Question 1:  Best Quote

“I have always played the good guys so far,” he says. “I’d love to play a baddy and maybe beat some people up – do something different. I’m definitely a character actor.” - Rupert

Ivana:  Hell yes! We all see him as a character actor, don’t we? )))
Question 2:  Best Photoshoot

Ivana:  FHM. It was unlike anything he’d done before, very adult, very blokey, and the clothes were great too!

Question 3:  Best Appereance/Event Outing

Ivana:  For me it has to be the Half-Blood Prince premiere in London, because that’s the first time I saw Rupert one-on-one and got a greeting from him for all the ICMers. London was hit by a monsoon that day and we were all drenched, but somehow Rupert still managed to look absolutely adorable (unlike me)!

Question 4:  Best Interview(printed and/or video)

Ivana:  Since I’m a musician, I love interviews where Rupert discusses his musical tastes. There was this interview with The Times where he mentioned for the first time his didgeridoo and how his mother was a punker. And in 2009 he talked to The Musical Observer weekly about his favourite bands and whatnot (and the photo that accompanied that interview was amazing!) The Observer Interview

Question 5:  Best T-shirt
Ivana:  The Harry Potter shirt he donned for the OotP LA premiere. Such a classic. )))

Question 6:  Funniest thing Rupert did on camera
Ivana:  The entire “golf” interview. The look on his face when he said “Jesus” was priceless!

Question 7:  Best Rupert moment

Ivana:  Gosh, I love the baby interviews, the PS/SS era… Among the recent ones, I’d have to opt for Rupert having a dragon painted on his face at the Great Ormond Children’s Hospital charity event.

Question 8:  Best Ron moment
Ivana:  In books, the Silver Doe face-your-inner-dark-side moment is beyond competition. In the movies, the best Ron moment so far is his Yule Ball trying-hard-to-hide-his-jealousy and RG pulled it off perfectly.

Question 9:  Best Hairstyle
Ivana:  The super long shaggy red locks! 2004-2005.

Question 10:  Movie Role you’re dying to see right now!
Ivana:  Deathly Hallows 1, because we already know that the Silver Doe will be in the first movie.

The second edition of our Roncast is finally here! As you know, while we love and appreciate the entire story of Harry Potter, our goal is to focus on our favourite character Ron Weasley, who is portrayed in the movies by our favourite actor Rupert Grint.

As usual, your host is Sam aka Erudite Witch. This time she has invited several Ron-experts to join the discussion, namely Sabine (Galadriel 12), AJ, Joana (Wicked Jo), Emily (Mugglemama) and Dove! They delve deep into the character of Ron, focusing on the differences between the books and the movies, especially as regards the characterisation. Now that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has finally been released, our Ron lovers give their honest opinions on the movie, and attempt to predict what to expect in the latest two installments of the franchise, Deathly Hallows I and II.

Roncast 2

• Intro Song: Magic Man by Heart

• The Ron Quote of the month

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: impressions, reflections
  

• Fanfiction Corner
  

• Deathly Hallows Spoilers
  

• What to expect in Deathly Hallows
  

Download Roncast from the blue Roncast box in the top right corner, and ENJOY! (NOTE: the link will take you to a separate SendSpace page, where you’ll find the download link.)

As noted, the song in the background is Magic Man by Heart. Every podcast, we’ll pick a different song based on your suggestions. If you’ve got a song that you think fits Ron Weasley perfectly, just get a hold of us at grintasticonline@googlemail.com. Also, we would love to have you on show, so if you consider yourself a fellow Ron-expert, email us to land a guest spot! And no need to remind you, your comments and suggestions are always welcome!

UPDATE: We have now added all episodes of Roncast to our Media site, so if you missed an episode, you may download it from here. Enjoy!

Emma Watson (photo by Charles Sykes)

Throughout the years, we have watched Emma Watson grow up on screen, alongside her co-stars Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe. From a cute 9-year-old, she has developed into a glamourous young woman. In the process, she has acquired many fans, but probably as many haters too. Some praise her looks, talent and personality, others are annoyed by her mug and less than impressed by her acting skills. Her ubiquitous media presence, her numerous photoshoots and the front seats at major fashion shows have only added up to the controversy. Is she a serious actress, or just a pin-up? Is she a nice, polite girl or a bitchy spoiled diva? Has she been given undeserved credit? Does her popularity overshadow her, more talented, co-stars? The questions abound, and the answers are extremely diverse.

There is no denying that Emma has the biggest following of all Harry Potter stars – there are hundreds of fansites dedicated to her, she usually tops popularity polls, she wins acting awards based on the public vote, and she has landed numerous lucrative modelling jobs. Maybe it’s because she’s the only girl of the Trio — and a beautiful one at that — or maybe because she’s very charming and articulate in interviews. Moreover, despite all the media scrutiny, she hasn’t succumbed to the pressure and she presents herself as a strong, clever, ambitious, well-educated and level-headed young woman, untainted by fame and money. But is this “the real Emma” or not? And more importantly, is Emma’s cocktail of good looks, powerful intellect and the position of media darling enough to secure her a post-Potter career?

Emma as Hermione Granger

I’ve been a part of the Harry Potter fandom for many years now, and it always seemed to me that Emma was the most controversial cast member. The opinions on her acting potential, her portrayal of Hermione, her on-screen presence and off-screen interests have always been extremely divided. On top of that, legions of fans wanted her to end up in an emotional relationship with either Daniel or Rupert, and the debates re: which one would have been a better match just added to the controversy. Of course, our opinion(s) on Emma are, to a great degree, mediated by the media: Emma the celebrity is probably a very different person from the real deal. Emma herself has stated many times that she’d rather be less popular, and her decision to take a break from acting and pursue her University degree after Harry Potter wraps seems to confirm her words.

However, whether she’s happy about that or not, Emma is a public person and, as such, exposed to scrutiny by millions of people who have never met her. We – the movie lovers, Harry Potter fans, movie tickets and magazine buyers – all have our own perceptions of Emma, which have been mediated by the interviews we’ve read, rumours we’ve heard, photos we’ve admired, and last but not least, the movies we’ve seen her in. Thus, my idea was to ask our forum members to share their thoughts and opinions on Emma with us. The fans were asked to answer a questionnaire, comprising ten questions, on various aspects of Emma’s public persona, in order to create a most accurate psychological “photo-robot” of Emma as an actor and a person. My only request to the participating fans was to give honest, detailed and good-spirited answers, and I promised that I wouldn’t reveal their names (unless they insisted lol).

When choosing who to send my questions to, I did not specifically target the self-proclaimed Emma-lovers or Emma-haters: all these nice people who sent their responses are Rupert fans first and foremost, and they have learned to appreciate Emma as a part of the Harry Potter franchise. Of course, some of them like her better than the others, but overall none of them is too biased. They just gave their honest opinions, that’s all. The paragraphs to follow sum up their answers, and hopefully provide additional insight into the Emma Watson phenomenon.

Many thanks to all fans who took the time and effort to answer my questions; and if you are interested in reading everyone’s full responses, you will find the links to the questionnaires below.

The first group of questions focused on Emma as a person and the way she presents herself to the fans and media. The opinions of fans have been overwhelmingly positive – a majority agree that Emma is a clever and down-to-Earth girl, a good role model for other teenagers. They also appreciated her academic ambitions: as summed up by someone, “As an actress making millions of dollars, she could easily play down the necessity of a good education. However, her determination to finish (and excel!) in her studies is such a positive thing for young fans to see.”

Emma, looking not-so-glamourous after a night out.

As for Emma’s attitude, many fans perceive her as a nice and decent person overall, although some have noticed that Emma can also appear grumpy or aloof in the images. However, we may never know whether this is just a defense mechanism on Emma’s part, a way of protecting her privacy, or a true sign of her moodiness. Although she is very young, Emma has already been on a receiving end of some downright ruthless media intrusiveness – be it speculation about her present and past boyfriends, or paparazzi catching her in compromising poses and plastering photos of Emma flashing her underwear all over the Internet. Some tabloids have described her a b*tchy drama queen, some have hacked into her personal e-mail and published her private correspondence, some have proclaimed her to be a descendant of a true witch, some have declared her dead. None of these is easy to deal with, especially for a girl who is still only 19 years old, and all fans who responded to my questionnaire seem to agree that, so far, Emma has handled the media exposure and pressures that come with it quite admirably.

Related to this is the group of questions about Emma’s career plans and prospects. As we all know, Emma has expressed uncertainty about her future career direction on several occasions, and it definitely looks like she has no idea what she will be doing for living in ten years time! Besides, as noted by a few fans, she seems to contradict herself all the time. She is starting the University in September, so she is definitely interested in academics, and apparently eager to turn her back to living in the spotlight… but no, she also says she would love to do more films during her summer breaks! When asked to choose between acting and modelling she has opted for acting – and yet, she has only done two roles outside of Harry Potter (one voice-over and one TV drama) while at the same time she has accepted numerous modelling jobs.

The fans who responded to the questionnaire seem to think that Emma is expecting too much of herself, and should focus on doing one thing at the time – be it her studies, acting or anything else. In any case, as noted by a fan, “she is in the fortunate situation that she can afford to be uncertain for a while. Others her age have to make decisions for their future life. But she won’t ever have to worry about her income or earning her living, so she can still decide in three years time when she’s finished studying.”

Rupert and Emma interviewed by GMTV

We also “talked” about the way Emma has treated her co-star Rupert Grint over the years. A majority of fans seem to agree that Emma likes and respects Rupert and thinks of him as a good friend. However, quite a few people were disappointed by Emma’s remark that kissing Rupert was “the most horrible thing she’s ever done” (or something). Of course, we all know the context behind this statement (or, should I say, slip): Emma thinks of Rupert as a sibling, thus kissing him in front of the cameras must have been a weird experience for her. Still, the fans felt that she should have worded it differently. And this remark didn’t help excite the fans about the upcoming Ron/Hermione kiss in Deathly Hallows either — despite the fact that all fans agree that Emma is a huge Ron/Hermione shipper who was definitely pleased to learn that these two ended up together.

Allow me to add that, if Emma is serious about continuing with acting, she should better get used to kissing other actors, no matter how she felt about them in real life! In that respect, perhaps she should take some advice from none other than Rupert, who has already kissed four girls on screen (Michelle Duncan, Jessie Cave, Kimberley Nixon and Emma herself). Although he has admitted to feeling uncomfortable when filming those scenes, he’s had nothing but words of praise for his on-screen partners and he made us feel excited about all that snogging. Practice makes perfection, dear Emma!

As for Emma’s acting abilities, a majority of fans are quite doubtful about her acting potential and unhappy with her portrayal of Hermione. When it comes to describing her performance in Harry Potter movies, most opinions have ranged from “decent” to “sh*tty”; and only two interviewed persons have actually been happy with Emma as Hermione. Most fans seem to think that Emma did her best job in the first two movies; one fan voted for Prisoner of Azkaban, and a few have noted that Emma has improved in Half-Blood Prince as compared to Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. But not a single one of them has described Emma’s acting as “brilliant”. It seems to me that Rupert fans in general do like Emma the person, Emma the beauty and Emma the wisecracker, but not so much Emma the actress. She is rarely referred to as a “natural” actress, someone who was “born to do it”.

