Harry Potter Mania

'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson dressed down for her first day at university in America at the weekend.

Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the blockbuster series, will study literature at the prestigious Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Miss Watson, who looked anything but the global movie star in simple denim shorts and a white T-shirt, is likely to have to get used to having her own fan club on campus.

Classes at the Ivy League college start on Wednesday after Saturday's check-in and several days of orientation and activities.

Before hitting the books, new students can attend yoga and games night, a midnight organ concert and kickball game.

But it isn't all fun: The students will also get the chance to 'take part in discussions on diversity, sexual assault and Brown's role in the transatlantic slave trade'.

She said recently: 'But I do hope that it will be only a short time before I am known as "Emma Watson, the student from the UK" rather than "Emma Watson who starred in those Harry Potter films".'

Without confirming that Watson is actually attending Brown this autumn, Mark Nickel, the school’s director of communications, said: 'We do whatever we need to do to ensure safety and privacy, and that applies pretty much to all students.'

Asked if the school might take extra precautions to protect a young wizard, he added: 'Sure.'

It is one of the top colleges in the United States, boasting alumni including former presidents, diplomats, royalty and a heavy sprinkling of celebrities' offspring. Most recently, George Harrison's son, Dhani, attended Brown.

Brown was recently been ranked number 1 for America's 'Happiest College Students', according to the Princeton Review 2010 rankings.

It was also named 'the most fashionable school in the Ivy League' by the fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily.

Miss Watson achieved straight As in her A-levels. However, she's not completely leaving the world of showbiz behind.

She will have to return to the studio during her holidays to film the last two instalments in the Harry Potter series.

Yes, the mania lives on as we now talk about speculations on how the last HP film series will be split into two. I may not have read the book yet and no matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't find time as a full time mom. It is rather a 'wait and see' for me.

Source:
Goyle actor spills the goods on where the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows split will be -- maybe

As most Potter-philes are aware, the film manifestation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be split into two films, scheduled for release in November 2010 and July 2011. Speculation on the exact location of the end of the first film and the beginning of the second has been as wild as an outraged veela (take a look at the Book Examiner's ponderings on five possible split points here.)

In a U.K. question-and-answer session, Jonathon Herdman, the actor that plays Malfoy's trusty Slytherin sidekick, Goyle, revealed that the split would occur immediately after Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been captured by the Snatchers. The second installment of the film would pick up at Malfoy Manor.

The director and producer have repeatedly said that the split point could change so this could all be a sound and fury signifying nothing.... I confess though, I'm a little disappointed. I kind of had my heart set on the first movie ending after Ron ditches Harry and Hermione. An ending like that would certainly have inspired more people to read the book just to find out what happens.

We have seen them grow up on the HP film series. Now let's see what their hopes and dreams are in reality.

From source:

USA TODAY
Updated 8h 5m ago

The three young stars of the Harry Potter films talk about their future plans:

Daniel Radcliffe, movie star

"Hopefully in the next couple of years, I'll be back on stage in some form. I'd love to come to Broadway again," Radcliffe says. "They responded to the fact that I have a work ethic. I was on Broadway at the same time as Jeremy Piven, and I think he made me look really, really good because I didn't miss a show." He was jokingly referring to Piven's run in Speed-the-Plow, which was shortened by the actor's mercury poisoning.

First thing he'll do after Potter? "Sleep. Ideally, I would have three weeks off and go straight to something else. I get bored not working. … I have a huge amount of energy. When I'm on set, I use it all up. At home, I go wild in my head."

Emma Watson, model bookworm

As the series' outspoken, super-smart female lead, Watson says she's often confused with her character, Hermione Granger, off screen. That's why she has gone to great lengths to separate herself from her iconic teen wizard.

"People see me as Hermione in real life. They forget that I'm acting. We're quite different people. I want people to understand that I'm versatile," Watson says. "My way of hoping people would see me differently was through modeling. I worked very hard and did a lot of modeling shoots. Burberry offered me the campaign. That has moved me away a little bit. I'm not good at selling myself."

Rupert Grint, clown prince

As Harry's best friend and upbeat sidekick Ron Weasley, the red-haired Grint has provided most of the film series' comic relief. And now that his run as Ron is almost over, "I look forward to seeing what else is out there and to move on, really. This is a bubble, really. You don't get a sense of the real kind of industry. I look forward to it."

The least gregarious of the three, Grint peppers most of his responses with "really" and is every bit as reticent as Radcliffe is outgoing. Yates says Grint "has never changed. He's just Rupert, really laid-back and cool. He's the coolest person I know. He's so relaxed."