Did hackers confirm Emma Watson’s involvement in the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie?

When they're not taking down websites with denial of service attacks or leaking sensitive political information, Anonymous -- the sprawling collective of hackers, script kiddies, Internet freedom fighters, and general online mischief makers -- can often be found trying to stick it to the entertainment industry over various issues usually involving pirating or copyright.

As part of this effort, Anonymous and another group of hackers calling themselves M3du5a recently hacked their way into the servers of the German movie production company Constantin Film (producers of the “The Vow,” as well as the “Fantastic Four” and “Resident Evil” movies) and made public a large number of internal company documents. While most of the leaked information was already public knowledge and available online, one document in particular seemed to confirm a long standing rumour regarding the upcoming big screen adaptation of E. L. James’ erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The illicitly obtained file has former “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson attached to star as protagonist Anastasia Steele in the film.

See also: Emma Watson embraces her acting career

Constantin is currently developing a movie based on the “Fifty Shades” knock-off “Beautiful Bastard,” so it’s not completely surprising that they would have insider info about rival Focus Features’ upcoming project. The company confirmed the hack to The Hollywood Reporter, but also said that some of the info was out of date. If the memo is indeed still true, that would certainly explain why Watson has recently dropped out of two high-profile projects: the depression drama “Your Voice in My Head” and Disney’s live-action “Cinderella.”

See also: Daniel Radcliffe returning to fantasy?

Then again, the memo could be totally untrue and just be Anonymous yanking people’s chain. Watson’s popularity on the Internet is the stuff of legend, and the whole leak could just be trumped up wishful thinking on the part of hackers with a serious crush on the 22-year-old actress. Watson is one of many young starlets rumoured to be in contention for the role of a college student who becomes embroiled in a kinky relationship with wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey. “Oz the Great and Powerful” star Mila Kunis and “Spring Breakers” co-star Ashley Benson have also been floated as potential Steele candidates. Despite the potentially racy subject matter, the starring role in "Fifty Shades" is a highly coveted one.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is tentatively scheduled for release next summer. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Watson's actual risqué movie, "The Bling Ring":