To be fair, lots of fans have noted that a part of the reason why they’re disappointed with movie!Hermione is the way the character has been written and directed; as one fan has put it: “This may be the fault of the directors more than Emma the actress. She only performs the way the director asks, and the director gets to choose which scenes to select/edit out.” Still, there’s no denying that Emma’s less-than-impressive acting has also contributed to the fans’ dissatisfaction with Hermione in the movies.

The opinions of those who have seen Emma’s other movies have also been divided: while some fans enjoyed Ballet Shoes and thought that Emma was more comfortable playing Pauline than Hermione, others didn’t notice much change/improvement. A majority of fans agreed that Emma should have done more roles outside of the franchise, in order to gain more experience and learn a thing or two about acting; but they also admitted that it must have been difficult for Emma to joggle her education with acting commitments. Most fans believe that Emma should really start taking acting more seriously if she has any plans of making it in the business after her Harry Potter days are over. But in order to do so, she would have to decide first whether she wants to be an actress at all. Looks like Emma herself, with her reluctance to fully commit herself to acting, has contributed quite a lot to the general concensus that she was not born to be an actress. The fans seem to believe that, as long as she is doubtful about her acting future and reluctant to devote herself 100% to acting, she won’t be using her full potential; and in the long run it might cost her a post-Potter career.

Emma Watson on the cover of Crash. Photo by Karl Lagerfeld.

The final group of questions was about Emma’s looks, her celebrity status and the recent media conviction that she is the next “it” girl, the new fashion icon. Again, the fans’ opinions have been divided: while a majority believe that Emma getting all that media attention is good for the Harry Potter franchise in general, on the other hand, they also think that Emma has been getting too much attention at the expense of her more talented co-stars. While all fans agreed that Emma is cute and pretty, some think that her looks are slightly overrated – let me quote a fan opinion here: “She’s a pretty girl, but she’ll never be in the same sex bomb category as, say, Megan Fox or Scarlett Johansson.” And although most fans have no objections to Emma’s interest in and involvement with the fashion industry, they can’t help but note that “good looks alone do not make her a good actress,” and if she is serious about continuing as an actress, “she can’t count on her looks alone to score her new roles” – due to fierce competition she’s about to face once her Harry Potter days are over.

It is beyond doubt that Emma herself is aware of this, and maybe her reluctance to commit herself to acting career at the moment really has to do with her insecurity about her looks and her acting abilities. If this is the case, the only advise the fans seem to have agreed upon is that she should take her time, try out different things in the next couple of years, and then make a firm decision about her future and stick to it. In either case, Emma Watson has definitely grown on us all over the years we have watched her as Hermione Granger, so we all hope she’ll make the best decisions for her, and grow into a happy and accomplished person.

Emma Watson Questionnaire: Fans’ Feedback
Questionnaire 1
Questionnaire 2
Questionnaire 3
Questionnaire 4
Questionnaire 5
Questionnaire 6
Questionnaire 7
Questionnaire 8
Questionnaire 9
Questionnaire 10
Questionnaire 11
Questionnaire 12
Questionnaire 13
Questionnaire 14

On 2 July 2009 Rupert Grint‘s film Cherrybomb was shown in London, as a part of an event which took place at NFT 2, Southbank Centre. The screening was mostly attended by the representatives of the movie distribution companies, as well as several journalists. Thanks to Clay Epstein and Rajal Pitroda with The Little Film Company, Ice Cream Man was given the opportunity to invite twenty-ish die-hard Rupert fans to see Cherrybomb. Prior to the screening, Jo and me had spent several weeks discussing with Rajal how to best organise the entire thing and how to make sure that the most dedicated and reliable fans are invited to see the film. Understandably, TLFC people did not want us to advertise the screening too loudly, and especially not on the main news page, because it was not an open event and the organisers wanted to prevent the overcrowding of the venue. On the other hand, they did not want to risk inviting unknown people who would fail to show up. Therefore, in the end, we agreed that ICM should handpick up to twenty fans (either our forum members or representatives of our partner sites and forums), and Rajal would also invite a few other fans via Cherrybomb official Facebook page. We also agreed that Karo and me should attend the screening on behalf of ICM and help distribute the tickets to the fans who were on our list of invitees.

Hereby me and Karo want to thank all the fans who attended the screening — and especially to those who sent their reviews and feedback — and also to The Little Film Company, who presented us with this wonderful opportunity as a token of appreciation for all the work we had done in helping promote Cherrybomb and campaigning to secure a distribution deal for it.

ICM staffer Karo with fans and representatives of other fansites who attended the London screening of Cherrybomb.

So, what did the fans think of the film? Read their reviews below…

Cherrybomb Review 1
by Kylie

Any movie with Rupert Grint in it I automatically love. But I do believe that audiences who are not familiar with Rupert and his work in the Harry Potter series will enjoy Cherrybomb. I think that with this film, its appeal largely depends on the demographic. Younger audiences will be attracted to Cherrybomb because of its “sex, drugs and rock & roll” subject matter, and because the three leads are very attractive and quite engaging in terms of their performances, as well as their already established popularity: Kimberley Nixon for her roles in several recent teen movies, Robert Sheehan for his TV work, and Rupert… well, obviously everyone knows him and loves him as Ron Weasley.

I also think that the soundtrack was AMAZING, and it’s so great that they used many local bands from Belfast and other lesser-knows music acts. The music really did play a crucial part in the film, both in the story as well as setting the tone and mood of each scene.

I definitely believe that Cherrybomb’s best quality, as a film, was the incredible cinematography and overall visual aesthetic. The colours, sets, camera angles, everything was just so visually dynamic and gorgeous. Right from the begining, all the way to the end I was engaged by what I was SEEING on the screen. If the movie had no plot or sound at all, I think I still could enjoy Cherrybomb just watching the beautiful imagery.

That being said, I think that Cherrybomb’s weakest feature was a relatively weak plot and minimal dialogue. The movie was a series of trouble making by a couple of teenagers. Luke’s family problems constituted the meatiest parts of the plot, but not enough to carry through the whole film, because this subplot didn’t really relate to the trio’s relationship (which, I think, was meant to be the main focus of the film). The quick pace of the film combined with the minimal dialogue didn’t give me enough to engage with, in terms of the characters and their relationship with each other. If Luke’s and Malachy’s friendship was more believable and intense, the dramatic parts of the film would have had a MUCH greater impact on me.

The three leads were cast incredibly well and that they all did an amazing job, especially with their unaccostomed accents. Robert Sheehan was clearly the least experienced actor, Kimberley Nixon did well although had a few iffy moments, and Rupert, well, I’m being biased but I think he was the best. To compare Rupert’s performance to his other roles, I’d say that he is definitely branching out and I always see him growing as an actor. In all seriousness, I think he is THE most natural and flexible young actor working today. I really can’t compare him to anyone else, I just think he is amazing.

Although I’m Canadian, I didn’t find it difficult to understand the accents, actually I found they weren’t as thick as I thought they would be! Very good job by the cast, if I didn’t know any better I would have never thought that they weren’t Irish!

I would recommend this movie to anyone. I know that some people will enjoy it much more than others, but I do think that it’s a beautiful film and that everyone should be able to appreciate at least some elements of it. As for me, I would definitely see Cherrybomb again! I really do hope that it gets picked up by some great distributors, because the public deserves to see it. However, I think 14 might be a bit young to see this movie. Of course, people have various maturity levels but in general I think that Cherrybomb is best suited for an older teen audience, or young adults.

Cherrybomb Review 2
by Vicky

Firstly, I definitely enjoyed the film! I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised, it exceeded my expectations. I felt that Rupert Grint and Robert Sheehan played their roles really well, and they were naturals in the roles. Rupert brought a nice spin on a character with some swagger and both actors had really good comic timing.

I was not as sure about Kimberley Nixon’s performance. It may just be the role, but I never felt that connected to her and I couldn’t see why she was causing such disruption in Luke’s and Malachy’s friendship that had obviously gone through some difficult times before this. I couldn’t decide if her affection for Malachy was real or just something to pass the time. I still enjoyed her performance to an extent, but I just felt the character could have been a bit more fleshed out.

I enjoyed the “artsyness” of the film, some slick ideas on show which really worked in the film’s favour. The soundtrack was well chosen as well and added to the atmosphere.

I enjoyed Cherrybomb immensely and I would definitely go to the cinema to see this movie again. However, I was a bit confused as to who the movie would be aimed at. Obviously, Rupert Grint is the most famous name in it, and a majority of Harry Potter fans would be interested to see it. But it doesn’t seem to be a film for teenagers, despite it being about teenagers. Personally I would recommend it to older teens and young adults, as I think it has something for everyone.

To sum up, I think Cherrybomb was an excellent movie that was totally engaging and uniquely realistic. Not your typical teen movie, and that’s why people should go see it!

Cherrybomb Review 3
by Princess and Crystal

Cherrybomb is an extremely gripping film about relationships, the importance of friendship, drugs and parties. It will appeal more so to the youth as they could possible relate to it. The first thing we noticed and immediately liked was the artistic feel the film had taken. It gave the whole film a sense of excitement and interest. We also liked the fact that each individual character’s sense of style in clothing portrayed their own personalities extremely well. For example, Luke (Robert Sheehan) wore clothes of clashing colours and interesting patterns, which gave him an overall eccentric look. It all corresponds well with the character whose father is an alcoholic and who deals drugs. Malachy (Rupert Grint) on the other hand dresses smart and neat, which reflects his character as someone with manners, respect for other people and also that he is easy to get along with.

Even though Malachy and Luke are almost complete opposites, they are best friends. You can see that underneath the fact that they don’t get along sometimes, they have a very strong bond. Michelle (Kimberly Nixon) comes into town to stay with her father because she has caused too much trouble for her mother to take care of her. Her style is very quirky which reflects the fact that she is a girl who likes to have her fun. Her arrival causes immediate rivalry between Malachy and Luke. The relationship between the three of them is not a smooth one. At first you see that she is maybe drawn more towards Luke than Malachy. Maybe it is because the thing they have in common is that they are both thrill seekers. Michelle is always looking for a bit of excitement and Luke is always willing to entertain, even if it will affect other people in the process.

As the film unrolls, you slowly start to see her turn to Malachy. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Malachy is controlled, loving and a little romantic and she really wants control in her life and someone to genuinely care about her. The story starts with the boys fighting after Michelle, but then things twist and it becomes Luke fighting for his friendship with Malachy. As things only seem to be getting worse for Luke, he suddenly realises that Malachy is the only thing he has left, even though you see that their friendship is falling apart. In the end, he takes desperate measures to save his friend and their friendship.

Cherrybomb was a great film, the acting was very good and the chemistry between the three leads was immense. We really enjoyed it.

Cherrybomb Review 4
by Natalie

I loved Cherrybomb. The film had a very entertaining storyline and the characters were very realistic. The film’s edgy and the nail-biting storyline is something that a lot of people would enjoy. I know my friends would definitely love it! Not all of them are crazy about Rupert like I am, but this film would really appeal to all people around my age (18+) and older.

I can’t really fault this film because I thoroughly enjoyed all of it! The storyline had me hooked and I thought it was action-packed and thrilling! The thing I wasn’t sure about in the film was the text from the text messages they sent. It was very good, I liked the idea, but a lot of the slang was a bit confusing for me, I didn’t really understand what some of it meant.

