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Since the creation Our Shared Shelf earlier this year, Emma Watson’s feminist book club has been a success. At the time of writing, the group has over 140k members and a lively discussion board where Emma herself posts updates and gathers input from its members.
For the month of June, Emma chose Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi as the reading selection for Our Shared Shelf. Emma recently interviewed the author for Vogue, discussing details about the revolutionary autobiographical graphic novel.
Emma’s book selection for the months of July and August is Hunger Makes me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein. This marks the first time since the creation of the book club that Emma has used a poll to allow book club members to take part in choosing their upcoming read. Emma also made the decision to switch book selections to a bi-monthly basis, allowing readers more time to purchase, read, and discuss the books.
Earlier this week, Emma Watson had the privilege of revealing the first movie poster for her much-anticipated film, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.
The poster features the film’s iconic red rose in it’s frosted protective glass. The beautiful flower is alive and healthy, without a single petal dropped. The surrounding castle is dark, cold, and gloomy.
She revealed the teaser on her Facebook page, posting:
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, also starring Dan Stevens (the Beast) Ian McKellen (Cogsworth), Harry Potter’s Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts), Josh Gad (Le Fou), Ewan McGregor (Lumiere), Kevin Kline (Maurice), Stanley Tucci (Cadenza) andLuke Evans (Gaston), is set to premiere March 17, 2017.
On Wednesday, two Hermiones were in the same place at the same time and not a single Time-Turner was involved.
Emma Watson attended a performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and her reaction has us feeling a little emotional.
Emma shared her thoughts on the play–and her thoughts on meeting her “older self”, Noma Dumezweni–on her Facebook page. Of the experience, she said:
“Having seen it I felt more connected to Hermione and the stories than I have since Deathly Hallows came out, which was such a gift. Meeting Noma and seeing her on stage was like meeting my older self and have her tell me everything was going to be alright, which as you can imagine was immensely comforting (and emotional)!”
In a series of “round ups” we have been summarising the many movies, plays and other projects associated with Harry Potter alumni. The YA cast from Potter includes the trio and J.K. Rowling’s ‘Big Six’, so it’s unsurprising that they’re on all sorts of exciting endeavours!
A new trailer and poster for Dan’s upcoming spy-thriller Imperium have recently been released, which you can view below – he will be portraying nervous undercover FBI agent / white supremacist, Nate Foster. The film is set to be released in August. Entertainment Weekly reports:
“The director says — worryingly — that the more he learned about the topic, the more timely and relevant it seemed. “We’re witnessing a surge in far-right groups all across Europe; in some cases they’re nearly winning national elections,” says Ragussis. “We have a stereotype of what it means to be a white supremacist, but when I began collaborating with Michael and doing my own research, I was stunned by the depth and the extent of this movement.”
Ragussis made every effort to authentically portray the experience of going undercover, as well as the modern-day white supremacist community. “There’s a large white supremacist rally in the middle of the film that we had spent months researching and planning,” the filmmaker explains. “There were so many details that had to be captured to try to make it real and authentic. I’d read about them, seen them, watched videos of them — but to actually see it come to life by our own hands was something I’ll never forget. Someone even called the news and erroneously reported a Klan rally in their neighborhood! So to that extent, I suppose we did our job.””
Dan will also star in Jungle – a psychological thriller based around the story of Yossi Ghinsberg’s memoir of his trip to the Amazon, which was included in The Discovery Channel’s I Shouldn’t Be Alive.
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) has been cast as a series regular in CW’s The Flash. He will be portraying Julian Dorne – a Central City Police Department crime scene investigator. Read more here.
Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) recently wrote, produced and directed short movie Medusa’s Ankles with Potter co-star Jason Isaacs, which is set for release this year. She also raised money for Film Aidby making her own ‘Come Dream With Me’ t-shirts, which got the support of many Potter co-stars, and even J.K. Rowling herself!
Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) is currently starring in Me Before You alongside Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who).
He is also (almost) confirmed to be co-starring as ‘Lenny’ in Terminal, along with Margot Robbie , Simon Pegg, Mike Myers and more. The film is being produced by Harry Potter producer, David Barron. Read more at Matthew lewis.com here.
AlfredEnoch (Dean Thomas) will be returning to CB’s hit show How to Get Away With Murder for its third season on September 22nd.
Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang) recently took the Ilvermornysorting tests on Pottermore, both being sorted into the same house as J.K. Rowling: Thunderbird:
Katie Leung is set to star in The Foreigner– a film based on 1992 novel The Chairman, and co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan.
Lastly, Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) has continued to make videos on her eponymous Youtube channel (here). She also appeared in Call the Midwife, and is set to star in Modern Life Is Rubbish, directed by Daniel Gill, who is known for being assistant Director on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Hope you’re looking forward to all these upcoming features from our favourite YA Potter actors as much as we are! Be sure to take a look at the adult actor round ups, split into Part 1 (here) and Part 2 (here)!
