Emma Watson Joins Paddington Bear On London Trail Ahead of Movie Release
Emma Watson and a host of other celebrities will be participating in an unique art project which will see them designing their own interpretations of Paddington Bear.
According to The Telegraph, the celebrity designs of Paddington Bear will be utilized in the Paddington Trail which will see 50 statues of the children’s storybook character placed at popular landmarks in London, including Horse Guards Parade and the Royal Opera House.
The trail will coincide with the release of the Paddington film which is set for November 28.
In September 2007, Warner Bros. and producer David Heyman announced a live action film adaptation of Paddington Bear. Hamish McColl, who penned Mr Bean’s Holiday, wrote the script.
Creator of the fictional character, Michael Bond, based Paddington Bear on a lone teddy bear which he noticed on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve, 1956, which he bought as a present for his wife. The bear inspired Bond to write a story, and in 10 days he had written the first book. The book was given to his agent, Harvey Unna. A Bear Called Paddington was first published in 1958 by William Collins & Sons.
Since then, Paddington has been built out into an entire franchise inclusive of stuffed toys, a series of children’s books with new stories released each year since 1958 and a BBC television series, the first British animated series to win a silver medal at the New York Film and Television Festival.
The Guardian has reported that the 2014 Paddington story, Love From Paddington, will also be released in November by publisher HarperCollins.
When Emma Watson was born, Paddington Bear would have already been 32-years-old and the latest of his stories available would have been the one published in 1986.
Emma Watson is an ideal candidate to join the Paddington Trail as she is probably one of a few generation Y British celebrities who grew up adoring Paddington Bear.
A lot of the values and attitudes taught in the Paddington stories are clearly exhibited by Emma Watson, who has spoken out on a number of social issues and supported many charitable causes.
The Inquisitr reported on a passionate speech promoting feminism and gender equality which she delivered at the United Nations.
In that speech Emma announced the start of a UN supported gender equality campaign called ‘He For She’, also reported on by The Inquisitr.
Emma Watson is a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women and a big fan of Paddington Bear.
[Image from The Telegraph]
