It's depressing!

[Silver Raven]

12 minutes ago, Frost said:

What does Nick do in NYC?  I don't remember that ever being established.  Is he managing one or more family properties there?  Or just living off an allowance?  Rachel believed they were both 'economy' folks when they arrived at the airport so I assume she believed Nick made a 'normal' level salary at something.

Rachel must have visited him in his apartment in New York, right?  I wonder what kind of place it was.

[Bruinsfan]

Wasn't he a fellow NYU professor? I thought that was where they met (though now that I think about it, I may have picked that up from reviews mentioning the book rather than from the movie itself).

[Aliconehead]

I have stayed at the Raffles in Singapore.  It was 10 years ago but they had a much more “island” feel than the movie ones. Dark rattan, breezy feel but oh so luxurious. If I am not mistaken, it was/is considered one of the best hotels in Singapore. It was beautiful and very customer oriented. I could see some like Nick staying there because it is full of history. 

[Silver Raven]

What is the three buildings with the joining rooftop bar/swimming pool?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

What is the three buildings with the joining rooftop bar/swimming pool?

The Marina Bay Sands

ETA: Several of the locations shown in the movie are listed here and there’s already a tour of Crazy Rich Asians filming location!

Edited August 20, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Nidratime]

5 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Wasn't he a fellow NYU professor? I thought that was where they met (though now that I think about it, I may have picked that up from reviews mentioning the book rather than from the movie itself).

Yes, in the book it is mentioned in passing that he's a history professor at NYU.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Henry Golding and Jon M. Chu discuss Crazy Rich Asians at Google:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Official box office total: Crazy Rich Asians was the top movie this weekend earning $35.3 million (lots of info about the huge marketing push). This is the best box office debut for a rom com in 3 years (the last rom-com to top $20 million in its opening weekend was Amy Schumer’s “Trainwreck” in July 2015).

Demographics for this weekend's audience:

Quote

Asians usually make up just 6% of moviegoers, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, but they made up almost 40% of the “Crazy Rich Asians” audiences this past weekend. Forty-one percent of “Crazy Rich Asians” movie-goers were white, 38% were Asian, 11% were Hispanic, 6% were African American, and 4% were classified as “other.”

Edited August 21, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The Marina Bay Sands

ETA: Several of the locations shown in the movie are listed here and there’s already a tour of Crazy Rich Asians filming location!

I watched an episode of "Impossible Builds" or something like that on the Marina Bay Sands. The pool is a really popular place to take selfies because of the way it backs out into the sky.

I'm bummed I missed Harry Shum Jr. I used to watch Glee.

Definitely a lot of fun, and it was great to see something not usually seen in romantic comedies.

[Wishing Well]

I work for a company that prides itself out on diversity, and our Asian American business group bought out a showing for us.  I grew up as an ABC in a very Asian part of the USA (Sammamish, WA), but I experienced a lot of what the ABCs in more white focused areas did still.  The scene in FOB that cinched my interested was the scene where people insulted Eddie’s 炸酱面.  I gave half of my precious noodles to a white friend who promptly spat it out and made sure I knew that she didn’t like it.  Or even last year, when I brought bbq pork buns and my older white coworker poked it open, said “GROSS” and tossed the whole bun in the trash, right as I’m standing there.   So for me, it isn’t so much about seeing Asian actors represented, but my culture.  I am proud to be chinese now, but growing up, I would be praying to White Jesus that I wish I were white.  Because that was normal.  And no kid should ever have to feel that way.

[supposebly]

Can I just say that your coworker and your "friend" seem to be exceptionally rude people. I can't speak to the racism, which I'm sure you can but it made me wonder if they treat other people's offerings with the same disdain and rudeness. Regardless, their parents obviously never taught them any manners.

[Dee]

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Sequel In Development At Warner Bros.

Quote

Director Jon M. Chu is also planning to return as well. Actors Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh have options for the sequel. Once a script is in place, Warners will assess a full greenlight.

“Let the audience ask for the sequel,” Jacobson told Deadline over the weekend, “We’d love to make one, but not unless the audience asks for it, and hopefully they will this weekend.” Indeed they have, shelling out $44.4M in the first week on the $30M production. Many believe that Crazy Rich Asians has a shot at ultimately hitting $100M-$110M stateside by the end of its run. The romantic comedy is expected to take No. 1 again this weekend with $16M-$18M.

“Making a sequel won’t be a cynical play,” Simpson also told Deadline, because Kwan “always had a roadmap” with the books.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Dee

[Wishing Well]

23 minutes ago, supposebly said:

Can I just say that your coworker and your "friend" seem to be exceptionally rude people. I can't speak to the racism, which I'm sure you can but it made me wonder if they treat other people's offerings with the same disdain and rudeness. Regardless, their parents obviously never taught them any manners.

Oh absolutely.  My friend at least had the excuse of being 8 when this all went down. We aren’t close anymore, but my understanding is that she is an extremely open minded and smart adult now, and I’m happy for her.

The coworker is a 62 year old bitch who despite having no education and is basically white trash, would come to see CRA and deem herself better than these people.  

[Bruinsfan]

At least the co-worker didn't poke her finger into the bun and then leave it there on the plate? My grandmother used to do that with candy assortments, leaving the squished ones she didn't want behind.

