Emma Watson of the Harry Potter franchise has claimed that she never has to work again, once the film franchise ends.

Watson, who has played the character of Hermione Granger since the age of 11, and is said to have amassed a £10 million fortune, admitted to US magazine Parade that she need never work again.

“Let’s be honest, I have enough money never to have to work again, but I would never want that,” Watson said.

The 17-year-old said she had no plans to retire just yet and is concentrating on her school studies, the Daily Mail reports.

Emma has signed up to make the final two Harry Potter films, but when she’s not filming, she spends her time studying.

“People can’t understand why I don’t want to be a full-time actress but school life keeps me in touch with my friends. It keeps me in touch with reality.

“I have a really secure network of family and friends. My parents are both lawyers and have no interest in being part of this industry.”

Source: RTE.ie…

Emma Watson sits in a posh London hotel, her slight frame encased in low-slung jeans. She is delicately pretty and preternaturally possessed for a 17-year-old, but then, she’s had a lot of practice. Watson has been world-famous since the age of 11, when she first appeared as the bossy miss know-it-all Hermione Granger, accomplice to the young wizard Harry Potter.

“It was the first audition I went on,” she says, still somehow surprised at the course her life has taken. “I had no idea of the scale of the film “the fame” or I would have been completely overwhelmed.”

The numbers are staggering. So far, J.K. Rowling’s six books about the wizards of Hogwarts have sold 325 million copies, and the four films have grossed $3.5 billion. With the July 11 release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the fifth film in the series) and the July 21 release of the long-awaited final book, those numbers will surely skyrocket.

With Hermione, Rowling has created an enduring role model for girls. “There are too many stupid girls in the media,” Watson observes, her dark eyes lighting up. “Hermione’s not scared to be clever. I think sometimes really smart girls dumb themselves down a bit, and that’s bad.” Watson admits that there is quite a lot of herself in the confident and bookish Hermione. “I’m a bit of a feminist,” she proclaims. “I’m very competitive and challenging.” Though she resented it at first, Watson has come to appreciate the emphasis on Hermione’s brains rather than her appearance.…

Emma Watson has blossomed at Hogwarts, writes Fiona Hudson.

Heading off to meet 17-year-old actor Emma Watson, it’s hard to blot from memory the blunt assessment that a colleague once delivered of the young star.

Veteran correspondent Bruce Wilson was stunned when the precocious actor, then barely 11, bawled him out for not making time to watch one of the early Harry Potter flicks before interviewing her.

Wilson, in turn, wrote that Watson was a born bossy-boots who belonged on a broom-stick. He predicted she’d grow up to be a pain in the neck.

The stylish teenager who politely greets Hit is far friendlier and less feisty than the youngster who made her debut in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Now a stalwart of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, she still comes across as old beyond her years, but the cast-iron self-confidence and haughty attitude that Wilson encountered appear to have faded.

On-screen, her goody-two-shoes character Hermione also has softened. In the latest movie, she rebels for the first time to rally fellow students behind her wizard friend Harry.

“Before, Hermione would rather die than be expelled. It’s nice to see she’s come to a state in life where she’s prepared to question authority,” Watson says.

On set, Watson has proven to be an occasional rebel. The day Hit visited the studios, Watson cracked jokes with close mates Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint to the point director David Yates told her to stop grinning and get serious.

Watson also recently shocked some conservative members of the British press when she confessed to experimenting with and enjoying alcohol and cigarettes.…

Growing up in a cult film series has left and indelible yet not life-defining impact on Emma Watson, Helen Barlow writes.

The greatest shock in seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is to notice how much the young actors have grown up. In fact, the fifth instalmnet is no longer a kids’ movie, but a teen drama about characters who are rapidly coming of age.

In real life the three prinipals are maturing faster than their characters, with Daniel Radcliffe even appearing nude on the London stage. Rupert Grint’s chest seems to be getting broaders and his voice deeper and deeper, while Emma Watson is broadening her mind and fashion sense and looking more womanly every day. She’s now on the covers of magazines, appearing very grown up indeed and, as with most things, she is asserting a level of control.

“In interviews lik this and when I’m working on Harry Potter I can dress myself, but the stylists on those shoots have strong views of what they want you to look like,” she says in London. “So sometimes it’s a bit of a battle between what they want you to be and what I really am, so I’m like, ‘Please take off the eyeliner’ or ‘Please don’t put me in those awful shoes’, or whatever it is.”

Does she think of herself as glamorous?

“I can be if I want to be. I love dressing up, but it doesn’t rule or dictate my life.”

Growing up in front of the cameras is never easy and being a part of one of the most successful franchises in film history has meant Watson’s life is not entirely her own.…

The Order of the Phoenix is a much darker movie. Did you feel it on set?
Yes, the plot goes darker and more tortured with each movie. But a lot of this depth and darkness is also due to David Yates, the director. He’s very emotional and subtle.

