Ridley Scott walks away from Bee Gees biopic: “The studio changed the goalposts”
Gladiator II director Ridley Scott has revealed that his plans to make a biopic on the Bee Gees have fallen through.
The acclaimed filmmaker had set aside time to work on the feature on the ‘Stayin’ Alive’ music legends, with previous announcements claiming that filming was set to start as early as September 2025. However, following business negotiations, Scott will not be pursuing the movie any longer after disagreements with Paramount Pictures regarding the production.
In an interview given with GQ, Scott revealed that he had threatened to leave the project following a change to the initial agreement, saying, “The studio changed the goalposts. I said, ‘You can’t do that.’ They insisted. I said, ‘Well, I’m going to warn you, I will walk, because I will go on to the next movie.’ They didn’t believe me, and I did.”
He also said: “I was being asked to go too far. And I said, ‘No. Next!’ They didn’t like my deal. So I said, I’ll move on. I’m expensive, but I’m fucking good.”
Despite not working out at the moment, Scott has been keeping busy, continuing progress on his post-apocalyptic film The Dog Stars, which is set to begin shooting in April.
While the initial plan was for Scott to join forces with Paul Mescal again, Euphoria star Jacob Elordi was announced as Mescal’s replacement in the film due to scheduling issues. Scott previously claimed Mescal is set to star in Sam Mendes’ upcoming set of biopics on The Beatles, which meant he was no longer able to make The Dog Stars.
That said, Scott is still extremely passionate about the Bee Gees project. Aside from talking about directing a potential biopic on them at the start of his career, the director went on to say how struck he was by their story, recalling, “I liked the working-class side of the Bee Gees. It’s all about competition with brothers…. And then they lose Andy — Andy OD’d at 30. … It’s more about the gift than the luck, right? It’s a fantastic story.”
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