From left: Jon M. Chu, Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun in 2011. PHOTO: JON FURNISS/WIREIMAGE

When Jon M. Chu was scouted to direct Justin Bieber’s first concert film, he had one big roadblock: Scooter Braun.

Following the release of 2010’s Step Up 3D, the sequel’s director, who also helmed Crazy Rich Asians and the upcoming Wicked films, was asked by the then president of production at Paramount if he was interested in making a 3D movie – ultimately titled Justin Bieber: Never Say Never – of Bieber’s upcoming show at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Chu documents the experience in his new memoir Viewfinder and writes that he was hesitant to accept the offer until after he viewed the pop singer’s YouTube page. There, he saw the excitement from his fans and was inspired to dive into Bieber’s background.

Jon M. Chu (left) and Justin Bieber in 2011.KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

The director became interested after learning more about the role the internet played in the singer’s speedy rise to fame.

When Chu reported back to the studio exec, he was told he needed the approval of the singer’s manager Braun, who had discovered Bieber from a YouTube video.

He writes that he was warned that Braun was “a lot.”

When Chu reached out to Braun, he was told, “I don’t think you’re the right filmmaker for this,” which he took as a “challenge.”

Chu says he then pitched why he was the right choice to be the director, writing that Bieber “represented a new generation, young people pursuing their dreams in a connected world — a world that I was part of and knew well.” He explained that the movie should be music documentary, rather than just a concert film.

“Justin’s story could be a new generation’s Rocky,” he said, referencing information he read online stating it was the singer’s favorite movie.

Chu recalls Braun responding, “Okay. Let’s go.”

Scooter Braun (left) and Justin Bieber in 2020.KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY

Upon meeting Bieber, Chu was enthralled with the singer. “Immediately, in a single glance, I understood why millions of people were obsessed with him. When he looked at you, you felt like the center of the world,” he writes.

The director says he enjoyed spending time with the “Peaches” singer on tour and looks back at the attention he got after Bieber first mentioned him on social media. “My follower account began to skyrocket by hundreds a second,” he says.

Speaking about the singer’s work ethic, Chu notes, “Now and then I’d find him alone, without anybody else — online or off. He’d be writing lyrics, slotting them carefully into a different folder for each stop of his tour. Those moments told me he wasn’t just a pop star, he was a real musician.”

The 2011 movie was a massive success upon release and became the second highest-grossing concert film in the United States at $73 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The movie was eclipsed in 2023 by Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.

After the release of the movie, Bieber invited Chu to meet with him at Braun’s house, where they shared that they would be making another concert film, Justin Bieber: Believe, and they wanted him to direct.

During that time, Chu noted that the pop star had changed. “He wasn’t a kid doing homework on the bus anymore,” he writes. “He’d had his first run-in with the law, an argument with a photographer that nearly turned into a fistfight, and enough embarrassing headlines to suggest that bigger problems might lie ahead.”

Jon M. Chu (left) and Justin Bieber in 2011.MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY

The director says he confronted Bieber about his behavior in an on-camera interview, calling him “the perfect candidate to become a train wreck.” The singer denied he was heading down a destructive path, but Chu kept pushing. Eventually, Bieber reassured him.

Now, looking back on their relationship, Chu writes, “I’d grown to care for Justin by this point, so I wanted to believe him. I wanted him to have a happy, healthy life and to make his music. I still want that for him.”

In 2013, Chu spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about how the second movie, which came out that year, explores who Bieber is rather than “the world around him.”

“We can’t explain everything so we just tried to get to the heart of what happened to him in the past year. He’s gone through heartbreak, which for a kid at his age is huge,” the director said. “He’s writing his own music and getting the label to put it out. Those are the things we really wanted to focus on. And life — the pressures of trying to keep the momentum up. And dealing with how you live a normal life.”