Capítulo 111: **Chapter 110: A World of Possibilities**
Looking back from the distant future of 2023 to the turn of the millennium, the success of *The Princess Diaries* wasn't just about Anne Hathaway.
Not far away, the girl Annie had just spotted was none other than teen idol Mandy Moore.
At only sixteen, Mandy could be seen as the successor to the Britney Spears craze. After releasing her debut album last year, her popularity skyrocketed, and as a guest performer at concerts for the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, she became widely known, igniting a wave of teen fandom across North America. Undoubtedly, she was a youth icon.
*The Princess Diaries* would mark Mandy's acting debut.
Director Garry Marshall's strategy was indeed bold. With Julie Andrews leading a cast of inexperienced newcomers, he aimed to create a vibrant, fresh youth movie. The choice of actors reflected this vision clearly.
The main cast, including Annie and Ansen, and most of the high school students, were almost entirely newcomers. This immediately brought to mind the massively popular TV series *Glee* that would later take the world by storm.
Moreover, there was one actor in an unexpected role who would become a future star worth noting: Sandra Oh, who played the school's vice principal.
In the early stages of her career, Sandra Oh, an Asian actress, struggled to find roles despite her talent. Her limited opportunities were largely due to her appearance and the unspoken discriminatory hierarchy of Hollywood, which often relegated her to small or quirky supporting roles.
It wasn't until 2005 that Sandra Oh landed a leading role on ABC's *Grey's Anatomy*, playing an ambitious intern. Although the show initially didn't offer much depth to her character, Sandra believed the role had more to offer. Through her dedication and effort, her character grew more defined, earning the audience's love. She eventually developed her own storylines, including a romance and becoming a close friend of one of the show's central characters.
Sandra Oh became a breakout star, and after being nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress, her career finally took off.
But she didn't stop there.
After spending ten years on *Grey's Anatomy*, Sandra made the bold decision to leave the show and pursue a new chapter in her acting career. She faced setbacks and challenges, but her efforts finally paid off in 2018 with the series *Killing Eve*.
The show not only earned her a slew of Best Actress awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe, but also cemented her position in Hollywood, where she began producing and shaping her own career path. She opened doors for other Asian actors, creating space for representation in the industry.
Sandra Oh is, without a doubt, another shining example of Asian actors achieving success in Hollywood.
Interestingly, Sandra, often humorously compared to Chinese actor Lin Yongjian by netizens due to their similar looks, is quite a captivating woman in real life. In 2000—this very year—she met and fell in love with director Alexander Payne, a future two-time Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay. They married in 2003 but sadly divorced two years later.
From Julie Andrews to Anne Hathaway, from Mandy Moore to Sandra Oh, along with Hollywood's golden supporting actor Hector Elizondo, *The Princess Diaries* boasted an impressive cast.
Everything started to change.
In the past, they had all sat in darkened theaters, escaping for two hours into the worlds created on the big screen—dreamlike realms filled with romance, terror, magic, or reality. When the lights came up, they returned to their own lives, but something had quietly shifted.
Now, Ansen was about to step into that world, becoming a part of the dream-making process.
Filming a movie was similar to television in some ways, but there were far more differences.
Ansen couldn't help but feel excited, likely influenced by Annie's energy. He felt as though he had returned to his own eighteen-year-old self, not just physically but emotionally. He felt young again, filled with vitality, as if the endless possibilities of the future were unfolding before him, daring him to charge forward without fear.
For Ansen, the biggest difference between *The Princess Diaries* and *Friends* lay in character development. This wasn't just about a shift in acting style, but also a difference in preparation.
*Friends* was a television show, focusing more on plot than character depth. As a sitcom, it emphasized humor over emotional connections or inner conflict.
Clearly, "Paul" from *Friends* was more of a rough outline—a character shaped primarily by his "persona" or archetype. Ansen could operate within that framework, allowing his emotions to flow naturally. Unintentionally, he had been playing a version of himself.
*The Princess Diaries* was different. In ninety minutes, the story needed to arrive at a conclusion. There had to be a clear narrative structure, with a beginning, middle, and end, character arcs, emotional connections, all leading to a satisfying resolution. This meant the character needed more than just an outline or persona; they needed to be fully fleshed out.
And the most obvious and straightforward aspect of this was the look:
**Paul's** styling? In a word: **cool**. And from that foundation, the style could be adapted freely. Ansen and Deborah's creative freedom helped to establish Paul's look while expanding on the character's potential.
**Michael's** look, however, needed more work. From his hair to his clothes and his everyday ensemble, everything required a consistent narrative and source. He wasn't just a character trope—he needed to feel like a real, living person.
Some might ask: *Is it really necessary?*
Indeed, the absolute focus of *The Princess Diaries* is Mia. The entire story revolves around her. To borrow a popular phrase from modern internet film critiques: apart from Mia, everyone else in the story is simply a "plot device"—characters without development, arcs, or depth, all serving Mia's story.
From that perspective, *The Princess Diaries* met the market demand in 2000, but placed in 2023, it would likely be criticized heavily by today's audience.
To Ansen, this is where the fundamental difference between *The Princess Diaries* and *Pretty Woman* lies:
**Character development.**
Even in 2023, the much older *Pretty Woman* still carries a certain vintage charm. Its rich character arcs, dynamic romantic tension, and fully realized characters showcase the narrative strengths of Hollywood's golden era. Time has not diminished its appeal.
On the other hand, *The Princess Diaries* prioritizes comedic moments over storytelling depth. And while Julie Andrews adds undeniable charm to the film, the movie's reliance on her charisma—spending more time developing Mia and her grandmother's relationship—leaves little room for the romance plot to develop fully. As a result, Michael's character suffers, reduced to a mere narrative device.
After all, this was the year 2000. Back then, Hollywood adhered to the "90-minute rule," believing 90 minutes to be the ideal length for theatrical releases. The era of 120-minute or even 180-minute blockbusters had yet to dominate cinemas. Production studios were still convinced that 90 minutes was the sweet spot for successful movies.
With limited time, there had to be trade-offs, and so…
**Michael** became just a plot device, sacrificed for the bigger picture.
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