Jon M. Chu had a bit of a scheduling conflict with the Los Angeles premiere of his sweeping musical Wicked.
Ahead of the the film’s West Coast debut, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Chu spoke to attendees, cast and crew in a recorded clip explaining that he was at the hospital awaiting the birth of his fifth child with wife Kristin Hodge.
With filmmaking flair, the Crazy Rich Asians helmer opened his video with showcasing hospital monitoring systems, to the audience’s audible gasps and laughter.
“I’m so sorry I can’t be there,” he said. “It’s November 9th, I was at the hotel across the street ready to come. My whole family’s there, my friends, all our loved ones are there. And I’ve waited for three years to have this moment to share our movie with you, but I’ve waited my whole life to have this moment to have our fifth child right now.”
Chu added jokingly, “Of course, this little girl knows when to show up, so anyway, I wish I could be there. But here I am.” He went on to thank Universal Pictures, original Broadway creatives Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, as well as producer Marc Platt.
“To everybody who has believed in this project from the very beginning before I ever came on and believed in me to carry this tradition forward,” Chu said. “And I’m so excited for you to see the movie on this big screen with the loud speakers.”
He then segued to Platt, who introduced the cast and film: “I tried to make a video where I introduced them and it was very awkward.” As he signed off, Chu blew a kiss and said, “Love you guys.”
Chu also addressed the major life update in an Instagram Story posted today: “This movie has always moved in mysterious ways,” he wrote. “Today is a day I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Two babies (a movie and a little girl) all at one time and I truly couldn’t be happier. I won’t be able to be at the Wicked Premiere tonight with all of you… there was a change of plans at about 4am this morning… Instead my wife and I will be welcoming our 5th child into our family and no we will not be naming her Galphaba.”
He continued, “Send all the love to our insanely talented cast and crew tongiht [sic]. They deserve it and send a little extra welcome to my little girl bursting her bubble and coming into our world any moment now. If she can even have a fraction of the bravery that my wife, @cynthiaerivo @arianagrande @michelleyeoh_official or @marissa_edob has then she too will defy gravity one day.”
In a separate post, featuring an image of his tuxedo for the night, he joked, “Should I just wear the suit for the birth?”
Releasing Nov. 22 in theaters, the adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway production — itself based on Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel, which retells the story of The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West — follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch’s (Ariana Grande) relationship prior to their eventual destinies.
Speaking to Deadline ahead of the festivities, stars Erivo and Grande showered praise on Chu as a director: “I think Jon Chu is one of the most incredibly generous leaders in the entire world. Not only is he a genius, visionary and director and art kid … but he also conducts the most warm, safe, gracious space in the world, and I think that’s why people feel so comfortable to go there with their performances because he makes everyone feel so safe,” Grande said.
Watch the clip below: