THE VILLAGE THE VILLAGE

interview |
Audiences seemed to like JULIE ANDREWS and ANNE HATHAWAY as
Queen and Princess of Genovia in 2001’s The Princess Diaries. So
why not do it all again? Here the veteran and the newbie discuss
reuniting for the sequel I BY BOB THOMPSON
There is a recurring episode in
Dame Julie Andrews public life
these days and it goes something
like this.
“A little girl with her mother came up
to me the other day and the mother
started doing the listing thing,”
recounts Andrews in her distinctive
and distinguished English accent at a
Beverly Hills hotel. “First, the mother
mentioned Mary Poppins, and then she
said The Sound of Music and Thoroughly
Modern Millie, as a way to describe who I
was and why the little girl should ask me
for my autograph.
“And then, finally, the mom gets to
Princess Diaries, and the little girl,
suddenly animated, says, ‘Oh, that is so
cool.’ I guess I’ve bookended my career
with all kinds of things,” says the
68-year-old, chuckling at the memory.
Andrews continues to lengthen her
filmography as she returns as the
Queen of Genovia in the Garry Marshalldirected
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal
Engagement.
Anne Hathaway is back, too, as Mia,
the San Francisco teen who, in the first
movie, discovers that she is heir to the
throne of a tiny European country. The
sequel follows Mia to that country
where she finds out that in order to
keep the throne she must marry within
30 days, and only to one of a small
batch of pre-approved suitors. Hector
Elizondo returns as the secret service
supervisor, as does Heather Matarazzo
as Mia’s friend Lilly. Joining the cast is
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli from the Lord
of the Rings movies) as Viscount Mabley,
famous 22 | august 2004
Julie Andrews (left)
and Anne Hathaway in
The Princess Diaries 2:
Royal Engagement
Royal
couple
and holding it all together, of course,
is director Marshall, who was as
surprised as everyone else when the
first Princess Diaries became a sleeper hit
in the summer of 2001, earning more
than $108-million (U.S) on a $26-million
budget.
For 21-year-old Hathaway the work
was much more enjoyable the second
time around. “I didn’t know what the
hell I was doing on the first one,” she
admits. “My first movie, and here I was
starring. And I was working with Julie,
and my every moment was occupied by,
‘How do I make this performance I’m
playing make sense to Julie Andrews?’”
Earlier this year, Andrews maintained
her regal status as the voice of Queen
Lillian in Shrek 2, which more or less
counted as a cameo for the veteran
performer.
As for the Princess Diaries 2 shoot,
Andrews compares it to “old home
week,” in large part because of director
Marshall, who himself is an established
enough talent (he’s the brains behind
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