The actors’ performances were brilliant. Robert Sheehan, who plays Luke, gave a spectacular performance! I was very impressed with him in this film, and having not seen him in anything other than Cherrybomb, I’d very much like for him to do things in the future. Kimberly Nixon was also good. I wasn’t too crazy about how she portayed the accent, but otherwise, very good.

And Rupert Grint – he was fantastic! Cannot fault his performance at all! His performance in Cherrybomb was very different to his role as Ron in Harry Potter and Ben in Driving Lessons. It was nice to see him play a role that’s more grown up and adventurous. He stuck to his accent — his very good Northern Irish accent — at all times, and the emotion he gave out when acting was amazing! He really showed us how it’s done in some very powerful and emotional scenes.

In short, Rupert did a marvelous job, and I personally think he’ll do great — after Harry Potter is over — in other roles, as this film really did show us that he’ll cope without the Hogwarts robes.

Cherrybomb Review 5
by Dexy

Let me start by saying that I have never written a movie review in my life, so don’t expect much! I should also note that I’m a 39-year-old male, and I don’t really belong to Cherrybomb’s possible target audience. I’m not into indie flicks; I happen to love science fiction and action blockbusters, and I would probably never have heard of Cherrybomb if it weren’t for my wife, who is a huge Rupert Grint fan. It was her who persuaded me to see the film, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall, I liked the film very much. It’s a simple and straightforward story, possibly inspired by some real-life events. The best thing about Cherrybomb are the actors’ performances, which are all very good, natural and convincing. The actors were completely unfamiliar to me — except Rupert Grint whom I had seen in Harry Potter movies and a comedy called Thunderpants — thus I didn’t know what to expect; but they really carried the movie. Since I’m not a native English speaker, I cannot judge how authentic their accents were, but they did seem pretty convincing to me.

I would recommend this film to audiences aged 15 and older. The film deals with the challenges of growing up, including the drug abuse, heavy drinking and such, and it has a pretty strong message: the irresponsible indulging in crime and substance abuse can easily lead into tragedy. Although the kids will always find good excuses for their behaviour (such as parents’ neglect, unreturned love, etc.), they need to stop seeking instant relief and accept responsibilities for their actions.

Rupert Grint and Kimberley Nixon in Cherrybomb. Photo by Helen Sloan

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
She seems to be a nice person.

2. Emma’s acting in Harry Potter – is she a good Hermione or not? How important is canon in this respect?What did you think of her performance in Half-Blood Prince as opposed to other films?
I like her in the role of Hermione. Sometimes she overacts, for example her facial expressions make her look a little fake, but only a few times; so overall she is perfect as Hermione. In Half-Blood Prince she was nice. You could see that Hermione loves Ron but doesn’t want to express her feelings. I liked the scene with the birds a lot, she really seemed to be crying.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
In Ballet Shoes her character was different from Hermione, so she did a good job; and I didn’t watch The Tale of Despereaux.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
I think this is neither good nor bad because, okay, she could have learned more about acting, but maybe she wanted to have more free time to spend with her family and friends. But definitely she could learn a few things that would improve her performance as Hermione.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
No I think it’s okay, people like her, she’s pretty and it’s natural for the magazines and companies to want to have her as their “face” and put her on the covers.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Yes, definitely it is good, I think it gives Harry Potter some good publicity.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
She’s making good decisions. It’s a good thing that she wants to study something: it’s a backup plan and it should make her feel more secure if she doesn’t want to act in a future. As for modelling, well she’s very pretty and if she likes it, she should take advantage of it.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
They look like friends, not best friends but good friends; maybe she speaks a lot and I don’t know if Rupert is just shy or she really doesn’t let Rupert talk hahaha.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
I think she likes the relationship, and enjoys talking about Ron/Hermione, but when it comes to the movies and the scenes with Rupert, she looks uncomfortable.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I hope there will be some improvement in the Ron/Hermione department. She always does a good job with the Harry/Hermione scenes, but I really want to see how the relationship between Ron and Hermione grows, how they really love each other. I want to see it on the screen.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
Emma seems like a rather intelligent, poised, classy young woman. I am proud of her decision to continue her education and the way she presents herself in the public eye.

2. Emma’s acting in Harry Potter – is she a good Hermione or not? How important is canon in this respect? What did you think of her performance in Half-Blood Prince as opposed to other films?
I am not totally pleased with Emma’s portrayal of Hermione in the HP movies. She seems too snotty, too arrogant, and not as socially awkward or mocked as the book version of Hermione. This may be the fault of the directors more than Emma the actress. She only performs the way the director asks, and the director gets to choose which scenes to select/edit out.
I feel that canon is important, but not if it gets in the way of decent film story-telling.
I enjoyed Emma’s portrayal of Hermione in Half-Blood Prince more than in most of the films. That was probably due to the fact that she actually had a better variety of emotions to portray. I did feel some of the scenes were forced (hospital bed scene with Lavender), but was glad for less “eyebrow emoting” overall.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I haven’t seen any of her other works, as they do not appeal to me.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
It doesn’t matter.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
She is a beautiful young woman with a very ‘youthful’ appearance. She is not a stunning beauty. The film makers allow the portrayal of Hermione to be too pretty. Hermione is supposed to be plain, not lovely.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
I feel the fashion world is superficial and unimportant, so I’d rather not see Ms. Watson be involved with this industry. However, it has no impact on the Harry Potter franchise overall.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
Her best option, since she is not getting the acting opportunities she desires, is to follow an education and find something that better suits her abilities.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
Other than saying that kissing him was “horrible,” she has always been inclusive and generous to Rupert in interviews. She clearly enjoys him and wants others to as well. Her “horrible” comment was impulsive and reflective of the experience of kissing on screen, not the individual. None the less, it was not the most appropriate way to react.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
I am grateful that she has always been the most vocal proponent of the pair. I hope she was pleased with the way the storyline worked out.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I expect Emma to continue to get the lion’s share of attention throughout filming and promotion of Deathly Hallows I & II. That’s just the media’s way. I hope that she is able to continue to grow in showing the flirtation and attraction between Hermione and Ron, as well as the anguish and hurt of abandonment. I also hope that she finds what she is looking for in a career, and happiness for the future.

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.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
When I first watched Emma play Hermione in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I felt like she was such a smart and cute girl. And this first impression proved to be right, as I watched her in other Harry Potter movies and observed her behaviour towards the press and the public. While other stars concentrate on their acting career, she balances both her study and her acting and completes both jobs with such an excellent result. Considering her age, she does a great job balancing commitments.

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 must say I’m not a fan of her acting. To me, she was Hermione in the first two films: bossy, intelligent, yet insecure. Since the third film, I haven’t felt Hermione much in her acting. Partly because movie!Hermione (under the hand of you-know-who) gradually separated from book!Hermione. She suddenly become a heroine with incredible strength (yeah, she used one hand to pick Harry up and throw him into the cave in Harry Potter 3), took the lines which should have been Ron or others… Hermione also became an “old woman” with her grimaced face and seemed to be uncomfortable with everything. I could hardly distinguish whether Hermione was worried or angry because her facial expression was nearly the same: grimaced eyebrows and stares…
In Half-Blood Prince I found little attachment between Ron and Hermione. Her expression when Hermione was heartbroken gave me no feeling at all. I couldn’t feel the pain Hermione was going through and I even wondered if Hermione was crying or having stomachache. Though she did a good job in the hospital scene, I still felt their relationship unpersuasive. It’s funny that although I am a R/Hr shipper, I actually liked R/Lav better in Half-Blood Prince!

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I watched Ballet Shoes and I don’t know how to put it without being too harsh. Well, I saw little difference between Hermione and Pauline. That same facial expression, the same gestures sometimes made me wonder if this was Hermione or Pauline.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
We all know that off set Emma kept focus on her studies. So there is no surprise that she didn’t do so many roles outside of Harry Potter. In my opinion, this is a wise and good move because she didn’t let the superficial celebrity lifestyle seduce her and distract her from her other interest: study.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Emma is a beautiful young woman, no one can deny it. And the fact that she is the only girl of the Trio makes her even more beautiful. However, when you open the magazines and find her pics everywhere, you have the feeling that her beauty is overrated and appraised too much by the press.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
I think it’s good for the franchise. For example, when she did a photoshoot and interview for Elle, they would mention her as part of the Harry Potter franchise. Considering the majority of Elle readers, not all of them know about Harry Potter. Therefore, once they found her interesting, they might want to find our more about her through her movies.
This, however, is a double-edged sword. With the audiences who are also book purists, when they watch the movie, they may find movie!Hermione too blond and this may affect their perception of the characters.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
Well, this is her life and I wish her good luck. I just found it confusing that in recent interviews, while she kept saying she wanted to be anonymous after Harry Potter, she kept doing the photoshoots, she agreed to be the face of Burberry, she revealed she would be going to the States etc. Well, if you wanna be anonymous, then don’t say it everywhere and every time. I think she is still unsure about her future (well, she’s just 19).

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
I haven’t seen too many interviews of just the two of them (I have been oblivious to the interviews outside the Harry Potter movies until… recently). However, in those interviews that I did watch she seemed very nice towards him and appraised him very much – except for the one she said kissing him was horrible (though she made some amendments later).

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
She said a long time ago she was a R/Hr shipper. I just hope to see more good R/Hr moments in the movies.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I hope in the last two movies, Hermione will be somewhat more like book!Hermione: a strong, intelligent and brave girl, who still shows her love for Ron and to some extent her dependence on him. Hermione, after all, is a girl with such a tender heart who needs caring, love and being loved.
For her project outside Harry Potter, if she continues her acting, I hope she can totally step outside the franchise and make us forget about Hermione. Above all, I wish her the best.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
Being honest, I think it’s a complete coin toss with her attitude. One minute she seems sweet as peaches, the next she seems like a diva. Having seen both of those with her, its hard to imagine what she’s really like.

