Some days the universe conspires to get something done. I'm in the middle of planning Mike's 50th birthday party logistics and planning Dad's 80th birthday book, and all day thoughts keep popping into my head about the "Liu xue shen" version of the "Joy Luck Club"--about the main characters and their arcs. That generation of Chinese scholars and American immigrants, has done so much to bridge the two cultures!

Today, I went to a reception for the Shanghai String Quartet sponsored by Chanticleer. While they played, I kept thinking, "the folk song arrangements would be perfect for Act I of the screenplay!" It's so evocative of their Chinese roots. Act II is more about settling in America and could be expressed by their more western pieces. Act III completes their transformation from Chinese to American.

Coincidentally, while chatting with Jiang Yi-wen, their second violinist and main arranger/composer, he mentioned that they are good friends with Ang Lee. In fact, Ang Lee likes the same pieces that I did. If we needed a director for this film, he could introduce us. so here we are, the script isn't written but the dream team has already appeared.


That's quite a miracle!