St. Regis Hotel
Beverly Hills, California
Dear Diary,
I just finished the round-table interview with Anne Hathaway an hour ago. The girl, only 21, is so sweet and so charming that barely a minute into the interview I’m sure she won my heart and those of the six other movie writers with me. She’s forever smiling, very much like Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, the role she’s reprising in Walt Disney Pictures’ Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (released locally by Buena Vista International).
She didn’t have any make-up on, unlike yesterday during the seven-minute one-on-one TV interview when she looked sophisticated, fully made-up, with eyes so big and so bright that reminded me of Judy Garland as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz.
Two days ago, on July 31, the participating movie writers (more than 50 from around the world) screened the movie (a "must" before the round of interviews) at the El Capitan Theater on Sunset Boulevard, located across the street from Kodak Theater where the Oscars are now being held, and the SRO audience, made up of 50 percent young and 50 percent young-at-heart, sat transfixed for almost two hours, enjoying the romance-comedy that has traces of Cinderella and a few other fairy tales.
Did the jet lag (from the 12-hour-plus direct flight on PAL PR 102 from Manila) get in the way of my enjoying the movie? Hardly! Armed with a big bagful of popcorn and a bottle of mineral water, courtesy of the host, Buena Vista, we movie writers felt like kids all over again as we watched Anne as Princess Mia land on the mythical little kingdom of Genovia (inspired by Monaco?), not quite sure if she’s ready to assume her role as queen.
I presume that most, if not all, of you have seen Princess Diaries 1 so I won’t start sounding like a broken record by repeating what the plot is all about. Suffice it to say, Mia was an ugly duckling on campus and she never suspected that she had royal bloodline. And then, well, you know what happened to Cinderella, don’t you? But there was no fairy godmother to wave a magic wand. In the case of Mia, there’s her gracious and every-inch-regal grandmother, played by the great Julie Andrews, to provide the fine-tuning because Mia is, you know, kind of rough on the edges. (More on Julie Andrews in next Sunday’s Conversations. Watch for it.)
Not being familiar with Anne Hathaway (although I’m sure the Princess Diaries movies are absolute delights because they’re directed by Garry Marshall, the same romance-comedy genius behind such unforgettables as the Julia Roberts starrers Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride), I brushed up on her before I left Manila. I bought a copy – no, not pirated – of Princess Diaries 1 from Video City (my favorite video store) and watched it twice (no kidding!). And then I read up on Anne. Here are some of what I dug up about her:
• She studied acting at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey and at the award-winning Barrow Group in New York, the first and only teen ever admitted to its intensive acting program
• She also studied in the musical theater program with the Collaborative Arts Project, CAP 21, affiliated with New York University
• She’s an accomplished dancer who studied at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City, a first soprano who has performed in two concerts at Carnegie Hall as a member of the All-Eastern US High School Honors Chorus (and won the prestigious 57th Annual Clarence Derwent Award in the Encore Series)
• She gained Hollywood’s attention for her acclaimed turn in the series Get Real for which she was nominated for a 2000 Teen Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama
• She also received a 2002 Teen Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for Princess Diaries 1
• She is currently seen in Ella Enchanted, also playing a princess.
Meanwhile, I’ll let you in on some portions of my Conversations with Anne. Be alert now, Dear Diary, because the girl talks very fast, as if being chased by an invisible pursuer, but nevertheless, like Princess Mia especially in the grand ball where she steps on her prince-partner’s foot, totally engaging, endearing and engrossing.
How do you identify with Mia?
"Well, two people can have things in common. In the case of Mia and me, I like to think that we are both kind and we don’t look at the world as being, you know, beyond repair. We both try to get up there and try to help and make it better. But I think I’m more selfish than Mia in some way."
How different is Mia here from how she was in the first Princess Diaries?
"Mia is a lot more self-assured now, but she’s still kind of klutzy, which is my fault more than Mia’s."
Have you ever wanted or imagined yourself to be a princess?
"Ah...well, growing up, my favorite princess was Xena who was like a warrior princess, the princess of power. So I very much wanted to be like Xena. So, yes, I always wanted or imagined myself to be a princess."
Which real-life princess do you admire most?
"The one whom I based Mia on the most was Princess Victoria of Sweden. I like the way she conducts herself. She’s going to school and touring the world and she’s doing things princesses typically don’t do – you know, visiting troops. She trained in the national guard. She does all the princess glamour stuff very well. But when the cameras aren’t around, she’s an avid outdoors woman. She doesn’t compromise who she is; she’s always very, very much herself. You know, she’s very down-to-earth. I definitely admire her."
I presume that you saw The Sound of Music...
"...Oh, yes, of course, I did! I don’t even remember how old I was the first time I saw it. It’s one of those rare movies where you know all the songs. Maybe I was four or five years old the first time I saw it. And I’ve seen it again and again. Everytime you watch it, you just can’t take your eyes off the screen. Now that I’ve worked with Julie in the two Princess Diaries movies, I feel like an honorary member of the Von Trapp family."
Describe working with Julie.
