boarding school in England at 11 as an experiment! My formative years were in England, but I came back to Malaysia often.
“I studied at City University London where I obtained my BA in Law with honours. However I married at 21, so I never really practiced. I have always loved the creative process and have a great passion for movies. What really made us decide to produce this movie, and I think I can speak for Wendi, was the storyline of ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan’ by Lisa See, first published in 2005. The story drew us together and we decided we were going to make this great epic, inspiring movie.”
The theme of friendship tested
and saved in old and modern settings is the core sentiment of the movie. This friendship between two women
friendship and what it can bring to our life.” ~ Wendi Deng Murdoch ~
more than that, I found the theme of the book to be universal and timeless.” “No matter who you are or where
you come from, everyone appreciates real friendship and what it can bring to our life.” ~ Wendi Deng Murdoch Florence too recalls her reaction to the book. “The book evoked so many emotions in me. I am Chinese but I was born and grew up in Malaysia. I have always been fascinated by family histories. Lisa’s stories evoked so much admiration
story that people connect to. They really wanted to hold to the emotional heart of the story.” Rupert Murdoch read 22 versions of the script, Florence Sloan called on her knowledge of law to peruse contracts, while Wendi charmed potential partners over dinner. The neophyte producers worked hands- on, serving cups of tea to the crew, roughing it out in ‘ulu’ Hengdian. For the winter shoot, these millionairesses had no trailers but drank hot coffee by the roadsides of Chinese villages. Their
“No matter who you are or where you come from, everyone appreciates real
is a theme that struck a chord with Florence and Wendi as it resonated their own friendship.
The catalyst for the film project
was best-selling author Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife) who gave the book to her friend, Wendi Murdoch. At that time, the book was little known and often passed from friend to friend. “Amy introduced me to Lisa
See as I enjoyed her book,” recalls Wendi Murdoch. “I fell in love with Snow Flower, Lily and the story of how a deep friendship helped two Chinese women cope with the intense challenges of their lives. I grew up poor in a small town in China so I can relate personally to the main characters, but
20 FENGSHUIWORLD | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
for the endurance and strength of Snow Flower and Lily and their everlasting friendship. This is a story that really shows that the term ‘best friend’ really means something. It means through thick and thin, no matter what happens, you will always be there. It is about what we do for each other in times of crisis and I find that very beautiful.” The author of Snow Flower and
the Secret Fan saw something in Florence and Wendi that won her trust. Says Lisa See, “I love that they had read my book with their girlfriends and had a deep connection to it on the level of female friendship. From the beginning, we were talking about the important elements of the
designer outfits were left in Shanghai. Florence Sloan is an ardent feng
shui believer. She has three ‘Tigers’ in her life so her boutique is named ‘Tigerjade’!
Florence has feng shui-
ed her husband Harry Sloan’s MGM office in Century City to the last inch with crystals, amethyst boulder, water features and an amber lion, doubtless in tribute to Leo the Lion, the lucky mascot and symbol of MGM. She had Harry changed his office number with a new one, replacing the many ‘4’s with ‘8’s which is a lucky number. So it is surely not surprising that Snow Flower and the Secret Fan contains subtle feng shui elements. The fan itself in feng shui means ‘warding off bad vibes and keeping sentiments pure’ - a perfect
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