NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� An inevitable fact of interviewing is that, whatever movie he鈥檚 about to release, you鈥檒l find him already knee-deep in his next project.
Scott, Hollywood鈥檚 perpetual rolling stone even at age 86, may be one of his biggest epics yet, but during an interview earlier this fall, he had the Bee Gees on the brain. Scott is developing a biopic on the Gibb brothers. On a Zoom call from his office in Los Angeles, he was surrounded by meticulously plotted storyboards.
Scott is enthusiastic about the project. 鈥淚 think the word is beyond talented. They were gifted,鈥� he says 鈥� even if the Bee Gees brand of music seems quite distant from the no-nonsense British director.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a disco guy,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淚 dance like a (expletive) plowman.鈥�
Scott is on more familiar turf in 鈥淕ladiator II,鈥� which Paramount Pictures will release Thursday. He's back in ancient Rome, among sandals, swords and glistening biceps, for a sequel to his best picture-winning 鈥淕ladiator,鈥� with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� is set a couple decades after that film. It focuses on the grandson of former emperor Marcus Aurelius 鈥� a minor character in 鈥淕ladiator鈥� now played by Paul Mescal 鈥� who鈥檚 mentored as a gladiator by a former slave with aspirations of seizing Rome, Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Pedro Pascal co-stars as the Roman general Marcus Acacius.
鈥淪equels are always kind of suspect,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淏ut to begin with, we had a good logical stepping stone into who next, who survived and where did he go.鈥�
Aside from numerous 鈥淎lien鈥� films, Scott has largely eschewed sequels throughout his career. 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� had been in development, off and on, for two decades, though. And it ultimately swelled to one of Scott鈥檚 most massive projects 鈥� which is saying something for a filmmaker who just released of Some reports have pegged the budget for 鈥淕ladiator II鈥�
But Scott believes in the movie so much that he鈥檚 called it his best. Why?
鈥淚t鈥檚 to frighten the others,鈥� he says, chuckling. 鈥淎nd I think I might be right. I don鈥檛 want to count my chickens. But it鈥檚 pretty (expletive) good.鈥�
Part of Scott鈥檚 confidence comes from his belief in his cast, particularly Mescal, the Irish actor who broke out on the series 鈥淣ormal People鈥� before starring in acclaimed films like and
鈥淓ighteen months ago I found a show, 鈥楴ormal People.鈥� I think for me it looks a bit suburban, et cetera, et cetera. I watch one, then I watch another. I say, 鈥榃ho is this guy?鈥� Both the guy and the girl were absolutely interesting. From that, I cast Paul Mescal,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淵ou know, Paul has got that harsh profile with the nose. And then a little bit of There鈥檚 a bit of Finney about him.鈥�
Scott, who paints as a hobbyist, has seemingly been drawn to bigger and bigger canvases as he鈥檚 grown older. 鈥淣apoleon,鈥� he says, required 900 personnel; 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� took 1,200. He is, himself, a commander of armies. In Malta, Scott and his regular production designer, Arthur Max, erected enormous sets.
鈥淲e built Rome,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淚 discovered that you can have a lot of access, nice costumes and all blue screen. But in every shot you take 鈥� whether it鈥檚 (Scott holds his hands up for wide shots, over-shoulder shots and close-ups) you鈥檙e investing money on the blue. It鈥檚 more expensive to do that than to build it. So I built the Colosseum 40% full scale. It was cheaper to do that than blue screen.鈥�
Far smaller productions have worn down other filmmakers who don鈥檛 match half the pace of Scott. But Scott, a self-described 鈥渨ar baby鈥� born in 1937 whose father was a senior officer in the Royal Engineers, has showed no signs of slowing down, nor of fading ambition. Asked where he gets his drive, Scott responds: 鈥淒NA.鈥�
鈥淢y mum was ferocious,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淵ou have to stay kind of fit. And I embrace stress. If you don鈥檛 embrace stress, do not do the job. People get very stressed and frightened and I don鈥檛. I鈥檝e grown to it over the years to just embrace it and walk in and say, 鈥楻ight, everybody over here. We鈥檙e going to do this.鈥� And they listen. Bearing in mind that I鈥檓 artistically driven and I鈥檓 blessed with a very good eye, the decision is everything. Make the bloody decision. Do not discuss it with everybody including the window cleaner where you鈥檙e going to put the camera.鈥�
To Scott, his most formative training came in commercials. He and his brother, Tony Scott, started out with their film and commercial production company Ridley Scott Associates. Particularly in television, Scott got accustomed to shooting with multiple cameras rolling simultaneously. He didn鈥檛 make his first feature, 1977鈥檚 鈥淭he Duelist,鈥� until he was 40. Now, on movies like 鈥淕ladiator,鈥� Scott might have eight or 10 cameras rolling for a single scene.
鈥淪o I got used to scale,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淏y that time I had probably done 2,500 commercials. And when you鈥檙e doing a commercial for yourself, the company, you鈥檙e on your own clock. After 5 o鈥檆lock, you pay. So you鈥檙e constantly against time. I learned that better than any film school could teach you. On every second hand is a dollar sign.鈥�
That kind of scale also comes with risk, of course. 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� is opening in theaters against Universal Pictures鈥� 鈥淲icked,鈥� another highly anticipated movie although one, like with different and possibly complementary target audiences. Mescal has teased the moviegoing weekend as 鈥淕licked.鈥�
Scott remains optimistic about the movie business 鈥� even if his main concern is what it'll mean for the next mammoth project he undertakes.
鈥淭here have been a few combustions of big box office this year that gives a certain kind of movie a promise for financial return,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淏ut the financial return 鈥� au courage d鈥檃utres 鈥� encourages the others. Because greed will always be in the front, right? Maybe the investors will say, 鈥楳aybe it can be me.鈥� That鈥檚 what we always hope for because I just love making movies. And the bigger the better.鈥�
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This story first moved Sept. 4, 2024, and has been updated ahead of the release of 鈥淕ladiator II.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
