Ridley Scott Defends Al Pacino And Jared Leto Casting In ‘House Of Gucci’ Amid Criticism From Gucci Family
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“House of Gucci” isn’t making the Gucci family very happy.
This week, the heirs of former fashion house chairman Aldo Gucci issues a statement decrying the new Ridley Scott film starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and more.
In response, the director told Toal Film, “The people that were writing from the family to us at the onset were alarmingly insulting, saying that Al Pacino did not represent physically Aldo Gucci in any shape or form. And yet, frankly, how could they be better represented than by Al Pacino? Excuse me! You probably have the best actors in the world, you should be so f**king lucky.”
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Scott also defended Jared Leto’s casting in the film as Paolo Gucci, saying of his performance, “I think a lot of it is comedic. Certainly for the first two acts. Jared Leto, there’s not a lot of information about [his character] Paolo, but there are pictures of Paolo and that’s exactly what Paolo looks like. We found the pictures and Jared did what he did and dressed the way Paolo dressed. There’s not a lot of Paolo on camera talking. And so that had to be, to a certain extent, imagined, but clearly Paolo was a very colorful and flamboyant man.”
He added, “The flamboyance of Paolo was quite nicely captured. And how could that be offensive? We paid attention to not getting too overt if we can avoid it.”
In their statement, the Gucci family said, according to Variety, “The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci — president of the company for 30 years [played by Al Pacino in the film] — and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.”
The statement added that the film takes “a tone and and an attitude to the protagonists of the well-known events that never belonged to them,” adding, “This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.
The film tells the story of Patrizia Reggiani, who was convicted in 1998 for hiring a hitman to murder her ex-husband, Mauritzio Gucci.
In the statement, the family complains that Reggiani “is portrayed not just in the film, but also in statements from cast members, as a victim trying to survive in a male and male chauvinist corporate culture.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” the statement continued, asserting that Gucci has a history of being “an inclusive company.”
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In the period the film is set, in the ’80s, the statement noted “there were several women who held top positions” at Gucci.
“Gucci is a family that lives honouring the work of its ancestors, whose memory does not deserve to be disturbed to stage a spectacle that is untrue and which does not do justice to its protagonists,” the statement said, adding, “the members of the Gucci family reserve the right to take action to protect the name, image and dignity of themselves and their loved ones.”
