DIRECTOR SOFIA COPPOLA AND EMMA WATSON TALK ABOUT THEIR NEW MOVIE “THE BLING RING” ABOUT THE NOW FAMOUS TEENS WHO ROBBED THE HOLLYWOOD SET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on actual events, Emma Watson stars in The Bling Ring— the story of a group of teenagers obsessed with fashion and celebrity who burglarized celebrities’ homes in Hollywood.

They say you should always be careful what you post online, especially in Hollywood where it can cost you millions.

This is what happened to a bunch of Hollywood stars including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and Audrina Patridge, who were all targeted and robbed by the now famous Bling Ring group of thieves.

Tracking star targets’ whereabouts online, The Bling Ring movies chronicles a group of teens who broke-in to stars’ homes, stealing designer clothes and possessions. Reflecting on the naiveté of youth and the brand obsession, we see through the members of the “Bling Ring” the temptations that almost any teenager would feel. But what started out as teenage fun turns seriously out of control.

Finding Nancy Jo Sales’ March 2010 Vanity Fair article (now a Harper Collins book) that detailed the brazen exploits this teen gang—which added up to more than $3 million in stolen jewelry and luxury goods—fascinating, director Sofia Coppola couldn’t resist bringing this story to the big screen.

“There were so many great elements,” Coppola says. “Teen burglars, Hollywood night life, audacious break-ins. And it seemed to say so much about our culture today in terms of the things the kids were obsessed with — what they were posting pictures of and bragging about on Facebook.”

For the movie’s only major movie star, Harry Potter star Emma Watson— who plays Nicki, based on the real life Bling Ring member Alex Neiers— found it intriguing to play someone that was so opposite to her self. “It’s fun to explore a different side of yourself through a character,” Watson says. “It gave me permission to do loads of crazy stuff.”

To prepare for the role, Watson watched the entire short-lived reality series “Pretty Wild” on DVD, taking cues from actual dialogue spoken by Neiers on the show. “It was important to me that I said things that Alexis actually said but at the same time she was being fed things because she was on a reality TV show,” Watson says. “A lot of people are aware now that reality TV isn’t really real. These women (on “Pretty Wild”) are actresses of themselves and they have scripts and story lines written for them. My character is technically based on a real person, but it’s a person who was acting and reading lines. So Nicki is like two levels of separation from reality.”

In terms of fashion, Watson says her character’s sense of style couldn’t be farther off from her own. “Nicki isn’t as interested in fashion as Rebecca [who is the Bling Ring Leader],” Watson says. “She’s much more interested in things being ‘hot’ or ‘sexy’ — the trashier and tighter the better. All of my usual fashion rules just went out the window. Nicki was all about visible panty lines, bras, cleavage, very short skirts, lots of high heels, big hoop earrings. A lot of bling, basically.”

Although The Bling Ring is based on actual events, the Virgin Suicides director took some liberties to sensationalize the movie. “Going through the research [and listening to actual Bling Ring members’ taped interviews], editing it down, finding a way to make the characters relatable and sympathetic — this was very challenging,” Coppola says. “I kind of just let my imagination go from there. Hearing their stories gave me ideas. I took things from my own childhood experiences — not directly, but what I remember from being that age. And then I imagined what it would be like being these kids.”

 

THE BLING RING opens June 21 and stars Emma Watson alongside incredible new talent Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien, and Taissa Farmiga. The film also features Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale, and real-life Bling Ring victim, Paris Hilton and is based on the celebrated Vanity Fair article The Suspects Wore Louboutins by Nancy Jo Sales.

 

 

—Toni-Marie Ippolito