>> rose: welcoco t tououprprram. thth e ening a night a a the movies. we begin with "don't be afraid of the dark," produced by guillermo del toro and starring katie holmes. >> well, when it comes to guillermo, you say yes because it's guillermo. let's be honest. he's incredible. and... so i was very honored and when i did read the script, i was terrified just reading the script. and i... i kept hearing noises in our house and then i, like, would wake up at 3:00 in the morning and be like "i think somebody's here." >> rose: we continue with the film "higher ground" directed by

and starring vera farmiga. >> look, the spiritual path in... (laughs) in my experience of it involves so much more than just, like, going to the bookstore and getting a self-help book and browsing through them on weekends. and this woman struggled to define her... con sell which you will size god for her. her question of what does it mean to be holy. what does holiness mean for me? what does it mean to me to have a healthy soul, a well-equipped soul? a successful soul? these are big questions that challenged me in... it was odd terrain and i loved that challenge. >> rose: we conclude with the film "snow flower and the secret fan" produced by wednesdayi murdoch, directed by wayne wang and starring li bing bing. a production note, our conversation took place before

wednesdayi murdoch sat behind her husband rupert murdoch at the parliamentary hearings in london. >> i remember very clearly when i watched "the joy luck club" it made me cry and i watched it also also we watched this film not just showing in china, the chinese film, we also wanted the film showing international. wayne is an international best known director. quite often you see a lot of good chinese films, big box office, $100 million in china. in china only. but when i come here it's almost nothing. >> rose: the box office? >> yeah. >> rose: a night at the movies when we continue.

captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: guillermo del toro around katie holmes are here. del toro is the director,

producer and writer famous for his creations of the grotesque and bizarre. katie holmes has been working in television and film since she was 16. del toro's new movie is "don't be afraid of the dark." it stars gomes, guy pearce and bailee madison. it's a horror film based on the 1973 television movie by the same name and here is the trailer. (whispering) come and join us. >> sally? what do you think? we worked really hard to get it ready. >> this house is unsafe for a child. >> who are you? (whispering) play with me, sally.

>> i don't like it here. >> you just had a nightmare. >> i'll be right here. ( >> (whispering) we want to play with you, sally. >> where's my doll? they don't like bright lights. they're horrible. >> who, sally? >> the things. >> (whispering) join us. >> sally >> why was that room sealed up? something terrible happened in that basement. >> get her out of that house! >> what are you? >> what are we? hungry.

>> don't tell me you believe it. >> just because you keep denying it does not mean it's not true. >> (whispering) we want you. >> don't be afraid of the dark. >> rose: so this film "don't be afraid of the dark" comes from a television... made for television? >> yeah, back in the days of... the glory days of horror t.v.. the there were great horror television movies, dan curtis was doing "night stalker" he was

producing "dark shadows" "trilogy of terror." and this is when i was a wee lad you know? i was watching these things on t.v. and it made t.v. not safe but it also made it an incredible place for imagination. dark imagination, but it was great. >> rose: so when he comes to you and says he has this role for you. do you say yes because it's guillermo? do you say yes because i've seen the original? do you say yes because i like the script or you... what? >> well, when it comes to guillermo you say yes because it's guillermo. let's be honest. he's incredible. so i was very honored and when i did read the script i was terrified just reading the script and i kept hearing noises in our house and i would wake up at 3:00 in the morning thinking somebody's there and i said no. >> rose: were you serious? >> yes, i'm serious! i'm serious. >> rose: she lives in beverly

hills. most monsters are lawyers. (laughter) >> lawyers and studio executives. (laughter) >> rose: so what is it about him that makes actresses and actors want to work for him or with him? >> wonderful story telling. enthusiasm about creating kindness and unique sensibility and dedication to great characters and he's very... guillermo's very generous with the actors and helpful and that means a lot. >> rose: you're not directing this? you produced this. >> no, but i was... it's a movie that was very special to me. i was very present during production, post-production and it was tricky back then because i was prepping "the how about" in new zealand and so i asked to move the product to melbourne,

