USA: FILM MAKER LARRY CLARKE RETURNS WITH NEW MOVIE " BULLY" BASED ON A REAL LIFE CRIME IN FLORIDA

Record ID: 391652

  • Title: USA: FILM MAKER LARRY CLARKE RETURNS WITH NEW MOVIE " BULLY" BASED ON A REAL LIFE CRIME IN FLORIDA
  • Date: 28th June 2001
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (REUTERS) (JUNE 28) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LARRY CLARK SAYING "I think that the actors in this film knew my work a bit, liked my work, wanted to work with me, and I really wanted to work with them. There's a level of trust that's established that, you know, they've got to really trust me to, you know, to, as you say, be that vulnerable and be that open in front of the camera and I try to return their trust." SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) NICK STAHL SAYING "It definitely, it doesn't pull its punches, you know, and it's not sugar-coated, and it's not censored in that way which, you know, I think life for a lot of kids growing up, it's not careful, you know, and it's not, you know, a lot of kids are just trying to survive, you know, the only way they know how and their social situation and their school life is the most important thing to them, you know, it's everything. So, there's a real urgency there, you know, and for some kids, you know, it can be, I think it can be real hopeless, you know. They just don't see anything outside of that circle."
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAA46CS2QJ35EURXF2029706CR2
  • Story Text: Six years after he shocked and outraged movie audiences with his graphic and unflinching look at juvenile delinquents in the ground-breaking independent film "Kids,"
    filmmaker Larry Clark is back with another disturbing tale, this one based on a case of real-life crime in Florida called "Bully." Young actors Nick Stahl, Brad Renfro and Rachel Miner star.
    A few years ago, Larry Clark stumbled across a story of real-life crime that happened in a South Florida suburb just outside of Ft. Lauderdale back in 1993. It involved a group of teenagers who conspired and then proceeded to brutally murder one of their friends, who was their school's most unpredictable and violent bully. His name was Bobby Kent and his best friend, named Marty Puccio, was the kid who struck the final blow taking his life.
    In Clark's film version, Brad Renfro plays Puccio while Nick Stahl takes on the very complex and disturbing role of the bully and eventual murder victim Bobby Kent. Stahl made his feature film debut at the age of 12 in the Mel Gibson drama "The Man Without a Face" while Renfro is recognizable from his roles in "The Client," "Sleepers" and "Apt Pupil."
    Also in the cast is actress Rachel Miner, who plays Lisa, Marty's new girlfriend who originally comes up with the idea of murdering the bully. Miner recently co-starred on Broadway with Natalie Portman in "The Diary of Anne Frank."
    The script calls on the young actors to expose themselves physically and emotionally to an extent that many adult actors have never encountered. As a result, Clark knew that his casting process was crucial and his actors had to have complete trust in him on the set. Scenes of explicit sexual behavior, drug use and brutal violence fill the screen, begging comparisons to Clark's earlier controversial film "Kids."
    In the end, Clark claims only to be trying to show a snapshot of American society and how kids are growing up within it. As for his realism, actor Nick Stahl thinks Clark's view of today's troubled youth is frighteningly accurate.
    For "Bully," Clark and his crew decided to shoot the movie in many of the same neighborhoods and locations where the actual events of the case took place. He also went so far as to cast players in the original legal drama, such as the original police investigator and judge, in small, supporting roles in his film.
    While shooting in the actual communities involved in the crime helped support the director's vision, it also made things eerie and, in some cases, a little too "real" for his actors. However, Clark says locals who remember the real event were very supportive of his movie and truly wanted this story to be told.
    "Bully" is now playing in select theaters throughout the United States.
    ----ENDS-----
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