posted on Mat 16th, 2013 by hollywoodreporter.com

The British actress says she gorged on reality TV for her role in Sofia Coppola’s festival sidebar film.

CANNES – It is the first, and possibly the last, time that work by the Kardashians, Paris Hilton and Lauren Conrad all have been cited collectively as essential research for a film at Cannes.

Particularly surprising is the person doing the research: Emma Watson, best known as Hermione in the Harry Potter films. The British actress gorged on reality TV for her role as Nicki, a high-schooler-turned-burglar in Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring.

“I watched a lot of Kardashians, I watched a lot of Paris Hilton, I watched some of The Hills, and then really I was just trying to understand [Nicki’s] psychology,” said Watson. “Because you might easily have made Nicki feel like a parody … and somehow I had to understand and empathize with her and really that was my biggest challenge second to getting the accent down.”

Her reality confession came at the press conference for the film, unspooling as the opening-night gala screening for Un Certain Regard. Coppola’s portrait of fame-seeking students who robbed celebrities’ homes – including that of Hilton, who has a cameo in the film – was inspired by true events.

Coppola said neither Hilton nor Lindsay Lohan (another victim of the thieves) had yet seen the film “as far as I know,” adding, “I believe Paris Hilton might be coming tonight.” American Israel Broussard, who plays young thief Marc, got a laugh when he confessed to having to learn to pronounce various designer names including “Dior” properly.

For her part, Coppola said she had no misgivings about returning to Cannes after the lukewarm reception her 2006 movie Marie Antoinette received. “I’m always very happy to show a movie here,” said Coppola. “Cannes seems an appropriate place for Bling.

Actress Emma Watson has spoken of the perils of celebrity, as she warns the “full time job” of creating a brand to stay in the headlines is totally different to her “craft”.

CANNES — Harry Potter star Emma Watson shows off a new celeb-obsessed personality and a specific Los Angeles accent in The Bling Ring.

But her fans will be interested to see that Sofia Coppola’s new film features a fully-clothed Watson performing a brief but memorable show on Paris Hilton’s stripper pole dance floor.

The British actress insists she needs some work on the sultry maneuvers.

“If you watched the film, I’m hardly a pro pole dancer,” Watson said on Friday, promoting The Bling Ring at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered. “I actually look pretty bad doing it.”

But the 23-year-old actress is turning over a new page following the last Harry Potter film in 2011 and taking on more provocative roles. The Bling Ring focuses on a group of celeb-obsessed Los Angeles kids who use the internet to track their favorite celebrities so they can rob their Hollywood homes of designer goods.

Director Coppola is impressed with Watson’s “transformation” in the film, insisting that the pole dancing was necessary to reflect Watson’s real-life character.

“The pole dancing exercises was part of that culture,” said Coppola. “I wanted to show that whole universe.”

The former child star is growing up as a human being and learning about herself in the process.

“You sort of accept certain things about your personality,” Watson said of growing older. “I don’t need to beat myself up about not wanting to go out (at night). I thought there was something quite peculiar about me because I was this insular person. But that’s just how I am. You learn to be okay with the way you are.”

That new found acceptance does not include ordering a stripper pole for her own home.

“Shockingly no,” Watson laughed, when asked about getting her own pole. “But who knows? Anything can happen. I might be totally different in a year.”

The 23-year-old actress starred as Hermione Granger in the movie adaptations of the popular wizard book series and while she loved workingon them she is happy to be branching out into different roles.

Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, she said: “I’m not trying to run away from it. I’m very proud of the work that I did. I’m just really enjoying having the chance to transform into new roles.

“It’s strange for me because ‘Harry Potter’ seems like such a long time ago. So much has happened over the last three or four years. But obviously it’s very present in people’s minds and living rooms.”

Emma also revealed she loved working on Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Bling Ring’ because she could improvise her lines.

She said: “I am used to really having to stick to my lines. Because people really [the 'Harry Potter' dialogue] by heart. So it was lovely to ad-lib or improvise. It was really special.”

Meanwhile, Sofia spoke out about how impressed she was with Emma’s performance.

She said: “It’s interesting to see actors that you see in other films transform into characters that are so different from themselves. It’s exciting.”

Our gallery is filled with hundreds of HQ photos of Emma at 66th Cannes Film Festival. This includes “The Bling Ring” Photocall, Press Conference and Premiere and also her appearance on Le Grand Journal.

Huge thanks to my friend Claudia for getting most of the photos for us.

• [x443] Appearances in 2013 - 66th Cannes Film Festival: “The Bling Ring” Photocall – May 16th
• [x136] Appearances in 2013 - 66th Cannes Film Festival: “The Bling Ring” Press Conference – May 16th
• [x530] Appearances in 2013 - 66th Cannes Film Festival: “The Bling Ring” Premiere – May 16th
• [x056] Appearances in 2013 - 66th Cannes Film Festival: Le Grand Journal – May 17th

Hey everyone, I started filling up the gallery with all the missing recent events but as there are literally hundreds of HQ photos to upload it’s gonna take a while.

For now I finished adding HQ additions to Emma’s appearance at MTV Movie awards and also at “PUNK: Chaos To Couture” Costume Institute Gala. Enjoy and check back later for a huge Cannes gallery update.

• [x023] Appearances in 2013 - MTV Movie Awards – Show – April 14, 2013
• [x062] Appearances in 2013 - MTV Movie Awards – Press Room – April 14, 2013
• [x074] Appearances in 2013 - “PUNK: Chaos To Couture” Costume Institute Gala – May 6th, 2013

SOFIA COPPOLA’s The Bling Ring will show during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film – starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard and Leslie Mann – will open the Un Certain Regard schedule on May 16.

The section is part of the festival’s official selection, and runs parallel to the main competition (where films battle it out for the coveted Palme d’Or prize), instead featuring a selection of original, unusual and often more obscure international productions. The category has been part of the festival line-up since 1978.

The Bling Ring tells the real-life story of a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who break into the houses of Hollywood celebrities. Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby will premiere as the opening night film on May 15 – but will not take part in either competition.

Other highlights from the Cannes schedule include Only God Forgives by Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn; Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic, Behind The Candelabra; The Immigrant starring Joaquin Phoenix and Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard; and the Coen brothers’ latest film, Inside Llewyn Davis, with Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake playing the leading roles. Other highlights from the Cannes schedule include Only God Forgives by Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn; Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic, Behind The Candelabra; The Immigrant starring Joaquin Phoenix and Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard; and the Coen brothers’ latest film, Inside Llewyn Davis, with Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake playing the leading roles.

Source: Vogue