Thursday, October 6, 2022

New interviews + photos of Emma Watson for Prada

 


[Gallery] [Fashion] [Version française]










Thanks to everyone who let me know :)



I'm not 100% sure the Vanity Fair interview in new, some bits sound familiar but others don't so I'm posting it anyway. Also, I used Google Translate because translating from French already takes me forever and I don't really have the time, but translating from Spanish takes me even longer. I did make sure the translation from French was correct and tweaked some things I thought were wrong though. But jeez, Google upped their game. Only had to correct a few things.


Vanity Fair:

    About the Prada ad:

"The proposal was to tell a story about a paradoxical girl, impossible to label. She quickly caught my attention. Throughout our lives, women are required to choose a path, and stay on it. So for me to be able to say, 'I'm complicated. I am not a single thing', it was a gift. That is the true definition of freedom. If I'm going to play an empowered, free, and happy woman, I have to be an empowered, free, and happy woman while I'm doing it. Having a multidimensional identity means it's okay to be complex, not always have the perfect answer, not know exactly what you want or who you want to be every minute. It doesn't mean you're lost or don't know who you are, it's just that you're exploring different versions of yourself, and that makes you more complete. Doing different things doesn't mean you're going aimlessly, it means you're exploring the fullest version of yourself. That completes you and for me it is a very powerful concept. The film has a sustainable part, just like the perfume. It was very important for me to integrate that concept because, in my opinion, we often forget that everything we throw in the garbage ends up in the oceans. I wanted to include a visual reminder about it. Of course, it's just an idea, but I think fragrance ads have aspirational language, and if having trees or being connected to our oceans is perceived as something to aspire to, we achieve something very profound."

    About the fragrance:

"For me, a perfume is about the most sensual moments. Before choosing which one to wear, I think: 'What are the magical powers that this fragrance possesses and do I want to feel?' One of them is the freedom to feel comfortable and safe in my body, with myself, to be able to dance."



Vogue:

    Why Prada:

"Ms. Prada has managed to create fashion in her own way, recognizing that fashion can be frivolous and superficial, but there are thoughtful, interesting, provocative and philosophical ways to imagine it. And I like eccentricity, that's why the idea of being part of a Prada project makes me very enthusiastic, it's a curious and free-spirited brand."

    The "paradoxe" concept:

"When I read the concept, it really resonated with me: the Prada woman is curious and has a free spirit. I myself am really curious, I try to have a free spirit as much as possible, given the constraints of society and the system in which we live. It caught my attention. That's how I felt when I read the story of the creation of Prada Paradoxe. I immediately understood that I had always been a paradox. Prada Paradoxe freed me. I liked the idea that I am never the same, but always myself. Things change. But it is something that is immutable. I am anchored in a flow. 'I am rooted, but I flow.' It's from Virginia Woolf. It's that woman in that commercial. She is alive and in tune with the world. I also like this idea from Lao Tzu that change happens 'to the mind that is still. The whole universe surrenders.' It is the opposite concept according to which the more you change, the more you are yourself. I have thought a lot about the fact that life is not about “or” but about “and”. This and that. In my life, I have chosen the “and” a lot. Sometimes I wondered if I could be loved. By not having to choose, I was able to have the certainty of being loved. That I am part of nature."

    Multidimensionality:

"A multidimensional identity means that it's okay to be complex, to not always be logical, to not know exactly what you want, or who you want to be, at every moment. It doesn't mean you're lost or don't know who you are, it just means you're exploring another side of yourself, and that makes you stronger. Just because you're doing things differently doesn't mean you don't know where you're going: you're exploring all aspects of your personality. It is what makes you a whole being and it is, for me, a powerful concept. One of my favorite Harvard graduation speeches is from Steve Jobs. He explained that we cannot always understand the meaning of what we do, and that it is only in hindsight that we realize that doing what we love (even if doesn't seem logical) is essential to reach our destination. What matters is passion and I'm proud to be part of the exploration of this concept through this ad."

    Discoveries:

"I had the chance to be both the actress and the director of the commercial, which was completely new for me. It revealed a side or a part of myself that I had never seen before. I finally had a say in how I am portrayed and how I tell my own story."

    What makes Prada Paradoxe different:

"I am not an expert in perfumes, but by participating in this project, I had to become so a bit! The scent is subtle and unique. I loved the idea of ​​creating a perfume that was an iconic classic, but with a difference, a touch of eccentricity typical of Prada. Taking something classic and transforming it, approaching it from another angle, making it modern, making it different, putting it at the forefront. It's both a familiar fragrance and something I've never smelled before. The level of know-how and the specificity of the creation of the perfume are remarkable. It consists of amber obtained in an ecological way. It is extremely innovative because it is naturally derived from sugar cane rather than sage, which requires 100 times less agricultural land than traditional cultivation. The fragrance also consists of three sustainably grown ingredients, namely Moroccan Neroli Oil, Vanilla Infusion and the heart of Calabrian Bergamot. As you can imagine, the sustainability of these ingredients means a lot to me. A new molecule of renewable musk endowed with one of the most powerful diffusion powers in the world has even been created for this perfume. It is also the first time that we have used a technology capable of extracting the fragrance from the neroli bud before it hatches. The composition of the perfume has been thought out with great care and intelligence, which for me is a bonus. I truly had a wonderful experience."

