From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Standing in the distant future of 2023, looking back at the millennium year when the new century began, the success of "The Princess Diaries" was far more than just Anne Hathaway.

Not far away, the girl Annie had just seen was none other than teenage idol Mandy Moore.

This sixteen-year-old girl can be seen as the successor to the Britney Spears craze. After releasing her debut album last year, her popularity soared. She became widely known for being a guest at the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC concerts. She is now setting off a youth storm in North America, an undoubtedly popular youth idol.

"The Princess Diaries" is about to become Mandy's acting debut.

Garry Marshall's strategy is indeed bold, led by Julie Andrews with a group of inexperienced newcomers, attempting to create a completely fresh and energetic youth film. This is evident from the choice of actors.

Including the two main characters, Annie and Anson, a series of high school student roles are almost entirely newcomers, immediately reminiscent of the later popular series "Glee."

At the same time, in a completely unexpected position, a completely unexpected actor became a future A-list superstar worth mentioning in "The Princess Diaries."

Sandra Oh, who plays the vice-principal of the school.

This Asian actress initially didn't get many performance opportunities in her career. Despite being very talented, due to limitations in appearance and Hollywood's default discrimination chain, she often played inconspicuous small roles or quirky supporting roles.

It wasn't until 2005 that Sandra Oh got the opportunity to star in the ABC TV series "Grey's Anatomy", playing an ambitious intern. However, initially, the series did not give this character much room to develop, but Sandra Oh believed that this character could be explored in depth.

Relying on her own diligent research and unremitting efforts, the character gradually developed her own edges and corners, not only gaining audience love but also gaining vitality under the screenwriter's pen, developing her own love line and becoming the best friend of the series' core characters, developing her own story.

Sandra Oh became an instant hit, and after winning an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, her career finally took off.

But she didn't stop there.

After accompanying "Grey's Anatomy" for ten years, Sandra Oh chose to leave the series decisively and boldly, trying to explore her new acting career. She encountered some setbacks and faced many difficulties, but finally reaped rewards in a series called "Killing Eve" in 2018.

This series not only won her a series of Best Actress awards in drama categories, including the Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award; but also truly gained a voice in Hollywood, began to serve as a producer, and began to independently plan her acting career, opening a door for the survival space of Asian actors.

Undoubtedly, Sandra Oh is another example of the success of Asian actors in Hollywood.

It is worth mentioning that this actor, who is jokingly said by netizens to resemble Lin Yongjian, is a charming woman in private. In 2000—that is, this year—she met and fell in love with the director Alexander Payne, the winner of the Best Screenplay Oscar for the next two years, and married in 2003, but divorced two years later.

From Julie Andrews to Anne Hathaway, from Mandy Moore to Sandra Oh, and also Hector Elizondo, the golden supporting actor in Hollywood movies, the luxurious lineup is overwhelming.

Everything is becoming different.

Once, they sat in the cinema, briefly entering the world created by the big screen during the two hours when the lights were turned off, just like a dream, whether romantic, terrifying, psychedelic, real, beautiful, or heavy. When the lights came on, they returned to their own real world, but some things had already changed silently.

Now, he is also about to enter the big screen and become a member of the dream-making team.

It has similarities with television shooting, but more differences.

Involuntarily, Anson also became eager to try, seemingly also influenced by Annie, truly returning to his eighteen years old, feeling the youthful vigor again in all aspects from physiology to psychology. Everything is brand new, the infinite possibilities of the future are unfolding before his eyes, fearlessly and bravely rushing forward all the way.

In Anson's view, the biggest difference between "The Princess Diaries" and "Friends" lies in the understanding of the characters. This not only means a change in the way of acting but also means a difference in preparation work.

"Friends" is a TV series, which focuses more on the plot than the characters; it is also a sitcom, which focuses more on laughs than showing inner or emotional connections.

Obviously, the character "Paul" only shows some outlines and frameworks, which is what is later called "persona". As long as he follows the setting, Anson can freely show his emotions in the framework, and the natural performance that is inadvertently revealed is inevitable. He is playing himself.

"The Princess Diaries" is different. It needs to give an ending in ninety minutes. A complete story line is necessary, including the beginning, development, turning point, conclusion, character arc, and emotional connection, and finally lead to a reasonable end. This means that the character needs a persona, needs a framework, but also needs flesh and blood.

The simplest and most intuitive point is in the styling:

Paul's styling, in one word, is handsome. Then, on this basis, you can freely change the style. Anson and Deborah's free play completed the positioning of the character and further developed the different possibilities of the character.

Michael's styling is not possible. From hairstyle to clothing to daily matching, everything needs a context, a source to help fill out the flesh and blood. He is not a persona, but a real person.

Some people may say, is it necessary?

Indeed, the absolute core of "The Princess Diaries" is Mia. The entire story revolves entirely around Mia. In the words of a popular online film review now, except for Mia, everyone else is a tool person—

There is no shaping, no arc, and no flesh and blood. Everything serves Mia.

From this perspective, "The Princess Diaries" could meet market demand in 2000, but if it were placed in 2023, it would probably be scolded miserably by the audience.

In Anson's view, this is also the difference between "The Princess Diaries" and "Pretty Woman":

Character shaping.

Even in 2023, the older and more outdated "Pretty Woman" still has a retro look, full of character arcs, vivid love tug-of-war, and three-dimensional character shaping, undoubtedly showing the narrative ability of Hollywood's golden age, and time cannot diminish the charm of the film.

In "The Princess Diaries", the plot time gives way to some comedic bridges; moreover, Julie Andrews makes it and Julie Andrews breaks it. The film has to give Julie more time to show her personal charm and spend more ink on the family relationship between Mia and her grandmother.

In a relatively limited time, there must be trade-offs, so—

Michael becomes a tool person, a sacrificial lamb.

First update.