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Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear) is a British Academy Award-nominated film director and producer known for his stylish visuals and an obsession for detail. His films include Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, and American Gangster. Despite waiting until he was almost 40 years old to make his first film, Ridley Scott quickly became one of the most prolific and respected directors working in Hollywood. His reputation for being a curmudgeon on set notwithstanding, Scott was placed in the upper echelon of his peers, thanks to early classics like “Alien” (1979) and “Blade Runner” (1982). He did, however, suffer unusually long periods of lackluster films, particularly following the rousing success of his revisionist take on the buddy road movie, “Thelma and Louise” (1991). Most directors would have wilted under the crushing failure of “1492: The Conquest of Paradise” (1992) or “White Squall” (1996). But Scott’s imperviousness to failure and drive to soldier on led him to achieve enormous success in the new millennium, starting with his Oscar-winning historical epic, “Gladiator” (2000). Even critical duds like “Hannibal” (2001) and “Kingdom of Heaven” (2005) managed huge takes at the box office, allowing Scott the freedom to tackle another revisionist crime thriller, “American Gangster” (2007), which earned the acclaimed director his third Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Having found a leading actor of high caliber with which to collaborate, it was surprising that Scott asked Crowe to make “A Good Year” (2006) for their sophomore effort together. A rather ordinary romantic comedy about a failing London banker (Crowe) who finds love with a beautiful Californian woman (Marion Cotilliard) after he inherits a winery, “A Good Year” caused many Scott fans to scratch their heads. Despite Crowe’s star power, the film came and went without much fanfare, fizzling quickly at the box office. Scott returned to prime form on his third collaboration with Crowe, “American Gangster” (2007), a true-life telling of 1970s Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who gets nailed by Detective Richie Roberts, an honest cop (Crowe) trying to root out crooks on both sides of the law. “American Gangster” spent years in development, with Antoine Fuqua previously attached to direct. After Fuqua’s prompt exit following “creative differences,” Universal Pictures went through Brian De Palma and Terry George before settling on Scott to direct. As usual, Scott gave the film his trademark flourishing visual style – which worked well for the 1970s setting – and eventually earned a third Oscar nomination for Best Director. Scott grew up in an Army family, meaning that for most of his early life his father an officer in the Royal Engineers was absent. Ridley's older brother, Frank, joined the Merchant Navy when he was still young and the pair had little contact. During this time the family moved around, living in (amongst other areas) Cumbria, Wales and Germany. After the Second World War the Scott family moved back to their native north-east England, eventually settling in Teesside (whose industrial landscape would later inspire similar scenes in Blade Runner). He enjoyed watching films. Among Scott's favourites were (and remain) Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane and Seven Samurai. Scott studied in Teesside from 1954 to 1958, at Grangefield School and later in West Hartlepool College of Art, graduating with a Diploma in Design. He progressed to an M.A. in graphic design at London's Royal College of Art from 1960 to 1962. At the RCA, he contributed to the college magazine, ARK, and helped to establish its film department. For his final show he made a black and white short film, Boy and Bicycle, starring his younger brother, Tony Scott, and his father. The film's main visual elements would become features of Scott's later work; it was issued on the 'Extras' section of The Duellists DVD. After graduation in 1963 he secured a job as a trainee set designer with the BBC, leading to work on the popular television police series Z-Cars and the science fiction series Out of the Unknown. Scott was an admirer of Stanley Kubrick early in his development as a director. For his entry for the BBC traineeship Scott remade Paths of Glory as a short film. He was assigned to design the second Doctor Who serial, The Daleks, which would have entailed realising the famous alien creatures. However, shortly before he was due to start work a schedule conflict meant that he was replaced on the serial by Raymond Cusick. At the BBC, Scott was placed into a director training programme and, before he left the corporation, had directed episodes of Z-Cars, its spin-off, Softly, Softly, and adventure series Adam Adamant Lives!. Five members of the Scott family are directors, all working for Ridley Scott Associates (RSA). Brother Tony has been a successful film director for more than two decades; sons, Jake and Luke are both acclaimed commercials directors as is his daughter, Jordan. Jake and Jordan both work from Los Angeles and Luke is based in London. Scott left the BBC in 1968 and established a production company, Ridley Scott Associates, working with Sir Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, Hugh Johnson and employing his younger brother, Tony. Having cut his teeth on UK television commercials in the 1970s most notably the 1974 Hovis advert, "Bike Round" (New World Symphony), which was filmed in Shaftesbury, Dorset he graduated to Hollywood, where he produced and directed a number of top box office films. The Duellists of 1977 was Ridley Scott's first feature film. It was produced in Europe and won a Best Debut Film medal at the Cannes Film Festival but made limited commercial impact in the US. