Florence Sloan has been charming Hollywood insiders since she moved to sunny California after marrying Sloan in 2001. Florence is a Malaysian born beauty, highly educated, tall and has a bff relationship with Wendi Deng Murdoch. Both have been dubbed 'Charming Chinese Capitalists' and also 'Exotic Eastern Entrepreneurs'.
At the Cannes film festival premiere of Secret fan, the ladies wore Christian Dior Couture, and dripping diamonds they made their presence felt with their respective husbands in tow, looking lovingly at them with approval and pride. No one was left in any doubt that in their marriages they wield both influence and indulgence!
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| Florence Sloan |
They met at a party in Los Angeles 11 years ago. Both being Chinese women married to powerful 'ang mo' titans involved in the communications and entertainment industries, the duo struck up an instant friendship. Says Florence, "We live at opposite ends of America. I am based in Los Angeles, while Wendi lives in New York. But we see each other at least once a month." Usually at Hamasaku restaurant in LA.
Both women can be described as 'beautiful and brainy'. But while Wendi came from a humble background, Florence was born with a golden spoon in her mouth. Her father is well known Malaysian tycoon and property developer Tan Sri Low Keng Huat who built Malaysia's first shopping mall Ampang Park, while mum is charity fund-raiser Puan Sri Molly Low.
"I was born in Malaysia and when we got our independence from Britain, the medium of instruction in schools was changed to Malay. My parents wanted me proficient in English. As I was the eldest, I was sent to 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 honors. 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 rested and saved in old and modern settings is the core sentiment of the movie. This friendship between two women is a theme that struck a chord with Florence and Wends 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 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 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 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 handson, serving cups of tea to the crew, roughing it out in 'ulu' winter shoot, these millionairesses had no trailers but drank hot coffee by the roadsides of Chinese villages. Their designer outfits were left in Shanghai. This ends Part 1 of 2 of Florence Sloan. You can read Part 2 at the next post.