2004 in film

The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Van Helsing, The Passion of the Christ, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Fahrenheit 9/11, I, Robot, Ocean's Twelve and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Highest-grossing films

Shrek 2 set a new record for total gross by an animated film making it the highest grossing animated film of all time, the record was latter surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010, as well as the 3D rereleases of The Lion King and Finding Nemo in late 2011 and late 2012 (which are the second and third highest grossing animated films of all time). On July 7, Spider-Man 2 reached a $200 million domestic gross in a record time of 8 days. On July 18, after 19 days in release, Spider-Man 2 reached $300 million domestically in another record time. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has the highest international revenue of $546 million compared to Shrek 2's $478.6 million.

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Anne Hathaway

Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress and singer. After several stage roles, Hathaway appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She came to prominence after playing Mia Thermopolis in the Disney film The Princess Diaries (2001) and in its 2004 sequel. Since then, Hathaway has starred in dramatic films such as the 2005 movies Havoc and Brokeback Mountain. She has also starred in The Devil Wears Prada in 2006 and in Becoming Jane (2007) as Jane Austen and also in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises (2012) as Selina Kyle/The Cat, and Interstellar (2014).

In 2008, she won several awards for her performance in Rachel Getting Married, also earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2010, she starred in the box office hits Valentine's Day, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Love and Other Drugs and won an Emmy Award for her voice-over performance on The Simpsons. In 2011, she had a voice role in the animated film Rio. In 2012, she portrayed Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises and Fantine in Tom Hooper's Les Misérables. Her performance in the latter earned her rave reviews and several accolades, including the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Hugh Dancy

Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his roles as Will Graham in the television series Hannibal for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and as Prince Charmont in Ella Enchanted. In 2006, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his portrayal of Earl of Essex in the HBO miniseries Elizabeth I.

Early life

Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme. His mother, Sarah Ann Dancy (née Birley), works in academic publishing. His father is philosophy professor Jonathan Dancy, who teaches at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin.

Hugh is the oldest of three children, followed by brother Jack Dancy (born 25 May 1977), who is co-director of the travel company Trufflepig Travel, and sister Katharine Sarah Redman (née Dancy, born 5 March 1980). From the age of 5 to the age of 10, Dancy was educated at Edenhurst Preparatory School in Newcastle-under-Lyme. At age 10, Dancy attended boarding school at the Dragon School in Oxford, then, at 13 at Winchester College. At age 18, he acted in the Winchester College Players production of Twelfth Night, which was performed in both Winchester and at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall. He went on to study English under poet and playwright Francis Warner at St Peter's College, Oxford.

Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted is a Newbery Honorbook written by Gail Carson Levine and published in 1997. The story is a retelling of Cinderella featuring various mythical creatures including fairies, elves, ogres, gnomes, and giants. In 2006, Levine went on to write Fairest, a retelling of the story of Snow White, set in the same world as Ella Enchanted. On April 9, 2004, a movie loosely based on the novel was released. It was directed by Tommy O'Haver and starred Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy as Ella and Prince Charmont, respectively. The film received mostly mixed reviews, and was heavily criticized for its changes to the source material. Levine stated that the film is "so different from the book that it's hard to compare them," noting the addition of new characters such as Sir Edgar and Heston, and suggested "regarding the movie as a separate creative act".

Plot

At birth, Ella of Frell is given the gift of obedience by the well-meaning but misguided fairy Lucinda. As a result, she cannot disobey a direct order given to her, though her mother Lady Eleanor and the family's cook Mandy protect Ella throughout her childhood. Ella is close to her mother and they share the same free-spirited nature, but when Ella is nearly fifteen, Eleanor dies. At Lady Eleanor's funeral, Ella meets and befriends Charmont (Char), the Prince of Kyrria.