Emma Watson explain why she didn't do La La Land

In case you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Emma Watson is currently playing the Belle of the ball in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
But the Harry Potter star was originally eyed up for another musical – La La Land – and after much media speculation, the 26-year-old actress opened up on why she didn’t end up in the role

Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine on Monday, March 13, Watson said: “With a movie like Beauty and the Beast it’s like three months prep, it’s like three or four months shooting, it’s in the UK.
“I had to be there to do that and, as I was saying before, you can’t half-ass a project like this – you’re in or you’re out.
“And I was like, ‘I’ve kinda got to be all in’, and so this was really where my heart was and I knew I had to fully commit and make sure that I did this.”

On having to learn new skills for the role of Belle, Emma revealed: “I’ve never ridden a horse before [making this film] and so I was like, OK… This is what I mean about the prep. I mean, I really went in to like essentially a Belle boot camp.
“I was riding three or four times a week, singing four times a week, dancing three or four times a week. I was manic, I was so hectic but I loved it.”

Emma also confessed that to begin with she was nervous about having to sing in the film, she said: “Oh my god, I can’t even tell you how nerve-wracking it was, there were a few moments when I had a real crisis of confidence.
“Once I got into it I just loved it. I want to do a musical every day for the rest of my life. There is so much joy in it and like the music is just… I don’t know about you but when I hear that song ‘Beauty and the Beast’ I just melt.”

not the only time Emma has been forced to clarify exactly what went on with La La Land.
Speaking to SiriusXM, she added: “It’s one of these frustrating things where names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that’s coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone.
“[Beauty and the Beast] wasn’t a movie I could just kind of parachute into. I knew I had to do the work, and I had to be where I had to be. So, you know, scheduling conflict-wise, it just didn’t work out.”
Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast opens in cinemas on March 17. Watch the trailer above.

By Harper’s Bazaar