australia, so i could do a two hour plane ride. and i ended up being there about 85%, 90% of the shoot just making sure everything... it was a come let flex movie. we did it for the budget... not only for the budget, under budget and underscheduled but it was... >> rose: because you had talented people working for you. >> absolutely! but people talk about horror movies, they say, oh, the special effects is the most important thing, this and that. it's the actors and the characters. if you identify with them. >> rose: so what's the secret, then? finding the characters and identifying them. but what's the secret element that you have learned this life long fascination. >> i think if you can hint at a world-- not just a monster or a creature-- you hint at a world that is great and katie said it very nicely one day, she said what is great is watching people you care for and all of a sudden these things happen to them. that's a great way of putting it. >> rose: the director you got,

was this his first movie? >> yeah. >> rose: so you trusted this entire thing to a director? >> i've hit in the past. there were many times... for example the orphanage was a first film and i think the only thing you have to be willing to make the bed and knowing that you're going to be there as a resource in case anything goes wrong, you know? >> rose: so tell me about the characters? >> it's really we explore the dynamics of this couple who they're dating and his daughter comes to town from a previous marriage and it's what i found really great about this script was the journey for my character from not really comfortable with sally to by the end of the movie having bonded with her and really seeing herself inn sally. you know, she becomes a motherly figure and a protector and she

ends up fighting for her. >> rose: this element was not in the original. >> not all. >> rose: why did you want a kid to enter this? >> well, i wanted... i am fascinated by the idea of having tense family situations that is interesting to watch and have the creatures almost start as a manifestation of that dynamic and then sort of characters coalesce or distance themselves from each other. >> rose: and we're more scared by kids in peril than adults in peril? or not? >> to a point. it's not a rule. i actually think with kids it's a very delicate thing. if it's misdirected or misproducted it can make the audience distance themselves from the movie. so it's not by any means a sure bet. it's a more delicate piece of staging. >> rose: i want to have a clip

here. this is when you said to me you were watching that genius. >> she's amazing. >> what makes her amazing. she's very gifted and she's got great instincts and she's so present and she's generous and she has great ideas and her kindness really comes through. >> and she's a very obsessed performer. we came to her because natalie portman is good friends with al fan sew war roan and she said "i know you're looking for a kid, this girl worked with me on "brothers and she's the real deal." we interviewed bailee and i tell you it's one in a million. she's a solid actor. >> rose: how old is she? >> she's about 11 going on 75. >> rose: toll tape. >> sally, say hello to mr. harris. >> nice to meet you. >> come take a look at the house

>> mr. harris, mr. harris. >> rose: the score... we worked a lot on the score for it to sound a little bit '70s. i asked the composer to use some of the instruments... electronic instruments that were in use in the '70s in the original score because i fell in love with all that electronic sound and we were going old fashioned with that. >> rose: what's the relationship

between your character and sally? >> well, i'm the girlfriend of her dad. and also, you know, i'm an interior designer and really kind of helping with that part of the... that part of our relationship and so kim is... my character is forced to pay attention and she learns to listen to sally and she starts to get over her own fears of being a motherly figure and she realizes... like i said, she sees a lot of herself and her own childhood in sally and she is able to help her and ultimately realizes that sally's the most important thing and she becomes a very strong woman. and that was very appealing to me to play. >> rose: you're drawn to playing

strong women? >> yeah, i like seeing strong women on the screen. it's... it's nice to see a person take responsibility and do something about something. >> rose: when you cast for a film like this, is it in all the casting different? >> it depends on the role. for example what i try is to write the roles to read and secondly the female roles in "orphanage" and "pan's labyrinth >> rose: so once you had her you designed the character? >> we talked to the actors and we do table work. katie, bailee, we read the screenplay out loud and we tweak and tailor. >> rose: what does that entail? >> guy is very exacting about everyday life for the characters. so he said "i need to know why we don't leave the house.

i have everything invested there." with katie we have a very little subtext in the movie that is about her own childhood. she says i had enough trouble getting over my own childhood, i don't know if i want to go through someone else's. and just talking about what the character... how can we hint that difficult childhood and how she identifies with sally's own isolation, you know? and lines, situations come out of that that led if-to-rewrites. >> rose: helpful to you? >> oh, very helpful. and i'm an actor who loves to rehearse and i can talk about scenes for a long time because i love the ideas that come out of it and just if nothing else a great comfort level with, you know, people you've never worked with before. >> rose: suppose someone came to you and wanted to do an action adventure that had actors that you liked, a script that you

