--- title: Kevin Kwan Says Crazy Rich Asians Is Long Overdue description: Kevin Kwan talks about the importance of Crazy Rich Asians: "it's long overdue." canonical: https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-25T00:30:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:06:14.630Z og:title: Crazy Rich Asians Author on the First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years og:description: "It's long overdue." og:url: https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5578f9153bc68b9/69892e67ab6d772f7c6b2734/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kevin Kwan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Crazy Rich Asians Author on the First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years twitter:description: "It's long overdue." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5578f9153bc68b9/69892e67ab6d772f7c6b2734/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Crazy Rich Asians_ Author on the First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years: 'It's Long Overdue'  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Apr 25, 2018 12:30 AM UTC  Author Kevin Kwan poses in the lobby of the Shangri-La hotel Author Kevin Kwan poses in the lobby of the Shangri-La hotelRandy Risling—Toronto Star via Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Apr 25, 2018 12:30 AM UTC Author Kevin Kwan wrote the 2013 bestselling novel [_Crazy Rich Asians_](http://time.com/5250778/crazy-rich-asians-trailer/). It’s now the first major motion picture to feature an all-Asian cast in 25 years, according to Warner Bros. “It’s long overdue,” Kwan said Tuesday at the TIME 100 Gala in New York City. “It’s just so overwhelming whenever I see it. It’s like seeing my family up on screen. It’s a tremendous honor to be associated with the movie.” The movie took five years to come into fruition, Kwan said, adding that the entertainment industry will learn from the film when it debuts in August. “I really hope that Hollywood will look at these actors individually and see how talented they are and find new roles for them.” His guest, actor Michelle Yeoh—who is best known for her role in _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ and who stars in _Crazy Rich Asians_ as the leading male character’s strict and judgmental mother—echoed his sentiment. “It’s about time,” she told TIME. “Many, many years too late.” The romantic comedy also stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding. Wu, who stars on ABC’s _Fresh Off the Boat_, praised Kwan in the [2018 TIME 100](http://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5238169/kevin-kwan) as a “rare male writer who understands women” and who tells culturally important stories. “Kwan doesn’t focus on making Asians cool,” Wu wrote. “He focuses on making our stories whole. The bits we’re proud of, the bits we try to hide, the tremendous heart that beats underneath it all.” > [](https://twitter.com/CrazyRichMovie/status/988492703225626624) Kwan was born and raised in Singapore before moving to the U.S. when he was 11, according to his [website](http://www.kevinkwanbooks.com/). After writing _Crazy Rich Asians_, Kwan also wrote _China Rich Girlfriend_ and _Rich People Problems_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/"},"headline":"Crazy Rich Asians Author on the First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years: 'It's Long Overdue'","datePublished":"2018-04-25T00:30:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:06:14.630Z","description":"Kevin Kwan talks about the importance of Crazy Rich Asians: \"it's long overdue.\"","url":"https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","GALA","onetime","T1002018"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5578f9153bc68b9/69892e67ab6d772f7c6b2734/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5578f9153bc68b9/69892e67ab6d772f7c6b2734/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kevin Kwan","caption":"Kevin Kwan","creditText":"Randy Risling—Toronto Star via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5248928/kevin-kwan-crazy-rich-asians-time-100-gala/","name":"Crazy Rich Asians Author on the First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years: 'It's Long Overdue'"}}]}] ```