Emma Watson (17 page)

As well as its stately pace, the story darts between the various characters before they are bundled together for the climax; one minute we are at sea, the next in a castle, then in Mouseworld, then with the rats, then a farm; then we go back round again. Like the soup the characters are so keen on, the story has too many ingredients. The title character doesn’t appear until the film is well under way and the central message of forgiveness and saying sorry is delivered with the subtlety of a mallet. It certainly doesn’t pander to the audience and is to be applauded for not trying to be hip and cool like many other contemporary animations.

For her part, Emma did her bit in talking up the film’s positive aspects, as well as being grateful for the chance to do something different. ‘I love animated films,’ she said. ‘So I feel like I can speak with a bit of knowledge. It felt really different to anything that I’ve ever seen before, because it felt like it wasn’t patronising to children. The messages that are in the film feel really profound and philosophical, and I loved the ending, a serious ending about forgiveness. And my other favourite message was that every girl is a princess. I really love it. It works on lots and lots of different levels. I don’t think it’s just a children’s
film. I think anyone can go and see it and get something from it.’

The premiere of
The Tale of Despereaux
took place in Los Angeles in December 2008. Emma posed with an actor in a
Despereaux
costume with outsized ears and she planted a kiss on the character’s nose for the benefit of the cameras. She was dressed in a striking navy-blue
mesh-and-corset
dress by British designer William Tempest, whose work she’d spotted at British Fashion Week. Tempest had already created a stir after designing clothes and accessories for Madonna. When photos of Emma’s £2,300 dress appeared around the world, it created a rush of interest in his work. Commentators noted that she had never looked so sleek and ‘grown-up’. ‘She heard about me, as she came to my show last September,’ Tempest told fashion journalist Rebekah Roy when asked about the Emma connection. ‘It was a really fantastic opportunity making some pieces for her and she looked absolutely stunning in the outfit she wore. She has the confidence to pull it off!’

By now, of course, Emma was an old hand at answering the usual red-carpet questions – but this time around was something of a novelty: no questions about arriving on broomsticks, which magical talent she would most like to have or whether she had a crush on Daniel Radcliffe.

‘It’s really nice to be part of something different,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to talk about something that isn’t Harry Potter, actually.’

After the photos and the red-carpet interviews, Emma managed to meet up with two of her co-stars for the first
time too. ‘I had a real kind of weird reality-check moment,’ she told reporters. ‘I was in awe just today – sitting at a table with Matthew Broderick on my left, and Sigourney Weaver and Dustin Hoffman to my right. I was like, “This is insane. This is completely surreal. I have no idea how I got here. How am I really here?” It was mad. Completely mad. I’ve no idea [how I came] to be part of an unbelievable cast.’

At the premiere the cast sat down together to be interviewed by the press about the film. Sigourney Weaver – the film’s narrator – was meeting Emma for the first time. It wasn’t until that moment that Weaver realised who the nicely spoken English girl voicing the Princess was. ‘We read all the Harry Potters out loud,’ she said. ‘And I didn’t realise until I sat down next to you [addressing Emma] that you were Hermione. And we
worship
you!’

Despite its admirable computer-generated visuals and star-strewn cast – Potter veteran Robbie Coltrane also played a part – critics were divided on the charms of
The Tale of Despereaux
. Labelling the film as ‘watery’, the
Washington Post
said, ‘It’s a movie that simply has too much of everything, except a storytelling technique that grabs kids and makes them forget they have to go to the bathroom. It’s a beautiful film, but, in the end,
Despereaux
is aesthetically charmed but dramatically inert. As usual with these animated epics, much depends on the vocal performances, and it’s a mixed bag. None, however, provides enough buoyancy to get one past the structural sandbar that
Despereaux
erects between its audience and any reason to care.’

The
Daily Mail
said, ‘If the story had contented itself with its main, heroic narrative, it could have become a massive hit. However, it over-complicates itself with no fewer than three other protagonists. On the other hand, the voice cast is spectacularly talented; the attempt to portray characters as neither good nor bad but fallible is a noble one; and the style and quality of animation is splendidly energetic and original, with nods to Northern European artists including Bosch and Brueghel. Visually, it’s a triumph … It will probably underperform at the box office. To have succeeded, the film-makers should have concentrated on their loveable hero, and not tried to cram too much into 93 minutes.’

‘
The Tale of Despereaux
looks like an illuminated manuscript brought to life,’ said
Entertainment Weekly
. ‘The screen glows with Renaissance golds, mice dressed like serfs, and a princess with Botticelli hair draped over a permanently foreshortened face. Too bad the story’s such a mess.’

‘The astonishingly starry voice cast is testament to the story’s charm,’ enthused
Empire
. ‘While it meanders on its way to the requisite happy ending, the lush, stylised animation and courtly flourishes would win over anyone.’

