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Welcome
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WE'RE HANGIN' WITH THE STARS OF... THE PRINCESS DIARIES Anne Hathaway and
Mandy Moore: the Princess and the Cheerleader
Anne, how did you land this lead role? I was on my way to New Zealand to do an independent film called "The Other side of Heaven" and I had a 26 hour stop-over in L.A. I said hey, I'm there for a little bit, why don't I just go in and audition? It was called "The Princess of Tribeca" then. I knew it was with Garry Marshall and I knew he directed Pretty Woman which is one of my favorite films of all time. I knew Julie Andrews was in negotiations to play the queen so I thought this is a great. I'm just gonna go chill with the director. No one told me that not only was Garry there, but his three assistants, the eight casting directors from Disney, the producers..so many people. I walked in there and thought I was gonna puke. Not very elegant to say but I was so nervous. Garry gave me the first set of directions and we clicked. We got along so well. I think we were friends in a past life. I got the call to screen test and I said well, that's great but I'm going 6,000 miles away tomorrow. Garry said we'll use your audition tape and Disney liked it. When did you know you had the part? I had been working until 4:00 a.m. the night before doing an underwater sequence and I was asleep when I got the call. My brother was in New Zealand with me and he gave me the phone and said your agent and your manager are on the phone and I'm like They didn't call New Zealand to tell me I didn't get it.. Yeah!' I get on the phone and they say 'Hello, Princess' and I screamed 'You're kidding me!'. It was really magical cuz I really wanted it and I'm so lucky to have gotten the part Your transformation (from nerd to Princess) is so incredible. Some people think two actresses are playing the part. A lot of people say that and that just shows how good the people who created Mia's "look" are. Hollie D'Amore, my make-up artist was so good. She put every single eyebrow (hair) on so you know that's a labor of love and Gary Jones the costume designer too. We had a whole lot of hair people working on this and they were all fantastic. We hear director Garry Marshall practically talks his own language. Did either of you have any funny exchanges with him? Anne: Well, there was "red leather, yellow leather". I speak very quickly and that was Garry and my code for speak slowly and concisely. It was great because I had to do some voice recording into a tape recorder and when he sent me the notes, one was 'Remember Annie, red leather, yellow leather'. It was like 'Oh, he knows me sooo well'. Mandy: He has his own vocabulary and he'd go 'Mandy, I want you to walk into the scene and have a little choffa choffa'. That's his word for background action and background noise. He even had a little hat that said it. He'd continue to use that throughout the film. Someone needs to make a movie based on him. He's a character, amazing. Mandy, how was working with Anne? She's such a sweet person, beautiful, like she's being touted as the next Audrey Hepburn and I believe it. Just watching her at the press screening, watching the movie, I'm going 'Wow, she carried the whole movie on her shoulders'. She did an amazing job. Like the transformation (to princess), everything. It was impeccable. She was great. Nobody could have played the part like she did. Both of you. What was it like to meet and work with film legend Julie Andrews? Anne: There were about a hundred people at the script read through. I was nervous. I hadn't shot anything yet. Hey, they could fire me. I heard a whisper 'Julie Andrews is here' and then I realized she would be sitting next to me. My heart was fluttering so fast because she's been my hero since I was 3 years old and I went over and held out a shaky hand and go 'Ms. Andrews, it's really nice to meet you. My name's Annie' and she pulled me into a giant bear hug and said 'It's so nice to meet you. We're going to have such fun!' I just fell in love with her. The read through was great fun. She and I had a great chemistry. My favorite scenes in the film are the ones with her. She gives you so much to work with as an actress. She's such a good person. Mandy: Heather (Matarazzo who plays Anne's best friend in the film) and I became really good friends and we were hanging out in San Francisco and she goes 'Dude, Julie Andrews is gonna be on set tomorrow. I'm so excited' and I'm like 'Dude, I know' so we ran to Tower Records, ran to the music store and bought her "Sound of Music" soundtracks and the next day on set it was 'There she is. I can't go up and say anything to her' and Heather's like 'I can't do this' so I'm like 'I have to do this'. I ran up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and said 'Miss Andrews, could you sign my CD?' She was like 'Of course'. she was amazing. So, much enthusiasm and presence and dignity. Heather and I got her to sign our CD's and I took a picture with her and it made my life. My mom was so excited to be there too because The Sound of Music was her favorite film ever. It was amazing. You didn't sign one of your CD's for her? No. I didn't even think of that. For all the girls and young women out there, Anne, what do you want them to take away from your character and the story? Anne: I think the extraordinary thing about this film is to show that