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it featured two French Hussar officers, D'Hubert and Feraud (played by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel). Their quarrel over an initially minor incident turns into a bitter, long-drawn out feud over the following fifteen years, interwoven with the larger conflict that provides its backdrop. The film is lauded for its historically authentic portrayal of Napoleonic uniforms and military conduct, as well as its accurate early-nineteenth-century fencing techniques recreated by fight choreographer William Hobbs. Scott's box office disappointment with The Duellists was compounded by the success being enjoyed by Alan Parker with American-backed films Scott admitted he was "ill for a week" with envy. Scott had originally planned to next adapt an opera, Tristan und Isolde, but after seeing Star Wars, he became convinced of the potential of large scale, effects-driven films. He therefore accepted the job of directing Alien, the ground-breaking 1979 horror/science-fiction film that would give him international recognition. Whilst mostly filmed in 1978, Scott's talent for high-quality production design and atmospheric visuals, and the film's emphasis on realism over movie heroics have given Alien almost ageless appeal. While Scott would not direct the three Alien sequels, the female action hero Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) introduced in the first film, would become a cinematic icon. Scott was involved in the 2003 restoration and re-release of the film including media interviews for its promotion. At this time Scott indicated that he had been in discussions to make the fifth and final film in the Alien franchise. However, in a 2006 interview, the director remarked that he had been unhappy about Alien: The Director's Cut, feeling that the original was "pretty flawless" and that the additions were merely a marketing tool. After a year working on the film adaptation of Dune, Scott signed to direct the film version of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, (which would be retitled Blade Runner), following the sudden death of his brother Frank. Starring Harrison Ford and featuring an acclaimed soundtrack by Vangelis, Blade Runner was a flop when released in theatres in 1982, and was pulled shortly thereafter. However, it would eventually achieve cult status through re-issue on television and through home video. Scott's notes were used by Warner Brothers to create a rushed director's cut in 1991 which removed the voiceovers and modified the ending. Today Blade Runner is often ranked by critics as one of the most important science fiction films of the 20th century and is usually discussed along with William Gibson's novel Neuromancer as initiating the cyberpunk genre. Scott personally supervised a digitally restored Blade Runner and approved the Final Cut, which was released theatrically in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto on 5 October 2007, and as an elaborate DVD release on 18 December 2007, following the resolution of a number of rights issues between Warner Bros and the film's guarantors. Scott regards Blade Runner as his "most complete and personal film". 1984 is a 1984 American television commercial directed by Scott, written by Steve Hayden and Lee Clow, produced by Chiat/Day, and starring Anya Major as the unnamed heroine and David Graham as Big Brother. It was released for a single airing in the United States on 22 January 1984 during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. It introduced the Macintosh personal computer for the first time and is now considered a "watershed event" and a "masterpiece." 1984 used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a Picasso-style picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother). These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother." In 1985, Scott directed Legend, a fantasy film produced by Arnon Milchan. Having not tackled the fairy tale genre, Scott decided to create a "once upon a time" film set in a world of fairies, princesses, and goblins. Scott cast Tom Cruise as the film's hero, Jack, Mia Sara as Princess Lily, and Tim Curry as the Satan-like Lord of Darkness. But a series of problems with both principal photography and post-production (including heavy editing and substitution of Jerry Goldsmith's original score) hampered the film's release and as a result Legend received scathing reviews. It has since become a cult classic thanks to a DVD release that restores Scott's original, intended vision. Hungry for a real box office hit and also for respect from the press which considered him a commercial filmmaker devoted only to fantastic visuals without much substance, Scott decided to postpone further incursions into the science fiction and fantasy genre, in order to avoid being typecast, by focusing more in down to earth mature suspense thrillers. Among them came Someone to Watch Over Me, a romantic police drama starring Tom Berenger, Lorraine Bracco and Mimi Rogers in 1987, and Black Rain, a 1989 cop drama starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia, shot