TheBling Ring is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola[5] featuring an ensemble cast led by Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Georgia Rock and Leslie Mann. It is based on the 2010 Vanity Fair article "The Suspects Wore Louboutins" by Nancy Jo Sales, which dealt with a real-life gang known as the Bling Ring. The story follows a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to burgle their homes.
The film was an international co-production by producers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. Coppola began developing a screenplay based on the real-life burglaries in December 2011, with Francis Ford Coppola executive producing through American Zoetrope and Roman Coppola as producer. She saw it as a departure from her previous works by focusing on a group of teenagers who are "products of our growing reality TV culture", exploring consumerist tabloid culture and obsession with fame.[6] Casting took place in early 2012 with Coppola choosing mostly young, unknown actors for the main roles. Principal photography occurred between March and April that same year in Los Angeles, California. Brian Reitzell served as supervisor for the film's soundtrack and co-wrote the musical score with Daniel Lopatin.
The Bling Ring had its world premiere on May 16, 2013, in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[7] In the United States, it had a limited theatrical release by A24 on June 14, 2013, before opening wide one week later. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the cast and Coppola's "stylish" direction; Watson in particular received critical acclaim for her performance. However, others criticized the film for its morally ambiguous approach towards the subject matter.[8] The film grossed $20 million worldwide against its $8 million budget.
Quiet teenager Marc Hall arrives as a new student at Indian Hills High School in Agoura Hills, California. Soon after arriving, he is befriended by fame-obsessed Rebecca Ahn. While at a party at her house, Rebecca persuades Marc to sneak away with her, and the pair check the doors of cars on the street, taking valuables such as cash and credit cards from unlocked vehicles. They begin hanging out after school, and Marc starts to see Rebecca as a sister figure.
One day, Rebecca asks Marc if he knows anyone who is out of town, and he mentions that a wealthy acquaintance is in Jamaica. She convinces Marc to join her in breaking into the empty house, where she steals a handbag similar to one that her idol Lindsay Lohan has, cash, and the keys to a Porsche, which the pair use to flee the scene. They go on a shopping spree with the money, buying themselves luxury items like the ones they have previously admired in magazines. Marc visits a nightclub with Rebecca and meets her friends, Nicki Moore, Nicki's adoptive sister Sam, and Chloe Tainer and the group notice celebrities Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton. Later, while researching Hilton on the internet, Marc and Rebecca realize she is out of town. They find her address, go to her house, and, upon finding a key under the doormat, break in. They go through Hilton's belongings and take some jewelry with them, including a bracelet that Rebecca later flaunts to Nicki, Sam, and Chloe at a party.
At Nicki's request, Rebecca and Marc take her, Sam, and Chloe back to Hilton's house. The group marvels at the excess of Hilton's lifestyle and steals shoes, bags, dresses, cash, and jewelry. A drunk Chloe gets into an accident while driving away; she is arrested and sentenced to community service. Marc and Rebecca return to rob Hilton's house on a third occasion and are nearly discovered by security. They then rob the home of Audrina Patridge, using the internet to determine when she will not be home. The group sells unwanted bags and other items at an outdoor market.
The entire group burgles the home of Megan Fox, wherein Nicki's younger sister Emily squeezes through a pet door to gain access to the house. Nicki discovers a handgun inside, and Sam playfully threatens Marc with it before taking it to her boyfriend Rob's home. When he grabs her, the gun goes off, though no one is injured. The group enters the home of Orlando Bloom and his girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, stealing various items. Marc finds a case filled with seven of Bloom's Rolex watches and a roll of cash. Chloe helps Marc sell the watches to her friend Ricky, a night club manager. The teens later return to Hilton's house with Rob, who finds and steals large amounts of jewelry.