In the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview, Daniel Radcliffe talks about working with hugely successful actors such as Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Ralph Fiennes in his role as Harry Potter, and reveals a few stories about the late Richard Harris, and comments on being intimidated by Ralph Fiennes!
Dan is told to describe the actors he worked with. He calls Emma Watson ‘smart‘, Rupert Grint ‘funny‘, Maggie Smith ‘sharp as a knife, in a wonderful way … tough and quick witted’, Alan Rickman ‘generous‘ and Michael Gambon ‘out of control, funny, just mad in a great way, again’.
Richard Harris he says ‘The first thing that comes to mind is phoenix, I suppose – there was this one moment where Fawkes, the animatronic phoenix in the second film … Richard thought it was a real bird’
Dan says of Richard Harris’ death:
‘I remember it was devastating, it was so sad … I’d never known a person who had died before so it was crazy. I feel like looking back it’s just one of those things where you just have to go “I am so lucky to have worked with him” – it’s an amazing thing to be able to say now … the films he made are going to be true parts of history, a lot of them, it’s going to be an incredible thing to be able to say that I worked with him.
I’ve spent some time with his granddaughter, Ella, who’s also a wonderful person- his whole family was incredibly sweet to me … I was involved a little bit in a memorial service for him and they were just incredibly kind and warm”
Dan describes Helena Bonham-Carter as ‘nuts, and fabulous … I love her‘
He then calls Ralph Fiennes ‘genuinely intimidating’:
‘I remember when I was 15 doing scenes with Ralph for the first time. He was even scarier than Alan was at first … Alan was super intimidating to start off with as well, but then you get into it, but Ralph genuinely scared me for a few years.’
Dan then imagines working with Ralph on a comedy in the future, and says it was ‘a hell of a learning experience’ to have worked with him.
Emma Watson is currently on a year long hiatus from acting, but she’s starring in two exciting films in the line-up to be released: The Colony (released yesterday in the U.K.) and Beauty and The Beast. The Independent asked her a little more about her character in The Colony, the subject matter of the film, and what it’s like to be playing Belle.
“I think she’s just so brave” Emma says of Lena, her character in The Colony.“It’s such an extraordinary act of courage, so I found that very compelling”
“I think Lena’s very relatable, she’s an air hostess, she’s kind of an everyday woman, so I’d just say the women that I’ve met personally in my life who I’ve seen that kind of resolve and that kind of strength and that kind of thinking which allows them to do extraordinary things … a belief in themselves and a belief in what they’re doing”
Emma also confirms that she visited Chile to speak to survivors of the sect Colonia Dignidad, which the film is based around, whichoperated during the 1973 Chilean Military Coup, and researched the cult to try to understand as much as she could about the way it functioned:
“It was actually not that long ago, and I feel like so little is known about it, which is extraordinary”
“Even just being there, there was an atmosphere which was quite strong and quite pervasive, so even if I’d spoken to no one, just going and being around the buildings and know what each of the different functions of the rooms were … was a pretty intense experience”
She also spoke about how the responsibility being UN Goodwill Ambassador for Women impacts her choice in film roles:
“It is a different dimension – being a ‘child star’ as they call it, or having worked as a minor, you do have to be aware of the kind of trajectory, and also aware that people are viewing your performances through a very different lens”
Emma comments on an article which discussed people who had seen the trailer calling her role in The Colony a ‘scandalous’ move, showing her ‘really trying to push the envelope and really trying to step away from Hermione and Harry Potter‘:
“I’m just kissing someone, you know, and it’s like, a huge deal”
“You’re aware of that, but I don’t like to try and let all of that that noise effect my choices and decisions, because ultimately if you live like that … it would close me off to a lot of opportunities and experiences”
She also spoke about violence against women (which is a recurring theme in The Colony):
“It’s probably not talked about enough – how pervasive it actually is. I think we’ve got a long way to go – I think it’s also just become socially acceptable or just ‘the norm’ that women should feel afraid walking around alone, whether that’s particularly at night or whenever. I think it’s sad that we live in a society where women don’t feel safe to walk around on their own”
On what it’s like to play Belle in Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast:
“Amazing, I mean it’s just every girl’s dream, really. I loved her as a child, I love all the music, I knew all the lyrics and I loved that she was just this feisty heroine who’s whole life wasn’t about marrying the most handsome guy in the village … she wanted to read and go on adventures and she wanted to be her own woman and her own person … she’s probably one of my first tastes of feminism, so pretty cool to be playing her now”
Read more about The Colony and watch the trailer here, and watch the full interview below!
