W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Women's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and thirteen inches tall. Stefano Tonchi is the editor of W; Nina Lawrence is the vice president and publisher. W magazine has a reader base of nearly half a million, 469,000 of which are annual subscribers. 80 percent of the magazine's readers are female and have an average household income of $135,840.^[2]

Often the subject of controversy, W magazine has featured stories and covers which have provoked mixed responses from its intended audience. In July 2005, W produced a 60-page Steven Klein portfolio of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt entitled "Domestic Bliss".^[3] The shoot was based upon Pitt's idea of the irony of the perfect American family; set in 1963, the photographs mirror the era when 1960s disillusionment was boiling under the facade of pristine 1950s suburbia.

Other controversial issues include Steven Meisel's shoot entitled "Asexual Revolution," in which male and female models (including Jessica Stam and Karen Elson) are depicted in gender-bending styles and provocative poses. In addition, Tom Ford's racy shoot with Steven Klein and the accompanying article on sexuality in fashion came as a shock to some loyal readers. During the interview, Ford is quoted as saying "I've always been about pansexuality. Whether I'm sleeping with girls or not at this point in my life, the clothes have often been androgynous, which is very much my standard of beauty."^[4] Steven Klein also was the photographer for the racy photo shoot featured in the August 2007 issue, showcasing David and Victoria Beckham.^[5] Bruce Weber produced a 60-page tribute to New Orleans in the April 2008 issue, and shot a 36-page story on the newest fashion designers in Miami for the July 2008 issue.^[6][7] Most of W's most memorable covers are featured on the W Classics^[8] page on the magazine's website.

W is also known for its coverage of American and European society. Many of these society luminaries, as well as the elite of the entertainment and fashion industries, have allowed W into their homes for the magazine's W House Tours^[9] feature, including Marc Jacobs, Sir Evelyn Rothschild and Imelda Marcos.

In 2011, Steven Meisel created controversy again by promoting fake advertisements throughout the November issue of the magazine. Celebrities endorsing these fake ads included RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3/NY Socialite Carmen Carrera, and model Linda Evangelista.

Demi Moore Photo Editing Controversy[link]

The issue of drastic photo retouching became national news when in the December 2009 issue, actress Demi Moore was presented with a remarkably slim figure and what appeared to many critics^[10] including Anthony Citrano of BoingBoing, to be a poorly "Photoshopped" hip. Both the magazine and Moore denied this claim, with the actress even posting on her personal Twitter account what she claimed was the original photo^[11]from the shoot, and further disputed ^[12] that the editors of W had slimmed her figure to make her appear thinner.

Citrano later challenged this claim by Moore, by offering $5,000 ^[13] to charity, if Moore could prove that the photo she provided was the original photo from the shoot.

The issue was escalated when on November 24, 2009, the consumer watchdog website The Consumerist posted an article, claiming that they had discovered the original photo^[14] used on the cover, asserting that Moore's head, legs, and arms were superimposed on the hips and torso of model Anja Rubik.

References[link]

External links[link]

• W magazine website
• W magazine website (South Korea)
• WDesires website
• Wild At Art, January 2011

Emma Watson
Watson at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Struck by Lightning
Born	Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson[1] (1990-04-15) 15 April 1990 (age 22) Paris, France
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2001–present
Website
www.emmawatson.com

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and model.

Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays.^[2] From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.^[3] Watson's work on the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million.^[4] She made her modelling debut for Burberry's Autumn/Winter campaign in 2009.

In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in two productions: the television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes and an animated film, The Tale of Despereaux. Ballet Shoes was broadcast on 26 December 2007 to an audience of 5.2 million, and The Tale of Despereaux, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo, was released in 2008 and grossed over US $86 million in worldwide sales.^[5][6]

Early life[link]

Emma Watson was born in Paris to Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both British lawyers.^[7][8] Watson has one French grandmother,^[9] and lived in Paris until the age of five. Following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother and younger brother to Oxfordshire.^[7]

From the age of six, Watson had wanted to become an actress,^[10] and for a number of years she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting.^[11] By the age of ten, she had performed in various Stagecoach productions and school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince,^[12] but she had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. "I had no idea of the scale of the film series," she stated in a 2007 interview with Parade; "If I had I would have been completely overwhelmed."^[13]

Career[link]

Harry Potter[link]

Handprints, footprints and wand prints of (from left to right) Watson, Radcliffe, Grint.

