Celebs in the News: Justin Bieber Director Explains Why He Signed On To 'Never Say Never'

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Justin Bieber Director Explains Why He Signed On To 'Never Say Never'

'Who would say no to doing a Justin Bieber movie in 3-D?' Jon Chu asks MTV News.
By Kara Warner

Jon Chu
Photo: MTV News

For Justin Bieber fans, the thought of their favorite star being the subject of a full-length feature film is a dream come true. And for the non-fans out there, and those who might be scratching their heads about why and how the upcoming film "Never Say Never" came to be, director Jon Chu understands. He recently explained to MTV News why he decided to helm the divisive high-profile project.

"Who would say no to doing a Justin Bieber movie in 3-D?" Chu joked about the fluffy-sounding premise for the film. "Paramount Pictures had this movie, they called me up, and I was just finishing up 'Step Up 3D,' and said, 'What do you know about Justin Bieber?' " he recalled.

"I started at YouTube. After 'Step Up 2,' we did a bunch of YouTube videos, and about that time, Justin was doing all of his videos," explained Chu, whose own "LXD" ("League of Extraordinary Dancers") has a large Internet following as well. "So we've watched Justin in the YouTube community grow and break out of that into the mainstream."

Chu went on to say that he felt Bieber's story is an important one to tell — one that could inspire kids to carve out a similar path.

"Especially for this generation of kids, [it's important to show] that they could make it on their own without a big corporation," Chu added. "I thought it was an exciting way to tell it: through his music."

Bieber fans: Stay tuned for more of our interview with Chu as well as answers to fan-submitted questions in the coming weeks!

Check out everything we've got on "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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