Ridley
Scott bore the November 30 1937 in England. He studied
to the "Royal Academy of Art" and, after having graduated,
gone to America for begin to work with the "Time Life
Inc." creating documentaries.
Then
the television broadcasting company the BBC proposed him a job, so Scott returned again
in England and distinguished himself for his cleverness
in the production of advertising spot.
Then
he began to dedicate to films and come out with "The
duellist" in the 1977. The film had happened,
so he continued and his popularity grew more and more.
|
 |
 |
| MOVIE
|
YEAR |
ROLE |
| The
Duellist |
1977 |
Director |
| Alien |
1979 |
Director |
| Blade
Runner |
1982 |
Director
and co-producer |
| Legend |
1985 |
Director |
| Someone
to Watch Over Me |
1987 |
Director
and producer |
| Black
Rain |
1989 |
Director |
| Thelma
& Louise |
1991 |
Director
and producer |
| 1942:
Conquest of Paradise |
1992 |
Director
and producer |
| Monkey
Trouble |
1994 |
Producer |
| The
browning version |
1994 |
Producer |
| White
squall |
1996 |
Director
and producer |
| The
Hunger |
1997 |
Producer |
| G.I.
Jane |
1997 |
Director |
| Duets
|
1998 |
Producer |
| The
Gladiator |
2000 |
Director |
Personal
Note : if you haven't just seen "The Gladiator"
I recommend you of going to see it as soon as possible!
It's truly a very beautiful movie. :-)
Here
there is an interview to Ridley Scott taken from the site
of MR.
ShowBiz.
Perdonatemi
ma non sono ancora riuscito a trovare il tempo di tradurla!
Appena avrò terminato la stesura del nuovo sito inglese
effettuerò la traduzione. Per il momento abbiate pazienza...
What
interested you about White Squall?
Ridley Scott:
It's a generation film, set in 1961, which is my generation.
I was approximately this age, in '61, of these characters.
The subtext is about rites of passage, from youth into finding
out who you are and what you want to be. The script touched
me because I felt that today there's an absence of the so-called
rite-of-passage film. It gradually dissipated in the sixties
and is now evaporated. I thought the story was worth telling.
On top of that, it's a true story and there was a tragedy
involved. In essence, the script held everything for me.
Your
two science-fiction films, Alien and Blade Runner are two
of the best science-fiction films ever made. Do you plan on
returning to the genre again?
Alien and Blade Runner are possibly THE most pivotal science
fiction films in contemporary cinema. Do you have plans to
return to science fiction?
Ridley Scott:
Yes, of course. It's just that science fiction is really an
opportunity or a stage on which anything goes. The problem
is, that's what tends to happen. I think the genre has become
abused, with what are essentially weak ideas and screenplays,
which are driven by technology rather than story and character.
When I find that script, I'll certainly return to the genre.
Mr.
Scott, what do you think is the most important aspect of directing,
and what is the first step you take when you start a new project?
Ridley Scott:
I think the first requirement of a director, now that I've
done a few films and maybe over 2,000 commercials, is stamina.
Because without the stamina, it's a bit like being a long-distance
runner--you don't complete the course. Or if you complete
the course, you're wobbling as opposed to coming in with a
good finish. I think that's a good metaphor. Once I've committed
to a new project, the first step is to really begin the educational
process. If I've developed the script myself I've already
been through the process of educating myself and therefore
am fluent with the material and the subject, in which case
the first physical step is location hunting, which in itself
is an education.
What
kind of pre-production do you do? Do you storyboard every
shot?
Ridley Scott:
Absolutely, it's not every shot, but a substantial amount
is storyboarded, and not just the action sequences. I tend
to storyboard them myself because I was an art student for
almost seven years. I find, like a writer facing a blank sheet
of paper on the typewriter; you just start to type. What I
tend to do if I get blocked is I just start to draw. By drawing
you suck yourself into the scene and it's a bit like the first
pass photographically in your mind. It helps me to think.
But of course later it provides an incredibly useful blueprint
for all the departments involved in the making of the movie.
Thelma
and Louise was loved by women, but men didn't get it. Did
you find it difficult, as a male director, to see things from
the female point of view?
Ridley Scott:
No. I was immediately amused by the viewpoint of an extremely
intelligent and strong female who was the writer and who qualified
everything. Essentially I was forced to agree with it all.
I've always believed in the process of strong women. I've
never had that problem, ever, either working with them or
alongside with them. I've never experienced the insecurity,
because that's what it is. I think its very insecure of males
to be challenged because it's a female perspective. It almost
became academic to me.
Ridley,
in the total creative process involved in a film, or your
films particularly, how much input do you require to be satisfied
that the film is truly a Ridley Scott film ?
Ridley Scott:
The viewpoint of an audience looking at a filmmaker and indicating
that this is a Ridley Scott film or whoever's movie, so I'm
assuming that he's referring to what he considers to be my
stamp on a movie. I don't really think about that. I'm sometimes
accused of being over-visual. In the recent film, somebody
referred to me as a visual-holic, which is odd, because I
really tried to pull my horns in on this one. If anything,
I try to allow the obvious aspects of what I bring to a film,
which I guess is an eye , to overpower the story and the narrative,
but I guess it still fits in there. I now realize that's what
I do, that's what I bring, that's one of my fortes and so
it's something I don't really concern myself about it. I guess
that's part and parcel of my stamp.