were comfortable with. >> oh, my god, that's a miracle. (laughter) >> rose: it happened oncement it happened once many, many years ago. >> rose: no horror here. >> no. the only time it's happened... even if it's not horror i end up finding the weird stuff. >> rose: i know you do. >> in the screenplay. like i wrote... co-wrote a version of "the count of monte christo" set in mexico in the 1800s and the count ended up having a clockwork hand. and he was the fastest gun slinger in the west. and anything normal eventually it will twist just a little bit weird. >> rose: did this come through on the set when he's there hanging out? this weirdness he has? >> i love it! i don't think it's weird, i think wow, what an amazing idea. i sit there and say "i wish i could think of interesting things like that." and when guillermo comes over, it's the best time. we talk about movies and it's

like, you know, always fun stories and cool things are happening. >> i'm a set-driven director and producer and i try to avoid as much as possible making them little environments because when you have a real house, it informs in your story telling. >> and makes it better for the acting. >> 100%. >> rose: here she is exploring the grounds as we have noted here. guillermo likes to have grounds.

(screaming) >> it is not safe for you back here! >> well, you know, this was... i just came up with the idea, we never explain hit in the movie but it's bad luck to break a fairy circle of mushrooms in fairy tale lore and this movie is very closely related to fairy tale lore-- dark fairy tale lore. >> rose: do you know anybody else on the planet who knows more fairy tale lore than you? >> well, yes, there are many, many. the jungian psychologists. jungian psychology requires you knowing all this sort of baggage. fairy tales were instrumental to explore the spiritual side of human growth so there's a lot of theories and i admired them.

i am a big fan of their writing and i love to use in the a context that is rare in film which is to use it as a horror tool, you know? and literature... a dramachian uses it a lot. he links the fairy folk with dark secrets in mankind, you know? >> rose: (laughs) one more clip here before we go. this is guy pearce, the character who's uncovering a secret door. here it is. >> are you sure you want to do this? >> of course, are you kidding? we can fix this easy if we have to. you may want to step back.

there's a door here. >> rose: well, there it is, the magic of doors. >> always. >> rose: always. >> always in fairy tales, certainly. secret doors are a big thing. >> rose: lead to where we not know. >> rose: "also in wonderland." >> rose: it opens in august 26, it premiered in the los angeles film festival. guillermo del toro, thank you my friend, great to see you. >> thank you, great for having me here. >> rose: katie, thank you for coming. >> thank you for having me. thank you. >> rose: vera farmiga is here, she first gained attention in the 2004 independent film "down to the bone." six years later, she received her first oscar nomination for her performance as a hard-driving career woman in the film "up in the air." >> i thought our relationship was perfectly clear. i mean, you are an escape.

you're a break from our normal lives. you're a parenthesis. >> i'm a parenthesis? >> i mean... what do you want? tell me what you want. you don't even know what you want. i'm a grown-up, okay? so if you would like to see me again, then give me a call. okay? >> rose: an oscar-nominating performance. now she's taken on a new challenge. it's directing. the new film is called "higher ground" and premiered at this year's sun dance film festival and here is the trailer.

>> all rise. with everyone's eyes closed now, no one looking around, raise your hand if you made a decision today and say "this is my day." >> i haven't opened a bible since i was ten. >> then i came over and corrected you, huh? >> those are my kids in the front! ♪ lord lift me up... >> the the one fish the lord has been trying to hook for a long time. >> what was that? >> i thought it was so beautiful. >> it's a prayer line. >> it's nonsensical, it's probably voodoo. >> oh, holy spirit. come on, lord, come on, holy spirit. >> do not let sexual chemistry

burn out. you cannot. >> what's good for me is seeing my girls together. >> corrine will help you get back on your feet, won't you, squirt? >> get out of my house! >> it's not for me! >> peace? righteousness? >> i don't want your life, corrine! >> god wants us to come to him with all our needs and desires. >> sister, thank you, you can sit down now. thank you. what do you see when you look at me? mother of your children, a virtuous woman, hand maiden of the lord? >> we are waging a battle here for your soul. we want you in heaven. >> lord help me. i can't feel you. i feel nothing. >> you have the look of a woman who gives all of her hard. >> hard to give less. >> rose: a bold directing debut. how did this come about, this directing thing? >> circumstantial, by necessity. the only way i could play this

role is... the only way i could maneuver it out of movie purgatory and see it made. >> rose: was to be involved? >> was to be involved. this was right about the oscar nomination for "up in the air." along with that spotlight comes ideas that you're capable of great things, achieving great things. and and it was an experiment with creating a meatier role for myself. >> rose: your experience in creating a meatier role for yourself? >> i felt like i haven't had the opportunity since "down to the bone" which is a real portraiture of feminine psyche and the struggles therein. i just haven't had that... i just haven't been able to take that trip. >> rose: it also at some level means that you want to have some control over your destiny.

