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.
The Bling Ring represents the final work of cinematographer Harris Savides, who died of brain cancer while the film was in post-production, to whom the film is dedicated.[9]
Plot
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]
Casting
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]
"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."
Coppola at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for the premiere
Release
In January 2013, A24 acquired domestic distribution rights to the film.[29] It opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on May 16.[7][30] About the premiere in Cannes, Coppola said, "It seems like the perfect setting for The Bling Ring when you see people walking around in their heels. It's a glamorous place, so it feels appropriate." The film closed the 39th Seattle International Film Festival on June 9, 2013.[31][32]
Home media
The Bling Ring was released via digital download on September 6, 2013, and on DVD and Blu-ray on September 17, 2013, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The extras include a behind the scenes making-of documentary, a short piece about the real Bling Ring, and a tour by Bling Ring target Paris Hilton of her home (which was a crime scene as well as a filming location).[33]
Reception
Box office
In its debut weekend in the United States, the film opened in five theaters and earned $214,395, for a per-theater average of $42,879.[34] It was Coppola's best opening per-theater average, beating out Lost in Translation's intake of $40,221 for each of 23 locations in 2003. The following weekend, The Bling Ring expanded to 650 theaters, earning $2 million, for a per-theater average of $3,080.[35] The film went on to gross $5.8 million domestically and $20 million worldwide.[4]
Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 60% of 210 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it's certainly timely and beautifully filmed, The Bling Ring suffers from director Sofia Coppola's failure to delve beneath the surface of its shallow protagonists' real-life crimes."[36]Metacritic has assigned the film an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".[37] The film has drawn comparisons to the Day-Glo cinematography of Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, which was also released under A24 Films.[38]
Emma Watson's performance received critical acclaim.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly had a positive opinion, writing, "Watching The Bling Ring, the audience is invited to understand the impulses of these child-woman thieves, even as Coppola stands firmly apart from their craziness and sees them for who they are."[39] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph stated, "Everything comes together for the good here: visuals, performances, raucous soundtrack, Coppola's teasing flirtation with, yet ultimate lack of commitment to, some kind of concrete morality."[40] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter was less positive, stating, "Coppola's attitude toward her subject seems equivocal, uncertain; there is perhaps a smidgen of social commentary, but she seems far too at home in the world she depicts to offer a rewarding critique of it."[41]
Watson's performance as Nicki Moore was critically acclaimed. Richard Roeper called her "comedic gold," [42] while Gleiberman wrote that Watson "proves that her willingness to take chances is only growing and that she's an actress serious enough to turn a line like 'Your butt looks awesome!' into something that reveals character." Cath Clarke of Time Out commented positively on Watson, saying, "The real story here isn't the good-girl-goes-bad stunt casting; it's that Watson can act. Against the odds, the Harry Potter star gives a sharp, knowing smart performance as Nicki."[43]Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Watson is sensational as Nicki, an underage club girl and actress wanna-be, who lives in a universe of Valley Girl narcissism eons away from Hogwarts."[44] Even critics who gave the film overall negative reviews singled out Watson for praise, with Peter Howell of the Toronto Star stating, "The undistinguished young cast of The Bling Ring has just one standout, and that's Emma Watson, who plays one of the most vacuous of the juvenile thieves. We know her best as the brainy Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter movies, and she can obviously do brainless equally well."[45] Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News wrote, "Watson, though, does a great imitation of hollow-eyed gaze; her character is the one who tries to parlay notoriety into success (everyone else can, she figures). The one-time Harry Potter star captures the slack-jawed fan only too well."[46]
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film New York Stories (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awards including nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent films, she has received a selection of accolades, including a Young Artist Award and three MTV Movie Awards. Watson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses by Forbes and Vanity Fair, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2015. Watson was also listed by Forbes as an honouree on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2015 and 2016.
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and former actress. She has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Golden Lion, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Lost in Translation is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray stars as Bob Harris, a fading American movie star who is having a midlife crisis when he travels to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky. There, he befriends another estranged American named Charlotte, a young woman and recent college graduate. Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, and Fumihiro Hayashi are also featured. The film explores themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan. It defies mainstream narrative conventions and is atypical in its depiction of romance.