Despite the mixed reviews, producer Gary Ross had nothing but praise for Emma. ‘I think she is the most talented young actress of her generation. I think of everybody coming out of the Harry Potter movies, with all due respect to them, she’s the one you go, “Oh my God, this is a classic movie star and will have a very, very long career.” She has a Kate Hepburn or Grace Kelly
countenance, in terms of her style and bearing and how articulate she is, and at the same time she is a hell of a good actress. She’s somebody who has complete control over what she’s doing and amazing facility. The girl’s 18 years old. You’re seeing someone who’s going to be an enormous movie star.’

By the end of December – eleven days after the film’s release – Universal Pictures reported that
The Tale of Despereaux
had grossed $35.7 million worldwide. It cost a mere $10 million. It was a hit, but in some interviews Emma seemed to be putting a brave face on it as the
less-than-glowing
reviews came in. ‘When I read the script I knew it would be quite special and a bit different,’ she told
This Morning
. ‘It’s funny, it’s got adventure, it’s got some good moral messages as well. I think it’s quite bearable for adults to watch too.’

Although the film was a success, Emma again voiced concerns that perhaps acting wasn’t for her and that, despite her considerable wealth, she felt insecure about her future. She seemed to see education as being a better option. ‘The film industry is very unstable,’ she said. ‘Even if you’re really big, you never know the next film that will be right for you. I think it can be very hard to have these intense times when [you’re] making films and you’re working, working, working, working, then it stops until the next thing comes along. It’s nice to have something to fill the gap with and have that option.’

Whatever the choices she would make,
The Tale of Despereaux
meant that Emma had achieved one more of her childhood ambitions. This was of course the girl who
wanted to be a queen, a fairy, a princess or an actress – or should we say ‘mattress’. She was a pretty good actress; now she could lay claim to being a fairly reasonable princess too. ‘I’m very lucky to play Princess Pea,’ she said. ‘How many people get to play a princess?’

I
n the late nineties and early noughties, Britain’s less salubrious youth could be identified by a particular type of plumage. From city-centre precinct to village green, it acted as a warning to others that it might be best if you were to give the park bench, playground or street corner that they were congregating at a wide berth. This flag of inconvenience was easily identified: a black, white and brown check incorporated into everything from baseball caps to handbags to jackets. It was commonly known as Burberry, though more likely it would be a cheap copy of the brand.

The distinctive check design had been hijacked by the chav culture associated with football hooligans and vulgar soap stars dressed top to toe in brown check. The 150-year-old brand needed someone who was a world away from the image described by one commentator as ‘
council-house
chic’ to front their new campaign.

For the best part of two years, stories had appeared linking Emma Watson to Chanel. In June 2009, it was announced that she was to be the new face of Burberry. The company’s creative director Christopher Bailey told the
Evening Standard
, ‘Having known and admired the lovely Emma Watson for quite some time, she was the obvious choice for this campaign. Emma has a classic beauty, a great character and a modern edge.’

The initial key photos for the campaign were taken on the banks of the Thames in London with a trench-coated Emma toting a £1,000 handbag and surrounded by a flotilla of young, pale and chiselled male models – Tom Guinness, Charlie France and Douglas Booth. ‘I felt Emma would be strong enough to hold the campaign as the only girl,’ said Bailey. ‘And I loved the idea of her being surrounded by these young, cool British guys. Her charm, intellect and brilliant sense of fun made the whole shoot feel like a picnic on the Thames.’

The pictures were taken by Mario Testino, the Peruvian-born photographer known for his
Vogue
and
Vanity Fair
cover shoots and his portraits of Diana, Princess of Wales. Emma described working with Testino as the ‘biggest ego boost of my life’. She saw the fashion shoots as an extension of her acting – and as a way of showing that there was more to her than Hermione. ‘I’ve been trying to play different characters in each of the fashion shoots I’ve done and I hope that people can look at me differently,’ she told the
Daily Telegraph
. ‘It would be very naive of me not to be aware that it will be hard for audiences to separate us from these characters we
are so identified with, so I think that has been my way of expressing myself.’

Burberry released a slick black-and-white video to accompany the shoot as a teaser for the 2009–10 campaign and there was a touch of mischief about the way it was put together – the music that was chosen to accompany the visuals was a Razorlight song, ‘Wire to Wire’, sung by Johnny Borrell, the man Emma had been linked with when she was 17.

The campaign was rolled out across the country – the high-profile nature of the adverts and billboards took many people by surprise. ‘I was driving through Mayfair in London,’ said Emma’s co-star Robbie Coltrane. ‘And there’s the Burberry window and a huge picture of Emma looking incredibly glamorous in these coats and with the slight sneer that all the posh models have. The driver and I, who’d both been working on the films, said, “Christ, there’s our Em!”’

