We had to write the concept for what would happen in a scene, and then see what we would get.
And then, when we got our first cut, we could see where to put more. I wanted it to be a surprise. It's a lot of big, crazy magic.
COLLIDER participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COLLIDER gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. I can’t wait to figure out what that next thing is, but I’ve cleared my slate to pick what that may be. This is one of the most fun features I've ever had the pleasure of working on.
I always idolized Jem and the hair and the makeup and thought it was so cool growing up. This property fit the way to tell that kind of story, and that got me really excited. [They] tell you what to wear and tell you what to say and tell you how to look, and all of the sudden, your world is kind of turned upside down, and your reality is totally skewed. Music videos and MTV was just coming out.
Everyone has an identity that they put online. I’ve asked people for videos for Step Up movies, and I’ve asked for Bieber. One of the criticisms of the film from fans of the original who have yet to see the movie (because it isn't even in theaters until tomorrow) are the noticeable differences when compared to one another (this is the nearly impossible to please geek community we're talking about, after all). It would be fun to continue with the Jem saga. So, I don’t usually get held back by those things. I really hope there is [a sequel], because first of all, that neon green hair is by far my favorite hair color I’ve ever had, but also, I so much enjoyed being on the set of the movie. And after using videos and interviews to tell the story of Justin Bieber’s life and recontextualize the songs in Never Say Never, I always thought that would be a fun way to tell a story about someone growing up. We've been talking about it for almost 10 years, now, trying to crack it.
We built this great little thing, I'm looking at it right now. F— yeah. They're still really good friends. And each movie is different because each audience is different.
Once you asked for video submissions from Jem fans, did you get more than you ever could have imagined you would?
Who is this girl that is transforming? What was your reasoning for some of the changes you made in the Jem and Holograms movie in comparison to the classic cartoon? That story has been told. Collider met up with filmmaker Jon M. Chu at The Redbury Hollywood for this exclusive interview about why he felt so deeply connected to Jem, getting such a huge variety of fan video submissions, cutting the film down to what it is now, deleted scenes, why he likes the process of friends and family and test screenings, and whether he’d want to do a sequel. I wait until the last second before I decide. The other challenge is that you want to make sure they’re doing actual magic.
So, we do make a big effort to show real physical magic and don’t cut away, and we try to show you some of the theories of magic.
We built it.
Yeah, I am [pursuing acting]. The 13-year-old girl side of me [the loves Jem] and the 35-year-old male side of me that loves magic were very balanced. There are only two or three moments like that. There are shady parts, and you really have to keep your fold close and good people around you. You’re known first and foremost as a musician. We had to not only ground it with a girl that we meet, so that we can relate to her, but then we had to establish why she wears pink and calls herself Jem, and then we had to establish this robot that comes to life, and then we had to establish what happens when she becomes famous, and then we had to establish this new guy in her life and how she deals with that, and then we had to establish what this journey was to find the pieces of this robot, and then we had to get to how her band comes out of this craziness. I think that’s really important for young people to see that you really can. Have you been keeping up with the Jem comics?
I never want to stop making stuff.
It’s fun to explore different art mediums and right now my [music] career is kind of on hold.
This weekend marks the release of another film adapting a popular property, this time a cartoon, Jem and the Holograms.