    Meaning of perfume for her:

"For me, perfume is the imprint of a person, of a soul. It is a very sensory, emotional gesture, which stimulates memory. It's not just a question of beauty. To tell the truth, perfume touches the intimate and the personal. It is about the relationship a woman has with herself. During lockdown, I thought a lot about the difference between sexuality and sensuality, and how sexuality is very often about presenting or pushing one's energy outwards, whereas sensuality is a moment for oneself. It's about directing your energy inward. So, for me, perfume is about a woman and her sensuality, not about her sexuality."

    Concept's origins:

"I wanted to make a cinematographic work and not a clip or an advertisement which would only be a series of images. I made it clear that if I did this project, I wanted to tell a story and represent a real character who is living an important moment. Most people don't know that I became an actress because I won a poetry contest when I was eight years old. I love words. It's my way of expressing myself. This is how I understand the world. So during the COVID lockdown, I started writing poems. When I received the proposal for Prada Paradoxe, the weekend before the shooting, I sat down to meditate and I couldn't stay still because inspiration came from all sides. I was with a friend who told me, 'You're not supposed to work this morning!' And I couldn't stop writing. I sent the text to two of my closest friends and asked them, 'Does this resonate with you? Am I putting my finger on something?' And they answered me: 'Yes, it resonates with me'. I thought: 'Okay, maybe I am pointing to something'. So, I kept writing and those are the words I ended up using for Prada Paradoxe."

    Actress and director:

"I was ready to say, 'I have a way of seeing things, I have stories to tell.' I have a camera or a way of seeing the world and I want to share that perspective. I want to be a pair of glasses people can put on that make them see something different. Somehow I found it easy and obvious because in my head I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve. It wasn't as if someone else had to speak for me and I had to try to undertstand their way of seeing things and go along with it. The story was already inside me, which made the performance easier and smoother. I think the hardest part is trying to be in front of the camera and watching the result at the same time. This is obviously physically impossible. And that's where technology came in. As everything is shot digital these days, having a portable monitor allowed me, if I was in the water, to watch the recording very quickly after filming and to continue. Likewise, I could have an earpiece when we were doing more complicated technical edits, like this amazing drone shot, and a crew member would say in my ear, 'Okay, the drone is coming to your right , it's time to breathe' or 'Close your eyes now'. Again, without technology, we could not have achieved this level of precision."

    Shooting complications:

"There were definitely times when being in front of and behind the camera created tensions. There were a few specific moments where I felt like these two things weren't compatible. But in the end, they can't go without each other. I promised myself that I would give as much importance to the process of making the film as to the result. I want to feel joy and see beauty in the creative process. If I am to represent an empowered, free and joyful woman, I have to be a joyful, free and empowered woman while doing so. If you don't feel uncomfortable, you're not doing your job properly. The term 'activist' comes from the fact of being active."

    Learning about oneself:

"I worked on many film sets and there was no parity. So I knew it was important for me to see more female faces around me. I also knew that it was a unique opportunity to bring together as many female collaborators as possible, and to challenge the production to integrate many talented women into the team. In less than four weeks, it was difficult to find available women, especially because there are fewer women in these jobs. It was an ambitious challenge. We finally got there and I think the result is all the better for it. It was really special and touching."

Source: pradabeauty, Vanity Fair, Vogue



If you have news to share (pictures, infos, scans...), please send an email to eden@emmawatson-updates.com 
Follow the blog on social media:

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Didn't think I could adore her anymore 😍🥺she's brilliant.

Anonymous said...

cute xoxox

Anonymous said...

I like the text and Emma's explanation of her vision. I would be very interested in seeing a film where she shows the described development in a form of drama. Searching for your inner self and identity is a path we all sojourn on. Go Emma!

Anonymous said...

Oh for Heaven's sake it's an ad to sell perfume.

You'd swear she had just directed Citizen Kane, solved World hunger and ended repression Worldwide.

Anonymous said...

eden did you see daily fail is being sued by many celebs after they are shown to have stalked celebs and planted illegal phone taps in their houses??? omg i hope Emma sues them for all the cruel stuff they write about her and clearly been stalking her imo

Anonymous said...

Yup herad about the daily fail getting what they deserve at last i hope, like they even bugged a murder victims family (steven Lawrence rip ) i think they might get ruined over this really the biggest newspaper scandal in decades

Anonymous said...

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/oct/06/doreen-lawrence-prince-harry-and-others-launch-legal-action-against-daily-mail-publisher

context for people unaware

Anonymous said...

No, the ad is not citizen cane, but people do define themselves completely through the fashion world- for better or for worse. It seems to me she is searching for a story to tell, for the ad was more. I believe she has much to offer, she must only dare and stay focused on one task. She tends to run herself thin and has become a bit above average- well grade B.

Anonymous said...

eden did you see daily fail is being sued by many celebs after they are shown to have stalked celebs and planted illegal phone taps in their houses??? omg i hope Emma sues them for all the cruel stuff they write about her and clearly been stalking her imo

Is Emma one of the celebs sueing? If she is good thing her parents are lawyers

Anonymous said...

thank you for posting this article Eden, whatever she does always leave an impact on women's empowerment, and her interviews are always amazing, I can learn so many things from her