>> oh, don't we all? (laughs) >> rose: yeah, we do. that's why they're revolting in the arab spring. we want some control of our destiny. not always to be under someone else's studio. >> yeah. it's... it was a challenge. it was a wonderful challenge and to me also i think was stories i want to say stories that i recognize myself in. that hardly ever happens. >> rose: that's interesting. so this is based on carolyn briggs' memoir. what attracted you to it? >> hmm. candor. that always attracts me to a woman. >> rose: candor and authenticity? >> authenticity. genuine sort of saying this is my experience of it. i thought it was a use us arey film.

>> rose: uterus? >> uterus. a film about faith. it's two very distinct things about faith. for the believes and poking fun of the believers. >> rose: this is kneeer? >> no. i made... you know who, i think the aim of this film is not to convert and not to the unconvert. >> rose: and not to laugh at. >> it's funny. >> rose: you did want humor in it. >> it's inherent to my personality: aren't we a funny lot? >> rose: tell me her story that she encapsulated in the book. the character you play. >> this is a story about a woman, a memoir through the '60s '70s, and '80s. took place in iowa in her life and it's really just her search for how she finds faith in

family, in marriage, in herself and in community and faith in divinity. >> rose: and doubt, too, as you saw from that clip. >> and doubt. and doubt is... you know, doubt is a part of faith. you'd have to rip out many, many pages out of most spiritual manuals if it wasn't a part of it. and... and carolyn's story really is an honest depiction of that... the struggle for identity. purpose. meaning. it resonated with me very deeply. >> rose: the struggle for purpose, identity and meaning? >> listen, i'm going to hone in on it. (laughs) the spiritual path in my experience of it involves so much more than just, like, going

to the bookstore and getting a self-help book and browsing through it on weekends. and this woman to struggled to definal her conceptualized god to her. her question, what does it mean to be holy, what does holiness mean for me? what does it mean to me to have a healthy soul, a well-equipped soul, a successful soul. these are big questions that challenged me in... it was odd terrain and i loved that challenge. >> rose: did the directing come easy? >> yes. easily enough. i was pregnant the whole time. >> rose: but early pregnancy. >> early pregnancy. well, second trimester. >> rose: oh, second. and the editing was magical? hard? >> all of it. that's where you make your mark as a director.

>> rose: in the editing room. >> in the editing room. that's where your skills as a seam tres come in. you cut on a bias, you hem it this way and it becomes a gown. or you take too much hem it becomes a mini skirt, you know? it shape shifts. >> rose: how much later was this from the filming of "the departed"? >> seven years. >> seven years. so you didn't have a chance to say to marty... >> to ask marty any of this. >> rose: did you reach out to anyone and say i'm making this film? >> i actually tried to wriggle out of its grasp many times. i tried to wiggle away. >> rose: you tried to say i can't do it, i'm too busy, pregnant. >> now's not the time but how quickly not now becomes never. and also i think, you know, i had to take advantage of what was coming my way and i wanted

to play the role. i wanted also to be direction so >> rose: take a look at this. >> hey, you're the writer, aren't you? >> i write. >> yeah, you're corrine walker, right? >> yeah. >> yeah. i was just on my way to practice. you know the renegades? >> of course. everyone know it is renegades. >> i'm ethan. >> i know. >> so what are you doing? >> um, i'm waiting for my sister to finish practice. >> what are you writing? >> oh, some words and thoughts. >> thoughts on what? >> disappointment. >> we should write a song together. >> for the renegades? sure. yeah. but... um... i'm not musical.

