Life on the big screen: Rachel (left) with Condor.
KUALA LUMPUR: She has been away in the United States for the last 12 years raising a family, but Malaysia remains in the heart of Rachel Tan who is now a producer of the romantic comedy Worth The Wait.
She is back in Malaysia to wrap up the production of the movie which was filmed in Vancouver and Kuala Lumpur.
The cast included Lana Condor (To All the Boys film series), Ross Butler (Shazam! franchise), Sung Kang (Fast and Furious franchise), Andrew Koji (Bullet Train), Elodie Yung (The Cleaning Lady), Tan Kheng Hua (Crazy Rich Asians) and multiple Golden Horse Awards winner Karena Ka-yan Lam (Zinnia Flower, The White Storm).
“I am truly privileged to be one of the producers together with my husband, Dan Mark,’’ she said in an interview.
The movie features the story of a long-distance relationship that spanned Kuala Lumpur and the United States, as experienced by Rachel and her American-born Chinese boyfriend, now her husband.
Rachel at 20 when she was newly-crowned Miss Chinese International. — Photos courtesy of Rachel Tan’s Instagram and AP
She said Condor and Butler were brought to Kuala Lumpur to take in the sights and sounds of the city to ensure authenticity.
While Vancouver was picked as the setting for Seattle, the American city in the movie, the team insisted on a Kuala Lumpur location.
“Our stories are inspired by our experiences in love as teenagers, in our 20s and 30s, and trying for a baby after marriage. It also involves my sister’s story,’’ she added.
Rachel, a University of Cambridge-trained lawyer, was also a beauty queen, winning the Miss Chinese International pageant in Hong Kong in 2003.
The Seremban-born entrepreneur is now settled in Los Angeles, running an entertainment law firm with her husband Mark, who was previously an attorney at Warner Bros.
Rachel and Mark wrote the preliminary script of the movie. They are both “thrilled to pieces that our names are on the credit line.’’
Kheng Hua, a Singaporean, introduced them to award-winning Taiwanese director Tom Shu-yu Lin.
“We raised the funds for the movie from Asian Americans in Silicon Valley and also on Wall Street with our producing partners.
“We brought in this amazing talent who loved the script and shot most of it in Vancouver and wrapped up the shooting within five days in KL,’’ she added.
Rachel and Mark said they have always loved romantic comedies like Love Actually and were excited to share their own take on the genre with an all-Asian cast and script “inspired by our own love story, our family and different stages of our lives.”
“We feel honoured for our labour of love to be part of this incredible moment that Asian Americans are having in cinema right now.’’
Rachel said she looked up to Oscar-winning actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, adding that she was pleased to see a Malaysian triumphing at the Academy Awards.
Malaysia, she said, is etched in her heart.
In fact, the country is a compulsory stop for her family especially for her children, aged eight and one-and-a-half, during summer holidays.
“We just spent time in Langkawi,’’ she said.
