Sofia Coppola’s style is the antithesis of bling, so it’s something of a surprise that her new film focuses on a gang of teenagers who gained fame for robbing luxury items from the homes of Hollywood celebrities. “The Bling Ring,” screened out of competition at the Cannes film festival, is based on the real-life tale of the teenage criminals who targeted stars including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom from 2008 to 2009.
“It’s such a great story for a movie,” said Coppola, sitting in the Mouton Cadet-sponsored lounge on the roof of the Palais des Festivals. “It fascinated me. It felt so contemporary and said so much about our culture today.”
Coppola got the idea after reading about the gang in a Vanity Fair feature, written by Nancy Jo Sales and headlined “The Suspects Wore Louboutins.”
The director, by contrast, is the picture of understatement in a sleeveless blouse and pants from the Louis Vuitton cruise collection. At her side sits a small navy version of the SC handbag she designed for the brand.
Though it’s the first time she has written a script based on a true story, the result is vintage Coppola: visually lush, with a great soundtrack and the most mouthwatering array of fashion props since “Sex and the City.”
That brands like Vuitton and Chanel allowed her to borrow items for the film, despite its contentious material, is a tribute to her strong links to the industry (Coppola interned at Chanel at the age of 15 before briefly having her own clothing line, Milkfed.)
“I think it’s not the ideal way they want to be portrayed. Louis Vuitton is this brand based on heritage and great craftsmanship, and that wasn’t the side that we were celebrating,” Coppola acknowledged.
“They wanted to be associated with my work and they trusted me and helped me. There’s a side that I appreciate about Louis Vuitton and Chanel, that they have this heritage and great quality, but the kids in the story are more interested in the bling aspect, kind of the status of those brands,” she added.
Adding to the realism of the film, Coppola was allowed to film in the actual home of Paris Hilton, which features a private club room, complete with stripper pole, and personal touches like cushions emblazoned with Hilton’s likeness.
“That was really her house, and we didn’t art-direct it. She really has the clubroom, the pillows and all of that. But she has a sense of humor about that. She said a friend gave them to her and she thought it was funny, so she kept them, so she’s playful about her image,” Coppola said.
The director relied on a cast of mostly unknown youngsters to play the five teens who are seen shoveling their bags full of designer clothes and accessories in their spiraling obsession with celebrity Web sites and red carpet style.
The exception is Emma Watson, who is set to shed her image as Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” franchise with her entertaining portrayal of Nicki, the character based on Alexis Neiers, the “Bling Ring” member who went on to star in her own reality TV show, “Pretty Wild.”
“She was very thoughtful about how to approach it and took it seriously and really studied hard to get the accent – that specific Calabasas accent. If you were from California, you would recognize it. And also I think it’s always fun to see an actor totally transform themselves, and it’s so different to how I thought of her before,” Coppola commented.
When it came to editing the film, she opted to splice in tabloid television clips, Facebook updates and screen grabs of celebrity blogs, alongside cellphone “selfies” and security camera footage.
“It had a little more of a collage kind of style, where we tried to show images from these kind of pop culture Web sites that they’re looking at all the time, and have it feel like the audience can be experiencing what they’re experiencing, so that was new to me. It was a challenge to do something based on a real story and how to approach that in my style,” Coppola said.
Though her vision is frequently ironic, the director ultimately refrains from judging her characters.
The script, written in her trademark minimalist style, draws on transcripts of the interviews Sales conducted with members on the gang, as well as their subsequent media appearances.
“I really think they’re a product of our culture,” Coppola said.
“There’s a lot of humor in the story, and a lot of the quotes and the moments are kind of so absurd that it’s hard to believe they’re real. I couldn’t have made that up. They sound kind of over-the-top, but I tried to make them human and tried to show that they’re caught up in this world that has a funny side, but they’ve just taken it too far,” she said.