In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), the film adaptation of British author J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel. Casting agents found Watson through her Oxford theatre teacher,^[10] and producers were impressed by her confidence. After eight auditions, producer David Heyman told Watson and fellow applicants Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint that they had been cast for the roles of the schoolfriends Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley respectively. Rowling supported Watson from her first screen test.^[10]

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 was Watson's debut screen performance. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001.^[14][15] Critics praised the performances of the three leads, often singling out Watson for particular acclaim; The Daily Telegraph called her performance "admirable",^[16] and IGN said she "stole the show".^[17] Watson was nominated for five awards for her performance in Philosopher's Stone, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress.^[18]

A year later, Watson again starred as Hermione in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second instalment of the series. Reviewers praised the lead actors' performances. The Los Angeles Times said Watson and her peers had matured between films,^[19] while The Times criticised director Chris Columbus for "under-employing" Watson's hugely popular character.^[20] Watson received an Otto Award from the German magazine Bravo for her performance.^[21]

Watson at the premiere of Goblet of Fire in November 2005

In 2004, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released. Watson was appreciative of the more assertive role Hermione played, calling her character "charismatic" and "a fantastic role to play".^[22] Although critics panned Radcliffe's performance, labelling him "wooden", they praised Watson; The New York Times lauded her performance, saying "Luckily Mr. Radcliffe's blandness is offset by Ms. Watson's spiky impatience. Harry may show off his expanding wizardly skills ... but Hermione ... earns the loudest applause with a decidedly unmagical punch to Draco Malfoy's deserving nose."^[23] Although Prisoner of Azkaban remains the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film as of April 2009, Watson's personal performance won her two Otto Awards and the Child Performance of the Year award from Total Film.^[24][25][26]

With Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), both Watson and the Harry Potter film series reached new milestones. The film set records for a Harry Potter opening weekend, a non-May opening weekend in the US, and an opening weekend in the UK. Critics praised the increasing maturity of Watson and her teenage co-stars; the New York Times called her performance "touchingly earnest".^[27] For Watson, much of the humour of the film sprang from the tension among the three lead characters as they matured. She said, "I loved all the arguing. ... I think it's much more realistic that they would argue and that there would be problems."^[28] Nominated for three awards for Goblet of Fire, Watson won a bronze Otto Award.^[29][30][31] Later that year, Watson became the youngest person to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue,^[32] an appearance she reprised in August 2009.^[33] In 2006, Watson played Hermione in The Queen's Handbag, a special mini-episode of Harry Potter in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday.^[34]

Watson at the premiere of Half-Blood Prince in July 2009

The fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was released in 2007. A huge financial success, the film set a record worldwide opening-weekend gross of $332.7 million.^[35] Watson won the inaugural National Movie Award for Best Female Performance.^[36] As the fame of the actress and the series continued, Watson and fellow Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint left imprints of their hands, feet and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on 9 July 2007.^[37]

By July 2007, Watson's work in the Harry Potter series was said to have earned her more than £10 million, and she acknowledged she would never have to work for money again.^[4] In March 2009, she was ranked 6th on the Forbes list of "Most Valuable Young Stars",^[38] and in February 2010, she was named as Hollywood's highest paid female star, having earned an estimated £19 million in 2009.^[39]

Despite the success of Order of the Phoenix, the future of the Harry Potter franchise became surrounded in doubt, as all three lead actors were hesitant to sign on to continue their roles for the final two episodes.^[40] Radcliffe eventually signed for the final films on 2 March 2007,^[40] but Watson was considerably more hesitant.^[41] She explained that the decision was significant, as the films represented a further four-year commitment to the role, but eventually conceded that she "could never let [the role of] Hermione go",^[42] signing for the role on 23 March 2007.^[43] In return for committing to the final films, Watson's pay was doubled to £2 million per film;^[44] she concluded that "in the end, the pluses outweighed the minuses".^[13] Principal photography for the sixth film began in late 2007, with Watson's part being filmed from 18 December to 17 May 2008.^[45][46]

Watson with Daniel Radcliffe (left) and Rupert Grint at the London premiere of Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July 2011

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiered on 15 July 2009,^[47] having been delayed from November 2008.^[48] With the lead actors now in their late teens, critics were increasingly willing to review them on the same level as the rest of the film's all-star cast, which the Los Angeles Times described as "a comprehensive guide to contemporary UK acting".^[49] The Washington Post felt Watson to have given "[her] most charming performance to date",^[50] while The Daily Telegraph described the lead actors as "newly-liberated and energised, eager to give all they have to what's left of the series".^[51]

Watson's filming for the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, began on 18 February 2009^[52] and ended on 12 June 2010.^[53] For financial and scripting reasons, the original book has been divided into two films which were shot consecutively.^[54][55] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 was released in November 2010 while the second film was released in July 2011.