Yahoo Movies UK has released an exclusive clip from Emma Watson’s upcoming thriller The Colony (also known as Colonia). The Colony, which will be in cinemas and on demand on 1st of July is directed by Florian Gallenberger. The film is based on the true story of the Colonia Dignidad, which was a sect and an agricultural commune (often described as a cult) of German immigrants in the south of Chile. According to Yahoo Movies UKThe Colony was filmed with input from survivors of the German sect.
In The Colony Emma Watson plays “Lena, a woman who infiltrates a cult in 1970s Chile in a bid to rescue her boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Brühl) from the clutches of cult leader Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist).”
The clip released by Yahoo Movies UK features Michael Nyqvist as the cult leader Paul Schäfer talking to Watson’s Lena about her decision to come to the Colony. The short clip does not reveal much, but manages to provide a very intense snapshot of the upcoming film.
On May 26, Emma Watson, Emma Thompson, and other celebrities got silly for a cause to raise awareness for Red Nose Day, a global fundraising event that uses comedy to help raise funds for children living in poverty. Spot our Hermione and Professor Trelawney in the video below as they fight other celebrities for the audience’s attention.
Though Red Nose Day had its start as an iconic British fundraising event, this is the second year of participation for the United States. A primetime television event aired on May 26 featuring comedic skits, musical performances, and short films documenting the lives of children affected by poverty in the U.S. and around the globe. In the days leading up to the television event, celebrities shared their silly side to up awareness for the event–like the photo below that the de-light-fully funny Emma Watson shared on her Instagram account.
This morning, the first trailer for Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast debuted on ABC’s Good Morning America (ABC is owned by Disney, and is a considered a Disney company). Many fans waited with anticipation, since yesterday’s announcement. Many fans were hoping for a first look at Emma Watson as Belle–in her classic blue dress and white apron, or, if we were lucky enough, Belle in her iconic yellow ball gown.
Fans got neither.
The first trailer for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was very similar to the first one-minute (or less depending on how you measure fours short scenes) trailer for Warner Bro’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The familiar music starts, a shiver runs down fan’s spine. You hear the actors deliver selected lines for the first time…without seeing them fully (we do see Emma Watson’s face behind the glass holding the Beast’s rose). The trailer can be viewed below:
One thing we learned for sure is that the set of the live-action Beaty and the Beast is gorgeous. A mixture of computer animation and physically built sets, the Beast’s castle gets the most screen time in this featured trailer. ABC released the trailer, saying:
The first ever trailer for Disney’s new live action version of the classic movie “Beauty and the Beast” debuted exclusively on “Good Morning America” on Monday.
The movie stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast. Others in the cast include Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Audra McDonald, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson. The film will be releases on March 17, 2017.
The Disney animated musical romantic fantasy was a hit when it premiered in 1991, and the following year it became the first animated film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.
Emma Watson will star as Belle in the live-action remake of the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast in March 2017. Harry Potter‘s Emma Thompson is also set to feature in the film (as Mrs Potts).
Paige O’Hara (who voiced Belle in the original animated Disney film) recently gave her verdict on Emma Watson as the leading lady, which you can read more about here.
The first official trailer for the movie will appear on Good Morning America tomorrow morning. See the official Beauty and the Beast Twitter (below) for a teaser clip!
It is impossible to celebrate too much, and the Harry Potter world is celebrating two of its most brilliant actresses today.
Making headlines and trending on many social media, many recognize as Harry Potter’s brilliant real-life Hermione celebrates her 26th birthday! Emma Watson, who is quite an accomplished young woman, was born in Paris, France and raised in Oxfordshire, England. She was eleven years old when she landed the role of Hermione Granger.
After spending ten years on the Harry Potter series, Emma has gone on to work on a variety of films as well as lead the modern wave of feminism in her role as Women’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
While on the Harry Potter set, Emma Watson worked with Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney). Emma Thompson is an incredibly talented actress, who has been recognized for her role in many films. Having been nominated over twenty-five times for acting awards, Emma Thompson has two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTAs, and an Emmy under her belt. Emma Thompson turns 57 today.
CinemaCon attendees waited with high hopes to see some Beauty and the Beast footage featuring Emma Watson, but it seems they’ll have to wait like the rest of us – Disney are doing very well at keeping it under wraps!
However, they did say Emma Watson is ‘extraordinary’ as Belle in their current screen-tests (obviously), making us even more excited to hear more news!
Read more from CinemaCon here, and more about Beauty and the Beast here!
Vulture have released an exclusive clip from Academy Award-winner Florian Gallenberger’s Colonia starring Emma Watson.
The clip shows Lena (Emma Watson) and Daniel (Daniel Brühl) get caught up in a Chilean military coup, leading to the events of the film, with Daniel – and his camera – receiving a brutal beating.