"She’s just fantastic, she’s a royalty, a lady with a capital L. When you’re on a Julie Andrews set, she is the hostess and she makes sure she knows everyone. She’s completely gracious and so witty and funny. Her great ideas always make a scene better. I have learned so much from her."
Garry Marshall described you as a combination of Julia Roberts, Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn. How do you feel about it? Does it put pressure on you to live up to it?
"It used to, yes, it used to, especially when I was doing the first Princess Diaries because I didn’t understand. I thought I had to live up to it. But now that I’m comfortable about who I am and what I would like as an actress, it’s wonderful to have characteristics in common with them but it doesn’t mean that I have to achieve their kind of success; that otherwise, if I don’t, I will be considered a failure. I just see it as a kind of compliment. It’s flattering being compared to screen goddesses like them."
How long do you want to be playing a princess? How soon would you outgrow that role?
(Joking) "Oh, I think I’ve outgrown it!"
But there’s going to be a Part 3, I suppose.
(Still in a joking mood) "I’m not sure if there’s going to be a Part 3. If ever, maybe Mia’s unknown sister might take over Genovia." (Seriously now) "You know, this has been a wonderful phase of my career. I mean, getting to play a beautiful and strong female role."
Will you really be "daring" in your next movie, Havoc, where you’re reportedly showing your top in your role as an extremely troubled L.A. teenager?
"It’s a film that requires a lot of honesty and it’s got a lot of very raw emotions in it. So, it’s a role far different from the ones in Princess Diaries."
You’re going in a different direction, aren’t you?
"You see, people talk about directions as if they actually believe in the word ‘never.’ I’m not going in a ‘dark’ direction or a ‘wholesome’ direction. I base my direction on merit, on the people involved in the project and on the importance of the role."
What have been the perks of stardom?
"Well, I’ve been able to put myself to college, which is pretty cool, and I can get tickets to anything. It’s amazing! I’ve been able to work with great artists – actors and topnotch photographers – and it’s very, very exciting."
How did you react when the role of Mia was offered to you?
"I was 17 at that time. I was in New Zealand working on my very first movie. I just screamed. I jumped on my bed. My brother was with me then. I ran to him and hugged him. And I said, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ I told my manager, ‘I need to call my Mom.’ So I did. And then I called my father. It was his birthday and he was so happy. It was the happiest moment of my life. I remember everything about it. It was a little rainy outside and I was in a hotel room that had a really great view. I didn’t have to work at that time and I was just taking my time."
Have you always wanted to be an actress?
"Yes, I’ve always wanted to be one."
Not anything else?
"Hmmmm. I did entertain notions of different things. I wanted to be President, an orthopedic surgeon, a teacher and a writer. I even thought of becoming a nun."
Who influenced you into becoming an actress?
"I’ve always wanted to be an actress. As a kid, I loved to play, you know, ‘dress-up,’ being other people. I never knew then that there was a profession called acting."
What would you do if you were a real princess?
"I would probably be more messed up. Hmmmm. I don’t know. I’d probably do what any normal person would, except that I’d have more social responsibility and a lot more pressure, too. For sure, I wouldn’t have as much freedom."
Has any of your friends or family members started treating you like a princess after doing these two movies?
"No. Never!"
If you were to play a cartoon/comics character, who would she be?
"Wonder Woman. But my favorite cartoon character is...let me see...Bugs Bunny is too obvious, isn’t he? I can’t think of any. But I tell you, I’m a big fan of William Blake, the poet, and I love his art work which looks so much like cartoon."
You’re now also working with director Ang Lee on Brokeback Mountain (co-starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, playing Jake’s progressively embittered wife). How is it working with Ang Lee?
"I think he’s a genius. He’s so sweet and so humble. He’s such a strong director and at the same time a gentleman. Wonderful to be around with. I wake up in night sweat because I’m in a panic. I worry that I’m the only one in that movie who’s not being emotionally honest."
Do you keep a diary?
"I do, yes, I do! I’ve been keeping one since I was little. I would write things like, ‘This is the worst day ever!’ There’s nothing really as satisfying as finishing a diary. It’s fun, especially if you read your entries years later. You are amazed by the changes in your life."
What have been the major changes in your life after Princess Diaries?
"Changes? Not my schedule because even before I joined the movies I’ve always been a busy person. I always have something to do. Oh, yes, the opportunities. They’ve come a little quicker. I have to deal with a lot more responsibility and a lot more stress, and at the same time I have to grow up a lot faster. I’m not the type who would just sit around and daydream."
How do you cope with stress? How do you pamper yourself?
"I try to maintain a sense of gratitude for everything that I have. No matter how stressed-out I am, I try to out myself in a situation where I say, ‘I’d rather not be here and put up with this.’ Also, I meditate and I do a lot of deep breathing. I read a lot."
Do you have any hobby?
"Tons! I paint, I write, I read, I horseback-ride, I knit – I do a lot of things!"
Oh, it’s good you have time for them.
"Well, when I have frequent bouts of insomnia, I have a lot of spare time. But you know, it’s important to have a hobby to get your mind off your work."
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)