‘Go f*** yourself’: The funniest and most shocking quotes from Ridley Scott’s explosive press tour

It’s been a wild, headline-grabbing few months for the filmmaker

Ridley Scott has certainly had a busy year.

The acclaimed director of such classics as Blade Runner, Alien, and Thelma & Louise has released not just one, but two major films in 2021: The Last Duel and House of Gucci.

While The Last Duel was widely considered a flop after recording lacklustre box office takings earlier this year, the medieval drama (starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer) was nonetheless praised by critics.

House of Gucci was released in cinemas last month. The true-crime drama stars Lady Gaga, Jared Leto and Driver as members of the Gucci fashion family.

The release of both films has seen Scott conduct an extensive amount of interviews over the past year – with the veteran filmmaker dispensing more than his fair share of headline-grabbing soundbites.

Here is a rundown of some of Scott’s best quotes from the press tour.

Superhero films are “boring as s***”

Though it has become something of a pet peeve among many film fans for major filmmakers to be perpetually asked their thoughts on superhero films, Scott brought up the topic unprompted back in November, when speaking to Deadline.

“The best films are driven by the characters,” he said, “and we’ll come to superheroes after this if you want, because I’ll crush it. I’ll f***ing crush it. They’re f***ing boring as s***.

(Getty Images for 20th Century St)

Asked for his main “gripe” about superhero movies, Scott responded: “Their scripts are not any f***ing good. I think I’ve done three great scripted superhero movies. One would be Alien with Sigourney Weaver. One would be f***ing Gladiator, and one would be [Blade Runner]. They’re superhero movies. So, why don’t the superhero movies have better stories? Sorry. I got off the rail, but I mean, c’mon. They’re mostly saved by special effects, and that’s becoming boring for everyone who works with special effects, if you’ve got the money.”

“The millennian” are to blame for The Last Duel’s failure

Speaking to Marc Maron on his WTF podcast months after The Last Duel was released, Scott was asked why he thought the film grossed just $27m (£20m) on a budget of $100m (£74m).

He replied: “I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these f***ing cell phones. The millennian, [who] do not ever want to be taught anything unless you tell it on the cell phone.”

Driver and Damon in ‘The Last Duel (20th Century Films)

Gucci family “should be so f***ing lucky”

House of Gucci was not received well among the descendants of the people it depicts; the Gucci family has described the film as an “insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today”, and threatened legal action against it.

Before the film was released, Guccio Gucci’s great-grandchild Patrizia Gucci also criticised the casting of Al Pacino in the role of Aldo Gucci, describing it as “shameful”.

Addressing this comment in an interview with Total Film, Scott said: “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***ing lucky.”

‘House of Gucci’ is out in cinemas now (© 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc)

“Go f*** yourself”

In what might be the most amusing encounter of all, Scott deployed some robust language when asked about how the realism in The Last Duel compared to some of his previous work.

“You have a very realistic film. It is more realistic than Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood,” began the interviewer.

At this point, Scott interjected, saying: “F*** you, thank you very much, f*** you. Go f*** yourself.”

While it’s not clear to what extent Scott was joking here, the interviewer is seen laughing, and taking the jibe in good humour.

You can read The Independent’s own interview with Scott here.