everybody out there is a princess. No one who sees me right off the bat
would say, 'She's obviously a princess'. We each have hidden royalty within
us and it's accessing that and embracing it and saying 'I'm going to be
as wonderful as I want to be'. Also that the most important thing in life
is helping other people. That's ultimately what influences Mia to decide
to be a princess. It's not realizing what she could do if she was, but
who she could help. I think that's an important lesson and really the
transformation that she makes to becoming a young adult. That's something
I'm still striving toward. Mia's more mature than I am. And now...the review of
THE PRINCESS DIARIES Anne Hathaway got to play a princess because she wasn't afraid to fall down. She accidentally fell off her chair in her first interview with Princess Diaries director Garry Marshall and he was convinced she could play the clumsy geek part of the lead role. He calls her "a combination of Judy Garland and Harpo Marx". Not since Carrie was elected Prom Queen has an underdog risen so high on the social totem pole. 15-year-old Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) lives in San Francisco with her artist mom (Caroline Goodall) in a converted firehouse. She's geeky, has huge, frizzy hair and eyebrows, gets sick in class when she has to give a speech and her only real friend is another outcast, Lilly Moskovitz (Heather Matarazzo) a environmental crusader with a nerdy public access t.v. show. Lilly's bro Michael (Robert Schwartzman) is crushing on Mia but her self-esteem is so low, she doesn't really notice. When Mia's grandmother Clarisse (Julie Andrews) comes to town, Mia learns her family history. Her dad was the prince of a small country called Genovia and grandma is the queen mother. Mia's mom would have been queen but she was too bohemian for Clarisse's taste. The couple broke up years ago and now, dad has died and that leaves Mia an honest to gosh princess. Mia is furious that these secrets were kept from her but Clarisse insists it's the girl's duty to run the country. Of course, that will require a complete make-over. Mia reluctantly agrees "My expectation in life is to be invisible and I'm good at it". She'll tell Clarisse her decision at an upcoming Embassy ball. The make-over is a challenge but Mia emerges a stone cold fox. When word gets out that messy Mia is suddenly gorgeous and a princess, she becomes the "it" star of her private school. Head cheerleader/prom queen Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore) is suddenly her best friend and Lilly and Michael feel abandoned. Hot jock Josh Bryant (Erik Von Detten) is dating her and she's chauffeured around by Joe (Hector Elizondo) who helps her keep her head on straight. After weighing all the pros and cons Mia will have to make the decision of her young lifetime…should she accept royal responsibilities or remain a "normal" schoolgirl? The Princess Diaries was based on a best-selling young adult novel by Meg Cabot and, yes, the Cinderella story is predictable. Hector Elizondo is again playing the supportive friend of the working girl (in this case school girl) he played in Pretty Woman. But, Julie Andrews is wonderful as a queen who is learning to be a simple, loving grandmom and any of us who has ever been the underdog at school can identify with Mia and her pals Lilly and Michael, all bright, talented kids who just don't fit the pop mold. There's something very empowering in the story of a powerless teen who can finally have a say and, as Lilly says "rock the world, effect change and make people listen". The Mia make-over is pretty fantastic. Fake bushy eyebrows were "planted" on Anne Hathaway's pretty face, hair by hair and, combined with her curly "fright wig" and thick, black-rimmed glasses, it almost looks as if two actresses play the character "before" and "after". Hathaway does a fine job as the reluctant royal and Heather Matarazzo and Mandy Moore are convincing in their roles. (Mandy sings and dances at the beach party as well). Even if you can predict the outcome and all the steps along the way, it's still gratifying to see the good guys triumph. At the ball when Michael asks the now beautiful princess "Why me?" She says "Because you saw me when I was invisible". Sappy? Maybe, but don't we all hope to find someone who feels that way about us? Could the story have taken a wilder turn? Would we have enjoyed more risqué jokes and the kind of raunchy teen humor we've become accustomed to? Maybe, but this is a film the whole family can enjoy and the "be yourself" message at the core is still solid entertainment.
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