It’s been nearly five years since Emma Watson last appeared as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, and the 25-year-old actress continues move far beyond the magical adventures of her childhood. In her new movie Colonia, Watson plays Lena, a young woman desperate to find her missing boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Brühl) amid the political tumult of early 1970s Chile.
Based loosely on true events, the film takes place just after the violent 1973 military coup that put General Augusto Pinochet into power in Chile. A real-life settlement, Colonia Dignidad was an ominous, pseudo-religious community that was later revealed to have Nazi ties, to employ torture, and to engage in an array of other criminal activities, including child abuse.
See the exclusive clip from Vulture below, read more about the film here and watch the trailer below!
Colonia will be hitting the U.S. on April 15, in cinemas and Video on Demand.
“Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video and lossless 5.1 audio, and the suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $26.99.”
Find more details here, and if you haven’t seen the movie yet, watch the trailer here!
Emma Watson, the UN Global Goodwill Ambassador, has taken to Facebook to share a four-part interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator, star and writer of the Broadway hit musical Hamilton. This interview was taped during the HeForShe Arts Week in New York City. The HeForShe Arts Week, an initiative to leverage the arts for gender equality, was a part of UN’s International Women’s Day commemoration. To celebrate the Arts Week, HeForShe and its partner institutions gathered in New York City to spotlight the efforts taken towards gender equality and women’s rights.
Lin-Manuel Miranda shares his inspiration to Hamilton, mentioning Ron Chernow’s extensive biography on the first US Secretary of the Treasure as his inspiration for telling the “proto-American immigrant story” via a musical that mixes styles from hip hop and R&B to “Beatlesque” music. Hamilton has been a massive Broadway success, and Emma Watson herself praises Lin-Manuel Miranda for creating a piece of art that left a huge impression on her by blasting through every expectation and tradition.
Miranda states that when creating the structure for the musical, he stole a little from Harry Potter and elaborates this statement by saying that like Harry, who meets Malfoy before meeting the people who become his real friends, Hamilton first meets Aaron Burr and only after that his real friends, namely Hercules Mulligan and Marquis de Lafayette. In addition to discussing the inspiration for Hamilton, Watson and Miranda discuss the contemporary issues the musicalis able to tackle despite its historical context, like the role of government and the extend US should be involved in the issues of other countries. In addition, Miranda brings up the fact that in Hamilton, every character who dies does so as a result of gun violence, a controversial and contested issue in contemporary United States.
Watson praises Miranda for writing strong women who in Hamilton take form of the Schuyler sisters. Though the Schuyler sisters were a part of Hamilton’s life, historical accounts of them are much more limited than those focusing on Hamilton and the men he worked and socialized with. This lack of historical records means that Miranda had to do intensive research in addition to creating stories for these women in order to make them a crucial part of the narrative of the play. Watson asks Miranda about the female storytellers that have inspired him, to which Miranda responds by naming Jeanine Tesori (the composer of broadway musical Fun Home), Elizabeth Shadows (the composer of Broadway musical Runaways), Judy Blume, J.K. Rowling and several other female writers and creators. Towards the end of the fourth part of the interview, Watson and Miranda sort the Hamilton characters into Hogwarts houses, with Hamilton himself as Gryffindor.
Throughout the interview, Watson and Miranda cover a wide range of issues with intelligence, passion and enthusiasm. Also, Emma Watson beatboxes while Lin-Manuel Miranda freestyles about gender equality, which is definitely worth seeing and hearing! You can watch the four part interview from Emma Watson’s Facebook page.
Starring in The Circle together, Hanks and Watson make a great duo, and their talk about the HeForShe campaign is enlightening and shows just how needed the campaign is.
Emma Watson: Are you a feminist?
Tom Hanks: Yes I am. We are in the Third Millennium. We have thousands of years of human history under our belts. If we are not continuously moving towards equal rights, equal opportunities and equal freedoms for every member of the human race — not just that half that is male — then we have squandered all we have learned.
On gender equality and listening to women:
“The women I have worked with and those I seek inspiration from have had different perspectives on all there is to have an opinion on in this world, and I have always learned from listening to them. My support of those women and those in my family has been the same as it has for any man or any of my sons.”
On gender binaries, sexuality, love and why inclusivity is so important:
EW: You have been very supportive of same-sex marriage. I spoke a lot in my speech to the UN about the importance of seeing gender on a spectrum instead of as binary, and being inclusive of where everyone fits on that spectrum. Would this be something you would like to speak about? Is there a connection there?
TH: Look at us human beings! Each of our fingerprints is unique. Our eyes are just as varied. Just as no two snowflakes are the same, neither are we. We are as singular as those lines and ridges on our palms and fingers. Our gender is defined the same way. We love who we love, we are passionate for those who stir us. The directions our love takes us in are infinite. Not just two boxes marked EITHER and OR.
