'Crazy Rich Asians' director is ‘disgusted’ by sequel casting scam

Crazy Rich Asians was a mega rom-com blockbuster when it was released in 2018, and was one of the first Hollywood films to centre around Asian characters and their unique stories, rather than have them sidelined as secondary characters. But now, director Jon M. Chu is speaking out about his disgust after learning that someone was trying to scam Asian actors out of money with a phony audition notice.Chu had to issue a statement expressly confirming that no production or auditions for the sequels to Crazy Rich Asians are currently in the works, and any audition notices are false. A Twitter account under the name of Alan Baltes, which has since been deactivated, had posted a fake press release announcing the auditions, and was requesting that anyone interested should pay $99 via Venmo or Google Pay.[video_embed id='1619256']RELATED: Henry Golding talks up a 'Crazy Rich Asians' sequel[/video_embed]The casting breakdown posted by Baltes included a call for Asian actors, ages 20-40, for roles via “live Zoom auditions.” A Caucasian female part was also included and listed between ages 25-35.Once Chu was made aware of the phishing con, he immediately RT’d Baltes’ post and commented emphatically that it was ‘evil’ and a ‘scam.’

No no no no this is a scam. We are not holding auditions at all. And we definitely wouldn’t charge $99 for that!! Please take this down. Very very FALSE. And evil to pull this scam when people are down right now. https://t.co/huqnLxssPq

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) April 30, 2020

He even made sure to tweet about it a second time, calling it “frankly disgusting.” It is standard practice that in film, TV, and theatre auditions, payment is never required nor asked for. Should any production company or casting director ask talent for payment before scheduling an audition, it is reasonable to assume it is a scam.

Do not listen to @alanbaltes about auditions for CrazyRichAsian Sequels. It is a malicious scam &frankly disgusting to try and take advantage of people at a time like this. He’s asking people 2Venmo him $99 dollars to audition. I’ve sent to Warner Bro’s legal department to pursue https://t.co/huqnLxssPq

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) April 30, 2020

Chu told Variety, “I kept reading it, and when it said ‘99 dollars,’ I was like, ‘This is f—ed up.’ There’s so many scams like that in L.A. anyway and to actually target, specifically, Asian actors, was very frustrating.”He continued, “Asian American actors finally get the opportunity or the hope that there are roles and parts out there. People have this light inside of them to pursue this dream that they never thought was possible before, and to take advantage of that and know that you can take $99 for a fake audition is just disgusting.”According to Variety, this isn’t the first time so-called actor and casting director Baltes has operated such a scam. In 2018 he was apparently asking for $99 from talent submissions in order to secure an audition for Jurassic World: Dominion.We’re glad the scam has come to light, but considering the economic downturn we’re experiencing right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increase in hate crimes against Asians, we’re hoping no one was directly affected by this scam![video_embed id='1501883']Before you go: Ken Jeong showed us his infamous dance moves and it was the best[/video_embed]