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 actually think Emma has done a pretty respectable job playing Hermione. However, I feel that for some time her acting has taken a wrong turn. I thought she played Hermione incredibly well in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and that was actually my favorite portrayal of Hermione. Emma does make a good Hermione, mainly because they are so similar: they’re both bookworms who find comfort and peace while studying or just being in school. Now, when it comes to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, at times I couldn’t help but cringe at her acting. I just feel that Emma isn’t giving it her all anymore, mainly because she knows the ropes now and may possibly think that she is so similar to Hermione in a way, that there’s no need to act! In other words Emma is acting the way she would react to a certain situation and not the way Hermione would. So at certain points I had to ask myself, “Is this Hermione or Emma talking?” Hmmm…

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
Ballet Shoes was incredibly bland and pretty much bored me to tears. I thought Emma was incredibly over-dramatic during the film and to me it felt like she was again playing a character too similar to herself. I haven’t seen Tale of Despereaux so I can’t speak much about that; but if Emma was trying to prove she has any acting chops at all, she certainly wasn’t going about it correctly. She was in an animation movie and in my opinion, that’s not saying much when it comes to acting. The audience isn’t seeing you act, they’re not seeing your body language or your facial expressions, they are just hearing your voice.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
If she were serious about acting, she would have done more roles outside of Harry Potter. Now, I understand that school seemed more important to her, which by all means it should, but she really should have done more acting if at all possible. The fact that she has done so little outside of the franchise seems to weaken her chances of a serious career in the future.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
n/a

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
In all honesty, I find it rather annoying and extremely overrated that the public makes such a big deal out of what she’s wearing. I don’t think it’s really benefiting Harry Potter, nor is it hurting it. Her fashion sense and the franchise have nothing in common at all, except for the girl underneath those fancy clothes.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think it’s really good that Emma’s going to college because it’s a good time to “find and discover yourself;” and she may come to terms that she is meant to do something else and that acting may not be the right thing for her. She has said herself that she could fit in a couple indie movies to film while on vacation from college, but I find it hard to see Emma as an “indie darling.” Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t see her doing any type of indie film.
I’m incredibly bothered that she is considered a “model” now. Every time I saw her on the cover of all those magazines, I couldn’t help myself but wonder if she enjoyed acting more, or modelling? I’d have to go with modelling because she’s done more magazine shoots than movies. If she was dead-on serious about her acting, she would have taken all that time it took her to pose for the photo cameras and filled it with time on a movie set, doing what she’s supposed to be doing. Acting!
So, when I see Emma, I don’t see an actress but a model.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
In the past I always thought that Emma treated Rupert quite well, but of course she had to make a fool out of herself on Jonathan Ross and say that kissing Rupert was “The most horrible thing I’ve ever had to do.” For one, it just didn’t seem professional and a lot of Rupert fans including myself thought that was kind of a low blow and that she could have kept that bit of information hidden. But apart from that I have no complaints. She seems to be fond of him at most times.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
I think it’s great that Emma is a R/Hr shipper, because it shows that she’s really into the characters and that she knows, just as much as most Harry Potter fans do, that Ron and Hermione belong together and that they are perfect for each other, despite them butting heads from time to time.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I definitely expect Emma to finish college and think long and hard about acting and if this is what she really wants to do. I personally don’t see her having an extremely successful career outside of Harry Potter, just because I don’t see her making it too far beyond the franchise. Entertainment business is tough, it’s nothing but a big competition. Speaking of competition, I think she has a lot of it and she’ll have to work really hard to get the roles that she wants if she decides to go further with her career.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
I like her. I think these reports we sometimes hear about her being a diva aren’t true. I always admired her personality. She is witty, she is clever, she is intelligent, she is sensible. She genuinely likes Rupert, which is always a good thing in my book. She is certainly interesting to listen to in interviews (okay, sometimes she elaborates a bit too much, but nobody is perfect). It’s not her fault that she’s beautiful and a media darling. She makes the best out of it, which is also clever. I have more of a problem with how the media perceives and treats the trio (i. e. shunting aside Rupert) than I have with Emma attending all these fashion shows and doing one photoshoot after another.

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 think she did the best and was the closest to Hermione in the first two movies. Then her acting dropped. Can’t really put my finger on the reason. Maybe the direction, maybe the script, maybe puberty. Who knows? Is she a good Hermione? Well, I couldn’t imagine another one. Not now with only two more movies to go anyway. Her acting never convinced me much so I would have to say no, she’s not a good Hermione. But that wouldn’t be completely fair. She has been spot on in a couple of scenes. In others it’s just… maybe direction, maybe script, maybe puberty. But I have to say, she really nailed the heartbreak, the jealousy and the love for Ron in Half-Blood Prince. She was much better than in the previous few movies.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I haven’t seen them, so I can’t say anything about it.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
If she really wants to pursue a career as an actress later, it might be a bad thing. On the other hand, since I’ve never been much convinced in her acting skills (although she has somewhat impressed me in Half-Blood Prince) her not being in too many movies has to be a good thing.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
I personally find her beautiful. She can be stunningly glamorous, but what I like even more (and envy to be honest) is that she’s a natural beauty. She has a lovely face, cute freckles and all, without having to put on tons of make-up. So I don’t think her looks are overrated. But tastes are different and many people might find them overrated and that is just as valid an opinion as mine.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Is she a style icon? I don’t really see that. But if she is, I don’t think it’s bad for the franchise. Brings more attention and more money, doesn’t it?

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think she’s not quite 100% sure and she is in the fortunate situation that she can afford to be uncertain for a while. Others her age have to make decisions for their future life. But she won’t ever have to worry about her income or earning her living, so she can still decide in three years when she’s finished studying. I personally can see her doing some modelling when she’s back. I am not sure about acting, mainly because she doesn’t seem to be 100% sure herself.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
With the exception of this one slip in the interview that should not be named, she always says only the nicest things about Rupert, practically gushing about him. I think it’s genuine and you can just feel that she considers him a good friend and colleague.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
Absolutely yes, without a doubt. She is one of us, so to speak. Endearingly so. Very clear and very vocal about it.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
Since there will be very intense emotional scenes in both parts, I expect her to do great. As she did in Half-Blood Prince. Beyond that, I’m not sure. Maybe she won’t even come back after her studies. If she does come back to a life in the spot-light I rather see her doing the modelling and photoshoot stuff to be honest. Regardless of my improved opinion on her acting after Half-Blood Prince.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
I have a lot of respect for Emma Watson as a person. She has grown into an intelligent and beautiful girl who hasn’t let her fame, fortune or good looks go to her head and take over her life. In my opinion she is one of the very few female celebrities that girls should look up to. Keeping up with her school the way she has while working on he Harry Potter movies couldn’t have been easy and I think she handled it all very well. It is a wonderful thing for younger girls to see that being smart is not something you should be ashamed of or try to hide. So all in all I think Emma comes across as a well rounded and grounded woman and I wish her the best!

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?
Even though I do not enjoy all the changes that have been made to the Hermione character, I think that Emma has done a good job with the material she has been given. Staying true to the books is not always an easy thing to do, and I understand that many things need to be changed because what works in a book just does not work in a movie. For example, Hermione in the books does not have strong social skills and is very bossy, almost too bossy, and though I love her strong-in-your-face personality, I do not think it would have played well in a movie. So overall I am happy with how Emma has portrayed Hermione in the movies. I think Half-Blood Prince has been her best film yet of the Harry Potter series, acting wise. She did a great job with the comedy, especially when opposite Rupert Grint, and I really felt bad for Hermione while she was watching Ron with his new girlfriend, Lavender! Emma looked much more comfortable in Half-Blood Prince then she has in any of the past Harry Potter movies. I think the romantic comedy is something she does well and I hope she does more of them in the future!

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I have not seen any of Emma’s work outside of the Harry Potter movies so it would not be fair for me to comment. Though I did notice a change in her skill level after she filmed Ballet Shoes: being given a new character to learn about and create was probably a refreshing change for her and really helped her when she come back to a character that she had become so comfortable with.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
I think it has been a good thing for her. She is clearly very interested in school and wants to resume her education. Had she tried do fit too many films in on her off time from Harry Potter, she would not have been able to make her plans for her education fall into place. I really respect her for sticking with her school work and seeing what else is out there instead of just settling with something that she all ready has.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
As I said above, I think she has grown into a beautiful girl! Her lack of heavy makeup is also something I admire about her. A lot of famous women wear so much makeup even when they do not need it that it is nice to see someone who is so happy and confident just being herself. And why shouldn’t she?

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
I do not think Emma’s “style icon” status should have any effect on the Harry Potter franchise. Even though Emma shares some qualities with her character Hermione, at the end of the day Emma is not Hermione and if she is looked as a “style icon” then good for her. Why not? She is young and interested in fashion! The only way it has affected Harrry Potter movies is that Hermione is not “geeky” enough in the movies. But this has nothing to do with Emma herself; that was a choice made by people much higher up the Harry Potter franchise list.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
n/a

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
Emma and Rupert have great chemistry, on and off set. They appear to genuinely enjoy each others’ company and have a good time together. Their interviews are always fun to watch!

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
n/a

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I hope Emma continues to grow as an actress and I cannot wait to see Deathly Hallows Part I and II. I’m dying to know what made the cut, what didn’t, and how Emma decides to portray Hermione in each scene. As far as after Harry Potter, I wish Emma the best of luck in everything to tries and I hope to see her in some more movies soon!

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
Emma as a person, overall… I think she’s a good person, but she comes off as a bit cold or snooty sometimes. There are times she seems very sweet and times I can see the b*tch. But overall, I think she’s a decent person.

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?
As much as I am, for the most part, disappointed in Emma’s acting, I still think that she, Dan and Rupert are perfect for these roles. I thought she did great in the first two movies, but then in movies 3-5, she was pretty bad. She did better in Half-Blood Prince than she has done in awhile, but she still had some of the same bad habits in places, for example talking too fast and high pitched, as well as heavy breathing. Personally, I have never been too hung up on Hermione being exactly like the books, looks wise, like keeping her hair bushy or things like that. I would just prefer better acting.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I’ve never seen any of Emma’s performances outside of Harry Potter.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
I think it might have helped if she did more things outside of Harry Potter because while she’s “learning acting” doing the Harry Potter movies, it’s kind of ruining some aspects of the movies that could be better. Now her “learning” is going to be a part of history, when it should be the acting that is. If she did other roles or taken classes in between the movies, that might have helped.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
I think her looks are quite overrated. She’s a cute, “girl next door” type. She can look quite pretty sometimes. But I think people really overdo it when talking about her. And people do that with a lot of celebrities. They say how beautiful and stunning they are, when they are really just nice looking, not exceptional looking, people.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Personally, I don’t think it affects Harry Potter in any way and if this is what she wants to do, she should do it. But I do get a little tired of all the over the top photoshoots. I think she would do better learning to act if she wants to continue with this career.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think if she wants to do it all and thinks she can handle it, then she should go for it. It’s her life. She should do what she wants to do. I do admire her for being so serious about her education and not putting that on the backburner, and I also appreciate her wanting a “normal” life for a while. Plus, studying while she’s been in the spotlight must have been a challenge. But she seems like a smart girl, mature for her age. She’ll do fine.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
I think Emma truly likes/loves Rupert as a friend and thinks the world of him. Maybe she even was/is attracted to him. I think she has genuine affection for Rupert and would never hurt him on purpose, but she and Rupert both have mucked up, as far as interviews go. I try to keep in mind that they both are still quite young and some situations are uncomfortable so, sometimes the “wrong” things may slip out. But really, I have no doubt that she cares for Rupert very much and wants the best for him and I’m sure he feels the same way about her.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
I think Emma is a Ron/Hermione shipper. She seems like she’s happy with what happened with her character. It’s kind of nice to know that she fights for that and is a fellow Ron/Hermione shipper.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I’m just hoping that Harry Potter goes out with a bang overall and that everyone tries the absolute best that they can. I’m not going to let little things ruin the whole experience for me, so I try not to dwell on what is bothersome anyway; I just want the actor’s passion and excitement to be there, for the filming, the promotions and beyond. I think it helps the fans to be and stay excited when we get those good vibes from the actors, as well. I don’t really plan on following Emma’s career/life beyond Harry Potter, but it would be nice to hear updates on her every now and then. I wish her luck.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
At first glance, Emma seems to be a very fierce person, who wants to be perfect at everything she does (acting, school, modelling, etc). I think she is also clever enough to make good choices when she has to make big decisions (such as choosing university over acting).
However, I get the impression that Emma does not really know what she wants (or at least not yet), because very often, her actions contradict the things she says.
Her official site is the “Website of British Actress Emma Watson”, yet she has not done any acting outside of Harry Potter (apart from a TV drama Ballet Shoes). She says she is a natural blonde, yet she announced her “hair would go blond” for Ballet Shoes (why would it go blond if it already IS that colour?). She says she is a completely normal girl, and yet she wears high fashion at every opportunity (which neither Rupert nor Dan do to that extent). She buys a house (or flat?) in London weeks before moving to the USA for three years. She claims that she is looking forward to living a regular life without being a star, yet moves to the USA where (as she should know) the paparazzi are much worse than in the UK, not to mention her repeated appearances at events where she gets papped (Rupert has been incredibly successful at avoiding them, so why not Emma?).