>> maybe you haven't found your instrument yet. >> rose: the actress looks like your sister. >> (laughs) it is my sister. >> did you make the movie you wanted to make? >> yes. and more so. snipe it turned out better than you imagined? >> i think it turned out more powerful than envisioned. i knew it would be a powerful film in divinely mysterious ways. i'm asking a lot of audience members. i'm saying take a leap with us feet first into the... dive in into ungraspable mystery of the divine. >> rose: into our search for faith and... >> yeah, yeah. and, you know, and let's see how you feel ask yourself are you going to make it to the other

side. are you going to freefall endlessly. >> rose: if you can do that, that's amazing. if you can say to an audience come to where i am and leave all of your own opinions aside... >> i'm asking for tolerance. positive tolerance not, oh, that's the way they do it, let them do it their own way but in a respectful fashion saying this is a woman's search to live a life of passion and intimacy within all those relationships. yes, her concept of god and the struggle to continue having faith in marriage. >> rose: i want to see a scene in just a moment of you with your husband in that very question. you know, going through a spiritual crisis in which your husband raises questions and it had two of you have that dialogue. role tape. >> draw near to me, lord, come on! where are you? huh? where are you?

i'm going to do this unless you stop me. >> just stay home next time. you obviously don't want to be there. you're losing me, aren't you? >> rose: tell me about directing them?

>> well, we could have stopped after the first take. >> rose: you got it? >> we had this wonderful one shot and i think michael and myself... >> rose:. >> rose: so why didn't you use that? >> we did use it. i cut it and fast forwarded because the prayer continues and she gives god an ultimatum. and this is a scenario where, you know, in the belief community there's a sort of triangular... there's a paradigm of what a marriage should be where sgod at that apex and if a couple draws closer to that apex they draw nearer to each other. these guys are losing sight of each other. >> rose: this is a scene from "the departed" because i have a question after i see this scene. roll tape.

>> why is the last patient of the day always the hardest one. >> because you cry and you don't give a (bleep). it's not supernatural. >> listen, listen, i'm not just somebody that you have to see or they put you in jail. okay? i mean, if you're in distress, i will help you. >> what's this? >> it's my card and a prescription for 20 lorazapam. >> yeah? is it to commit suicide? >> maybe it is. all right? okay? have i done my job up to your (bleep)ing standards? because according to my standards, you fit the model of drug-seeking behavior. you know, too damn bad if you don't like my initial clinical reaction. >> thank you. >> i'm transferring you to another counselor. >> good. >> okay. >> rose: so here is the story that's often repeated. that you went to marty and said this character is underdeveloped. this character i'm playing. >> yeah, that's the job description. that's what it's supposed to be.

>> rose: that's what it means to be an actress? >> let's give her some idiosyncrasies, let's flesh her out. and that's what marty expects. >> rose: and he said i love it, thank you. >> that's probably what got me the job. marty loves his characters. that's what's memorable about scorsese films is the character. and he loves the acting. >> rose: did you know that going in that he would like it and so therefore beyond wanting to do it anyway did you know that he'll be turned on by this? >> did i manipulate him? >> rose: yeah manipulate him. >> no, i... >> rose: are you manipulative? >> by nature with what i do, yeah. i'm trying to manipulate people or provoke people. into feelings, and thoughts and memories, perceptions. so, yeah, it's manipulation. did i manipulate party inah! i just wanted a better character. and he appreciated that. >> rose: and what did you give her?

>> um... hmm. i'll roll back in time. duplicity. >> rose: oh, those kinds of qualities. >> yeah, all the guys are duplicitous and she was going to be this moral ballast and i don't know we gave her some foibles. >> rose: that's what makes acting fun? >> yes. >> rose: that's what you like? >> um... >> rose: being able to add to a character. take a character off a page and make it into something. >> that's really the challenge of it. and... yeah. what's fun about acting and the

funest part for me is seeing the aftereffects of it. because it's a roll up your sleeves kind of a job for me. let's just find truth in the moment here. >> rose: how are you going to balance, one, acting in roles that people want you and at the same time taking what you've just done with such great success and letting it out? >> things are coming my way. i mean, i never anticipateed. it wasn't something i wanted to achieve directing. i loved having the choice. i loved giving other actors opportunity. i have john hawkes... and the cat's out of the bag with john hawkes but norbert leo buttz, he's a powerhouse. the film hinges on him.

and donna murphy. these are... and i loved being instigated into performances by them. they make me a better actor. i love giving them opportunity. yeah. we'll see. i have to be clobbered over the head. it takes a couple years and i like punching in and punching out. but you have to devote a couple years and right now i have a nine-month-old and a two and a half-year-old and it's got to be something taking my focus away from them. >> rose: in order for you to leave the farm in ulster county, wherever it is, it's god to be good because you're leaving a nine-month-old and a... >> well, i don't leave them, i just incorporate them. i just stuck my family in the film. >> rose: indeed. the ukrainian community, you grew up in a small tightly nit... >> not so small.