partially in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Both met with mild success at the box office. Again, Scott was praised for his lavish visuals, but was still being criticised for making films that were little more than extended versions of his glossy TV commercials, which he kept directing due to the lucrative nature of the advertising business. Thelma & Louise (1991) starred Geena Davis as Thelma, Susan Sarandon as Louise who are on a journey of personal discovery, friendship, and love. The movie has overtones of a lesbian relationship, with the two committing crimes along the cross-country trek. These crimes strengthen Thelma and Louise's bond. Harvey Keitel is featured as a sympathetic detective who trys to solve crimes that the two women commit. The movie proved to be a success and revived Scott's reputation as a film maker. However, Scott's next project was less successful. He oversaw the making of an independent movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise. It is a visually striking film about the story of Christopher Columbus. However, it is considered to be his slowest paced movie. Scott would not release another film for four years after 1492: Conquest of Paradise. In 1995 Scott, together with his brother Tony, formed the film and television production company Scott Free Productions in Los Angeles. All of his subsequent feature films, starting with White Squall and G.I. Jane, a female tabloid version of Full Metal Jacket starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen, have been produced under the Scott Free banner. Also in 1995, the two brothers purchased a controlling interest in Shepperton Studios that was later merged with Pinewood Studios. Scott and his brother are currently producing (since 2005) the CBS series Numb3rs a crime drama focused on a mathematician who helps the FBI solve crimes using his genius in mathematics. The huge success of Scott's film Gladiator (2000) has been credited with the revival of the nearly defunct genre of the "sword and sandal" historical epic. Scott then turned to Hannibal, the sequel to Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. 2001 also saw the release of Scott's war film Black Hawk Down (2001), which further established Scott's position as both a critically and financially successful film maker and went on to earn two Oscars. In 2003, Scott directed Matchstick Men, adapted from the novel by Eric Garcia, and starring Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. It received mostly positive reviews and performed moderately at the box office. In 2005, the director made the internationally successful Kingdom of Heaven, a movie about the Crusades that consciously sought to connect history to current events. While on location in Morocco during filming, Scott reportedly received threats from extremists. The Moroccan government also sent the Moroccan cavalry as extras in the epic battle scenes. Unhappy with the theatrical version of the film (which he blamed on paying too much attention to the opinions of preview audiences), Scott supervised a director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which was released on DVD in 2006. In an interview to promote the latter, when asked if he was against previewing in general, Scott stated: "It depends who's in the driving seat. If you've got a lunatic doing my job, then you need to preview. But a good director should be experienced enough to judge what he thinks is the correct version to go out into the cinema." Scott teamed up again with actor Russell Crowe, directing the movie A Good Year, which is based on the best-selling book. The film was released on 10 November 2006, with a score by Marc Streitenfeld. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp and Subsidiary studio 20th Century Fox (who backed the film) dismissed A Good Year as "a flop" at a shareholders' meeting only a few days after the film was released. Scott's next directorial work was on American Gangster, working for the first time with Denzel Washington and again with Russell Crowe. He is the third director to attempt the project after Antoine Fuqua's attempt (under the working title Tru Blu) was shut down by the studio due to an escalating budget. Washington had been cast in that incarnation of the project (reuniting him with Fuqua who had directed him in his Best Actor Oscar-winning performance in Training Day) as well as Benicio del Toro, who were both paid salaries of $20m and $15m respectively without doing any production on the film. The project was then handed to the director of Hotel Rwanda, Terry George, who was rumoured to be working on a less harsh version of the script with Don Cheadle in the starring role. Eventually George and Cheadle dropped out and Scott took over the project in early 2006. The film finally premiered in October 2007. Scott is set to direct an adaptation of Robin Hood called Nottingham in which Russell Crowe will portray the Sheriff of Nottingham. Rumoured future projects include Shadow Divers (though currently unattached) and The Invisible World (production notes unknown). He also has a historical epic called Tripoli planned, with Russell Crowe and Ben Kingsley attached, and a western in development, Blood Meridian, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. In 2000, he was attached to do an adaptation of Ben Elton's novel Popcorn. He and brother Tony are also looking at remaking the 1979 film The Warriors, with Tony set