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?
First of all, after 6 films, it’s hard to imagine someone else playing Hermione. I liked her as Hermione in the first two Harry Potter films, but much less ever since Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hermione (in the books) is not supposed to be the almost-perfect girl she seems to be in the films. In the books, Hermione is not as beautiful as Emma, esp. considering her bushy hair. Since Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione in the films has been styled in modern and tight fitting clothes; her hair became straight and styled, and most of the scenes showing Hermione’s insecurities and imperfections were not in the script (which is not Emma’s fault, but it influences the impression the audience gets immensely).
Many people can relate to Hermione in the books because she has insecurities, she has difficulties making friends and being accepted. Hermione in the films has been turned into a beautiful Hollywood-like heroine, who I cannot identify with as much as with Hermione from the books.
I had expected more from Hermione in Half-Blood Prince. Compared to Lavender Brown, her infatuation with Ron was minimal. Her “Excuse me I have to go vomit” sounded more annoyed than hurt.
It also seemed slightly unusual for Hermione to try to impress Slughorn by claiming her parents’ profession was dangerous. Hermione usually tries to impress with her cleverness, not with her (or someone else’s) courage.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I have only seen Ballet Shoes (Despereaux would have been dubbed in my country and therefore no Emma’s voice anyway).
She played Pauline with much more ease than Hermione, and came across as much more believable. I loved the scenes of Pauline’s castings and her emotional scenes.
However, Emma herself (and I think the casting agent as well) said that Pauline’s life had more parallels to Emma’s than Hermione’s, so maybe she could simply put more of herself in Pauline’s character than she can when portraying Hermione.
Although she was good, I think the girl who played Posy was still better than Emma.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
If she wants to continue as an actress, no. To me, despite having seen Ballet Shoes, I can only imagine her as Hermione. I cannot imagine her in action movies, or in comedy, or in psychological or political films. I could imagine her in romantic roles, but as she has not had any really romantic scenes yet (as it’s all in Deathly Hallows), I’m not sure how believable she will be.
Emma has said that she uses modelling to break out of being stereotyped, but while she may look pretty or interesting in the shoots, it does not help me see her as an actress, but simply as a dressed up Hermione.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Emma is pretty, or at least seems to be as I’ve never seen her in person. That seems to be important for Hollywood, so if that is where she wants to go at some point, it might be important. However, good looks alone do not make her a good actress.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
I don’t think it has much of an effect on the Harry Potter franchise in terms of gaining or losing fans.
I don’t like that Emma influences Hermione with her fashion sense, however. Hermione in the books never seemed to be that interested in fashion (more like “I get dressed so I won’t walk around naked”), and too insecure to dress up as much as Hermione is in the films, not to mention her constantly wearing pink.
The fact that Emma is so interested in the fashion industry makes her less of the girl-next-door type, though. Her presence at fashion shows, always getting high fashion for whatever event she attends, makes her constant “I am still a normal and natural girl” bragging slightly unrealistic, because how many “normal” girls get to wear Chanel or Burberry?

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
She is very ambitious and think it is a good thing. Her decision to (possibly) give up acting, at least for a certain time, was probably not easy, but I think she will be able to juggle university and acting, especially in the US.
However, I cannot imagine that she will be left alone by the media when she studies in the US (I assume she’d be “safer” in the UK), and even less when she goes into modelling. If she ever has a modelling job during a stressful time at university (exams), she will risk looking tired and unhealthy, and, particularly as she is very thin anyway, the media will certainly make sure to mention bulimia. So she’d better be careful.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
I get the impression that Emma likes Rupert, and that Rupert likes Emma. Just like siblings.
They have sat in the Harry Potter rollercoaster together and they (and Dan) can probably understand each other like no other.
During the Half-Blood Prince promotion, I got the impression that Rupert and Emma were much more at ease around each other, but also further apart than ever before. Maybe it was the fact that they had shot their kiss already and a lot of the underlying tension was gone, which in turn made them more relaxed.
On the other side: only a few weeks are left before Emma goes off to university, which means that their time together at Leavesden is almost over (even if Emma comes back to shoot more scenes later on, the step across the pond comes soon). And not only that, but their lives, which have been similar (acting, red carpets, more or less paparazzi, a safe job with a steady, lucrative income) are over, and both have chosen ways that could not be more different:
Emma wants to leave the show business, she has a boyfriend with whom she has moved into a house, and she is about to leave the country and her family.
Rupert on the other hand has said he wants to continue acting, and all his recent photoshoots seem to prove that he wants to get noticed as an actor. He still enjoys his happy family life and has been pretty successful at keeping away from the paparazzi.
I could also imagine that Emma admires Rupert a lot for being somewhat relaxed (at least on the exterior) about his future, because (as mentioned before) she doesn’t seem to be very sure about what she really wants.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
Errr… yes. She seems to like the idea of R/Hr, but the way she has been talking about the kiss during the Half-Blood Prince promotion certainly took away a huge part of excitement for many fans.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I cannot imagine that Emma’s portrayal in Deathly Hallows will be much different to what we have seen before. In the set pictures, Hermione is obviously still dressed very modern and still has straight hair. I hope Emma will make sure the Ron/Hermione scenes will be emotional enough.
I think she will focus on her studies and modelling after Harry Potter as well as her private life (Jay?), and maybe return to film in a few years. I don’t see her as one of the actresses who are constantly doing very different roles, but she might fit well into the romance department (or films about fashion a la Devil Wears Prada).

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
I think Emma is a very smart, polite, well educated young lady and I don’t think she’s a bad person. Obviously I don’t know her but I think she’s a nice girl, I don’t think she’s too much of a diva. I think as most people her age, she’s still not completely sure what she wants to do or be, her personality is still being formed and she has flaws, as everybody does. Now, personally, she isn’t exactly the typical person I’d hang out with, and I wouldn’t have much in common with her, because I think she’s quite posh and girly and loves fashion and all that, but you never know, really.

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?
Well, to be completely honest, I don’t think Emma is a very good actress. I’m not saying she’s the worst actress ever, but I just don’t think she has a natural gift for acting. She does have some talent in that area and I believe she can (and has) improved over time, but only with a lot of work and learning. She needs to lose some of her bad habits, like moving her eyebrows too much and breathing heavily, because it makes her performance look exaggerated and fake. As to how she plays Hermione, well I think Hermione hasn’t been portrayed very faithfully in the movies, but this is definitely also the writers’ and directors’ fault. However, I believe at certain times she hasn’t played Hermione very well either, because other characters have been written differently from the book as well, but the actors make it so much better (and I can’t help but compare her to Ron/Rupert). I just think sometimes the way she speaks and acts makes Hermione less compassionate and caring then she is in the books.
About Half-Blood Prince, like I said before I think Emma is improving and her performance was better than in previous movies, but we didn’t really get much of her in this one (not that I’m complaining at all), and yeah, she still has loads to improve.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I haven’t watched Despereaux, only Ballet Shoes, and I wasn’t very impressed with that one to be honest. Again, lots of heavy breathing, eyebrow movement, and her performance didn’t feel very real. It’s hard to explain but some actors just make you believe in them, it’s this thing that you can’t really put your finger on but it’s there, it’s a natural gift, and Emma doesn’t have it.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
Well, as I’ve explained, I don’t think she’s an amazing actress but I think she should have done more roles outside of Harry Potter because I’m sure she would have learned a lot (she’s a smart girl) and she’d have improved. Practice makes perfection or something like that, right? I think acting lessons are also very important, but she needs to practice her acting. However, she doesn’t really know if this is what she wants to do for the rest of her life, so…

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
I don’t think her looks are overrated… she’s a beautiful girl, for sure. Most people wish they could look half as good as her, including me lol. I don’t have much more to say about that. She’s not the most gorgeous woman on earth, but she has very classic beauty I think.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
I don’t see it as a bad thing per se, I mean I guess you could argue that her being so involved in fashion and all that takes time away from her, which she could be using to improve as an actress. But, if it wasn’t fashion it could have been anything else – it’s just another part of her and her personality, just like Tom Felton’s music, for example. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I guess it could be a good thing in terms of publicity, but Harry Potter gets plenty of that anyway.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think it’s good that she’s going to University, because it’ll give her time to think and make a decision. If she decides she wants to continue with acting, she needs to dedicate herself to it for some time, in order to become a better actress.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
Well, I think Emma likes Rupert, and sees him as a great guy and she treats him well for the most part. But I’m not gonna lie, I thought that her “horrible” comment was not considerate of her and a mistake (whether intended or not), and it certainly didn’t give her any points for my opinion on her.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
She’s a R/Hr shipper for sure, she’s said so in many interviews and commented on how she wanted them to get married and have kids, which is cool. She’s not a fan as in reading fanfiction online or drawing fanart, of course, but she ships them.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I expect of Emma, in Deathly Hallows, a bit more than we’ve seen before, but I don’t expect her to suddenly become the best actress in the world, because that’s not gonna happen. I hope she’ll be better but I know she won’t be amazing, not to me anyway because, again, she just doen’st have the natural gift and she couldn’t have improved that much in so little time. As for after Harry Potter, I’ll probably only go watch her movies if the plot and other actors interest me – I won’t watch a movie because of her, but I will also not avoid one because she’s in it (if she does decide to act more, that is).

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
She seems likes a lovely person in interviews, but in pictures she seems grumpy.

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 don’t like her as Hermione. She comes across snooty and condescending and bitchy, instead of a caring yet sometimes bossy know-it-all like in the books. She looks like she is angry 90% of the time and that drives me nuts. Hermione is NOT an angry person! Her performance in Half-Blood Prince was better than the previous three movies, but it still wasn’t Hermione.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
Never seen any of these.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
It’s a good thing, because honestly she needs to work on her acting skills before she tries to do something else.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Overrated. She is cute, yes, but she gets WAY too much attention.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
It gets news, so I guess it’s good.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
She should pick one and stick to it. It takes loads of talent to do more than one, and sadly she doesn’t have that much. Just go hack to university.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
They are very cute in interviews and they have good off-screen chemistry to go along with the on-screen chemistry.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
She definitely is, and I wish she would try to influence that part of the movies since the movie makers seem to adore her so much!