fairly big. big pockets of the ukrainian american diaspora. >> rose: could you identify that experience in terms of who you are? >> yeah, it's very much who i am. i'm a ukrainian american. i'm in... you know, i'm the daughter of ukrainians and it's a big thing. their struggle and perseverance to give me the kind of life that i could have and live right now the freedom and the possibility that they went through hardship and my grandma... it's a lot of sacrifice and a lot of struggle. that journey over here... it's our genetic code looking over my shoulder and gratitude and... and... hmm. i come from peasantry, ukrainian

peasantry. they're hard workers. not taking anything for granted. it is... in abstract ways, you know, i'm trying to figure out how that's... but i grew up in the ukrainian community. all my extracurricular activities were ukrainian, you know? >> rose: they must be celebrating. >> (laughs) um... yeah. yeah. >> rose: our own vera. >> verichka. (laughs) >> rose: thank you for coming. much success. >> thank you. >> rose: "snow flower and the secret fan" is a film about the power of female friendship. the movie is based on lisa see's 2005 best selling novel set in

ancient and modern china. it looked at universal themes of love, loyalty and betrayal. here's a look at the trailer. >> the world is always changing. we have to look to the past to find what doesn't change. >> do you know our family came from hunan. >> she talked about my mother's mother's mother's mother. >> her name was snow flower. she had a friend named lily, a sworn sister for life. >> centuries ago they took an oath of sisterhood. through a secret language, they

shared their joys, mourned their tragedies and kept their hopes alive. this summer. >> i'm writing a book. it's about the old days. i think it's really about us. >> experience an extraordinary friendship that is strong enough to last lifetimes. >> our destinies are tied forever. >> fox search light pictures presents... >> sisters for 10,000 years. >> ..."snow flower anden the secret fan." >> rose: joining me now wendi

murdoch, director wayne wang and actress li bing bing. how did you come to be a producer of a film? how did this happen? >> this happened because a few years ago i read the book and i really loved the book and i can relate to the characters in the book. >> rose: because? >> i grew up in mainland china, very poor, we had no hot water. my grandmother died in childbirth. my mother's auntie lived with us she had a little brown face similar to the woman in the film who has no education and not allowed to go to school, has an arranged marriage and she lived with us. so i know the chinese woman's story is really moving and we bought the rights. >> rose: you agree this is a story about love and loyalty and betrayal? >> yes. >> rose: so then you and florence sloan co-producer. >> yes, my friend and partner this film.

>> rose: so you go hire a director? >> yes. >> rose: why did you hire wayne? >> because we loved wayne's films. i remember very clearly when i watched "the joy luck club" it made me cry and also we want this film not just showing in china, chinese films, we also want this film shown international. wayne is an international best known director. quite often you see a lot of good chinese films, big box office, $100 million in china, in china only. but when it comes here, almost nothing. >> rose: the box office? >> yes. >> rose: you added something to this film that was not in the book which is so called... you updated it and gave it a 21st century frame. >> right. >> rose: what did you do and why? >> because i know modern china a little bit. i've been to shanghai and beijing and i really wanted to have a modern-day story that also tells about love, loyalty, and friendship that n a they can

bounce off of the period story. i didn't want people going away thinking chinese is still binding feet and... >> rose: there was a controversy about that, in fact. i'm told there was some sense they did not want you to give the appearance in this film that that's what china was about today. and we all know that. >> rose: >> well, they don't want to just show that part of it. because china has changed. china is more than just binding feet even in its history but today but today china's very, very different. >> rose: traditional and modern. >> traditional and modern. and i feel like for me i'm more interested in the contemporary. and i think this is new york city on steroids. (laughter) >> rose: so you show a modern friendship in shanghai of which one of the two members of the friendship is writing a book

based on... about what happened. >> right. >> rose: how do you see this story and tell us who your character is. >> in the story i play rose and the modern part of nina and i really love the relationship between the two girls. it's very settle and special. and if you believe this kind of emotion in this life. >> rose: what's the nature of the friendship between these two? they met at seven years old? >> yes, yes. there's actually a sacred chinese culture. even me before i shot the movie i never heard it. i think most of chinese they don't know this kind of tale. after i got the script and i asked wayne, is it truly chinese culture and she told me it's true. so that i learned a lot from the movie and from the story.

