MANILA, Philippines – Jon M. Chu, the director of one of 2024’s biggest blockbusters Wicked, expressed how joyous he is about how we are still able to make art — which he called a “radical act of optimism” — at a time when “pessimism and cynicism sort of rule the planet right now.”
Chu accepted the award “Cinematic And Box Office Achievement” for Wicked, the first award for the film for the night.
Here’s the speech, and you can read parts of the speech in a transcript below.
#WickedMovie wins Cinematic & Box Office Achievement at the 2025 #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/VLcTjrfQQj
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 6, 2025
“This is for you the fans out there who came to the movie theaters to bring your friends and families and stay in the dark. We saw your videos, we saw your sing-alongs, we saw your makeup, your hair products, your bakery items — I don’t even know.
“And it shows us how important making this stuff is in a time when pessimism and cynicism sort of rule the planet right now — that we can still make art, that we can still make art that is a radical act of optimism, that is empowerment, and that is joy.
“And so when we discover that maybe the world isn’t exactly the way we thought it was, that maybe we’re a little bit Elphaba inside of us, that maybe that we have that courage and that strength to not give up, but to rise up and take the road off the yellow brick road, and maybe discover we can fly. Thank you very much. This means so much to all of us. Thank you.” – Rappler.com