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I will keep my fingers crossed that she will nail Deathly Hallows and not ruin the great Ron/Hermione scenes with her angry-all-the-time scowl. I think after Harry Potter she probably won’t act much at all, but may model.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
She sometimes comes across sweet, sometimes stuck up. I don’t know. I know stories of people that have met her/have been in the same school with her and which weren’t the most flattering stories, to say the least. Also Phoenix (the IMDB member and Harry Potter insider) has said that she’s nice when she needs to be.
As long as she doesn’t start bitching about Rupert…

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 LOVED her in the first film. She was right up there with Rupert for me back then. Sure, they were kids and their acting was still very staged at times, but I thought she had the swottiness of Hermione down to the T. Not to mention her and Rupert played each other off brilliantly! The second film, I can’t really say because she wasn’t much in it. The third one… I don’t have real problems with her acting but with the characterisation. It’s ridiculous how they turned her into this heroine who’s brave moments in the films were actually all Ron’s in the book. RIDICULOUS I SAY! Prisoner of Azkaban is still my least favourite movie because of the horrendous butchering of story/characters and because that put off the whole “I’m fierce Hermione who’s awesome at everything while the redhead coward’s in fear” thing.
Her acting was complete sh*t in Goblet of Fire. The chest heaving, the crazy eyebrows, the shrillness and raspiness of her voice that she still has – yes, even in Half-Blood Prince, though nothing beats Goblet of Fire in terms of her worst acting. I wanted to slap her. Not to mention Goblet of Fire seemed like one big ass Harry/Hermione fanvid. *barf* No thanks. Order of the Phoenix was….well, a slight improvement but still pretty much the same, the only highlight of her performance was the eye sex with Rupert and they finally had chemistry again, which was sorely lacking in Goblet of Fire.
Half-Blood Prince was….okay I guess. She annoyed me less but her performance didn’t stand out and people tend to overreact calling her crying scene the most heartbreaking thing ever. Yeah, uhm, not really. Downside is that the chemistry with Rupert seemed to be lacking again. I’m hoping it’ll be back full force in Deathly Hallows.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I can’t say. Never seen Tale of Despereaux and I couldn’t bare to watch more than 15 minutes of Ballet Shoes because her chest-heaving and crazy eyebrows were pissing me off.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
She doesn’t seem that passionate about acting right now anyway so I guess it doesn’t really matter. I don’t know and I don’t really care since I won’t follow her films after Harry Potter anyway.

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
She’s pretty and God knows how she manages to keep such flawless skin (*jealous!*) but I think she is overrated.
Don’t want to brag, but if they were to put me in the clothes they put her in in the magazines I would look pretty damn hot as well.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Is she? I never considered her to be one so I can’t really answer this.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
It’s an admirable thing that she takes education into high regard. Good for her. I don’t feel like she’s passionate about acting at this point (opposed to Dan and Rupert, but they don’t want to continue school). If she enjoys modelling, good for her. But I wish she would stop moaning and complaining in interviews about how she wants to be incognito/normal if she allows herself to be plastered in these fashion mags on a monthly basis. She has also said that she does these shoots to make people looks at her differently and to get parts. However it’s one thing to look a certain part and another to be able to be/play the part. Looking pretty in front of a camera, wearing designers clothes isn’t going to cut it.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
She lights up when she talks about him – and, really, who doesn’t? He’s like the sweetest guy. She’s always been nice about him. I do think there’s a genuine fondness between and only between them. They’re the pair within the trio that have been through this crazy ass franchise since the start because they had loads of auditions together.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
Yes. She always has been. Fiercely so.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I just hope she doesn’t muck up my Ron moments (which also obviously includes the Ron/Hermione moments). I don’t care for her after HP. I’m not into her acting wise at all. And it’s not like she’ll be doing a lot stuff since she’s got college coming up. The only reason I’m watching her now is because she happens to be in the same films with Rupert .

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
Emma is a true beauty, inside and out. One of the things I love about her is the fact that education is so very important to her. As an actress making millions of dollars, she could easily play down the necessity of a good education. However, her determination to finish (and excel!) in her studies is such a positive thing for young fans to see.

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?
Honestly, I believe that Emma is subpar Hermione. This, for me at least, is especially true from Prisoner of Azkaban to the present. J.K. Rowling has a special place in her heart for Hermione, who is supposed to be brilliant… but scary. She is a complex character who harbors several insecurities. She is a flawed heroine. It is my opinion that Emma could never fully grasp the layers of Hermione. For example, Hermione’s swottiness usually manifested itself when she was worried. She became very maternal and bossy, but you could tell that it was because she was being cautious of a situation that she and/her mates were going to face. In the films, Emma just comes off as huffy. No layers, no depth whatsoever. In Half-Blood Prince, I saw a bit of improvement Emma. She did pretty good with acting jealous, sly, and humorous. However, I felt that her “heartbreaking” scene with Harry was a little less than convincing.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I’ve only seen clips of Ballet Shoes, so I can’t really speak on that. However, her performance as Princess Pea in Despereaux was, in my opinion, nothing to write home about. I would have thought that she would have been a little more comfortable doing voice-overs, but she seemed even more “flat’ in this” Almost like her heart wasn’t in it…

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
If Emma wants to grow as an actress, I believe that the fact that she didn’t really spread her wings in different roles could seriously hurt her in the future. You always need to work on your craft!

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
She’s a pretty girl, a natural beauty even. I will always give her that.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Sigh, publicity is publicity. Personally, it has always irked me that she gets more attention for her magazine covers than her acting skills. But these magazine readers will be movie ticket buyers.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I believe that Emma will be a true academian, (maybe one with Chanel and Burberry contracts!) However, I don’t see a long-term acting career in Emma’s future. Her acting skills always come off as very one-dimensional, and although she will get some scripts because, well, she’s Emma Watson, once she’s forced to audition for roles, I believe she will have a lot of trouble getting the parts.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
Emma usually is very complimentary of Rupert in interviews. I do believe that she adores and respects him as a coworker. I was upset with the whole “horrible” kissing interview though. I can understand that she could have been nervous. But really, she went overboard in that interview.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
She’s a shipper, and she should be! It is my hope that behind the scenes, she is giving Kloves holy heck every time he attempts to sneak in Harry/Hermione nonsense into the scripts.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
Honestly, I hope that Emma does a wonderful job in Deathly Hallows and goes out with a bang. I want her to embrace Hermione, and truly, TRULY become her, and show her vulnerabilities as well as her strengths in the movie. However, I expect, unfortunately, that she will not capture the essence of Hermione. Over 10 or so years, she hasn’t been able to do this, and although she may give her best effort, alas, I think she will fall quite short.
However if you look beyond acting, I think Emma has so much potential. She has a sharp mind, and she is very beautiful. I can see her being an agent of positive change in the world, if that’s what she wants to do.

1. Emma as a person – overall impression
As a person, I think Emma is extremely studious and posh. She has worked and studied hard and finished school with straight A-s. She did all of this while being on set for Harry Potter and having a private tutor. She also went back to school as much as possible in between the films. She takes her education very seriously and it shows. She’s going to Brown University, which is an Ivy League school in America. She’s taking a break from acting so she can study. She has never given up on her dream to go to University and she is fulfilling that dream. I also think Emma is extremely high-class. She loves to do photo shoots modelling expensive clothing and accessories. She loves to wear high fashion. She is always dolled up and always wears make-up. Her parents are lawyers so I am sure she’s used to the upper class lifestyle.

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 don’t think Emma is a very good Hermione, but the Warner Bros is also to blame. I think she was best in the first couple of Harry Potter movies. She was uptight, smart, brave, and very much like Hermione. But as Emma grew up and got prettier, I think Hollywood held on to that and made her less of what Hermione is supposed to be. Book!Hermione is extremely courageous and for the most part keeps her insecurities in. She looks out for Harry and Ron and she does not care – at least on the surface – about her physical appearance. Movie!Hermione is more sappy. She cries a lot, clings to Harry, and is so “beautiful.” While Emma is good at showing Hermione’s brave side and her feistiness, I think her way of showing Hermione the woman and how she presents herself is off. Emma is not as strong and does not show Hermione’s confidence well. Her voice is always shaky and she overreacts many times when the line is supposed to reflect Hermione’s calm and intellectual nature. Book!Hermione is quick-thinking and witty, but Emma often presents her as being the “save me Harry” kind of girl. It’s like Emma is dumbing down Hermione.
I think keeping Hermione canon no longer matters. From Prisoner of Azkaban onwards her character and demeanour has changed. She’s been too girly for so long that people who don’t read Harry Potter probably think Book!Hermione is like that. The book fans know that Hermione is not so shaky and dainty about things. However, with her being so dolled up in the movies, keeping Hermione in character no longer applies, because people are too used to how she is now. I think if Emma was to go back to playing Hermione how she should be, people wouldn’t like it so much. I say this because look wise I’m sure her straight blonde hair and pretty, tight clothes are much more pleasing to the eyes. The non-readers would be shocked to find out that Hermione has slightly large front teeth, bushy brown hair and even hunches over because of all the books she carries. Emma is far too pretty to be “reduced” to keeping cannon with Hermione’s looks.
I think her performance in Half-Blood Prince was better than I’d seen in previous movies. It is easy to say this because she wasn’t in the movie as much as in previous instalments. She was mostly there to ogle Ron, which I think Emma has always been good at. She was great with the comedy at the Christmas party and her troubles with Cormac. She was also brilliant with making the luck potion and I liked how she showed her pain after seeing Lavender kiss Ron. For once I felt something from her. The look she have Ron after sending the birds on him was powerful and the smile she gave Ron after he moaned Hermione’s name was very well done. However, there was still the same shaky breath/eyebrow dancing in there.
I also realized she is not good with laughing. In both Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, her laughter was overdone. When Ron said Dumbledore was 150 or so and they all laughed, it was painful to watch Emma’s mouth wide open and her screech blaring through the speakers in the cinema. I also think her talk with Harry at the end was weak. Her eyebrows were dancing and her delivery of a great line about being strong and Harry needing her and Ron was lost because she rather rushed it. She did better with the comedy than the drama. Therefore, overall, she was better but her same constant mistakes were obvious.

3. Emma’s acting outside Harry Potter (Ballet Shoes, The Tale of Despereaux)
I have seen her in Ballet Shoes and, in general, she is not the strongest actress. I think she needs more coaching. Like in the Harry Potter movies, she rushed lines, she was stale in intense moments, and it almost seemed like she was reading from cards. There was no emotion in her role as Pauline. It was almost as if she did the movie just to say she did something else besides Harry Potter. There seemed to be no passion behind her. Though I have not seen Despereaux, I think it is fair to say I would not enjoy her performance. She said in an interview that while she would do her voice work, she would worry if she sounded like Hermione. I think that if she had to worry about speaking like a character she played in another movie, she must have struggled with it and I would probably hear the princess but visualise Emma playing Hermione.

4. The fact that Emma didn’t do many roles outside of Harry Potter – a good thing or not?
I think Emma not doing any roles outside of Harry Potter is a bad thing if she wants to take up acting as her career. She has to get experience. She is not a good actress and she has to learn and grow by taking up new and different roles. Both Rupert and Dan have done other things to grow as actors but Emma has not. She will always be seen as Hermione and will only know how to act as Hermione if she does not step out and do other projects. It seems obvious that her not acting in other roles has hurt her. She’s given statements saying she did try out for some roles and wasn’t picked. If nothing else, it will not look good to directors. They will see her portfolio and say “Hmm, you’ve done Harry Potter 1-7 playing Hermione Granger…what else do you have?”