As Coltrane discovered, it was hard to get away from Emma Watson that summer – she was everywhere. After the Burberry publicity, Emma reluctantly confirmed that she had finally chosen where to go to university. She had gone to great lengths to keep her choice a secret. ‘I just want to keep it private for as long as I can,’ she said. ‘I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I’m doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity. I want to do it properly, like everyone else. As long as I don’t walk in and see, like, Harry Potter posters everywhere, I’ll be fine.’

Unfortunately, the carefully guarded secret was blown
by Harry Potter himself, as Daniel Radcliffe let the information slip in an interview with the
Guardian
at the beginning of July. ‘She’s incredibly academic, it’s frightening,’ he said, just about to put his foot squarely in it. ‘Me and Rupert to all intents and purposes dropped out of school. And she’s going to
Brown
.’

Thanks to Radcliffe’s gaffe, Emma was forced into the position of having to confirm the information to the press. Ironically, she took great trouble to point out that she wasn’t running away to the US to ‘escape’ from the media. ‘I’m not trying to hide or anything like that,’ she told
Paste
magazine. ‘It sounds so geeky, but I really
do
like studying and reading, and, if I’m not working on Harry Potter, then my greatest relaxation is to sit with a book. That’s how I escape stress – in literature. I always have several books on the go at any one moment, so it’s no good asking, “What’s on the bedside table at the moment, Emma?” because often I can’t even see the table! I think that all that reading is just about the only similarity I have with Hermione, if you ask me. I’ll be sorry to leave all my family and friends behind, but, hey, it’s only a few hours’ flight home.’

She was also clear that the move didn’t signal the end of her acting career. ‘There are end-of-term breaks where I could do something if someone asks me, and I liked the idea,’ she reasoned. ‘It all depends, doesn’t it? Acting and studying are in no way mutually exclusive, are they? Going there [America] will mean a bit of “normality” for a while. It certainly doesn’t mean that I will never act again, that’s not true. There’s been a lot of confusion in the media about that, and most of it is ill informed – I seem to have
managed pretty well up to this point! But I do hope that it will be only a short time before I am known as “Emma Watson, the student from the UK” rather than “Emma Watson who starred in those Harry Potter films”.’

The third section of the Watson Summer Tsunami of Headlines came just a matter of days later at the world premiere of
Half-Blood Prince
in London on 7 July – in atrocious weather conditions. ‘We had the most amazing amount of rain,’ Emma said. ‘Unbelievable. And there were, like, hundreds of people out there, and they just stayed. They were drenched, drenched all the way through. And everyone stayed. In fact, it’s probably one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had. So, for them to have stayed, considering how awful it was, was just incredible. I think we have the most dedicated fans of any. It’s amazing.’

A Burberry raincoat would have come in very handy in Leicester Square as the film was unveiled. Instead, Emma opted for a floaty and plunging vintage Ossie Clark dress from the 1970s as the heavens opened. Unfortunately, so did Emma’s dress as a gust of wind momentarily blew it apart, exposing her underwear to the 3,000-strong crowd – and the waiting photographers. Describing it later as a ‘small wardrobe malfunction’, she added, ‘At least I was wearing underwear.’

There was one rather more serious thing to notice about what Emma wore that night. She, like many of the cast, could be seen with a white ribbon on her wrist in memory of murdered actor Rob Knox. Knox, who was just 18, played Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in the film. He’d been stabbed to death outside a bar in Sidcup, southeast
London, the previous May, just days after completing the film. ‘We wanted to wear – as a mark of respect – a white ribbon, not only for his life but for other families who have experienced this traumatic crime,’ said Bonnie Wright, the young actress playing Ginny Weasley.

Daniel Radcliffe said, ‘I won’t pretend I knew him incredibly well, or was his best friend on set, but I knew him and liked him, and what happened to him was obviously tragic and awful.’

Director David Yates added, ‘With Harry Potter, you are surrounded by young people all day long who bring a great commitment to what they do, and Rob was no different. He came in and wanted to do brilliant work, he put his heart and soul into it, and you just think what a terrible waste.’

The film itself is believed to have been the first of the Potter series over which Warner Brothers put their foot down and asked for changes, claiming that the initial cut of the film looked too ‘arty’. ‘The only major run-in we’ve had since I came on board is regarding the look of this film,’ David Yates told the
Observer
. ‘We had a fairly major negotiation about its look. Bruno Delbonnel, who was also cinematographer on (French art-house comedy)
Amélie
, made it look very distinct and different from the previous Potters by using all these monochromatic washes. The studio wanted more colour added to it and we obliged. And actually it’s no less artful with the new grade; it looks more beautiful, more inviting. When you’re sending 28,000 prints around the world to goodness knows how many cultures, you need a show that pulls you in.’