>> rose: tell me about the friendship between these two. >> oh like wendi said, in the ancient time the women don't have the privilege. they cannot choose their lives by themselves. they cannot be what they want to be. they have arranged marriage, they have no choice. they have just... they were just arranged. so their relationship becomes very sacred. through the fan. >> rose: they communicate through the pan? >> yes, communicate through the fan and it's very sacred. just for women can understand. man never understand. >> rose: was this at all easy for you because you know china? because you're chinese? because you're well known in china for you to produce a film? >> and because i work hard. (laughter) >> rose: especially because you work hard. >> i thought it would be easy but it's not. i'm very fortunate. i have good supporters and we bought the rights, i have a lot

of friends who wanted to invest in the film. >> rose: it was said this was a budget of $6 million. is that in the ballpark? >> we can't comment about that. (laughter) but we are profitable. (laughs) and it's not easy to make a film especially china, but we have a good director and fantastic movie star so the whole process is really challenging but a good challenge. >> i wouldn't do for the film in china if i didn't have somebody like wendi. >> rose: because? >> because there's so many... because she gets things done and there are a lot of things that are very complicated. i mean, for example the kurn any china is still very controlled and so it's very hard to manipulate how to get people even paid every week. you know, like we're used to it here. every friday the crew gets paid. over there it's more ambiguous

and to get the currency, get the cash, do this, all that is very, very complicated. >> rose: american films are very popular in china. >> very popular. >> rose: many films have not had an audience. do you think that's going to change? >> i think the people that are chinese american always love good films and chinese people love good chinese films. or good american films. but i hope through what i'm doing with making chinese stories being told internationally, also it's a topic... i do think other film makers go to china and make film and that will translate to the west. >> it's been a remarkable life for you. i mean, you were very poor. very poor. yi? >> oh, yes. >> rose: no one understands even how poor you were. >> but everybody's poor in china when i was little. we didn't know we were poor. >> rose: you led an extraordinary life. you came to the united states, got an education, went to yale, went to work, met rupert murdoch got married, had two children.

what is it about china you want us to know? >> i love china. we have a house in beijing. i really love... >> rose: belonged to a former mayor. (laughter) >> he's been to our house. as a chinese when i'm traveling with my husband or alone, everybody around the world asks me about china, what's happening there. >> rose: because of its strength and its power and >> and because they don't understand a lot of things in china so that's why through this movie you understand more about chinese culture. also what's going on in shanghai hopefully encourages you go there and visit. the other thing i'm thinking is that people, it doesn't matter what culture you live in, what time, human relationships, how you're dealing with pain, suffering, sacrifice, happiness and everything important in life is all the same.

we're more similar than different. >> rose: when you were acting this part, did you reach back in your own mind to friendships you had? did you think about the meaning of friendship as you brought lily's story to life? >> actually, i do believe this kind of relationship. i do have a very best friend in my life who is my roommate when i was in college. is we spent four years in college and after we graduated we separated and i went to beijing to have my career and she stayed in shanghai. at the beginning i always called her and i said "i miss you, come to beijing and live with me? how can i be without you to stay in beijing?" and she just said "come back to shanghai." and everyday on the phone we connect for one hour. like two girls. it's like when you call your boyfriend. it's okay but you call your

girlfriend. so i even told her we are laughing lesbian. >> rose: lesbians? (laughs) >> i really need her so when i got this script i just asked... i do believe this relationship and i... >> rose: there is a real power of even physical and sexual attraction here, yes? >> yes. but it's never expressed as a lesbian relationship. there is a physicalness, an emotional connection. as she describes it, it's like a fourth dimension of love and friendship. something deeper and more complex. i think it's quite common with the chinese women especially. >> rose: does this mean having gone through this experience that this is what you want to do in addition to all the other responsibilities you have as fe and mother and with the

kind of role you play at newscorp? >> (laughs) >> rose: i'm serious! >> i'm very lucky. >> rose: you have more than anyone else. you're newscorp's person who's known in china. >> people know me in china because of the work i do there. but after this movie i got so much support and a lot of people came to me and wanted to make more movies with me. >> rose: are you looking at next projects? >> actually, in fact, the next project is with a different studio that we'll announce soon. >> rose: can you tell me now >> later. (laughs) >> rose: congratulations. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> rose: and to you. >> thank you. >> rose: wayne, pleasure to have you here. captioning sponsored by

rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org