5. Emma’s looks – overrated or not
Emma is a very beautiful girl but her looks are very overrated. In my opinion, she is far too thin and her dyed blonde hair holds her back. She was much more original and pretty as a brunette. She was a bit curvier between the Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix as well, and she was even more beautiful then. But these days she’s a pretty, thin girl with blonde hair and she looks very young for her age.
To me, she has great fashion sense and looks absolutely gorgeous in her designer dresses but sometimes she tries to wear dresses that don’t fit her body and she wears so much makeup at all times. She should learn to be more natural and realize that she’s crossing over to “glamour and glitz” Hollywood. She’s beautiful but in a superficial way that is highly overrated and has been seen a dime a dozen.

6. Emma as a style icon – is it a good thing for the Harry Potter franchise overall, or not?
Emma as a style icon is good for the Harry Potter franchise in the sense that it will attract more males to the theatres. Sex sells and seeing Emma in magazines with her knickers showing and with tons of make-up will make blokes say, “Wow, I have to see her!” It will also make the series seem less kiddie and maybe more young adults, who know nothing about the books, will come to see it because they saw the “pretty girl in the pretty dress on TV or a magazine.” However, I don’t think Emma has to do a million photo shoots to help the franchise. There are millions of devoted fans there to see the film and all the characters and not just the pretty Emma.

7. Emma’s ambition and plans in life: acting, or modelling, or university, or all these
I think Emma is locked on University and modelling. Everyone knows how hard she worked to get her marks and she’s very serious and open about wanting to get her degree in Liberal Arts. She’s basically putting her acting career on hold for her education. Therefore, I think school is her number one priority. In addition, I think modelling is another very important area to Emma. She has done tons of photo shoots. She loves going to fashion shows and she’s learning so much about the fashion industry. She has the looks and the body and personality for modelling and I think she is taking advantage of it. I believe when work is minimal at University she will do more photo shoots talking about “life after Potter and how school is” or whatever. I certainly don’t think she will give it up. As for acting, I don’t think it’s something she loves. Her co-stars Rupert and Dan have said they are in love with acting. They want to continue acting after Harry Potter and have done lots of work outside the franchise. They both have said school is not an option for them, because they are actors and love what they do. Emma has done nothing but state how unsure she is about acting. She has stated several times that she never envisioned it as her career choice and there was even speculation that she would not return for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. I don’t think she cares as much for her acting as she does for University and modelling. She seems to put more effort into taking pictures and studying than into the character she plays.

8. The way Emma treats Rupert in interviews and public appearances
In my opinion, Emma adores Rupert. I think she admires him as a man and loves his personality. She always talks about how quiet and calm he is. She gets so ravelled up over how collected he is. I think she loves him as a big brother and it shows. She always gives him looks of encouragement and laughs and smiles when he speaks. She backs him up when he gives answers to questions; I think she realizes that he’s not the biggest talker and isn’t the most comfortable with interviews and such, so she tries to help him relax and laugh so they can get through it. I also believe she tries to pull more out of him. The Unscripted interview, the interview they did in Paris together, and the one for GMTV are great examples of her trying to bring more out of him and trying to make him laugh. She always pays close attention when he speaks and she deliberates thoughts with him. I think she respects him a lot and her total eye contact when he talks is great. It shows her respect for him. I think she really cares for him as a friend.

9. Emma as a Ron/Hermione shipper
Emma is a firm Ron/Hermione shipper. She has said from day one that Harry is not the one for Hermione and that Ron is. She has said countless times how she knew Ron and Hermione were going to get together and that it is a wonderful thing. She told Regis and Kelly that Hermione couldn’t marry Harry because she had to marry Ron and have beautiful redheaded babies. I don’t think she understands Ron and Hermione sometimes – though that could be because of how the Warner Bros had changed their relationship – but she certainly believes in R/Hr and even more importantly knows and doesn’t mind telling and showing her opposition to H/Hr. Emma being a R/Hr shipper really shows in her acting. Her best moments are when she’s either gushing/nagging or giving Ron looks. All the movies are great examples of these, especially Order of the Phoenix and all the gazes she gave him during the DA meetings and the smile of admiration at Christmas.

10. Your expectations: Emma in Deathly Hallows I and II, and beyond Harry Potter
I don’t think she will show much growth in Deathly Hallows Part I and II. She will be a bit weak in emotional parts, she will have a shaky voice, she will rush lines, and she will not be as strong and fierce as Hermione should be. However, knowing how she did in Half-Blood Prince, I hope that when Ron leaves she will show how depressed Hermione was. Emma did a great job showing Hermione’s pain over Ron in Half-Blood Prince. She has always been good at showing Hermione smitten over Ron.
I also expect the kiss to be good, not only because Rupert is her snogging partner but she’s said countless times that she just had to get it right and wanted to get it right. I think she will bring enthusiasm and daze like in the book. It helps that Rupert is playing Ron. He’s inspiration enough.
I think post-Deathly Hallows she will stay in school and out of the headlines for a while. I’m sure she will make appearances like if she goes to movie premieres, shops, or does the occasional photo shoot, but I think for the next few years she will be devoted to her studies. After University, she will start acting again and will become an actress much like Keira Knightley. She won’t be the strongest actress but she will be beautiful and will work with great actors and directors that will make her movies successful. I see many photo shoots and magazine covers in her future as well. As an actress, she will probably do many period pieces like Kiera and romantic comedies; she will stick to the classic and simple movies. I cannot see her in heavy dramas, indie, or action films; I cannot see her really transforming for a role. She will be known as a fashion icon and beauty but I don’t think the role of Hermione Granger will ever leave her.

Dove’s Comic

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Check out Dove’s hilarious fanart in our Flickr gallery too! PG-13 only! Right sidebar, please!

Dove: Stuck In The 90s (<– now, THIS one contains NC-17 stuff; kids, stay away!)

One of the things we love about Rupert Grint is his trademark ginger hair. Over the years, Rupert Grint has been seen with various hairdos — both short and long, tidy and messy. Some of them were one-off stunts “for the movie role only” (such as his famous Thunderpants perm), but he has also tried out different styles in his private life. Hair experts have paid tribute to Rupert’s locks, and in 2007 he made it onto Top 5 Best Film Personality Hairstyles list compiled by haircare giant Brylcreem. So, I’ve selected a few of the cuts he has sported for various public appearances and photoshoots. Tell us which one you think suits him best, and after voting, elaborate your choice in the comments!

What: AC/DC concert
When: Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Where: M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, UK

AC/DC rockin' it

Long live Nintendo Wii and its Guitar Hero game — if it weren’t for Guitar Hero, so many great old rock bands would have been pushed into obscurity by the recent trends. Instead, the rock dinosaurs such as Iron Maiden are touring the world and enjoying almost the same level of success as they did in their prime (which was long before 95% of you who read this were born). And, among the guitar heroes of the golden age of hard-rock, Angus Young of the AC/DC fame might be THE ultimate hero. Physically, he has always been a somewhat comical character – he’s a 5’2” skinny fella, whose trademark stage wear is a school uniform — short trousers, white socks and all (see the pic above)! But when it comes to playing his guitar, this pint-sized man knows his s**t, and his machinations have inspired legions of kids to aspire to become guitar heroes themselves.

Anyway I’ve been an AC/DC fan since, like, forever, but I’ve never seen them perform live. So, for me, to finally attend their gig was a dream come true. And I was eager to get a full AC/DC treatment: therefore, I couldn’t wait to see whether Angus would wear his school uniform (he did!), and whether he would do his ridiculous little duckwalk dance (he did!), and whether Brian Johnson would wear a vest and a flat cap (he did!) and whether the drummer would smoke on the stage (he surely did!)… I was also expecting to see some old school stage antics, like giant-sized inflatable dolls, huge bells and cannons (they were all there!) and of course Angus doing a striptease (and you bet he did it – only to reveal that he’s wearing boxers emblazoned with the AC/DC logo!) So, all boxes ticked – Ivana happy!

Certainly, all this may sound utterly silly to someone who isn’t into old-skool bluesy, greasy, blokey, sexist, flamboyant hard rock – but for the initiated, such as myself, this is the epitome of fun! But goofy stage antics aside, these people know how to cook up a good riff, and their commitment to what they do ultimately transcends the silliness of it all.

The concert was introduced by an inspired Belfast-based band called The Answer. These blokes play some cool bluesy guitar rock but with some funky elements, courtesy of their rhythm section. They’re an exciting live act – the crowd loved them!

And then “the thunder from Down Under” took over. The first song of the night, “Rock’n’Roll Train” (from their latest album Black Ice, released last year), was introduced by a cartoon film of Angus dressed up as the Devil, driving a steam train faster and faster, to the horror of female controllers, and ending up with a real engine crashing onto the stage! The set offered a retrospective of their entire career, so they delivered all the classics such as “Highway To Hell”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, “Back To Black”, as well as a few newer things. Not that anyone could tell the difference between the old and the new songs really, because thirty years later, AC/DC are still doing their own thing – basic riffs, basic rhythms, three chords per song, and lyrics about gettin’ some and having a good time. The singer Brian Johnson is 61 years old (!) and nowadays he can’t hit all the high notes, but his energy level hasn’t decreased at all. In between the songs, the crowd would scream “Angus! Angus!” hoping that the show would never end! (And we were surely very sad when it ended.)

Now, I’ve read some really bad reviews of the AC/DC‘s UK tour (which, by the way, sold out in a matter of hours). The critics accused them of being “immutable dinosaurs” and such. But hey, none of us who bought tickets for their shows would want them to change! These granddads have survived in the music business for more than three decades by remaining true to who they are; and whoever expects them to change now must be smoking something way stronger than cigs. Yeah, they might be relics from the 1970s, misogynous sexists and whatnot, but all of us who packed up the MEN Arena that Tuesday night were simply having too much fun to care.

In September last year Ice Cream Man broke news about a film in development titled The Giant’s House that had Rupert Grint’s name attached to it. Regrettably, Mr Marvin Acuna with “Acuna Entertainment” informed us that Rupert was involved with this project but he was not able to commit, due to his busy schedule (which was made even busier by the Half-Blood Prince delay and the Deathly Hallows split). Mr Acuna said that they were quite disappointed and really looked forward to working with Rupert. Since then, the project has been put on hold and it is unknown if/when it will be reactualised. Nevertheless, our very own AJ has read the best selling novel by author Elizabeth McCracken that the film was supposed to be based on, and reviewed it below. The review contains major spoilers, so you’ll get familiar with the plot and the relationship between two protagonists, James Sweatt (whom Rupert was supposed to portray) and Peggy Cort (Niv Campbell was attached to this role). Feel free to comment on this book-should-have-been-turned-into-movie and whether it would have been a good role for Rupert.

AJ’s review

The Giant’s House: A Romance by Elisabeth McCracken
Paperback, Harper Perennial, 1997
ISBN-10: 0380730200; ISBN-13: 978-0380730209

The characters:
- Peggy Cort: A librarian in a small tourist attraction town of Cape Cod. She’s given up on love, she’s a bit plain and lonely. The book is written from her point of view, as if she’s telling a story of her past.

- James Sweatt: A young boy/man who has giantism. He likes to read and do card tricks. He likes to paint and take photographs. He dreams of traveling to places, like New York (which he gets to do) and Boston. Although he is very tall (growing to be about 8’4″) and attracts a lot of attention for it, he’s not treated too negatively, he has friends and folks like to visit him.

- Missus (Mrs. Sweatt): James’ mother. She’s dedicated her life to caring for James. But, I think she’s always had mental health issues as well. She’s an alcoholic, but she’s not mean or violent, she’s just sad.

