Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian has revealed one heartbreaking storyline in his debut film Strictly Confidential came aftera close friend and his father Steve Bing's suicide.
In the new film, 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's plot came to the model, actor and filmmaker, 22, in the aftermath of losing a friend to suicide, as well as his biological father Steven Bing.
Speaking on the inspiration, Damian told Tatler: 'Finally, I unearthed a treatment I'd written when I was 17 in the aftermath of losing a close friend to suicide.
'At the time I'd shelved it, deciding I wasn't yet ready to tell the story, but in the three-year interim I'd lost a parent, also to suicide, and had been forced to grow up fast.
Elizabeth Hurley 's son Damian has revealed one heartbreaking storyline in his debut film Strictly Confidential came after a close friend and his father Steve Bing's suicide
Elizabeth, 58, conceived her only child during a short-lived relationship with Steve (pictured) not long after she split from Hugh Grant in 2000
'I realised I now had the experience to bring the script to life, and Strictly Confidential was born: the story of a young woman who is haunted by the suicide of her best friend and determined to find answers.'
Elizabeth, 58, conceived her only child during a short-lived relationship with Steve not long after she split from Hugh Grant in 2000.
She gave birth to Damian in 2002 but the businessman contested paternity, claiming that they had been in a non-exclusive relationship at the time.
Although a DNA test proved that Bing was Damian’s father, he did not become part of his life and they are thought to have never even met. Bing died in 2020 when he jumped from the 27th floor of his Los Angeles apartment building.
Screen star Elizabeth and her son Damian have found themselves under fire after he directed her racy lesbian sex scene in his upcoming film Strictly Confidential.
Elizabeth raised eyebrows for her steamy scene with another woman in the raunchy trailer for her upcoming film Strictly Confidential; which was directed by her son Damian.
But the star insists it wasn't just a 'titillating' moment but an important part of the plot of the movie.
In Damian's directorial debut, Elizabeth plays a mother called Lily who welcomes her daughter's friends to her Caribbean estate the year after the mysterious deaths of her daughter and her husband.
A number of secrets become known during the trip, including Lily's love affair with her daughter's female friend.
Speaking on the inspiration, Damian told Tatler : 'Finally, I unearthed a treatment I'd written when I was 17 in the aftermath of losing a close friend to suicide.'
Although a DNA test proved that Bing was Damian’s father, he did not become part of his life and they are thought to have never even met. Bing died in 2020 when he jumped from the 27th floor of his Los Angeles apartment building
Of the steamy sex scene between the pair, which was directed by her real-life son Damian, Elizabeth told TooFab : 'Well, it was a very important part of storytelling, when Mia, our protagonist, is on this quest to find out why her best friend [Elizabeth's character's daughter] killed herself,.
'It was so integral to [the storytelling] that the actual physical filming of it wasn't even something we talked about really.
'We just knew that the impact it would have on the story and the rest was just our job.'
She insists the scene is not simply included for shock value, adding she always stays away from movies that have salacious moments to stun the audience.
The screen star said: 'For me, when I get a script, if I feel something is put in gratuitously -- which has nothing to do with storytelling -- right from when I was a beginner, I'd be like, "I don't get that, I don't understand that, that's not something I want to be part of."
'It's just thrown in, in my head, by some male executive somewhere and I've never been part of that.
'I would not have been on this, but it wasn't. It was so integral. It was part of the storytelling, it wasn't just a sex scene thrown in for titillation.'
It comes after Elizabeth and her son Damian came under furious fire from a professional psychotherapist over their controversial new movie collaboration which saw the actress being directed by her child as she performed a lesbian sex scene.
While Elizabeth claimed to feel 'liberated' by having a family member around to film the saucy scenes, Couples Therapy star Dr Jenn Mann has criticised her actions.
Elizabeth and son Damian have found themselves under fire after he directed her racy lesbian sex scene in his film Strictly Confidential - but the actress has defended the scene
See the full feature in the June issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday May 2
According to the licensed marriage, family and child therapist, filming the scenes are a major boundary breach between parent and child, and she would advise against simulating sex in front of your child.
Jenn told TMZ she found the actress' comments about the scenes being 'liberating,' 'bizarre' - and weren't aligned with a healthy parent-child dynamic.
She told the publication in her opinion, despite Damian being an adult, directing his own mother's erotic scenes is crossing some lines between parent and child.
Elizabeth previously told Access Hollywood she felt 'safe and looked after' shooting the film.
'It’s relaxing knowing someone’s behind the camera who looks out for you,' the Austin Powers star explained, adding that was particularly important when filming this movie.
Strictly Confidential was released in cinemas and on Prime Video on April 5 in the US and will be released on May 13 on UK digital platforms.
