Exclusive Q&A: ‘Never Say Never’ Director Jon M. Chu Spills Beans On Bieber

Jon M. Chu admits that he wasn’t a huge Justin Bieber fan before being tapped to helm the pop star’s big-screen spectacular “Never Say Never.” But once he took the job, the 31-year-old director of “Step Up 2: The Streets” and “Step Up 3-D” had to fully immerse himself in all things JB.

Bieber’s world, Chu discovered, is a place where throngs of little (and not-so-little) girls weep and swoon, where cameras are expected but not necessarily trusted, and where a 16-year-old superstar works so hard no one would ever call him a diva.

What is it about Justin Bieber that makes girls in kindergarten cry at the sight of him?
It’s crazy — like the fact that my mother can love him more than she loves me. He has this charm about him, this energy.

Child prodigies are often described as almost otherworldly. It sounds like he’s like that too.
When he walks into a room, I don’t even have to be looking at him to know he’s entered the room. He speaks this different language with his music, that he’s been playing since he was two years old when his mother got him bongo drums. He makes you believe that there’s something else beyond the physicality of becoming a musician or becoming a star, that he has something very, very special about him.

It looks like he’s mobbed by girls everywhere he goes. How did you survive that?
It’s insane. I went from like 12,000 Twitter followers from ‘Step Up 3-D’ to the day he tweeted my name as the director of the movie, I went up 100,000 followers. Every time I write one thing, they go crazy. It’s a whole other world. Yesterday we were driving from the Toronto premiere, and these girls — 50 girls — were running, in the freezing cold, in a storm, for like six blocks after us. It’s nuts!

Not many people can claim to have fans who can barely speak to women old enough to be his grandmother.
On Much Music they played a clip of one of his “crazy fans,” who was crying, and everyone was laughing. But he said “Don’t laugh. She is adorable. She’s a sweetheart.” He speaks their language. He never laughs at his fans.

Did you know that in one of his unofficial biographies, it says “Step Up” is listed as one of his favorite movies?
No, I didn’t know that. I knew he loved our movies, though. He was kinda cold to me at first. He’s very cautious about who he lets in, because he constantly has all these cameras around him, so it took him a couple of weeks to get used to me. Once he got used to me, he was much more open, and when he saw my movies, he let me in completely.

Speaking of “Step Up” — is that how you got this gig?
I was finishing up “Step Up 3-D,” and the studio came to me – I think half because I’m in that world, and half because I have 3-D experience — and they need to get this done quickly. The Madison Square Garden show was only like three weeks away.

So you signed on, and immediately you were in Justin Bieber-land.
Absolutely. They had no idea what the story was yet. I told them, “Listen, I understand the fascination of what I’d want to know as a viewer not knowing anything about Justin Bieber. Let’s take that approach. I don’t think you need to make it flashy. I don’t think you need to make it Disney-fied. I don’t think you need to make it a poppy concert film.” And they let me.

There are a lot of concert movies about Disney-fied young musicians, but you don’t really come away learning much about the singers themselves. Then there are those amazing documentaries about the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. Where does “Never Say Never” fit?
Our main thing is that this is not a concert film. When I came into this, it started as, “We’re going to go shoot his concert,” and I said, “I don’t do concert films, I don’t like concert films, I never go see concert films. But I can tell stories.”

And he has a fascinating story, which wouldn’t even have been possible five years ago, before YouTube became a tool for following your dreams, where millions of people could choose you as their hero — not a corporation, not a TV show.

Tween Evangelist? Justin Bieber Film Packed With Prayer

CHICAGO — With a smooth voice, a signature mop of hair and a string of hits, Justin Bieber has accumulated millions of fans and sold 3.7 million albums in the United States last year. Now Bieber’s handlers are showcasing another side of the 16-year-old pop sensation: Christian icon for the tween set.

Bieber’s faith is on display in the new 3-D concert film/documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which hits theaters Friday (Feb. 11). Paramount Pictures has screened the movie for faith leaders across the country and distributed spiritual discussion guides — the same tools used to promote The Passion of the Christ and The Blind Side as family-friendly fare.

• FAITH & REASON: Do Bieber believers have spiritual staying power?

“People will walk away (from the movie) knowing faith is very important to him,” said Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager and one of the film’s producers. “As a Christian, he’s someone to look up to. … When (fans) are getting the real person is when they can connect to that person.”

Bieber has never shied away from faith. He was singing Christian songs on YouTube before he became famous. His born-again Christian mother Pattie Mallette has shared her spiritual conversion on a Christian TV show and openly shares her beliefs and Bible verses with 281,000-plus Twitter followers.

Bieber’s come-from-nowhere climb to become the fourth top-selling artist of 2010 has given a higher profile to his Christian beliefs and background, which he also addressed in last fall’s autobiography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story.

“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins,” Bieber told Billboard last November. “He’s the reason that I’m here.”

On his November single Pray, a departure from his typical pop oeuvre, Bieber sings, “I close my eyes and pray / I close my eyes and I can see a better day.” The music video, seen more than 21 million times on YouTube, ends with the written message, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”

Justin Bieber Nail Polish: 1 Million Bottles Sold ♥

One Less Lonely Girl nail lacquer shades, inspired by Justin Bieber’s songs, has sold-out of more than 1 million bottles, after arriving in stores in mid-December.

So, Nicole by Opi, the makers of the nail polish, announced today that the company has shipped triple the number of bottles to meet consumer demand, and the 14 shades of polish should be in stores tomorrow to coincide with the teen heartthrob’s new Never Say Never movie.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the shades include best-seller Step 2 the Beat of My Heart, a heart-filled glitter hue.

Official “Never Say Never” (Exclusive From The Original Motion Picture)

Justin Bieber “Never Say Never” 3-D Reviews

Reviews for Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never 3-D movie are in and it looks relatively good for Justin. Needless to say with the immense group of Beliebers who have been infected with Bieber Fever, audience ratings for Never Say Never 3-D are higher than critics ratings for the film.

Anyhow, let’s get down to the nitty gritty: what did this person or that person say about Justin Bieber’s film. Well, critics gave the film an average rating of 62% while audience members gave the film a relative high 73% in the enjoyment area. had their viewers giving Never Say Never 3-D an astounding 93% based on 385 votes while 54% of 7 critics (that’s like 3 and then some) had a favorable review.

Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 stars and stated, “What the movie doesn’t do is give us even a glimpse of an unsanitized, realistic, non-“live your dream”-platitude teenage boy… For now, this engaging product endorsement will have to do.”

Freep.com gave the movie a worse review. Roger Moore stated, “But will we ever see the real Justin Bieber, up close and personal? Never say never, kids, but that won't come until this fever subsides. For now, Never Say Never is about as revealing as a Canadian snowmobile suit.”

Rebecca Macatee of PopEater found Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never 3-D to be more heartwarming. The movie showcased tidbits of Justin’s life via home clips and introduces the audience to those closes to him including his mother and manager. Macatee stated, “…whether you're an avid fan or a cynical non-Belieber, 'Never Say Never' is an insightful, uplifting look at the world's biggest teen phenomenon.”

So, as always you’ll have one person saying one thing and another person saying another thing. In the end, it’ll be up to you to decide whether or not Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never 3-D was worth the $10 you shelled out to see it. However, early reviews from audience members fortunate enough to attend early screenings look good.