Movies - The Princess Diaries

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	Movies - The Princess Diaries

The Princess Diaries is a novel by Meg Cabot that was made into a film in 2001. The main story in both revolve around how a teenage girl named Mia Thermopolis discovers she is the princess of a fictional country called Genovia.

The film is directed by Garry Marshall, produced by Debra Martin Chase, and stars Julie Andrews as Clarisse Renaldi and Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis. The movie was also the film debut for singer Mandy Moore as the stereotypical cheerleader Lana Thomas, who makes ruining Mia's life her personal mandate. Heather Matarazzo also stars as Mia's best firend Lilly Moscovitz, whose brother Michael, played by Robert Schwartzman, has a crush on Mia. Mia herself has a crush on Josh, portrayed by Erik von Detten, which culminates in a disaster date.

Hector Elizondo also appears in the film as Joseph "Joe" the head of Genovian security and Larry Miller as Paolo, whose character gives Mia a makeover. Mia's mother, an artist named Helen Thermopolis, is played by Caroline Goodall. Garry Marshall's daughter, Kathleen Marshall, plays Clarisse's secretary Charlotte Kutaway. Charlotte's surname is mentioned only in the credits and Gary Marshall says it's a reference to how Charlotte is often used in cutaway shots. Sandra Oh plays the humorous, yet quirky, role of vice principal Gupta.

Though the book was set in New York, the film was set in San Francisco. The reason for the change was because Garry Marshall's grandchildren live in San Francisco. Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge have numerous cameos in the film, as does then-Mayor Willie Brown. West coast radio personalities Mark & Brian also appear as themselves (although they are actually based in Los Angeles).

Among the film's producers was singer Whitney Houston.

A sequel to the film, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
, was released in 2004. Sequels to the original books include Princess in the Spotlight, Princess in Love, Project Princess, Princess in Waiting, Princess Present, Princess in Training, and Princess Lessons: A Princess Diaries Book.

In the UK editions of the books, the titles differ from the US release. Instead of referring to the plot line, they are puns on the book number. They are: The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries: Take Two, The Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky, The Princess Diaries: Mia Goes Fourth, The Princess Diaries: Give Me Five and The Princess Diaries: Sixsational.

The books are also about a teenage girl named Mia Thermopolis, although they are very different from the movies. One of the major differences is that the book takes place in New York City, while the movie is set in San Francisco.

The Princess Diaries books are not simple makeover stories as the movie is. Mia is portrayed as a very awkward adolescent, even (or especially) after her makeover. Her grandmother is not the Queen of Genovia but merely The Dowager Princess. Mia's father, Phillipe Renaldo, is not dead. However, he is a survivor of testicular cancer and is therefore physically unable to produce another heir, forcing Mia to take the Genovian throne.

Mia's grandmother, Clarisse Renaldo, is not as kind and grandmotherly as she is portrayed in the movies. In fact, she is very harsh towards Mia most of the time, smokes often, and is somewhat clueless about the lives of non-royal people. However, she does have some heartfelt moments, such as "adopting" an orphan named Johanna for Mia to sponsor.

Sequels

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(2004)

The Princess Diaries 3'' -In Production

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Princess Diaries ]

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Movies - The Princess Diaries

Sequels

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