A news report containing security footage from the robbery at Patridge's home concerns Marc, but Rebecca is undeterred. She instigates a burglary at the home of Rachel Bilson, and the group ultimately breaks into Lohan's house and robs it. Shortly thereafter, Rebecca moves to Las Vegas with her father, ostensibly due to troubles at home, leaving some of her stolen items with Marc. Media coverage of the Hollywood Hills burglaries intensifies, and the group acquires the label "The Bling Ring". Authorities ultimately identify the group using security footage from several robberies, statements from members of the group's social circle who heard its members brag about their exploits at drug-fueled parties, and photographs of the stolen items posted by the group on social media sites. Marc, Nicki, Chloe, Rebecca, Rob, and Ricky are arrested; Sam was not caught on camera and is able to avoid suspicion.
A remorseful Marc cooperates with the police, informing them of details of the burglaries, much to the chagrin of Rebecca, whom he identifies as the ringleader. A Vanity Fair journalist interviews Marc, still apparently exhibiting regret for his actions, but amazed at how much attention he has gotten, and Nicki, who claims the others were at fault and she is a religious humanitarian. When the group is prosecuted, they receive varying amounts of jail time and are ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution for the stolen items. Marc is transported to prison, alone among various older criminals.
Some time later, Nicki recounts her 30 days in jail on a talk show and reveals that Lohan was in the same facility at the same time. She then turns to the camera and promotes her website, where people can learn everything about her "journey".
In December 2011, it was reported that Sofia Coppola was developing a screenplay for a film based on the Bling Ring burglaries, to be directed and produced by herself. Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, executive produced the project through his American Zoetrope production company.[11] In April 2012, it was announced that financing had been set up with NALA Films and Roman Coppola would also serve as a producer.[12]
Coppola described the group of teenage criminals as "products of our growing reality TV culture".[6] The female characters in the film were seen as a departure from Coppola's previous works centered around the female perspective. Discussing the difference between the female perspective in Lost in Translation versus The Bling Ring she says that instead of a woman trying to find herself in a new foreign country, The Bling Ring deals with "girls trying on other people's stuff to find themselves". Although The Bling Ring deals with more consumerist and gaudy sense of style and culture Coppola says the film was "just really fun to indulge this style that's so different from my own. I'm more associated with being understated and [with] good taste, I think, and it's fun to be really obnoxious."[13]
Coppola chose to use young, unknown actors (aside from Emma Watson) who were the same age as the real kids because of the freshness they brought to the film.[6] Emma Watson joined the cast of the film on February 29, 2012,[14] and on March 1, Taissa Farmiga was reported to have joined the main cast.[15] Also in early March, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the casting of Leslie Mann and Israel Broussard.[16] On March 16, Claire Julien joined the cast, and Katie Chang and Georgia Rock were also confirmed for roles.[17] That same month, Carlos Miranda was cast in a supporting role.[18] In late March, Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton were both confirmed to have cameos in the film as themselves.[19][20] Gavin Rossdale was filming his scenes around the same time.[21]
Production primarily took place in and around Los Angeles, California, in March and April 2012, notably in West Hollywood, Lynwood, and Venice.[22] Paris Hilton, who was a victim of the actual Bling Ring robberies, and Kirsten Dunst both made cameo appearances in the film.[23] Some scenes were shot in the celebrity victims' homes and at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California.[24]
"I spent a few months listening to everything that is out now and then going back a bit to when the story actually happened. So the Kanye stuff was fair game, as well as the newer stuff. The Can stuff is interesting because the other side is the score, the sound of L.A. at night when they're driving around. I thought that it would be really cool to use Klaus Schulze and some of the German stuff that I really, really love, and it's amazing how well those tracks fit next to each other."
The Bling Ring: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was supervised by frequent Coppola collaborator Brian Reitzell. The soundtrack album was released on June 11, 2013, by Def Jam Recordings.[26] It contains a mix of music ranging between such genres as hip-hop/rap, krautrock, and electronic.[27]
The musical score for the film was written by Reitzell in collaboration with Daniel Lopatin, known mostly under the recording name of Oneohtrix Point Never.[28] Coppola's husband's band, Phoenix, also contributed the title track from their album Bankrupt!.[25]
Reitzell worked closely with Coppola to find contemporary music that would fit within the film's setting. After being contacted for song contributions, rapper Kanye West recommended Reitzell use Frank Ocean's then-unreleased "Super Rich Kids."
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