Why 'Crazy Rich Asians' Author Kevin Kwan Turned Down Netflix As studios bid for the production rights to his books, he was more focused on making a statement than a profit.

In October 2016, Kevin Kwan was on the most consequential conference call of his life. He's the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the best-selling novel series, and two moviemaking giants were bidding to take his vision to the screen. A choice had to be made: Sell to Netflix or Warner Bros.? "I'd never been on a conference call with that many people ever," says Kwan. There were lawyers. Agents. Film producers. And the clock was ticking. Warner Bros. had given them 15 minutes to make up their minds.

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If Kwan wanted instant riches, the choice was clear: Netflix. It offered up-front seven-figure-­minimum payouts for the movie's stakeholders, plus a guaranteed trilogy. But Kwan and the film's director, Jon M. Chu, had larger ambitions. Warner Bros. outbid the other Hollywood studios -- and while it wasn't offering Netflix's mountain of cash, it would place the movie in theaters. That mattered to Kwan and Chu, because they wanted to create more than just a movie. They wanted a cultural statement.