14 DAY TRIAL // Unlike some actresses of her generation, Emma Watson doesn’t have the reputation of a diva and she never comes across as the type of star who would complain if asked to put in extra hours or an extra effort. However, even she found it very difficult to work with Darren Aronofsky, who directed her in the upcoming “Noah.”
In the film, Emma plays the daughter of Russell Crowe’s Noah and, while she probably expected Aronofsky to be tougher than other directors, she never expected him to be this tough.
Because he wanted the entire film to be completely green, she was not allowed to have water bottles on set, as neither was anyone else involved in the production. This meant she was dehydrated most of the time, which, in turn, made her “tired and delirious,” she says in a new interview with Wonderland magazine, as cited by The Guardian.
To make matters even worse, after a fainting spell, Aronofsky would not allow her the day off and, instead, told her to use her sickness for the upcoming scene.
“Having no water bottles on set at five in the morning, when you’re exhausted and delirious, wasn’t ideal. I was so tired one morning I picked up a mug from my trailer and drank some stagnant water that had been there for the duration – so three months. I was so ill,” Emma says.
The next day, Emma found out that there was always room for things to get worse.
“I came in the next day and was like: ‘Darren, I don’t think I can do this, I’m really sick.’ He was like: ‘Use it for the scene.’ And I turned round to the bus and was like: ‘Is he joking? He is joking right?’ and there was deadly silence,” Watson explains.
She wasn’t the only one who would drop fainting in between takes, either: Ray Winstone also got sick from the heat and dehydration, fainting and falling down some stairs, Emma recalls.
To be fair, Aronofsky has a reputation of being a very strict director; not as strict as James Cameron, but close enough. This time though, industry analysts don’t believe it would work in his favor because “Noah” has been plagued by problems from the start, including a constantly expanding budget.
“Executives at studio Paramount cut up to six alternative versions following negative reactions from test screenings for US religious audiences. Aronofsky said last week that he had won a torrid battle to ensure his own cut is one filmgoers will see in cinemas,” The Guardian writes.
Naturally, Emma says nothing of this in the interview but, even so, the things she does say are enough to dampen interest in the movie even more, voices online point out.