On why he supports the HeForShe campaign (aw):
EW: Why did you agree to support the HeForShe campaign by appearing on the cover of Esquire?
TH: I find Emma Watson as fascinating as she is accomplished. Time spent with someone as dedicated and as smart as she is is time well spent.
The final question related to Emma Watson’s own interview with Esquire, and her answer about unequal treatment of women in the film industry. Hanks gives an eloquent and balanced response:
EW: You are no stranger to working with strong women. One of your most famous films, Big, was directed by Penny Marshall and you starred in A League of Their Own alongside Geena Davis, who founded the Geena Davis Institute to campaign for gender equality in film. But Hollywood is far from equal, on screen and off. Of the top films in 2013, women accounted for only 30 per cent of all speaking characters. Female characters are almost four times as likely as males to be shown in sexy attire in G-rated [family] films. Or look at the Oscars. The LA Times reports that Academy voters are 76 per cent male, 93 per cent white, with an average age of 63. Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. No woman of colour has ever been nominated. Why does this matter?
TH: Because the art form of cinema becomes less of an art, and no longer holds the mirror up to nature when women are reduced to being only hot or nurturing. The great films make us all recognise ourselves up there on the screen, even when the characters are women from a different time and maybe speak a different language. When rules of gender and character dictate what stories are told and by whom, when women are required to be only hot or only nurturing, they no longer are full dimensional humans. That’s not art, and it brings less enlightenment to the world. The economics of motion pictures makes faith in voodoo equal to those in a Vegas casino. Bets on making money are made on hunches, odd rules and track records. “Men have a certain touch with material, you can tell by the T-shirts they wear!” “Women directors play with different instincts because they often have babies!” Outliers come along much more often than are admitted. Television is a different matter. There are more women in starring roles, writing and running shows, and even in executive suites. The movies will catch up…
Read the full interview here, and read Emma Watson’s interview here!
Just in case you haven’t been keeping up with her movements, Emma Watson has been helping run the HeForShe campaign since becoming UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2014. She’s had backlash for it, but she’s also had a lot of support. Her Feminist book club has been a raving success, and gradually the discussion about how gender equality impacts us all is opening up, allowing the discussion to move to interesting, more inclusive places.
Emma Watson’s discussion with bell hooks on taking a break from acting to focus on activism in 2016 has been met with Emma launching HeForShe Arts Week for International Women’s Week this week (which you can read more about here).
On why she thought Tom Hanks was important to the HeForShe movement:
‘Esquire: Why were you keen to have Tom Hanks involved in the HeForShe campaign and to appear with you on the Esquire cover?
Emma Watson: Having him on the cover is making me seriously proud. Not just because of who he is as an actor, but because I respect him as a man. He is one of those rare Hollywood types who are authentic. He is who he says he is.
If you look at his career, a lot of his biggest movies — Big, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle — have been with female directors. And also there’s something about the way he talks about issues, whether it be gay rights, Aids, environmental issues, children or the work he does with veterans, he speaks with such a humble grace and a credible voice.
He’s informed but he has a realness about him which people really respond to and it’s why they keep going to see his movies years and years after. Anyway, I’ll stop gushing, it’s boring.’
After being asked about women’s success in comparison to men in the film industry, Emma Watson said things are ‘opening up a bit’ for actresses, but only 7% of directors [on the 250 top-grossing films] were women in 2014, and less than 1.3 [per cent] minority women, and only 11 per cent were written by women, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.
When asked if she thought actresses such as Charlize Theron speaking up about gender wage gaps in the industry were symbolic of a tipping point, Emma also reminded us that it took the Sony hack for Jennifer Lawrence to speak out in the same way, and that it’s a lot more complicated than just speaking out and demanding to be treated equally:
‘We are not supposed to talk about money, because people will think you’re “difficult” or a “diva”. But there’s a willingness now to be like, “Fine. Call me a ‘diva’, call me a ‘feminazi’, call me ‘difficult’, call me a “First World feminist’, call me whatever you want, it’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens.” Because it doesn’t just affect me, it affects all the other women who are in this with me, and it affects all the other men who are in this with me, too.
Hollywood is just a small piece of a gigantic puzzle but it’s in the spotlight. Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally.’
Why should men be Feminists if Feminism is just for women? It is called Fem-inism, after all? Emma quotes bell hooks, saying “Patriarchy has no gender.”.
Inequality and sexism are important for everybody, and so pervasive, Emma admits that she even trips up in small ways occasionally (saying things like “Man up!”, for example), but she reminds us that it’s not about creating adversity and conflict, it’s about being understanding and heading towards a common goal to educate each other about gender inequality:
‘Gloria Steinem says feminism isn’t about being perfect. [US writer] Rebecca Solnit says it’s not about being puritanical. We aren’t expecting men to be gender experts, just engaged and conscientious.’
