When thinking about the list of celebrities to play me in a movie of my own life, Emma Watson is pretty close to the top of my list. Apparently Alexis Neiers — one of the inspirations behind the new film “The Bling Ring,” directed by Sofia Coppola — does not feel the same way. The bratty former reality star vows to shed light on the truth about “The Bling Ring,” both the movie and the original Vanity Fair article by Nancy Jo Sales, in her upcoming book. In the film, the character “Nicki” played by Emma Watson is based not-so-loosely off of the real-life Alexis Neiers, down to the high-pitched baby voice and overeager stage mom. Recently Neiers took to her blog and Twitter to defend herself, calling the film “trashy and inaccurate” — despite the fact that she received $100,000 in her role as a consultant to the film. While Neiers also wrote on her blog that she was “optimistic” that Coppola could shed new light on the events that she believes have been distorted by the media, she continues to take major issue with both Vanity Fair’s Nancy Jo Sales, Sales’ book that was recently released, and investigator Brett Goodkin (who was a consultant to Coppola’s film).
On her blog, Neiers insulted both Sofia Coppola, claiming that she was “famous for being famous,” and Nancy Jo Sales, to whom Neiers famously left an emotional and profanity laced voicemail after reading Sales’ article about her in Vanity Fair. She told Sales via her blog, “your name will forever be connected with mine, but not mine with yours.” Now, in order to battle the “distortions this Nancy Jo woman spreads about me,’ Neiers has signed a book deal to tell her side of the story along with her memoir detailing her journey from rehab to substance abuse counselor.
Meanwhile, the director is, like, whatever. In response Neiers’ complaints about her portrayal in the film, Coppola has said, “It’s not a documentary. We made a movie, and I’m not too concerned with their reaction.”
Original by Erica Boorstein
