Emma Watson is reportedly planning a huge celebration to mark the end of her days as a student.

The 23-year-old actress has studied at Brown University in Rhode Island, also spending some time learning at UK’s prestigious Oxford University.

She is now gearing up to celebrate the end of her student days, with her parents due to jet to the US to see her graduate. While she’ll likely commemorate her degree with them, the star is also planning a special bash for her friends.

According to British newspaper The Sun, Emma will hold a huge Mexican-themed party for everyone she knows. Although the exact details remain a closely-guarded secret at the moment, it is known that a Tequila drinking contest will make up part of the night.

It’s not the first time Emma’s love of Mexico has been reported. When she turned 23 on April 15 last year, her friends threw her a piñata-themed party. Pals crammed sweets into 23 of the papier-mâché creations, one for each year of the actress’ life, which were also decorated with major events from the Harry Potter star’s life.

“Emma was gobsmacked when she arrived at the party to see all the piñatas. There was everything from her as a child, and as Hermione in the Harry Potter films, to her in the Chanel advert a couple of years ago,” a source smiled at the time.

“They had even gone to the effort of stuffing a few of the piñatas with sweets and treats, so Emma could smash them open.”

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EMMA Watson has come a long way!

The actress hadn’t acted professionally before she landed the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films aged 9 — so she wasn’t that confident about her career.

“I’d done two tiny plays when I was, like, 6 and 8, but I wasn’t driven to act,” she said.

“I wasn’t doing Oscar acceptance speeches into a hairbrush. I took a Beanie Baby to my first Harry Potter audition.

“After Harry Potter, all that mattered was university.

“I didn’t even know if I wanted to be an actress.

“It took me a year or two to find my confidence. You can see that by the choices I’m making, from Sofia Coppola [The Bling Ring], then jumping to a biblical epic [Noah].

“There are no restrictions on me, which is a relief.”

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Emma Watson celebrates her 24th birthday today and Emma Online would like to wish her a very safe and happy one!

Malaysia and Indonesia have banned the biblical epic Noah, joining other Muslim nations in vetoing the Hollywood movie because of its visual depiction of the prophet.

Film censors in both countries said today that the portrayal of the ark-building prophet by Russell Crowe was against Islamic laws. Depictions of any prophet are shunned in Islam to avoid worship of a person rather than God.

“The film Noah is not allowed to be screened in this country to protect the sensitivity and harmony in Malaysia’s multi-racial and multi-religious community,” Film Censorship Board chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said in a statement.

Malay Muslims make up about 60% of Malaysia’s 30 million people, and Christians about 9%.

In the world’s most populous Muslim nation, the head of Indonesia’s censor board Muchlis Paeni said the plot of the film directed by Darren Aronofsky contradicted both the Koran and the Bible.

“We have to reject Noah to be screened here,” Mr Paeni said. “We don’t want a film that could provoke controversies and negative reactions.”

The Indonesian Council of Ulama, the country’s most influential Islamic body, welcomed the move, saying films that could corrupt religious teachings should be outlawed. Many Indonesians condemned the ban on social media.
“The decision was very regrettable, so sad,” film-maker Joko Anwar said on Twitter, warning it was a backwards step for Indonesia.

Much of the Muslim world, including the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, has already banned the film, which is a box-office hit in the US. Some Christian conservatives also have complained of its inaccurate portrayal of the biblical account of the flood.

Paramount Pictures added a disclaimer to its marketing material, saying “artistic licence has been taken” in telling the story.

The Koran mentions only 25 prophets by name, including Noah. Muslims believe that Noah, who is referred to in Arabic as Nuh, built his ark after God charged him to do it as people in his community refused to worship God alone.

While there are differences between the biblical and Koranic story of Noah, both mention a terrible flood and Noah’s vessel saving a pair of each species of animal.

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On the pressures of looking perfect:

As a younger woman, that pressure got me down, but I’ve made my peace with it. With airbrushing and digital manipulation, fashion can project an unobtainable image that’s dangerously unhealthy. I’m excited about the aging process. I’m more interested in women who aren’t perfect. They’re more compelling.

… says Emma.

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