Emma Watson Talks “Bling Ring” Research: Watching “Pretty Wild” “Gave Me Anxiety”

Actress discusses her character, inspired by reality star Alexis Neiers, to Rookie magazine.

Doing research for a role can be tough.

Emma Watson had to step out of her comfort zone for her role in Sofia Coppola's "Bling Ring," where she plays a character inspired by reality star Alexis Neiers, so she decided to do her research: Watch Neiers in her reality show, "Pretty Wild."

But it wasn't the best of times for Watson.

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During an interview with Rookie magazine, the actress was asked, "Have you heard from her [Neiers] about the film or anything?"

Watson responded, "No, I haven't. To be fair to Alexis, [my character] is like three steps removed from who she might be in real life. A lot of the material in the movie was based on an article, which was based on a reality show, which we all know isn't real life. I wasn't trying to impersonate her--she just inspired the character. I watched 'Pretty Wild' so many times to try and get her into my brain, though. It gave me anxiety. How do you watch it?"

Those shows have a way of sucking you in, Emma.

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Although the star was never approached by Neiers, the new mom definitely gave her two cents on the flick via Twitter.

"@AmyKinLA it's trashy and inaccurate," Neiers, who spent 30 days in jail for her role in burglarizing Orlando Bloom's house back in 2009, tweeted to Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Kaufman.

"Based on Detective Goodkin and Nancy Joe Sales inaccurate information," Neiers continued on Twitter. "2 people who are everything they accused us of being. Celebrity status obsessed, fame &money hungry. The truth will come out soon enough and I have no intention of seeing this film," she concluded.

"Bling Ring" hits theaters June 14 (in case you do intend to see it).

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