TheBanyanTree: Will Success Spoil Emma Watson ?

[spoonoid]

Will Success Spoil Emma Watson?

I'm a little worried about young Emma Watson. Back in the year 2000, at the age 
of ten, she won the Hollywood Lottery and was cast as Hermione Granger in the 
first Harry Potter film. How does a sweet, young, innocent actress survive in 
the decadent environment of the actor's profession? One hopes she received 
enough parental oversight to guide her away from danger in that hazardous 
business.

Her overnight success (which took some ten years to achieve)  has led to fame 
and great wealth, so Miss Watson is now set for life, whether or not she 
accomplishes anything else. But the advantages of money lead to the temptations 
of power, and a slide into the realms of the Dark Lord.  Let us hope she has the 
strength of character to appreciate the real lessons of  the Harry Potter 
stories and to resist corrupting influences.  


Why am I worrying about the welfare of this famous actress whom I will never 
meet? I care because she's such a sweetheart, and we older guys have protective 
instincts toward girls who remind us of our daughters and granddaughters. It 
would be a terrible shame for such a talented and promising youngster to be 
sucked into the Hollywood whirlpool of  vice, drugs, sex, ruin and despair.

When I saw the first Harry Potter movie, I was impressed by the acting skills 
Emma brought to the role of Hermione. Her character is smart, confident, maybe a 
little haughty, yet worried about her ability to succeed in the demanding 
academic environment of Hogwarts. I think she pulled off the performance 
brilliantly, and many of the professional film critics agree. Where did the 
casting director find a youngster who could handle such a role?

We can get a clue from her biography.* She was born April 15, 1990, in Paris. 
She moved to England with her parents when she was five, to grow up in 
Oxfordshire. By the time she turned six, Emma decided she wanted to get into 
acting. She studied at a Theatre Arts facility in Oxford and showed remarkable 
talent. When the casting call went out for Harry Potter, one of her instructors 
advised her to try out. She was chosen.  


Now, eleven years after her debut, she has starred in all eight of the Harry 
Potter films, improving her craft with each movie. In 2007 she accepted the role 
of  Pauline in the BBCs production of  “Ballet Shoes.” I saw the film, and felt 
she did a creditable job, although I'm not a fan of the genre. She did receive 
critical acclaim from the industry.  


Lately we have seen her on the cover of several women's magazines, so she is 
starting to make an impression on the fashion world, as well as appearing in 
advertising for several products in the glamor industry.  


Her formal education was interrupted  by her movie making obligations, so she 
couldn't participate in the usual classroom environment most students of her age 
receive. Instead, she was tutored on  the movie set for up to five hours a day. 
At the end, she achieved outstanding grades on her GCSEs.** 


 
As of mid-2011, Miss Watson has completed several semesters of study in the 
liberal arts at Brown University, and has kept her grades up. The fact that she 
has chosen to go to college is a good sign. Now that she is an adult and is, 
presumably, responsible for her own decisions, let us wish that she continues to 
make the right choices to advance her career and happiness, rather than falling 
back into the insidious traps of Hollywood.

Will success spoil Emma Watson? I certainly hope not, so I will be watching her 
career unfold, following her progress with interest.  


Check-back here every year or so for updates on my analysis of  her progress.  

Later, John.
September 2011


* 	Biography extracted from Miss Watson's official website, www.emmawatson.com
** 	General Certificate of Secondary Education, the standardized academic 
qualification exams in England.  




P.S. For more of my insights on Hollywood, see Chapter 21 of my book “48 Hours 
to Chaos: An Engineer Looks at Life and How the World Really Works.”