Ridley Scott opens up about his upcoming film ‘Napoleon’
Last year, Ridley Scott was subjected to a mixed reception of his cinematic vision because of the varying quality of his output. While The Last Duel received critical acclaim for its artistic sensibilities, Scott’s House of Gucci was dismissed by the same critics as a failed biopic.
However, Scott has continued to forge ahead with his directorial career and has been working on an epic historical drama about Napoleon. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the quasi-mythological historical figure, Napoleon has been picked up by Apple TV.
Scheduled for a release in 2023, it seems like Scott’s grand cinematic vision will be the perfect fit for such an important subject. During a recent conversation with Empire, Scott revealed that the project had to be rewritten multiple times due to Phoenix’s inputs.
While talking about Phoenix, Scott said: “Joaquin is about as far from conventional as you can get. Not deliberately, but out of intuition. That’s what makes him tick. If something bothers him, he’ll let you know. He made [Napoleon] special by constantly questioning.”
The director added: “With Joaquin, we can rewrite the goddamn film because he’s uncomfortable. And that kind of happened with Napoleon. We unpicked the film to help him focus on who Bonaparte was. I had to respect that, because what was being said was incredibly constructive. It made it all grow bigger and better.”
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