Last week, screenwriter Adele Lim left negotiations to join the Crazy Rich Asians sequel over an allegedly large pay disparity between her and fellow writer Peter Chiarelli. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “starting offers were $800,000 to $1 million for Chiarelli and $110,000-plus for Lim.†The trade added that “Warners explained to Lim’s reps that the quotes are industry-standard established ranges based on experience and that making an exception would set a troubling precedent in the business. The talks escalated to studio chairman Toby Emmerich, who backed his business affairs department’s stance.†Today, Crazy Rich director Jon M. Chu posted a note to Twitter addressing Lim’s departure.
In addition to the uncredited rewrites Chu said Chiarelli has done, his other official script credits are The Proposal and Now You See Me 2. Lim has written for a dozen TV shows starting in 2002, including Private Practice and the Lethal Weapon series. Upon leaving Crazy Rich, Lim said writers of color are viewed as “soy sauce†to provided accents of authenticity to scripts instead of being recognized for the totality of their creative contributions. She also said, “Being evaluated that way can’t help but make you feel that is how they view my contributions.â€