1. Emma as a person – overall impression
I’m not sure how to answer this question. I don’t know much about her, so my (superficial) impression might be way off.
2. Emma’s acting in Harry Potter – is she a good Hermione or not? And why? How important is canon in this respect? What did you think of her performance in Half-Blood Prince as opposed to other films?
I really liked her in the first two movies. Prisoner of Azkaban was a step back, but I don’t think it was Emma’s fault – it was the tandem of Kloves and Cuaron who turned Hermione into something she wasn’t supposed to be. However, since Goblet of Fire Emma has completely ruined Hermione for me. She adopted some really bad habits, she started overacting and portraying Hermione as this hysterical, overly emotional, annoying teenager. Book!Hermione does have her high-strung moments, but most of the time she is quite rational, sensible and objective. Emma fails to grasp this dimension of Hermione completely. Sometimes it seems to me Emma is trying too hard, the other time she appears completely disinterested. She needs to learn to breathe, relax in the scene, but most of all, she needs to decide whether she wants to be an actress or not. It is plain obvious that in the past 4-5 years she has been doubtful about her acting prospects, and unfortunately it shows. And I haven’t really seen much improvement in Half-Blood Prince. I have to admit she annoyed me less, but only because her screen time was diminished.
3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I haven’t seen The Tale of Despereaux, so I can’t tell. Ballet Shoes was a nice little TV movie, but Emma was probably the weakest link in the cast. She was completely overshadowed by the girls who played Pauline’s sisters Petrova and Posy – even the girl who played Winifred was a lot better than Emma. I understand why Emma wanted to do Ballet Shoes, but the role wasn’t much of a stretch and her performance was nothing to write home about.
4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
Well, it’s undoubtedly a good thing that Emma kept focus on school and got excellent marks and got accepted to a prestigious university – getting a good degree will open lots of doors for her, career wise. However, if she is serious about continuing her career as an actress beyond Harry Potter, then it’s a bad thing, because she needs to learn her craft. In fact it puzzles me why she didn’t want to study drama.
5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Overrated. She’s a pretty girl, but she’ll never be in the same sex bomb category as, say, Megan Fox or Scarlett Johansson. Besides, there are so many pretty girls in Hollywood, so if she’s serious about continuing with acting, she can’t count on her looks alone to score her new roles.
6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
It’s a good thing, because it draws more attention to the movies, and broadens the potential audience.
7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
Whatever makes her happy, but honestly, I don’t see her winning an Academy Award anytime soon.
8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
It is quite obvious that Emma is fond of Rupert; she usually has nice things to say about him. However, I’ve never noticed any sign of sexual attraction between them: so, when Emma says that she only sees Rupert as a good friend, or an older brother, I believe her.
9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
I do believe she’s a R/Hr shipper, she has said so many times. I also hope she’s upset as much as the rest of us R/Hr shippers when their relationship is downplayed in the movies!
10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I have no idea what Emma will do after Deathly Hallows, and frankly I won’t be following her career beyond Harry Potter. In any case, I hope she will make the best choices for her, and do whatever makes her happy and fulfilled, and I wish her all the best.