- Caroline and Oscar Strickland: They are James’ aunt and uncle on his father side (who is pretty much non-existent… well, until the very end.) They are good people who love their nephew and even though James’ father left his wife and child years earlier, they took it upon themselves to care for them.

- There are some other characters that come in and out of the picture, but these are the most important.

Plot: The story is told through rememberances of Peggy Cort in three parts. The first parts discusses how she got in with James and his family. In the beginning, she pretty much dislikes people. She doesn’t think of them as anything beyond library patrons. However, I think she longs to be loved, appreciated and needed. She loves how the people NEED her to help them find books, and it makes her feel special when SHE has the answer to their inquiries. One day, James comes into the library. She notices his height (he was a kid, but already taller than a grown man.) He liked getting books out about magic tricks. This went on for some time, he needed a book about a topic, she’d help him. Until, one day, he’d stop showing cause he injured himself. His mother, Missus, came in to get books for him. Peggy would inquire about him, even offering to take books to him, but the Missus would just get the books. Eventually, Peggy invited herself over and met James’ family. She decided that she liked it there, so in a way, made it a point to become closer to them. James isn’t in the first part of the book much. He’s always out with his friends. During this time Peggy gets to know his mother (who’s a bit tragic) and his aunt and uncle (who brighten up the story a bit.)

Peggy has become close to the family, and then one day Missus takes her pills with her alcohol and wanders outside, and while trying to help her back inside, they fall and she hits her head and James hurts his leg (he’s very fragile, therefore, the smallest injury means months in the hospital for him.) While James is in the hospital, Missus dies from her injuries and no one tells him the entire time he’s in the hospital. This is when Peggy DECIDES that she loves him and that she’s pretty much dedicated to him. She and the Stricklands decide to build him his own house in the back of their house that is scaled for him. It has all of the amenities except a working kitchen and bathroom.

By the time he’d come home, he knew that his mother had died, even though they tried to keep it from him.

So, from this point on, much of the book is about him being in his house and having visitors (his teenage friends and tourists) come to his home. Meanwhile, although 10-11 years older, Peggy is becoming drawn to him, spending much of her time either working or catering to him. He gets a minor crush on this one girl, Stella, and though it pains Peggy, she encourages him a bit. Stella likes James as a friend, but she gets engaged and then married to another man.

James can’t buy his stuff at stores, he has to get his shoes made, his clothes ordered, etc. So, in order to make some money, he goes to a meet and greet at the store that makes his shoes. However, when they wanted to measure him for another pair of shoes, they discovered that his feet were infected (he can’t even feel things in his feet or legs, so he didn’t know.) The shoe store WAS going to send him to New York to a trade show to represent them, but after that, they didn’t want him and they didn’t have the heart to tell him (he’d been looking forward to it.)

James had been given offers by circus shows like Barnum and Bailey to join them, but he didn’t want to. But, finally, he did a small engagement with Barnum, so he could visit New York. He had a nice time (and took Peggy with him.) Met his circus partner, a really small lady, who told him that he should get married, thus causing him to haphazardly ask Peggy to marry him. There’s also this drunk guy in a restaurant (who becomes important later.)

When he gets home (back to being a tourist attraction in his house), he decides that he wants to go to Boston. He and Peggy have one moment together one night. (They’d been told by a Doctor who studied Giantism, that James wouldn’t be much use sexually.) Basically, they spooned and he held her hip and her breast.

That’s it, and then a week later after walking out of a store, he collapsed in the street, but refused to go to the doctor. They take him home, where he just kept getting worse and he died in his sleep. He had an infection in his leg because of the brace he wore digging in his leg (remember, he couldn’t feel things in his leg) and it led to pneumonia. After his death, they continued his house as a museum.

Part three, James’ father comes back, asking about an inheritance. (He was the drunk guy in the restaurant in New York…. but didn’t introduce himself as such). Of course, the Stricklands (his family) have no words for him. So, he bothers Peggy at work, asking questions about his son, for something like a picture of his. They meet and go to her house, where they end up having sex and she gets pregnant (of course, he leaves immediately, and she didn’t expect anything less.) So, she passes off the baby as… James’ baby. The End.

AJ’s Evaluation:

Okay, I have to think of it in its three parts. Part one, it started slow. It was mainly about Peggy and to me, her need to belong, even when she said she didn’t WANT to belong. It helped to establish a relationship with the family. You got to know about James’ mother, who as I said before, seemed a bit tragic. I think she held guilt over her son being so tall and knowing that even though she’d probably take all of the pain away if she could, couldn’t really do much for him. She was a bit overprotective, but wasn’t depressive over him. The Stricklands were a lovely, lively couple who loved their nephew and the two children they ended up having. I really didn’t get a feeling for James in this first part.

Part Two, after James’ mother died, Peggy spends more time around him. One thing that I liked, was that it wasn’t like Beauty and the Beast. For the most part, James was a nice guy. He had school friends, the town’s people liked him. Sure, he was considered an oddity, but he was engaging enough that people would sit down and talk to him. And he often corresponded with some tourist long after they’d gone (like Patty Flood.) The only sad part about him was that he kept growing, so his body was giving out on him. When he was younger, he was tall, but could play baseball, but as he got older, he needed a brace and a cane, couldn’t dance with a pretty girl if he wanted to. He’d become too big for things like cars (Peggy bought a car and had a seat removed so he could sit in it.) He had trouble doing simple things like walking and he couldn’t feel his lower limbs, so he didn’t even know when there were infections.

Regarding his relationship with Peggy, the story was told from her point of view, so we really didn’t know what HE thought about her romantically. He had had a brief crush on Stella, (even asking Peggy to help him with it…), but when she got married and he went to her wedding, he decided to let it go (nothing worst than unrequited love.)

Peggy always talked about how much she loved him (to herself that is.) But, I don’t even know if that was romantic. I personally think (and it becomes clearer to me in the third part) that it was NEED. Personally, I think she NEEDED to have purpose. She needed to take care of him. And when he died, she felt as if she had no purpose.

While at the hotel in New York (they shared adjoining rooms), he asked her if she wanted to get married? But, not in a way, like he was asking her hand, but more of, you’re a girl, do you want something like that, cause that’s what girls want. (However, he was only 20 and he KNEW his days were numbered.) She was thinking yes, but she didn’t want to say it, cause she didn’t want him to think he should marry her, because that’s what girls do.

But, I still don’t know if the love was romantic (in terms of the way, we would think of it), or just a sad kind of romantic way. Cause, he was going to die and he hadn’t had some experiences in life, like a true love. She even kissed him, because he had never been kissed. But, a week later he died.

Part Three: OK, this part FLOORED me. I was all like, this book isn’t too bad, I rather liked it, and then I read part three. Guess who comes walsing back into town two months after his son dies? Mr. Sweatt…. wanting something from his son.

I said before what happened between Peggy and him, but the two of them having sex totally invalidated everything that had happened in the book for me. Oh sure, she felt stupid about it. But, this leaves me thinking, ok, she’s just crazy and lonely.

I go back and think about everything that’s happened. Peggy manipulates her way into their lives. She purposely stops giving Mrs. Sweatt books James would find interesting and then looks up his address so she can worm her way over there. He wasn’t even 18 yet when in her mind she was in love with him. (She wasn’t thinking too much about him in naughty ways, but she wasn’t getting none, so it had crossed her mind a bit.)

Two months after James dies, she slept with his father (who had pretty much abandoned his family), she even though for a moment that she LOVED him (just for one day.)

She immediately tells another library employee (who loves to gossip), that it’s James’ baby, so that the rumor can spread. Even though the baby came out 10 months later (he died 2 months before she got pregnant), no one questioned it (cause it wasn’t supposed to be possible.)

In the end, Peggy is happy, because in her mind, she still has a piece of James; as far as she’s concerned, it’s James’ genes, so it’s James’ baby. And all lived happily ever after, the end. Anyway, she wasn’t an evil mean manipulative character, but in the end, I think she was mental and lonely and she never suffered any consequences (even internally) for her actions. Everything throughout the book just sort of happened, and let’s move on. Mother dies, okay, moving right along; even James’ death felt that way.

I think Peggy did love James. She did practically give her self to him as far as being his companion and doing things for him. That’s why the ending just ruined the rest of the book up for me — somehow it invalidated the entire book.

To be honest, much of the problem is with the author. She put stuff out there, and even though she’s writing from Peggy’s point of view, she never let Peggy go over too much the motivations of her actions. So, to be fair to Peggy, I’ll try to interpret her motivations (even though her actions were wrong.)

Before James died, Peggy invested everything in him. She even said before, that it was easy to fall in love with James because she knew he was dying. She could pour everything she had into him, because she knew that she was a selfish person, and that in a normal relationship, after years of marriage, she’d get bored (or something to that extent.)

However, when he died, her purpose was gone. She was empty again. (James even told her, the night that they “slept” together, that she lived vicariously through him.)

I was disappointed that she even agreed to talk with Mr. Sweatt cause his own sister wanted nothing to do with him. Peggy intended to be rude to him, but he was putting on the charm and I don’t think initially she knew THAT was going to happen. I think Peggy was an empty vessel without James around. And here was his father (oh sure, he’d abandoned him, but a physical link to James), and also, here’s a man in her apartment (and she ain’t had none in ages), and he’s touching her hand and stuff that she isn’t used to. And one thing led to another…..

The next morning, she regretted it and cried about it. She was depressed about it, guilty. But, when she found out she was pregnant, she just claimed it as James’ baby. (She couldn’t say that she slept with his father, now could she…) I think in her mind, she was maintaining a piece of James (James himself from what the doctors said, wouldn’t have been able to impregnate her.) In her mind, she was married to James (the first posthumous marriage, as she called it) and that was their child.

Because the story is told from Peggy’s perspective, we don’t know that much of what goes on in James’ mind. He is very smart, straightforward and aware. He knew his mother was dead well before they told him and was upset that they didn’t just come out with it. He knew that he was going to die young without having had many of the experiences that others his age would have and he resigned himself to it.

I think he loved Peggy (she was always there for him, definitely his best friend). I don’t know if he was in love with her, because he just wasn’t, or he just came to terms that he’d never be able to do anything for someone he was in love with. Even Peggy said that her love for James wasn’t sexual. It was a lot more to her.

So, Peggy is definitely not a bad person, but the author made it okay for her to think that she could do what she did. And we will never know what James would have thought. I think he wouldn’t have gotten too upset with her being with another man (he couldn’t give her anything in that respect), but I don’t think he’d be okay if it was his father. (We don’t even get into how he felt about his father, because James told Peggy not to ask.)

So, don’t hate Peggy, pity her maybe.

What I think about Rupert’s potential for this role?

The question shouldn’t be whether Rupert could play this role, (based solely on the character’s personality and ignoring the Giantism), but whether him playing this role would enable him to exercise his acting skills? Would we have seen something new that would stretch him as a performer?

Before I answer that, the one thing I liked about Peggy and James is their conversations. Though short, they were interesting back and forths. And one thing I’d really like to see Rupert do is to have a conversation in a film. Harry Potter has never really allowed for that.

Now to answer the question, I think personality wise, Rupert could play this character. However, that is not what I think he needs right now. Not saying that every role he plays should be stressful and overly challenging, but I think we can leave James in the Ben Marshall file to an extent (although James is not shy and repressed like Ben.)