Sofia Coppola The Bling Ring Interview

Sofia Coppola The Bling Ring Interview

Cast: Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard, Claire Julien, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale, Paris Hilton
Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Drama
Rated: MA
Running Time: 90 minutes

Synopsis: In the fame-obsessed world of Los Angeles, a group of teenagers take us on a thrilling and disturbing crime-spree in the Hollywood hills. Based on true events, the group, who were fixated on the glamorous life, tracked their celebrity targets online, and stole more than 3 million in luxury goods from their homes. Their victims included Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Rachel Bilson, and the gang became known in the media as 'The Bling Ring."

The Bling Ring
Release Date: August 8th, 2013

Interview with Sofia Coppola

Question: Had you heard of The Bling Ring robberies before the piece in Vanity Fair?

Sofia Coppola: I remember when the story was on the news a little, but didn't pay much attention to it. However, when I read the article, I though it seemed like a movie: it was unbelievable, and had young, pretty kids being bad in a glamorous world. I think their quotes really struck me: how they didn't seem to think they had done anything that wrong, and how they were mostly interested in the fame the robberies had brought them.

The whole story seemed to say so much about our times and growing up with Facebook and Twitter.

Question: How did you turn this story in a screenplay?

Sofia Coppola: I read the transcripts from the journalist and police reports and met some of the kids to try to understand as much as I could! Then, I thought about when I was that age and the things we did, and tried to relate to them. For example, I thought about being in a group of friends and the stupid things you do when you're that age, and how you want to fit in. As for the parents, I watched the mom of one of the real girls on a reality TV show, and I based her personality on what I watched.


Question: What do you think about these kids? Do you blame them?

Sofia Coppola: I tried to be empathetic, and not judgmental. I didn't want to say what they were doing was ok, but I want the audience to make up their own opinion. I never like to tell the audience how to feel. It does show how the culture can affect kids who don't have strong values from their families.


Question: From France, the simple fact that the Neiers sisters were involved in a TV-reality show is unbelievable…

Sofia Coppola: Yes, I was thinking about how these kids must be affected by all of that, and how reality TV seems so normal now to all of them having grown up with it. The idea of no privacy has become the norm. I'm not sure what the public opinion of these kids is: I think they're fascinating to people how far they took things. We all like looking at tabloids sometimes, and these kids are the extreme of that…!


Question: Stylistically, your film seems a bit different from the pre¬vious one: more straightforward narrative, shorter shots… Why?

Sofia Coppola: It fit the material, which always dictates how I make a film. Moreover, after my last film, Somwhere, I was in the mood to do something faster. But there are long shots, such as this one of the house seen from above, with the two kids going in and out, from rooms to rooms. Shooting from across the hill was an idea of Harris Savides, a director of photography. I love that shot and I am happy that Harris pushed for it, as we were trying to find different ways to show the robberies. Harris brought so much to my films, he supported me and helped me make them.


Question: Besides Paris Hilton's, have you shot scenes in other celeb¬rities' real houses?
Sofia Coppola: Hers was the only real one. For the others, we made our own version of them. But I have to admit that it was exciting to shoot in one of the real places and to see her private world, in her closets...


Question: You mixed one very experienced actress, Emma Watson, with newcomers. Why?

Sofia Coppola: I thought Emma would be great as Nicki, and I always like working with kids that are just starting, they're full of enthusi¬asm and freshness. I loved that they were really 16 and 17 years old. I tried to make them comfortable to try things, and I also had them hang out together as a group as much as possible before shooting, to bond and really seem like a group.


Question: Would you say that The Bling Ring is a moral fable?

Sofia Coppola: Maybe a cautionary tale...


The Bling Ring
Release Date: June 25th, 2013