And when asked more specifically about the benefits to men:
ESQ: What are the benefits for men in greater gender equality?
EW: I think it’s important to note that it’s not about us convincing you that gender equality is worth engaging in only because there might be something in it for you. Or in it for your sister or your mother.
The question is, what’s in it for humans? Martin Luther King said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I really do believe that. And the benefits on top of that? Happier, healthier, more successful children? Being able to take proper paternity leave and see your baby? Being able to talk to someone if you’re feeling shit? Actually getting to be yourself? Getting asked out by a woman? Better sex? A marriage that is a true partnership? More diverse and interesting perspectives in art, culture, business and politics? Getting to crowdsource all the innovation and genius in the world, not just half of it. A highly increased number of safe, confident and fulfilled people on the planet, particularly women? World peace? Seriously. World peace!
When asked what she’d like to come of this movement:
‘There’s no point in me going, “You all have to go away from having read this article and decide that you are a feminist.” That’s useless. The only thing that is going to make a difference is if men go away and speak to the women in their lives about what they are experiencing.
Ask the question. Go to the pub with the women in your life and just listen and then see how that makes you feel and see how that engages you. And if it does, then I hope that when you’re confronted with a situation where you can do something, even if it’s as simple as just saying, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that…”, then taking that action is what makes a feminist.
Whether you identify or use the word or whatever is not the important thing. It’s how you choose to act.’
Talking about the pervasiveness of sexism:
ESQ: You’ve been very famous from a very young age. Hasn’t your experience of sexism been different from other women’s?
EW: I’ve had my a*** slapped as I’ve left a room. I’ve felt scared walking home. I’ve had people following me. I don’t talk about these experiences much, because coming from me they’ll sound like a huge deal and I don’t want this to be about me, but most women I know have experienced it and worse… this is unfortunately how it is.
It’s so much more pervasive than we acknowledge. It shouldn’t be an acceptable fact of life that women should be afraid.
And finally, on her break from acting:
ESQ: You’re taking time off from acting now to focus on HeForShe full-time. Was that a hard decision?
EW: This is the most fun I’ve ever had. It’s so awesome to be at the forefront of that wave and that energy and just being able to channel that which I found mildly horrifying — all of the crazy attention on me — and doing something good with it, it just feels like I’m really doing what I’m meant to be doing.
Make sure you read the full article here, and catch the Men and Women issue soon!
Watson gave a small speech, which can be seen below, talking of the importance of art, it’s meaning and how it carries its weight through feeling and emotion. UN Women posted on Facebook:
Emma Watson launches #HeForShe #Artsweek on #IWD2016“Study after study shows us the value of gender equality. But we have to do more than help people see the logic with their minds, it’s also about making them feel it in their bones.” Watch our Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson launching the #HeForShe #ArtsWeek on International Women’s Day at The Public Theater. #IWD2016
Beginning on International Women’s Day, HeForShe Art Week will run from March 8 to March 15, in partnership with the city of New York. The HeForShe Arts Week website describes the event:
To learn more about HeForShe Arts Week, please visit the new website set up for the initiative, here.
In the muggle world, Emma Watson has become a feminist figurehead as the United Nations Women’s Goodwill Ambassador. She has created gender equality campaigns, a feminist book club, and given many speeches and interviews about her views on women in society, her latest with Esquire magazine.
It is International Women’s Day, and Emma is blowing up her own Twitter, as she helps women around the world celebrate being a woman. Even J.K. Rowling, one of the most influential women in the world, took a break from explaining her first North American Magic history lesson to chime in.
Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling are just a couple of the leading women from the Harry Potter family–Evanna and Bonnie have been making headlines and spreading their positive influence throughout the film industry as well.
All these women fell into the spotlight through their role in the beloved Harry Potter series, which also sports a lot of powerhouse women–Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Tonks, Molly Weasley, Fleur Delacour, and so many more. Let’s face it, Harry would have gotten no where fast without these women behind him.
Hermione is the brains of the operation, but she is also very brave and has a good heart. Like Emma Watson, she was passionate about causes she cared, wether it was S.P.E.W. or the D.A. As the brightest witch of her age, she was one who could go anywhere and do anything. She was Miss Independent but still relied on her loving relationships with others.
Luna Lovegood taught girls to be themselves, no matter what. Luna is unique and quirky, and often her personality is the butt of jokes and the subject of bullying. However, Luna never let that deter her. She took it in stride, stayed true to herself, never wavering, and became one of Harry’s greatest allies. Luna had wit beyond measure, but she too was incredibly brave–unafraid to stand up for Harry despite being imprisoned by Lord Voldemort, and later globe trotting with her husband Rolf Scamander looking for fantastic beasts.