Have the HP movies influence your teenage years? Do you feel you’ve been losing your best years?
Yes and no. I don’t have the kind of freedom that most teenagers my age have. I can’t do whatever I want. Whether I like it or not, I’m constantly in the public eye, even at school. So I have to be kind of wary, but I’m not complaining. After all, maybe it’s a good thing.

Have you ever thought about giving up on your role?
Yes, a few times. It sometimes gives me headaches. Filming takes so long and demanding that I have wondered if all those efforts were worth the sacrifice of my time with my friends and family.

What do you miss the most during filming?
Not to be at home often, and to have very little leisure time, because of the school work I have to catch up with. This stressing way of life that makes you feel aware of your responsibilities very early. Too early, maybe. But again, I don’t feel like a victim. After all these years, it’s still a lot of fun for me to go from Hermione to Emma and from Emma to Hermione.

How do you deal with filming and school work?…

At the press conference for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in London, someone asks the main trio of actors whether there are any initiation rituals for the arrival of a new director. (Emma Watson says no.) It’s an interesting opening for a press conference that discusses so many things, first interviewing Rupert, Dan, and Emma, and later Michael Goldenberg, David Heyman, and David Yates, and which ends up delving into the darker elements of the fifth Harry Potter story. Despite so many diverse questions, there are recurrent themes; themes of love, friendship, and honesty.

Emma is asked about her deliberation over signing up for the sixth and seventh movies. She makes it clear, that like the character that she plays, learning is important. ‘I really want to go onto university’ she tells the audience, and reiterates how fortunate she is that Warner Brothers is so accommodating for her, arranging tutors for her on set, allowing her to go to school on Mondays, and even providing a service so that she can send work off to be marked over the weekends. She also confesses that she found the rumours surrounding the lack of immediate signing ‘frustrating and upsetting.’ Her love of learning was obviously tempered by her love for her character.

Daniel speaks of how they have all grown up with their characters and whilst he does not know whether ‘Harry as a character has influenced my character a lot,’ Emma tells us that ‘sometimes I feel I barely have to act,’ because she grew up with Hermione.…

Harry Potter actors Emma Watson and Rupert Grint WILL join Daniel Radcliffe in the final two films, say producers.

Daniel, Rupert, and Emma made their screen debuts as the young Harry, Ron and Hermione in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001.

Warner Brothers boss Jeff Robinov said it would be “inconceivable” to get anybody else to play the roles.

Daniel’s role was confirmed earlier this month, but there had been rumours that Emma would not return.

The trio have already appeared in four movies together, and will star in the fifth Potter film, The Order of the Phoenix, in July.

Now fans can relax in the knowledge that they will also return for The Half-Blood Prince, scheduled for release in November 2008, and The Deathly Hallows.

Mr Robinov said: “Through the years we have watched them grow into extraordinary young adults, as well as remarkable actors.

“It would be inconceivable to imagine anyone else in the roles with which they have become so identified, so we are thrilled and proud that Daniel, Rupert and Emma have chosen to complete the arc of their characters in the final two films.”

Source: CBBC Newsround…

Actress Emma Watson is likely to return as Hermione in the last two Harry Potter movies despite reports she may quit, producers Warner Bros have said.

“We’re extremely confident that Emma will be back for films six and seven,” a spokesperson for the Hollywood studio told CBBC’s Newsround.

The statement comes amid speculation that the 16-year-old told the company she did not want to continue.

Daniel Radcliffe has already agreed to take the lead role in both productions.

There have been four films based on JK Rowling’s books so far, with the fifth – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – due for release in July.

Filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled to begin this year, with a release date at some point in 2008.

A release date in 2010 has been mooted for the seventh and final movie, The Deathly Hallows – the year Watson will turn 20.

Source: BBC News…

Harry Potter stars Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint will be among the celebs taking part in a Royal birthday celebration for children.

The trio have landed roles in a kids’ play to mark the Queen’s 80th birthday, held at Buckingham Palace on 25 June.

The Potter clip has already been filmed and will be shown at the palace on a video screen. Dan won’t actually be at the palace as he’ll be on holiday.

Two thousand children have been given tickets for the star-studded event.

Source: CBBC Newsround…

‘Harry Potter’ star Emma Watson is being sent Bibles by furious Christians who believe the magical movies are a work of evil.

The screen beauty, who plays the boy wizard’s best friend Hermione Granger in the series, is building up a collection of the holy books from religious viewers who think she needs “guidance”.

The 15-year-old confessed: “I have a collection of about 20 in my room. People think I need to be guided.”

Meanwhile, the star has confessed she is desperate to appear on ballroom dancing TV show, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

The teenage actress revealed she enjoyed learning to waltz for the latest movie, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, so much she would love to take part in the on screen competition.

She confessed: “I’m desperate to be on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. The best bit about doing the new ‘Harry Potter’ movie was that I got to learn how to waltz and now I’ve fallen in love with ballroom dancing.”

“I don’t know if they will ask me to come and do it – I guess we’ll have to see what they think of my moves in the film.”

Source: FemaleFirst.co.uk…