Damian Hurley, Elizabeth Hurley and Steve Bing.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/WireImage; Jamie McCarthy/Getty; J. Shearer/WireImage
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage; Jamie McCarthy/Getty; J. Shearer/WireImage
InDamian Hurley’s new thrillerStrictly Confidential, a young woman drowns near her family home in the Caribbean, and her loved ones struggle to come to terms with the tragedy.
The idea for the film came to Damian — the son of British model-actress Elizabeth Hurley and the late American film producerSteve Bing— in the aftermath of losing a friend to suicide.
“For me and most of my friends it was really the first big personal loss we’d ever known,” says Damian.
Damian Hurley directing ‘Strictly Confidential’.MSR Media
MSR Media
Elizabeth welcomed Damian in 2002 after her 18-month relationship with Bing had ended. Bing initially doubted his paternity, but a DNA test determined he was indeed the father, as Elizabeth insisted in family court proceedings.
TheAustin Powers: International Man of Mysterystar raised Damian in the U.K. and Australia, and Damian refers to his mother as a “single parent.”
Elizabeth toldThe Timesin 2022 that her son “didn’t know [Bing] as a person,” and yet his death led the young filmmaker to grapple with grief and denial, two themes of his movie.
“My own biological father took his own life, and suddenly I understood those few people incredibly well,” Damian continues, referring to his grieving friends.
Elizabeth Hurley and Steve Bing in 2001.Jim Ruymen/UPI/Shutterstock
Jim Ruymen/UPI/Shutterstock
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Asked if he felt a connection to his filmmaker father while working on the movie, Damian demurs. “I didn’t really have any time to sit and reflect and think about anything,” he says. “I was chasing costume trunks.”
After Bing’s death in 2020,Damian posted on Instagramand expressed gratitude to those who sent condolences.
In her own note on social media at the time, Elizabeth wrote, “I am saddened beyond belief that my ex Steve is no longer with us. It is a terrible end.”
“In the past year, we had become close again,” she continued. “We last spoke on our son’s 18th birthday. This is devastating news and I thank everyone for their lovely messages.”
For more on Elizabeth Hurley and Damian, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE.
source: people.com
