"In The Heights" director Jon M. Chu said he had such a great time filming the movie, he even named his son after the musical and the neighborhood it was shot in.
While promoting "In The Heights," Chu told Insider on Friday that filming in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan was "the best decision we ever made," adding that the people in the neighborhood are "beautiful."
"In fact, I was having a baby at the same time and I had to name him 'Heights' because I wanted to say that word every day," Chu told Insider. "It meant everything to me to see a community that took care of each other like that."
Chu's son, Jonathan Heights Chu, was born in July 2019 and, according to Instagram, the director wrapped filming "In The Heights" only days later.
1!Welcome HOME,Jonathan Heights Chu!#intheheightsmovie https://t.co/rLiPVRY6oT
? Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 27, 2019
Chu and his wife, Kristin Hodge, also share a 3-year-old daughter, Willow, and are currently expecting their third child.
Both Miranda and Hudes reacted to news of Heights' birth (and the baby's touching name) in July 2019 with warm, congratulatory tweets. Miranda said "welcome home" to the newborn while Hude compared the baby's birth to an "opening night" for a movie.
"We call him Heights on the daily," Chu said about the toddler. "Even though that's his middle name, that's what we call him."
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