Meet Adele Lim, the screenwriter behind crowd-favourites like ‘Princess Diaries 3,’ ‘Joy Ride,’ ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

“The queen is coming.”

Many remember Sandra Oh’s line from “Princess Diaries,” one that she even recreated on the Kelly Clarkson Show. And now, 23 years later, that line is relevant once again, as the iconic coming-of-age comedy film has been confirmed to return with a third instalment, two decades after its second one. 

Released in 2001 on Disney, “Princess Diaries” revolves around teenager Mia Thermopolis who discovers she is the heir to the throne of a European nation, Genovia. She must then transform from a clumsy, awkward teenager into a graceful princess, assisted by the current queen, her well-mannered, royal grandmother. 

Anne Hathaway, who plays the titular character Princess Mia – and now Mia Thermopolis, Queen of Genovia – confirmed the upcoming movie, “Princess Diaries 3,” on Instagram. 

“Miracles happen,” she captioned the video, which sees her say the iconic “shut up” line from the film. The clip ended with a screenshot of Variety‘s confirmation that she will return as Mia, and the post tagged Malaysian Adele Lim as the film’s director. 

“As a diehard fan of the original ‘Princess Diaries,’ I’m beyond excited to be a part of bringing the third iteration of this beloved franchise to life,” Lim said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating its core tenants of female power, joy and mentorship with audiences worldwide.”

Lim has big shoes to fill. But who exactly is she, and why are so many excited for her work? 

Most famously, Lim made a big splash as a feature writer for pop culture sensation “Crazy Rich Asians,” a film romantic comedy-drama film featuring one of the biggest casts of Chinese descent in history.

Her humble roots

Adele Lim always knew she wanted to become a writer. She was fascinated by her childhood – she grew up in a post-colonial country, where many different races, ethnicities, cultures and religions intersected, yet largely consumed British or American media. 

“You have three major races, you have five or six major religions, all the languages. There’s this interesting feeling of being amidst all of it. But you’re also aware that none of those cultures are the prevailing, dominant culture of the world,” she said in an interview with Eastern Standard Times.

“Most of what we consumed was British, or American TV, magazines, and music. It all just came from a faraway place that seemingly had no awareness of my culture, or people who looked like me.”

But even back then, writing was still considered impractical as a career choice.

It was something that kids did in school – she was the one always writing the school play, or creating articles for the school newsletter. When she got a bit older, she submitted op-ed pieces to the national newspaper The Star, and even had a weekly column. 

But in her heart, Lim wanted to write for television.

 

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“I think from early on, I just assumed I would be a poor novelist,” she joked in an interview with Eastern Standard Times. 

Things then changed when she moved to the US to study film and TV at Emerson College in Boston. She initially planned on honing her writing skills in the US before returning to Malaysia. Turns out, that wasn’t the case, as she met her then-boyfriend, who convinced her to go to Los Angeles to write for television.

“I finished university and I have no money and my parents want me back in Malaysia at all costs. Meanwhile, much to their dismay, I had rejected religion and shacked up with a white boy,” she joked in an interview. “I had this very romantic idea that I’d be like this novelist, living in squalor, you know, surrounded by dogs.”

“And I didn’t even have the good sense to do it quietly. He was going to move out to Los Angeles and try to be a television writer. That blew my mind. I thought, ‘You can do that? You can just drive to Hollywood and work in Hollywood and be a TV writer?’ That sounded so much more appealing than going back to Malaysia.”

A few years later at 21 years old, she scored her first job as a writer’s assistant on the American fantasy series “Xena: Warrior Princess,” and the rest was history. 

It was a bold – in Lim’s words, ignorant and naive to boot – move. After all, it wasn’t like Malaysia had a thriving creative industry. In fact, the country was – and still is – known for its cutthroat censorship and lack of support for its creative industries like writing, screen production, and filmmaking. 

So how is a Malaysian woman making headlines and working with some of the biggest Hollywood stars, when she comes from a country with such limitations?

Adele Lim was the one behind the third act in “Crazy Rich Asian”, including the climatic scene of mahjong between Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh’s characters.