Other acting work[link]

Watson's first non-Potter role was the 2007 BBC film Ballet Shoes, an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Noel Streatfeild.^[56][57] The film's director Sandra Goldbacher commented that Watson was "perfect" for the starring role of aspiring actress Pauline Fossil: "She has a piercing, delicate aura that makes you want to gaze and gaze at her."^[58] Ballet Shoes was broadcast in the UK on Boxing Day 2007 to an audience of 5.7 million viewers, to mixed reviews.^{[59][60][61][62][63]} Watson also lent her voice to the role of Princess Pea in the animated film The Tale of Despereaux, a children's comedy starring Matthew Broderick with Harry Potter co-star Robbie Coltrane (playing the character of Rubeus Hagrid) also starring in the film.^[64] The Tale of Despereaux was released in December 2008 and grossed $87 million worldwide.^[5] In December 2008, Watson stated she wanted to go to university after she completed the Potter series.^[65]

In May 2010, Watson was reported to be in talks to star in a film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.^[66] Filming began in summer 2011.^[67] Also that month, she announced that she would appear in a music video for One Night Only after meeting lead singer George Craig at the 2010 Winter/Summer Burberry advertising campaign. The video, "Say You Don't Want It", was screened on Channel 4 on 26 June 2010 and released on 16 August.^[68] In her first post-Harry Potter film, Watson appeared in 2011's My Week with Marilyn as Lucy, a wardrobe assistant who has a few dates with the main character, Colin Clark.^[69][70] Watson has also expressed interest in being in a musical film.^[71]

Modelling[link]

Watson at the U.S. premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in November 2010

In 2008, the British press reported that Watson was to replace Keira Knightley as the face of the fashion house Chanel, but this was denied by both parties.^[72][73] In June 2009, following several months of rumours, Watson confirmed that she would be partnering with Burberry as the face of their Autumn/Winter 2009 campaign, for which she received an estimated six-figure fee.^[74][75][76] She also appeared in Burberry's 2010 Spring/Summer campaign alongside her brother Alex, musicians George Craig and Matt Gilmour, and model Max Hurd.^[77] In February 2011, Watson was awarded the Style Icon award from British Elle by Dame Vivienne Westwood.^[78][79] Watson continued her involvement in fashion advertising when she announced she had been chosen as the face of Lancôme in March 2011.^[80]

In September 2009, Watson announced her involvement with People Tree, a Fair Trade fashion brand.^[81] Watson worked as a creative advisor for People Tree to create a spring line of clothing, which was released in February 2010;^[81][82] the range featured styles inspired by southern France and London.^[82][83] The collection, described by The Times as "very clever" despite their "quiet hope that [she] would become tangled at the first hemp-woven hurdle",^[84] was widely publicised in magazines such as Teen Vogue,^[85] Cosmopolitan, and People. Watson, who was not paid for the collaboration,^[86] admitted that competition for the range was minimal,^[84] but argued that "Fashion is a great way to empower people and give them skills; rather than give cash to charity you can help people by buying the clothes they make and supporting things they take pride in";^[87] adding, "I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices but there aren't many options out there."^[84] Watson continued her involvement with People Tree, resulting in the release of a 2010 Autumn/Winter collection.^[88]

Personal life[link]

After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended The Dragon School until June 2003 and then moved to Headington School, also in Oxford.^[7] While on film sets, Watson and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day.^[89] In June 2006, Watson took GCSE examinations in 10 subjects, achieving eight A* and two A grades.^[7][90]

After leaving school, Watson took a gap year^[91] to film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beginning in February 2009,^[55] but said she "definitely want[ed] to go to university".^[65] The Providence Journal reported that Watson had confirmed that she had chosen Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island.^[92][93] In March 2011, after 18 months at the university, Watson announced that she was deferring her course for "a semester or two",^[94] to give her more time to participate in the advertising buildup for the release of the second Deathly Hallows film, and other projects.^[95] Watson will complete her final year at Brown University in 2012.^[96]

Watson supports the Wild Trout Trust.^{[97][dead link]}

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emma Watson

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Emma Watson

• Official website
• Emma Watson at the Internet Movie Database
• Guides: Harry Potter Actors at the BBC

Dakota Fanning
Fanning at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Hannah Dakota Fanning (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 18) Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Relatives	Elle Fanning (sister)

Hannah Dakota Fanning^[1] (born February 23, 1994), better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress who rose to prominence after her breakthrough performance in the 2001 film I Am Sam. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web.

