Emma Watson and Her Co-Stars Once Broke Into Someone’s House to Prepare for ‘The Bling Ring’
Emma Watson added more variety to her filmography by experimenting with many different film genres and characters after Harry Potter. Perhaps one of the biggest departures from her original work in Harry Potter was the 2013 heist film
Watson and her co-stars did a lot to prepare for the movie. But one of their most unconventional preparation methods included staging a break-in into someone’s house for robbery.
Emma Watson hated her character in ‘The Bling Ring’
The Bling Ring was a 2013 heist film directed by Sofia Coppola. The movie was based on a true story about a group of teenagers who robbed the houses of several well-known celebrities from 2008-2009. The role marked a huge departure from Watson’s usual films. Still, it was a part that the Beauty and the Beast star was determined to win.
“It’s funny, but I actually fought for the role; I really wanted to play it. First of all, I was a big fan of Sofia’s. I’m probably the least obvious choice to play the role, as she’s the epitome of everything that I am considered not to be,” Watson told GQ in a 2013 interview.
But her differences with the character were actually why Watson felt she had to play her.
“When I read the script and I realised that essentially it was a meditation on fame and what it’s become to our society, I had to do it. The character is everything that I felt really strongly against – she’s superficial, materialistic, vain, amoral. She’s all of these things, and I realised that I really hated her,” she added. “How do you play someone that you hate? But I found it really interesting and it gave me a whole new insight into what my job, or my role as an actress, could be.”
Emma Watson and her co-stars once broke into someone’s house to prepare for ‘The Bling Ring’
Because Watson strayed from her usual films to inhabit her character, the role required some level of preparation. Since her character targeted specific celebrities, it was important for the Noah star to understand the lifestyles of other celebrities through reality TV.
“I watched a lot of the Kardashians, I watched Paris Hilton, The Hills, and then really it was trying to understand her psychology. It could be very easy to get into a parody and somehow not understand and empathize with her, and that was really my biggest challenge,” she once told Refinery 29.
But her Bling Ring co-star and partner in crime, Katie Chang, disclosed at one point another way they prepared for the movie. Coppolla wanted the cast to break into someone’s house to bond with each other. But the break-in would be staged, as the house they broke into belonged to a friend of Coppola’s.
“Sofia wanted us to do a bit of bonding so one thing we did is a fake break-in of a house,” Chang once told WENN (via Express). “We broke into someone’s house that Sofia knew. They knew we were coming, so we broke into their house and we stole a bunch of stuff and it was actually kind of fun.”
Chang and the others couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and thrill from pulling off the successful robbery. Until they realized Chang made a mistake.
“So when we got out of the house we were all proud at how fast it was for us to find all the stuff and then we were like, ‘Crap, we have to go back in there now and find this other stuff,'” she added. “It was a red Birkin (bag) and a tan Birkin (bag).”
Paris Hilton found ‘The Bling Ring’ to be an emotional film
Since Paris Hilton was one of the celebrities whose homes were targeted, The Simple Life star had a strong response to the movie. Talking to IndieWire, Coppolla described Hilton’s reaction to the film.
“I’m happy that she’s been a part of it,” Coppola said about Hilton’s involvement. “She had shown me security footage of the kids in the house, which of course was upsetting to her, so when she saw the movie she said it was emotional for her to see them in there. But then she got a kick out of when the audience sees her house for the first time and the humor in it. I was surprised that she enjoyed all that. So yeah, it was fun having her be a part of it.”
