Emma (Not by
Jane Austin)
by Alex Andy Phuong
During the fall semester at
Brown University in 2017, a young woman named
Emma had big dreams of becoming a Hollywood
actress. Emma had a very interesting childhood
given that her name was the same as many famous
individuals in both literature and film. When
Emma was a little girl, her favorite Disney movie
was Beauty and the Beast (1991). Emma was
a lot like Belle because they both loved to read.
In fact, Emma was a Janeite because she loved the
novel Emma by Jane Austen as well as
admired Emma Thompson’s Oscar-winning
screenplay in the 1995 version of Sense and
Sensibility. Emma was also a fan of Emma
Thompson’s work in films ranging from Howards
End (1992) to her roles in the Harry
Potter series.
Speaking of Harry Potter,
Emma obviously loved Emma Watson, and Hermione
Granger was Emma’s favorite character from J.K.
Rowling’s series. Emma loved Emma Watson so
much that she spent her entire spring break
watching the 2017 remake of Beauty and the
Beast. Emma had high hopes that Emma Watson
would receive nominations for playing Belle
during the 2018 awards season. In fact, Emma went
to Brown University simply because Emma Watson
was an alumna from that prestigious school!
Emma was also a huge fan of
Emma Stone. She loved the film La La Land (2016),
and thought that Mia was a very inspirational
character. Emma was in her film class watching Birdman
(2014) one day when “someone in the
crowd” noticed her uncanny appearance to
both Emma Watson and Emma Stone. That person was
a casting director looking for a singer for his
Broadway adaptation of La La Land. It was
a funny coincidence, actually, because Emma had
brown hair like Emma Watson, yet had the facial
features of Emma Stone. That someone in the crowd
was definitely the person that Emma needed to
know.
The casting director’s
name was Ryan, and sounded a lot like Sebastian
from The Little Mermaid (1989). Ryan asked
Emma if she would be willing to audition for the
role of Mia in his Broadway adaptation of La
La Land. Emma agreed because she wanted to
achieve the notoriety of the famous women who
shared her name. Emma performed the song “Audition
(The Fools Who Dream)” for Ryan, and he was
blown away. Emma went on to have a long and
interesting career that was as “emmazing”
as the lives of Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, Emma
Stone, and Emma Woodhouse.
|