Your
1984 Apple commercial is a classic. How did this epic advertisement
come about?
Ridley Scott: I was in London working and in 1984 I had already
been doing some films, but I was still keeping my hand in
commercials because I enjoy the process, it's like a mini
film or a very sophisticated sketch book. And I love to shoot,
so that's why I keep going on the commercial side. There's
nothing worse if you're a filmmaker than the gaps between
making movies, where you can drive yourself crazy not being
able to shoot, and I like to shoot. There was a new agency
called Chiat Day who had an account called Macintosh. Though
my companies live and die by the computer, I'm not one of
those guys who ever sat down in front of a computer. I don't
even know how to use one. I got this commercial for Apple
Macintosh, and frankly, I didn't know what it was. I kind
of liked the film and the atmosphere, and the fact that one
had to show no product was also very attractive. So I basically
made the movie, and at the end kind of discovered what it
was we were selling later. It aired once, in the Super Bowl.
Did
you think Brad Pitt would turn out to be such a big star?
Ridley Scott: Yeah, you get a good idea, a sense of it, when
you're working with actors, that they've got what it takes
or have a cut above some of the others. Brad was always very
smart and inventive from the very first time I met him at
a casting session. I figured, this guy is a must for this
particular role and it was a terrific start for him, obviously.
In what was essentially a cameo role, it had everything in
there for him.
I'm
sure you've been asked many times about doing a Blade Runner
sequel. How do you feel about sequels in general? James Cameron's
Aliens is one of the few that really seems to have worked.
Ridley Scott:
It's always a tough job to follow a successful film into a
sequel film. Particularly in the instance of a film which
is essentially driven by a fairly horrific character. I always
regard the Alien as the eighth character. It can never be
as frightening. You've seen it. Therefore what I think Jim's
film is was an excellent action piece. It's difficult, like
doing the Exorcist II. I think what they're going to have
to do now, when they do Alien 4, is to reinvent what it is.
They've got to make it fresh. Because I think [director David]
Fincher was really pushing uphill on the third one. He's very
efficient and creative and everything else, but he was still
stuck with the old Alien. It can't be frightening; you've
seen it. In the original, like the shark in Jaws, you don't
see much of it. There is a book and a CD-ROM sequel to Blade
Runner happening. The book stands to be very interesting.
He's been working on it for almost two years. My involvement
was granting interviews from time to time. He's a smart writer,
so I think its going to be quite an interesting book.
Do
you think violent films or television have a negative on the
viewer? What effect do they have on you personally?
Ridley Scott: I think the answer to the first part of the
question is "absolutely." We've gone into overkill. Just by
characterizing and showing a killer or an area of violence
in a way is condoning it, and to a certain section of an audience,
maybe even makes it kind of heroic, particularly to the younger
generation. I think there's been a very negative effect by
being slammed over the head with violence; and it has escalated
in the last fifteen years. We discovered that violence and
blood baths sold tickets. I think we've now overdone it.
Vangelis
has done a number of soundtracks for movies. Was he considered
for White Squall? Do you plan to work with him in the future?
Ridley Scott:
Both answers are yes. Our dates conflicted with an album he
was doing, so we had to pass on White Squall. I would work
with him again. I think what's good is that he doesn't do
too many movies, and therefore each time I've worked with
him, he's always brought something original to the process,
without sensing that sometimes you can get something that
came out of the filing cabinet. He really gets inside the
film and watches it. He is very much driven by the visual
and will watch the film without sound, even without dialogue
sometimes. Then I think he works in silence. It's an interesting
way of working.
Do
you find that you "compete" with your brother, Tony Scott?
Ridley Scott:
Up to now, no. We tend to do different movies. I've never
thought about it that way. We don't compete. We are partners
and have been for the last twenty years on the commercial
side. We're in partnership.
Your
son Jake has done some very good work on music videos. Do
you think he will move into directing films?
Ridley Scott:
Yes, as soon as possible. In fact, we're actively developing
two things with him now at my production company. I guess
it pays off when you give your kids a good education. Jake
is quite literary, which becomes useful, because the mode
of his direction, in terms of what he wants to do first, tends
to be very story and actor oriented, which is interesting.
I think he realizes that being in control of a lower-budget
movie is more important than going in on a high-budget movie
where you're essentially a cog in the wheel.
Do
you think there's a possibility there would ever be a director's
cut of Legend released?
Ridley Scott:
Yes, there was always a regret that because we didn't preview
well, we cut out almost a half hour. I'm always passionate
about my work and the idea of doing a live-action fairy story,
which in a way is like Beauty and the Beast; I loved the Cocteau
film. I felt it might work. Now of course there are a lot
of films being made live action, such as 101 Dalmatians. And
there's been a revival of animation movies, which have become
very successful, like The Lion King. I think we were on target
at the time to do a film which, in a way, was A) for everybody,
and B) really quite different. It was a step away from a period
film, a step away from the science-fiction genre. So in that
sense, I thought it was quite fresh. But they didn't get it.