In 2006, Fanning began the transition to more adult roles with Hounddog and The Secret Life of Bees. Her recent films have included The Twilight Saga, the fantasy/horror animated children's movie Coraline, and The Runaways. In 2002, she became the youngest nominee for a Screen Actors Guild Award.^[2]

Early life[link]

Fanning was born in Conyers, Georgia. Her mother, Heather Joy (née Arrington), played tennis professionally, and her father, Steven J. Fanning, played minor league baseball, and works as an electronics salesman in Los Angeles.^[3][4] Her maternal grandfather was former American football player, Rick Arrington, and her aunt is former ESPN reporter Jill Arrington.^[5] Dakota is the elder sister of Elle Fanning, also an actress.

Fanning has German and Irish ancestry (her paternal grandmother was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany).^[6] She and her family are Southern Baptist.^[7]

Acting career[link]

1999–2000[link]

Starting in 2000, Fanning began acting at the age of five after appearing on a Tide commercial. Her first significant acting job was a guest role in the NBC prime-time drama ER, which remains one of her favorite roles ("I played a car accident victim who has leukemia. I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked.").^[8]

Fanning subsequently had several guest roles on established television series, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Practice, and Spin City. She also portrayed the title characters of Ally McBeal and The Ellen Show as young girls. In 2001, Fanning was chosen to star opposite Sean Penn in the movie I Am Sam, the story of a mentally challenged man who fights for the custody of his daughter (played by Fanning). Her role in the film made Fanning the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, being seven years of age at the time.^[9] She also won the Best Young Actor/Actress award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her performance.^[10]

In 2002, director Steven Spielberg cast Fanning in the lead child role of Allison "Allie" Clarke/Keys in the science fiction miniseries Taken. By this time, she had received positive notices by several film critics, including Tom Shales of The Washington Post, who wrote that Fanning "has the perfect sort of otherworldly look about her, an enchanting young actress called upon ... to carry a great weight."^[11] In the same year, Fanning appeared in three films: as a kidnap victim who proves to be more than her abductors bargained for in Trapped, as the young version of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama, and as Katie in the movie Hansel and Gretel.

A year later, she starred in two prominent films; playing the uptight child to an immature nanny played by Brittany Murphy in Uptown Girls and as Sally in The Cat in the Hat. In addition, Fanning did voice-over work for four animated projects during this period, including voicing Satsuki in Disney's English language release of My Neighbor Totoro, a little girl in the Fox series Family Guy, and a young Wonder Woman in an episode of Cartoon Network's Justice League.

2004–2007[link]

Fanning at the London premiere of War of the Worlds, June 2005

In 2004, Fanning appeared in Man on Fire as Pita, a nine-year-old who wins over the heart of a retired mercenary (Denzel Washington) hired to protect her from kidnappers. Roger Ebert wrote that Fanning "is a pro at only 10 years old, and creates a heart-winning character."^[12]

Hide and Seek was her first release in 2005, opposite Robert De Niro. The film was generally panned, and critic Chuck Wilson called it "a fascinating meeting of equals – if the child star [Fanning] challenged the master [De Niro] to a game of stare-down, the legend might very well blink first."^[13] Fanning voiced Lilo (succeeding Daveigh Chase) in the direct-to-video film Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. She also had a small part in the Rodrigo García film Nine Lives (released in October 2005), in which she shared an unbroken nine-minute scene with actress Glenn Close, who had her own praise for Fanning: "She's definitely an old soul. She's one of those gifted people that come along every now and then."^[14] Fanning also recorded voice work for Coraline during this time.^[15]

Fanning completed filming on Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (opposite Kurt Russell) in late October 2004. Russell declared he was astonished by his co-star's performance in the film. Russell, 54, who plays her father in the movie, says, "I guarantee you, (Dakota) is the best actress I will work with in my entire career."^[16] Kris Kristofferson, who plays her character's grandfather in the movie, said that she's like Bette Davis reincarnated.^[17] While promoting her role in Dreamer, Fanning became a registered member of Girl Scouts of the USA at a special ceremony, which was followed by a screening of the film for members of the Girl Scouts of the San Fernando Valley Council.^[18]

Fanning in January 2009

She then went directly to the set of War of the Worlds, starring alongside Tom Cruise. Released in reverse order (War in June 2005 and Dreamer in the following October), both films were a critical success. War director Steven Spielberg praised "how quickly she understands the situation in a sequence, how quickly she sizes it up, measures it up and how she would really react in a real situation."^[19] Afterwards, Fanning moved straight to another film without a break: Charlotte's Web, which she finished filming in May 2005 in Australia. Producer Jordan Kerner said, "...when she was so caught up in War of the Worlds, we had to end up going on a search for other young actresses. They would have been nothing compared to her."^[20]