Is the answer a strong degree abroad?

Admittedly, Malaysia has made several advancements in recent years to expand and build on its creative industries. Universities like Taylor’s University, Universiti Malaya and more offer creative courses in filmmaking, production, performance, and such. 

But it’s safe to say that many have found fame and fortune only after going abroad to expand their studies and professional careers. Just look at Malaysian-born filmmaker James Wan, who gained prominence for his horror films. 

Wan moved to Perth, Australia when he was seven, then went to Melbourne to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Media from RMIT University. Today, he’s known as the first Asian director to achieve a billion-dollar box office success.

The same could be said for award-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh.

She moved to the UK with her parents and initially enrolled in The Hammond School to become a professional ballet dancer, but a spinal injury forced her to pursue other avenues. She then chose to pursue a Bachelor of Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1983.

In 2008, the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ranked Michelle Yeoh as the greatest action heroine of all time. Source: AFP

Now, she’s in everything, everywhere, all at once – literally.

From joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe to being part of the Transformers franchise, and most recently, the film adaptation of Wicked the musical, working alongside big stars such as Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, and Jonathan Bailey.

Yeoh also became the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress and received other prestigious awards like the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA.

Would these stars have their big break if they had remained in Malaysia?

More often than not, the answer is no. We may never have had the renowned “Conjuring” universe, or Malaysia may never have gotten its first Academy Award winner.

In a similar vein, perhaps it’s the same for Adele Lim.

If she had never ventured abroad to study at Emerson College, she would never have discovered a different avenue for her writing skills. Lim may have indeed become, as she said, a poor novelist living in squalor and surrounded by dogs. 

That being said, it doesn’t mean that pursuing writing is pointless.

Lim wrote for Disney’s 2021’s animated feature “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which means “Princess Diaries 3” will be her second time in the Disney writer’s room. Source: AFP

Chin up, writers – your degree isn’t useless

Many, like Adele Lim, grew up interested in writing, but not everyone succeeded in becoming one.

They ultimately choose to pursue other educational and professional paths in fear of not being able to find employment.

It’s more common than you think – after all, white-collar jobs are the established way of making money, and not many can afford to diverge, especially when writing is such a volatile career in recent times.

A recent survey revealed that 48% of businesses have either laid off or are planning to lay off most of the content writers to replace them with artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT.

And to add insult to injury, ChatGPT calls writing “The ‘I Love Books But Hate Money’ Degree.” Rude much.

But if there’s one thing that Adele Lim has taught us, is that writing intersects with so many different industries.

 

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“I had always assumed that my job was purely about writing. What directing taught me was that film is such a multi-disciplined form, where every little thing that ever gave you joy as a kid can be funnelled into your art,” she said in an interview with Vogue Singapore. “It seems so obvious, but that was a wonderful discovery for me.”  

For her, copywriting and screenwriting shared similar qualities – both involved telling a story and communicating with a target audience. Going to university abroad was just her first step.

“People think you’re born either being able to write or not, but that could not be further from the truth,” Lim said in an interview. “Of course, there’s some natural talent and passion involved. In reality, it takes 10,000 hours of actually doing it to get good.”

She’s right.

Other industries will always require excellent writers, and sometimes you may not even realise you’ll be good at writing for them until you try.

Marketing agencies require SEO content writing and optimisation, tech companies require content designers and UX writers, educational institutes need teachers and researchers, and even fields like law and policy-making require lots of reading and writing.

The moral of the story? Don’t sell yourself short — you might just end up writing for a beloved film series, like “Princess Diaries 3” in Lim’s case. 

“I didn’t know how hard it was to become a TV writer. I think if I’d known; I don’t think I would’ve done it. So it’s good! It’s good to be oblivious and sometimes I think about it too,” she said in an interview with Tatler Asia.

“All the times your parents told you not to do things like, ‘don’t watch too much TV,’ ‘don’t get a boyfriend’. Honestly, if it wasn’t for TV and a boyfriend, I wouldn’t have the career I have today. That’s my terrible advice for young people.”