[Book] Ginny wasn’t Harry’s perfect match just because she was pretty. No, Ginny was perfect for Harry because she was fierce. She was just as good, if not better, at Quidditch as her fellow male wizarding athletes–she even went pro. She wasn’t dainty; with six older brothers, Ginny knew how to be rough as well as loving. She is particularly gifted at hexes.
Tonks and Fleur, as “Mad-Eye” (Barty Crouch Jr.) put it, are “as much a fairy princess as I am.” Both Tonks and Fleur are talented witches who know how to put up a good fight for those they love. As prominent members of the Order of the Phoenix, neither of them would let any dark wizard stand between them and their families, or standing up for what is right. In Tonks, we already see Hufflepuffs making valiant warriors, as well as being loyal and hard working.
Molly Weasley’s prowess stems way beyond page 736 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The woman was a full time mother to seven children–that in and of itself is applaudable. She had to raise Fred and George. As awesome as those two are, they were probably quite a handful growing up. Molly Weasley takes care of everyone she loves, not just her immediate family. She practically adopts Harry, and we know she would always be there for him no matter what, like any true mother.
Without any of these women, or any others in the Harry Potter books, the series would not have been the same. We hope everyone, especially women–both young and old, has had a happy International Women’s Day!
Earlier this week, Yahoo exclusively released a new US promotional trailer for Emma Watson’s new film, Colonia. Emma Watson attended the Europe premiere of Colonia a couple of weeks ago. The film opened in Switzerland and German yesterday, February 18. Colonia will be hitting the US April 15, the same date it is released to Video on Demand.
Yahoo Movie’s released the exclusive new Colonia trailer that will be used for promotion in the United States with a short article summarizing the film and those who worked on it. This trailer can be seen here and below. Yahoo Movie’s editor Meriah Doty wrote the short summery of the film, saying:
It’s been nearly five years since Emma Watson last appeared as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, and the 25-year-old actress continues move far beyond the magical adventures of her childhood. In her new movie Colonia, Watson plays Lena, a young woman desperate to find her missing boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Brühl) amid the political tumult of early 1970s Chile.
Based loosely on true events, the film takes place just after the violent 1973 military coup that put General Augusto Pinochet into power in Chile. A real-life settlement, Colonia Dignidad was an ominous, pseudo-religious community that was later revealed to have Nazi ties, to employ torture, and to engage in an array of other criminal activities, including child abuse.
In Paper Magazine’s ‘Girl Crush’ series, women get together for conversations that offer a glimpse into what is it like to be a woman in contemporary society. On 18th of February, Paper published a conversation article by feminist scholar Bell Hooks and Emma Watson, in which they share their inspiration for each other, discuss how they became feminists and what feminism means to them.
Hooks, a cultural critic whose career so far has focused on writing about women and representation in media, recounts her experience of watching Harry Potter movies, saying:
“I was fascinated by the character of Hermione. It was both exciting and at times infuriating to watch the way the character of Hermione developed and to see this vibrant image of a girl who was just so intelligent, who is such a thinker, then to also witness that that intelligence was placed in the service of boy power. Even so, it remains an important representation for girls.”
In reply, Watson recounts her own experience of “getting to know” Hermione, stating that as an 8-year-old student “whose hand shot up to answer the questions”, she was able to identify with Hermione, adding that “the character of Hermione gave me permission to be who I was.”
Watson and Hooks go on to discuss Hermione’s character development, the representation of intelligent older women in movies, feminist literature, feminist stereotypes and the problems related to communication in media. Hook praises Watson’s work, saying “Emma, you are such a perfect ambassador. You have such a global presence.”
Watson, who has decided to take a year away from acting, explains her decision by saying that she wants to focus on her own personal development through reading and personal education. She points out to all the experience she gains from her work, saying “I want to listen to as many different women in the world as I can.” When posed with the question “If you could give females, women, one thing in this world towards this vision of female liberation and power, what would it be?”, Watson answers by saying that she wishes it would be easier for women to learn self-love and to get rid of self-critiquing.
If you are worried of not hearing about Emma Watson during her break of acting, you can stop worrying! While she might be on a break from making fictional appearances, she is heavily focused on her HeForShe campaign through organizing a HeForShe arts week, a university and launching a HeForShe website.
For more about Emma Watson’s break from acting, see these articles by Vanity Fair and Vulture.
Many Dr. Who fans were sadden to hear that Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi will be stepping down from their roles with the highly successful TV series sooner than any expected. With a new writer and a new Doctor being introduced to the series in the near future (2018), there have been many interesting suggestions flying around the rumor mill–including rumors of Harry Potter stars filling in the lead role.
