- Title: UK-THE RIOT CLUB Dark underbelly of elitism discussed by stars of The Riot Club
- Date: 15th September 2014
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 10, 2014) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) ACTOR, DOUGLAS BOOTH, SAYING: "We, like we spoke to this young Lord who was like 18 years old who was actually so charming and really lovely, genuinely lovely guy. But he kind of told us about this thing called POP, which is a club which I think may or may not stands for pretty much popular,
- Embargoed: 30th September 2014 13:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABEXT2P6RBNB0BCZZRM1URRC0X
- Story Text: British class and privilege are seldom associated with hooliganism and uncontrolled but writer Laura Wade and Danish director Lone Scherfig (An Education) pair the two in 'The Riot Club', a new film about the debauched excesses of an exclusive Oxford University dining club.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is based on Wade's play, 'Posh'; a story inspired by the elite dining societies of Oxford and Cambridge universities. In a press junket held in London, lead actor Max Irons - the son of Jeremy Irons and Sinead Cusack - revealed his shock that clubs of this nature exist. "That's what sort of blew my mind," he told Reuters TV. "When I first read the script I thought I don't really want to be involved in this because it's so unpleasant and I worried that it glamorized it or that it was an unrealistic take on things but they do actually exist, that's what's so shocking."
Claflin, best known for his role in 'The Hunger Games' and model and actor Douglas Booth both visited Eton College, a British boarding school attended by the blue-blooded boys of British society including Prince Harry and Prince William, to help research their roles in the film. "We spoke to this young Lord who was like 18 years old who was actually so charming and really lovely, genuinely lovely guy. But he kind of told us about this thing called POP, which is a club which I think may or may not stands for pretty much popular, or something like that. So popular kids basically nominate other popular kids to be in a club and they get special privileges. So I think for a small minority that is enough to really drop, drop a seed, basically breeds entitlement into people from a young age and I guess that little seed, in a small minority, is enough to grow into something uglier, and something that's probably displayed in this film," Booth explained.
While fictitious, the movie's namesake club draws obvious parallels with its real-life Oxford counterpart, the Bullingdon Club. British Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson were all photographed as members. In response to this, Irons remarked, "I think if our politicians, at a far more discerning age after being afforded every opportunity and advantage known to man even associated themselves with these values, I think people should know about that. And when they're asked about it, they tend to say, 'Oh, it was a time in our lives, we were young.' Well, ok, that's not quite good enough, I think."
The story centers on Miles Richards (Irons) and Alistair Ryle (Sam Claflin), two wealthy young men entering university who are offered membership into the very exclusive club. The two new initiates are very different. While both are privileged, Ryle is an angry outsider with an unhappy family life who lives in his older brother's shadow. Richards is sociable and laid back. Tensions between them rise quickly.
The film focuses on an evening of debauchery at a village pub that spirals out of control, leaving the members to battle about who should suffer the consequences. "When we got on set it was like a whirlwind of misogynistic grossness that sort of just flowed around" explained Douglas Booth. "When we were round that table improvising it created that environment and then you sort of go home and feel dirty at the end of the day and have to wash your hands. The poor girls, I don't know how they survived."
'The Riot Club' stars a who's who of the next faces of Britain's acting talent. Alongside Irons, Claflin and Booth, the cast also includes Freddie Fox, Olly Alexander, Ben Schnetzer, Holliday Grainger, and Jessica Brown Finlay.
'The Riot Club' is released in the UK on September 19.
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