Ridley Scott calls Gucci family outrage over biopic casting ‘alarmingly insulting’

Gucci heirs have specifically called out the appearances of Al Pacino and Jared Leto in the new film

Sir Ridley Scott has responded to criticism of his recently released biopic House of Gucci from the real-life Gucci family.

In a statement, the Gucci family have criticised the film, which stars Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Lady Gaga, describing it as an “insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today”.

The film focuses on Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga) who spent 16 years in prison for plotting the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci (Driver), the one-time head of the Gucci fashion company.

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

“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant. He is being played by Al Pacino, who is not very tall already, and this photo shows him as fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly. Shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all,” she said.

Speaking to Total Film, Scott responded to this criticism, saying: “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.”

Leto’s performance has also faced criticism from members of the Gucci family. Scott spoke in defence of the casting.

Jared Leto in ‘House of Gucci' (MGM/Universal)

“I think a lot of [Leto’s performance] is comedic,” Scott said. “Certainly for the first two acts. Jared Leto, there’s not a lot of information about [his character] Paolo, but there are pictures of Paolo and that’s exactly what Paolo looks like.

“We found the pictures and Jared did what he did and dressed the way Paolo dressed. There’s not a lot of Paolo on camera talking. And so that had to be, to a certain extent, imagined, but clearly Paolo was a very colorful and flamboyant man.”

“The flamboyance of Paolo was quite nicely captured,” he added. “And how could that be offensive? We paid attention to not getting too overt if we can avoid it.”

House of Gucci is in cinemas now.