With new head writer, Chris Chibnall, will there be a woman Doctor Who? It would certainly shake things up a bit for the series–which has essentially been running since 1963 (the first series ended in 1989, but was brought back in 2005)–as the show has always run under a male lead as the Doctor, with a female supporting actress as the Doctor’s companion.
Popular suggestions in the fan base right now are Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Whishaw (“Q” from the recent James Bond movies), Richard Ayoade and Chiwetel Ejiofor. But the possibility of having a woman Doctor, for the first time in over 50 years, also opens up the opportunity for a male companion. Two popular suggestions at the moment are our own Harry Potter lead actress, Emma Watson, and Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams.
Emma Watson’s role as Hermione is a relatively fitting character for a female Dr. Who. Emma Watson’s Hermione was incredibly intelligent, independent, and caring. A Doctor Who, traveling through space and time, with expansive knowledge of all of history and the future, acting as a guardian aid in the safety of the universe, and as a leader embodies all of these things.
Though a female Doctor Who’s personality and quirkiness would be much different than Hermione’s, Emma Watson would still be a great actress to select for the role. Of course, even if she is offered the role, it is up to her to accept it.
The changing of gender roles opens up an interesting discussion within the TV series as well as within the industry itself. Please share with us your thoughts and suggestions!
The brilliant Emma Watson’s influence continues to grow! Over 100,000 people have joined her book club, Our Shared Shelf, on GoodReads, and now news breaks of her appointment at an Oxford college.
The Guardian reports that Emma Watson joins Benedict Cumberbatch and nine others as visiting fellows at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. The college posted Watson’s bio as a means of introduction:
Best known for her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, Emma graduated from Brown University and attended Worcester College, Oxford. She received a BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year in 2014. In the same year she also became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador advocating equality and promoting education for girls.
Emma Watson also lived in the Oxford area before being cast in the Harry Potter films.
The appointments were announced by the college’s principal, Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian. Rusbridger writes,
We canvassed names from our own governing body, of people of distinction whom we admired and whom we felt could add to the intellectual and cultural life of LMH. A small sub-committee then whittled down the names to arrive at the list we are announcing today – which spans science, medicine, the performing arts, literature, feminism, politics, law and policing.
Of the eleven people honored, Rusbridger claims that only one is a serious academic. All are leaders in their respective fields, including artist Cornelia Parker, musician Neil Tennant (of the Pet Shop Boys), and film director Beeban Kidron.
Lady Margaret Hall hopes that Emma Watson and the other fellows will feel free to drop by the college, join the students and professors for meals in the dining hall, and participate in at least one structured event/appearance/lecture at the college over the course of the three years of the fellowship. The point is for both the students and the visiting fellows to grow in their knowledge and gain new perspectives.
Please join us in congratulating Emma Watson on this most recent honor!
Yesterday, followers of Emma Watson’s Twitter would have received many phone notifications as Watson faithfully updated her Twitter with news from HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10’s first gender parity report, which was released at Devon 2016. A full report of yesterdays events at Devon have been uploaded to the new HeForShe website.
The Devon launch was for the first HeForShe IMPACT parity report, complied by 10 of the world’s leading business. The report gave diversity figures in the workforce, and stated goals that need to be altered and achieved. The report reflected the journey these companies have taken to implement gender equality, what they plan to do next, and encourage other companies to do the same. The entire report may be read here.
The ten CEOs of the companies that made this report are 10 of 30 HeForShe Champions the IMPACT 10x10x10 campaign have recruited. These 10 CEOs stand among 10 world heads of state, and 10 heads of the world’s leading universities.
At the Devon 2016 report launch, the 10 CEOs and 3 representatives from the university team made up a panel that discussed the report. The introductions, panel discussion, and Emma Watson’s speech can be seen below. Emma begins at time marker 18:07.
HeForShe.org reported:
“HeForShe launched the IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative at Davos in January 2015. Now one year later, we have built a cohort of dedicated gender equality leaders from ten of the world’s most prominent corporations – AccorHotels, Barclays, Koc? Holding, McKinsey & Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Schneider Electric, Tupperware Brands, Twitter, Unilever and Vodafone. This global team of champions has committed to real change within and beyond their own institutions, on an ambitious timeline. The transparency displayed in the HeForShe Parity Report will provide an important tool to Corporate IMPACT Champions to measure commitments and inspire action from other employers.
The report figures show that a gap remains between the representation of women in the workforce and in leadership positions. Overall representation of women averaged 39.7% across the ten firms, while senior leadership roles held by women ranged from 11.0% to 33.0%. While this outperforms global averages, UN Women has set parity as the goal of its Planet 50-50 drive for gender equality, and the IMPACT commitments put forward by these firms reflect a variety of pathways to achieve it.“
A short animated informational and promotional video of HeForShe’s plans for Devon 2016. It can be seen at the bottom of the HeForShe page.