I doubt there will be a director's cut, but I am curious how
it would do if it were released today.
I
know that Scott Wolf has a fear of the water, what was it
like for you working with him on a film that was shot mostly
on the water?
Ridley Scott:
I didn't know that. He put up a pretty good job of hiding
it. He must have used his fear to help him in the scenes,
because I had no inkling he was afraid of the water. He only
threw up once in South Africa.
John
Frankenheimer recently said he's still striving to remove
the sentence "best remembered as the director of Manchurian
Candidate" from his future obituary. Do you feel the same
way about Blade Runner?
Ridley Scott:
No. Next case and move on. I'm glad I did it. It ended up
in the Library of Congress, so it will be around forever.
It's amusing. It's nice that people finally got it. It's a
bit late financially, but life's like that. It's nice at the
end of the day to know that certain films have held their
ground.
There
are so many stories floating around about the different cuts
of Blade Runner. For the record, how many versions of the
film exist?
Ridley Scott:
I think the one that's certainly carrying the directors cut
is the laserdisc. I'm almost certain there is a tape, too.
The one to get, if you can, is the disc, because then you
get it letterboxed; that's the way to watch it. The number
of cuts that were done, my God, I can't remember now. Cuts
are never dramatically different, they still remain in the
A to Z assembly, but you just start to maybe remove D, G,
W, or just shorten them. It's a process of gradually thinning
it down and distilling it to where you think the bottom line
of the film is. Sometimes you go past that point and it can
kill the movie.
What
was it like filming the storm sequence on White Squall? Was
anybody injured?
Ridley Scott:
No. The storm sequence is one of those things which you put
on the back burner--knowing that the horrible day will arrive
where you have to go into these tanks and make the storm work.
When you're in forty-foot seas on a sunny day in South Africa
where the seas are absolutely monumental--it was even more
daunting to go into the tank and cook up something much worse.
That was the biggest doubt in the whole process of making
the movie.
Do
you have a dream project or have you already done yours?
Ridley Scott:
No. I consider myself a filmmaker and the first project you
do, as a filmmaker , is probably the dream project. Thereafter
you decide you're going to become a professional filmmaker,
so you really either have to have the passion and carry the
passion for each film to carry you through that marathon.
But the first one is actually the one you are most passionate
about.
There
has always been a lot of discussion/argument over the question
of Deckard in Blade Runner being a replicant. Your directors
cut of Blade Runner adds more to these questions (the symbolism
of the unicorn, etc.). Was your intention, whilst making the
film, for Deckard to be seen as a replicant or not ? And now,
after all the arguments for and against, has your opinion
changed at all ?
Ridley Scott:
As it was really a film noir, the ending of film noir tends
not be "And they lived happily ever after." I think the director's
cut, which represents the film where I wanted the film to
be when we released it, was to infer most definitely that
Deckard was a replicant. That was one of the reasons behind
having Eddie Olmos in the film as the visitor--wherever he
visited, he left little pieces of origami. Therefore he had
clearly visited the apartment of Deckard and decided to leave
her [Sean Young] alive, because he was a departmental, bureaucratic
perverse character. Because he hated Deckard, he couldn't
resist leaving his calling card, which confirmed to Deckard
one of his private dreams, which was about unicorns. And it's
only Eddie Olmos who could know that dream from a file on
Deckard. And if Deckard was in fact a creation of the department,
then it would be in the file. It's all subtext, but by the
Olmos character leaving the origami unicorn--Deckard stoops
and picks it up, and if you watch him, he stares at the unicorn
and he imperceptibly nods his head in agreement. Now, you
then go back into the film where Deckard was looking at all
those photographs on his piano, and he was a little drunk
and he was playing the piano; he's staring at all this history.
He has a kind of daydream, either alcoholic haze or whatever,
and the daydream is a beautiful green park a nd misty lake,
and the unicorn gallops by. It's very simple, very brief.
And he snaps out of that reverie and gets on with the scene.
Prior to that he has a scene with Sean Young and he talks
to her about her own private thoughts. They're not real thoughts.
They are thoughts put into her mind by the Tyrell Corporation.
He proves this point by telling her little things she may
have remembered as child, which strikes a chord. She gets
tearful and leaves. Those three scenes link up. One is talking
about private thoughts and how no one can know but yourself,
and he proves to her that she's a replicant by revealing her
private thoughts, which he knows because he looked in the
file. And all that happens at the end is that Eddie Olmos
does the exact same thing to him.
Have
you achieved what you wanted when you were starting?
Are there any books that you would love to make into a
movie, but are chicken to attempt?
Ridley Scott:
First, you never achieve what you've wanted. Because if you
do, it's all over. I like to put mountains in the way to climb--that's
what keeps me ticking. There are several books I would like
to make. Whether I ever get a shot at them, I don't know.
One of them could be Perfume. One of them I think has now
been made into a script, which is Cormac McCarthy's Blood
Meridian. The next one may be a period film, I can't tell
you what it is because it will create a competition.