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
is indeed a ‘show that pulls you in’. From its knowing opening shot of Harry being hounded by the press and paparazzi to Hermione, Ron and Harry planning their next step in Hogwarts’ astronomy tower, there’s a lot to take in. As well as action and thrills, the film has a job to do in laying the foundations for the forthcoming
Deathly Hallows
two-parter.

If more colour was added to the film in post-production, there must have been a very light hand on the fader. The film looks wet, grimy and postwar. Some scenes – such as the monstrous attack on Harry by a sea of undead creatures – look devoid of all colour. It asks a lot of the audience as it switches from horror to light comedy in a flicker. One minute Ron is mooning over girls, full of love potion, and the next he is near to death, fitting on the floor.

Of all the films, Rupert Grint comes out best here, as he becomes the target of a girl’s affection (the brassy and bonkers Lavender Brown), while failing to see the young woman who truly loves him – Hermione. The situation – in Ron’s words – gets Hermione’s knickers in a twist. ‘Hermione hates Lavender so much,’ Emma told the
Mirror
. ‘That she is with Ron would be reason enough, but I think Hermione mostly hates her because Lavender is the complete opposite of her. These characters usually face huge issues, like fighting evil, so it’s easy to forget they’re teenagers. For me, this film feels more like a romantic comedy than the others – we get to see them coping with first love, jealousy, insecurity and the usual things involved in dating.’

In one touching scene, Harry and Hermione share their respective heartaches, sitting at the foot of a flight of steps while holding hands – they are the best of friends and that’s what best friends do. The way Hermione reacts to Harry came from inside Emma’s family. ‘I always pretend Harry is my younger brother Alex,’ she later explained.

While all this is going on, Hermione is being pursued by the ‘vile’ Cormac McLaggen, Harry and Ron marvel at Hermione’s really nice skin, Ron feels uncomfortable about Harry’s attraction to his sister Ginny and everyone feels queasy about Draco Malfoy’s transformation into a
face-kicking
, nose-breaking assassin. For Emma, the script meant a more human, vulnerable Hermione, as well as a tantalising reflection of her own personal experiences. ‘She’s so confident, she’s always got the answers, but, when it comes to matters of the heart, she’s left broken and a mess. I think that makes her relatable for other girls. I know I had such empathy for her. That feeling of longing? Longing for something, and it not quite being there? I know, a year or so before [we started filming], I had experienced things relatively similar.’

Producer David Heyman was promising a different side to Hermione in the new film, thanks to Emma’s performance. ‘I think one of the things you’ll see in Six [
Half-Blood Prince
] is that she’s really funny,’ he said, ‘as well as there being so much more depth to her pain – the pain that she feels about Ron and his inability to love her. Does he love her or doesn’t he love her? She’s amazing in this film – it’s a whole move forward and she’s aware of that.’

Meanwhile, Rupert Grint gets free rein to ham it up in a scene where he becomes an instant performance-enhanced Quidditch hero, after thinking he’s taken a liquid luck potion. ‘The Quidditch scene with Ron – I couldn’t believe how funny it was, he just killed me,’ Emma said. ‘I couldn’t stop laughing. Having said that, it wasn’t my favourite to film – it was one of the coldest days of the year and we were out there for hours!’

Reviewers liked what they saw. ‘What an odd situation the
Half-Blood Prince
creates,’ said the
Daily Telegraph
. ‘Four directors and six films into the series, it finally seems to have found its stride. It’s as confident, muscular and comic as its predecessors were puny and timid. And, for the first time, it has a genuine emotional tug.’

Entertainment Weekly
observed, ‘They’ve found just the right balance of timeless spiritual profundity and contemporary teen specificity, of awe and humour, necessary to steer J. K. Rowling’s enthralling seven-book saga to a satisfying conclusion. Will Hermione attract Ron Weasley? Will Ron kiss flouncy, pouncy Lavender Brown? Will Harry connect with Ron’s no-longer-such-a-kid sister, Ginny? And will good triumph over evil? Stick around till Yates’s final two-part Potter production, scheduled for 2010 and 2011, and find out.’

Showbiz bible
Variety
said, ‘The film is clear-headed and clean-lined; now that he’s at home with the material, Yates has made a Potter picture that is less desperate to please than any of its predecessors, itself a sign of series maturity. Emma Watson, perennially appealing as Hermione, has become a very attractive young woman.’

At a press conference after the film’s premiere, much of the talk was of the final push towards the end of the Potter saga. ‘We’re working at the moment on
Deathly Hallows
, and I think we’re all aware that this great juggernaut is reaching the end of its journey in a way,’ said director David Yates, who was helming the Herculean task of shooting both of the final parts in quick succession. ‘We finish shooting next spring and everybody comes to work with that knowledge in the back of their mind.’