[VCRTracking]

11 hours ago, Wishing Well said:

Or even last year, when I brought bbq pork buns and my older white coworker poked it open, said “GROSS” and tossed the whole bun in the trash, right as I’m standing there.

First of all she's 62 and says "gross"? That's an 80s generation word and she grew up in the 60s! That old bitch doesn't know what she's missing because BBQ pork buns are the beeeeeeeesssssst!

[memememe76]

That is sad and aggravating. And BBQ pork buns is quite an approachable form of food. Not much different than a meat pie. 

It will be interesting how the sequels will play out. TBH, I did not enjoy the second and third books (I may end up rereading them), so I am perfectly fine with the film team doing their own thing. 

[Silver Raven]

There's an arrest warrant out for Kevin Kwan in Singapore for dodging military service.  He did not go to the Singapore premiere.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/22/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-kwan-wanted-singapore-dodging/

[NUguy514]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

There's an arrest warrant out for Kevin Kwan in Singapore for dodging military service.  He did not go to the Singapore premiere.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/22/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-kwan-wanted-singapore-dodging/

That’s exceedingly stupid. He hasn’t lived in Singapore since he he was 11 and is still expected/required to complete two years of military service? Fuck that.

[Sakura12]

I went out and got some BBQ buns and dumplings after seeing this movie. So I don't know what your co-worker's problem is. They are delicious. 

I'm a Hapa (half-Asian) and I loved seeing Asians represented like everyone else.  My Asian side is the side I grew up with to that's the side I identify more with. Even though other Asians consider me white and white people consider me Asian. 

This was also a fun movie. I also liked that they couple started out liking each other instead of that love/hate thing most romantic comedies go for.  

[TigerLily20]

Wishing Well, I am sorry to hear that, I freaking love those pork buns, after we saw the short film Bao at the Incredible's I got upset at hubby for not bringing some back for me when he was down with his parents (they are Chinese), I had just told him how much I missed those lol.  We are planning to see this movie on Sunday, I wanted to get lunch before hand but maybe we should wait until after.  I have read all 3 books so I am excited to see how they play out : )

[wanderingstar]

Director Jon M. Chu breaks down a scene from the movie.

[Nidratime]

2 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

That’s exceedingly stupid. He hasn’t lived in Singapore since he he was 11 and is still expected/required to complete two years of military service? Fuck that.

Not only that, but I'll bet that Kwan's books and this movie are going to be doing more for Singapore tourism than their Tourism Bureau could ever dream of. Ridiculous to bite the hand that will be feeding you over something that seems a bit beside the point now.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

There's an arrest warrant out for Kevin Kwan in Singapore for dodging military service.  He did not go to the Singapore premiere.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/22/crazy-rich-asians-author-kevin-kwan-wanted-singapore-dodging/

 

3 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

That’s exceedingly stupid. He hasn’t lived in Singapore since he he was 11 and is still expected/required to complete two years of military service? Fuck that.

 

48 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

Not only that, but I'll bet that Kwan's books and this movie are going to be doing more for Singapore tourism than their Tourism Bureau could ever dream of. Ridiculous to bite the hand that will be feeding you over something that seems a bit beside the point now.

Seriously! This is ridiculous on all counts. He moved when he was a child (so clearly not a decision he made for himself), he applied to give up his citizenship in Singapore and was denied, he appealed the decision and was denied again, and now that he’s successful they are going after him for this? Fuck them. This movie very lovingly portrayed only the beauty of Singapore so they should be glad that it brought in money during the filming process and will increase tourism.  I haven’t read the second or third books, but now I hope they’re set elsewhere or that they’re able to film somewhere else out of spite. 

In the link I posted above about tours of Crazy Rich Asians locations, it mentions that the tours had been going on for years before the movie came out which means it was due to Kevin Kwan’s book. You’d think that the Singapore government would be more appreciative of his influence!

[Nidratime]

And, that begs the question. How can someone be forced to maintain a citizenship you don't want? (Is he also an American citizen?) And, is the Singapore gov't going after other men (women?) who left the country as children and, therefore, have never done military service?

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

That’s exceedingly stupid. He hasn’t lived in Singapore since he he was 11 and is still expected/required to complete two years of military service? Fuck that.

My older brother refused to go to his home country for the exact same reason.  I think now that he's over 35, he's finally safe.

I just want to point out that every country runs their government um.... "Uniquely".  We can judge all sorts of countries for how their government is run (cough cough).  These kind of governments are not going to care about a movie opening, LOL.  It's simply not a priority.  Even countries that are known as very peaceful still have this military rule, so I don't like to judge others' backyards (I don't know enough about Singapore to comment.)  It seems very easy to judge foreign governments when our own North American governments have their flaws too, to say the least. 

Edited August 23, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Wishing Well]

This is just a thing that started last year, right?  Which is why he was able to be in singapore and film, but not attend the premiere.  

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I haven’t read the second or third books, but now I hope they’re set elsewhere or that they’re able to film somewhere else out of spite.

There's a lot of action outside of Singapore in books two and three. This is a bonkers situation and not a great look for Singapore's government - it just looks petty AF.