Description
The Bling Ring is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola featuring an ensemble cast led by Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga, and Claire Julien. 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. Casting took place in early 2012, and principal photography started in March of that same year in Los Angeles, California.
The Bling Ring had its world premiere on May 1, 2013, in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. 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.
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.
