Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I just watched the film "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" on Netflix. The reason is simple - the Chinese actress Bingbing Li was making appearances in the west all of a sudden, presumably because of this film. And the film was produced by Wendi Murdoch, the Chinese wife of Rupert Murdoch. I was curious to see what it's like. It was directed by Wayne Wang, who directed "The Joy Luck Club". 

If I was indifferent to "The Joy Luck Club", I have to echo a friend of mine on her sentiment regarding "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" - "it was so bad that I did not want to mention it to anyone!" In a conversation with another friend, we started talking about the entertainment circle and the power at play. Apparently Bingbing Li was  propelled into this "stardom" in the west by Wendi Murdoch, as otherwise there is nothing special about her. Yes, she's a movie star in China, but there are at least dozens just like her in China! My friend alerted me to the fact that Ziyi Zhang has been very low-key and nowhere to be seen lately in the west, and there has been negative press coverage on her regarding discrepancies in her charitable donations. She said that apparently there was a fall-out between her and Wendi Murdoch, and after being dropped by the Murdoch family, she's had a very hard time.

That speaks to the power of money. One would think that Ziyi Zhang has already established herself, but little did she know how her fame and celebrity status required strong backers. Her looks and talent could only go so far on their own. Wendi Murdoch is perhaps best compared to the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty - ruthless, heartless and scruple-less. At one point during the movie, I almost laughed my head off, when a super silly and irrelevant character showed up on screen, played by none other than Hugh Jackman! I can almost imagine the dialogue when he was asked to play this five-minute part in the movie, "Sure, Wendi, of course I will be happy to do it." After all, Hugh Jackman knows the power of his fellow Australian. Ziyi Zhang had too much youthful arrogance to know that some people can make a star as easily as they can destroy a star.

Later, I watched an interview by Charlie Rose with Wendi Murdoch, Bingbing Li and Wayne Wang. While it was a complete flop in the US and China (where else would anyone even bother to watch this film?), Wendi Murdoch claimed that they were profitable. I suppose that she's a good businesswoman after all - everyone was perhaps glad to be on her film and therefore was happy to do it for nothing. She mentioned that she really liked Lisa See's book upon which the movie is based, and that she chose Wayne Wang for this film because she was so touched by "The Joy Luck Club". If both statements were true, it would make her seem an emotional, vulnerable and gullible woman, which I can't believe to be the case.