The Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reports that Australian star Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Wolverine) will play the male lead in Wayne Wang’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.”
Additionally, it’s reported that “Forbidden Kingdom’s Li Bingbing has replaced Zhang Ziyi in the film, which will also Jeon Ji-Hyun.
Filming for “Snow Flower” has begun at Hengdian, a large film studio near Shanghai. Jackman is not expected to join the production until mid-February.
“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” is set in 19th century remote China, and revolves around the lifelong friendship of Lily and Snow Flower and their imprisonment by rigid cultural codes of conduct for women.
The script is based on the novel of the same name by Asian-American Lisa See. Wendi Murdoch and Florence Sloan are producing.