Rachel Bilson: ‘The Bling Ring’ sends the wrong message to teens
Four years ago, Rachel Bilson’s Los Feliz home was broken into on six occasions by the Bling Ring.
The gaggle of San Fernando Valley youths stole designer shoes, clothing and purses, as well as jewelry bequeathed to her by her mother and grandmother. She estimated the crime circle made off with as much as $300,000 worth of her belongings in 2009 — some of which the group later sold for pocket change on Venice Boulevard.
Suffice it to say, the actress wasn’t thrilled to hear Sofia Coppola was making a film about the burglars.
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“It’s weird to me. I don’t want it to encourage young kids to think that crime is cool,†the 31-year-old said Monday morning, having just returned from a weekend jaunt to San Diego to promote her upcoming comedy, “The To Do List,†at Comic-Con.
Bilson has no plans to see the movie, though she is curious about how her former abode is portrayed. (Location scouts found a Los Angeles mansion to sub in for Bilson’s in the picture.)
“What did it look like? Was it cute?†she inquired, her tone then turning more serious. “People don’t get that they stole everything in my house, and it was hard. It was hard to never get it back. It was hard to learn that a girl took a poop in my house. It’s like, ‘Dude, TMI.’â€
Too much information, indeed.
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As for Coppola’s movie, the independent film is currently nearing the end of its theatrical run and has collected a modest $5.6 million, trailing the $14-million gross of another young-people-gone-wild film, March’s “Spring Breakers.†Apparently, the youth of America are more interested in South Beach debauchery than Hollywood breaking-and-entering.
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