Kids In The Hood

Larry Clark, a filmmaker to whom the world "controversial" is always attached, has announced plans for a new project. Wassup Rockers is based on a real group of Hispanic teens in LA's South Central district, who reject the predominant hip-hop culture of their area for punk rock, skateboards and clothes less than four sizes too big for them. Constantly harassed in their community, the teens bus it to the more affluent areas of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Hollywood to hang out, skate, eye up the local laydeez and land in trouble with parents, police and irate boyfriends. The whole thing bears a certain resemblance to Clark's 2002 film Ken Park, also about California skaters, but that film had more of a focus on family life than the neighbourhood. The film will begin shooting this summer, with Clark's traditional casting of real kids from the area. It's the same tactic he used for his 1995 film Kids, which followed the sexual exploits of an amoral young skater around the streets of New York. While that film launched the careers of Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson, the film caused controversy with its portrayal of the sex lives of teenagers. Given Clark's history, we're guessing that this latest slice of teenage life will cause as much outrage among the moral majority as ever.