Mary Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III, portrayed by Sofia Coppola. She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone.
Mary Elle Fanning is an American actress. She made her film debut as a child as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film I Am Sam (2001). She appeared in several other films as a child actress, including Daddy Day Care (2003), Babel (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Phoebe in Wonderland, and the miniseries The Lost Room (2006). She then had leading roles in Sofia Coppola's drama Somewhere (2010) and J. J. Abrams' science fiction film Super 8 (2011).
Marie Antoinette is a 2006 historical drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is based on the life of Marie Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst, in the years leading to the French Revolution. It won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. It was released in the United States on October 20, 2006, by Sony Pictures Releasing. Marie Antoinette was based on Antonia Fraser's book Marie Antoinette: The Journey.
The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American psychological romantic drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola in her feature directorial debut, and co-produced by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. It stars James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, A.J. Cook, and Josh Hartnett, with Scott Glenn, Michael Paré, Jonathan Tucker, and Danny DeVito in supporting roles.
Harris Savides was an American cinematographer. Nominated for a BAFTA Award and five Independent Spirit Award, he is most known for his collaborations with director Gus Van Sant including Finding Forrester (2000), Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003), Last Days (2005), Milk (2008), and Restless (2011).
Brian Reitzell is an American musician, composer, record producer and music supervisor best known for his work on many film and TV soundtracks. He is notable for working extensively with the American film director Sofia Coppola. He was formerly the drummer for the LA punk band Redd Kross. He has collaborated extensively with the French electronica duo Air, having performed drums on their albums The Virgin Suicides and 10 000 Hz Legend. Reitzell also toured with the band on their "Moon Safari" tour in 1998 and again in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, he was nominated for a BAFTA, along with Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, for the score to Lost in Translation.
Alexis Christine Haines is a member of the Bling Ring and a former television personality. At the age of 18, she was arrested for her involvement in a string of burglaries that targeted the homes of multiple celebrities. Haines served one month of a six-month sentence after her conviction for one count of first degree residential burglary.
The Bling Ring was a group of seven teenagers and young adults based in and around Calabasas, California, convicted of multiple thefts.
"9 Piece" is a song by American rapper Rick Ross. There are two versions, one featuring T.I. and the other – Lil Wayne. The song was originally placed on Ross' mixtape Ashes to Ashes and later released as a single from his fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don't (2011). However, despite peaking at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song did not make the final cut for the album. In 2013, "9 Piece" was featured on the soundtrack of Sofia Coppola's film The Bling Ring.
Taissa Farmiga is an American actress. Her numerous appearances in horror films have established her as a scream queen, alongside her older sister Vera Farmiga.
Isaiah Israel Broussard is an American actor. He made his film debut in the comedy-drama Flipped, and is known for his roles in the crime film The Bling Ring (2013), the drama Perfect High (2015), the thriller H8RZ (2015), the comedy Good Kids (2016), the slasher film Happy Death Day (2017) as well as its 2019 sequel Happy Death Day 2U, and the teen romance film To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018).
Katherine Chang is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rebecca Ahn in The Bling Ring (2013) and Maddie Kim in Pantheon (2022).
Gian-Carla Coppola is an American film director and screenwriter. She made her directorial feature film debut with Palo Alto in 2013. A member of the Coppola family, she is the granddaughter of director Francis Ford Coppola.
The Beguiled is a 2017 American Southern Gothic thriller film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Thomas P. Cullinan. It stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning. It is the second film adaptation of Cullinan's novel, following Don Siegel's 1971 film of the same name.
On the Rocks is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It follows a father and daughter as they harbor suspicions about her husband's fidelity. It had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 22, 2020. It received a limited theatrical release on October 2, 2020, by A24, followed by digital streaming on October 23, 2020, by Apple TV+. It received positive reviews from critics, who noted it as lighter than Coppola's previous films, and praised Murray's performance.
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