July 01, 2011

Emma Watson and crew talk about Harry Potter

Rather thorough production notes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 have been released by Warner Bros, including a step-by-step following of the plot of the final film, and numerous new quotes from everyone in the cast, director David Yates, producers David Heyman, various crew members, and J.K. Rowling, the third producer of the installment.

Parts concerning Emma (the rest is at the source):

"I feel very privileged to have played Hermione," says Watson. "I think she's someone young girls can look up to because she's always true to herself. She's very smart and an incredibly courageous and loyal friend who keeps a cool head in extremely difficult situations. It was wonderful to be able to bring across those elements of her personality throughout the films."

[...]

Since her introduction in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," one of the hallmarks of Bellatrix Lestrange has been how utterly mad she is, and Helena Bonham Carter had always reveled in the boundless nature of her character. Portraying Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix, however, required a few definite boundaries. Bonham Carter attests, "It's not actually Bellatrix; it's Hermione's version of Bellatrix. They are total opposites so it was good fun because it gave me another texture to play."

Capturing the dichotomy involved the collaboration of Bonham Carter, Yates and the person who knows Hermione better than anyone: Emma Watson.

Yates recalls, "We had a big rehearsal session where Emma basically did the scene, demonstrating how she would walk and how she would say her lines and we videotaped it so Helena could incorporate that into her performance."

Bonham Carter adds, "Emma and I discussed the scene at length and she gave me terrific bullet points, which became my Hermione guidebook."

"One of the things I really wanted Helena to get across is how awkward the whole experience is for Hermione," Watson observes. "She is very uncomfortable because, for one thing, Hermione is somewhat prudish and Bellatrix is wild and goes around in a leather corset. And Bellatrix is evil and arrogant while Hermione is a good person, so being mean and demanding to everyone doesn't come naturally to her at all."

[...]

It [the kiss] was a moment Grint and Watson had also been anticipating, albeit for different reasons. "Because I've known Emma since we were little kids, I thought it would feel weird," Grint admits. "No disrespect to Emma, who is obviously lovely, but I just couldn't imagine it. I got quite nervous about it the more I built it up in my head."

As it turns out, Watson shared his anxiety. "The fact that Rupert and I have such a strong friendship is actually what made it a bit uncomfortable," she confides. "If you've grown up with someone who is literally like a sibling to you and are then put in a situation where you have to kiss them, in a romantic sense, it's really awkward."

Understanding their concerns, David Yates did not tell them when they would be filming the kiss until the evening before and then gave each a bit of directorly advice. "I told them just to forget Rupert and Emma and let Ron and Hermione take over. They totally committed to it, and it was charming...absolutely smashing."

[...]

The Great Hall had been one of the earliest and largest sets ever erected and it was a constant at Leavesden throughout the entire series. The sight of the production's longest-standing set reduced to rubble had a tremendous impact on the filmmakers, cast and crew.

"The idea of everything being taken down permanently felt a bit tragic," Watson says. "I guess I imagined they would always be there," she smiles.

[...]

"How do I put into words what all of this has meant to me?" Emma Watson muses. "I don't consider it over because it will always be a part of who I am, and I feel so blessed to have shared in it."
Source: Snitchseeker

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a good counter balance to all the ungrateful comments emma says.

Anonymous said...

No one has any idea what you are talking about, Anon above!

Anonymous said...

for potter promotions she speaks postively about her time but in other publications where she is talking about her life she says ungrateful things. its a good counter balance to snuff out the critics and I guess she has to say these things for the franchise. It's how the game is played.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how when someone speaks their mind and is honest for once they're ungrateful. I'm sorry that Emma can't say the right things all the time. I guess being human is a bad thing for a celebrity.

Eden said...

Well, she doesn't always say positive things for promotion (which is generally always the case for any movie). Many people complained about her interview with Vogue (I think) because they thought she sounded ungrateful but I don't think she is. I just think that playing a role in such a huge franchise like HP for such a long time must be hard at some point and if she wants to be honest, like she seems to be in her recent interviews, she has to talk about it as well as talking about her feeling lucky for having been part of this adventure.

Anonymous said...

then again she could just be soemone who complains about everything and is ungrateful but every once ina while makes herself sound humbled and thankful.