to direct as his next film after Déjà Vu. It was recently announced that he will direct Brave New World. Recently it was announced that his next project would be Body of Lies, the adaptation of the fiction bestseller of the same name, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe once more attached to star. Previously the project had been named Penetration. On 19 June 2007 it was announced that Scott would direct a film version of the game Monopoly. Scott will also direct Child 44 an adaptation of the novel by Tom Rob Smith, a period thriller set during the Stalinist-era about a Russian secret police officer who is framed by a colleague for treason. He will be producer of the horror movie Tell-Tale, which Michael Cuesta is set to direct and Josh Lucas to star in as a man whose heart-transplant leads him to find the killer of his heart's previous owner before its past catches up to him. And Factor X about a young counter-terrorism expert from Washington who works with Wichita police detective Ken Landwehr (Eric Bana) to solve the infamous case of the BTK serial killer active in Kansas from 1974-91, but who was finally captured in 2005. Scott is currently making a film about Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The film could be complete by the end of 2008 and released in early 2009. The film is set 1987. In April 2008, Scott announced his new project The Kind One, a period drama set for release in 2010. The film will star recent Academy Award nominee Casey Affleck. Initially Scott was hardly known as an actors' director, but he has become more receptive to ideas from his cast as his career has developed. Examples include Susan Sarandon's suggestions that the character of Louise pack shoes in plastic bags in one scene of Thelma & Louise, and another where her character exchanges jewellery for a hat and other items, as well as Tim Robbins' collaboration with Scott and Susan Sarandon to rework the final scene with a more upbeat ending. Russell Crowe has commented, "I like being on Ridley's set because actors can perform and the focus is on the performers." On the other hand, he can be a demanding and difficult director to work for. He was nicknamed "Guvnor" in the Blade Runner production. Several crew members wore protest t-shirts with slogans such as "Yes Guvnor, my ass" and "Will Rogers never met Ridley Scott" in reference to Will Rogers' most famous quotation, "I never met a man I didn't like". This was mainly in response to the way that Scott directed his first American crew, which some considered too harsh. His striking visual style, incorporating a detailed approach to production design and innovative, atmospheric lighting, has been influential on a subsequent generation of filmmakers many of whom have simply imitated his style. Scott commonly uses slow pacing until the action sequences, which are characterised by frequent, rapid edits. Examples include Alien and Blade Runner; the LA Times critic Sheila Benson, for example, would call the latter "Blade Crawler" "because it's so damn slow". Another commonly employed technique is his use of sound or music to build tension, as seen in Alien with hissing steam, beeping computers and the noise of the machinery in the space ship. Scott has developed a method for filming intricate shots as swiftly as possible: "I like working, always, with a minimum of three cameras. So those 50 set-ups a day might only be 25 set-ups except I'm covering in the set-up. So you're finished. I mean, if you take a little bit more time to prep on three cameras, or if it's a big stunt, eleven cameras, and whilst it may take 45 minutes to set up then when you're ready you say 'Action!', and you do three takes, two takes and is everybody happy? You say, 'Yeah, that's it.' So you move on." Although Scott is often known for his painterly directorial style, other techniques and elements include: Strong female characters. In some of his movies there is a strong conflict between father and son that usually ends with the latter killing the former intentionally (Blade Runner, Gladiator) or accidentally (Black Hawk Down), or witnessing the event (Kingdom of Heaven). The Lord of Darkness in Legend also mentions his "father" on a few occasions. As part of the conflict between father and son there are some repetitive scenes: in Gladiator, the son hugs the father seemingly as an expression of love but this embrace turns into the suffocation and death of the father. There is a similar sequence in Blade Runner. In Gladiator, Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heaven, a son gets to know his father when he is grown up. Other common elements are that the mother is not seen, and that the son or father is seen performing his last actions. For example, Roy Batty is dying when he saves Deckard, Maximus dies after killing Commodus and Godfrey of Ibelin kills some enemies after he has been mortally wounded by an arrow. In addition, the hero is saved from death before attaining his greatest deeds: Deckard is saved by Rachel, Maximus is saved by a slave and Balian is saved by a Muslim enemy. Similar situations can be seen in Tony Scott's Man on Fire. Military and officer classes as characters reflecting his father's career, such as in G.I. Jane and Black Hawk Down. Storyboarding his films extensively. These illustrations, when made by himself, have been referred to as "Ridleygrams" in DVD releases. Like Stanley Kubrick, Scott was once known for requesting a great many takes. This was evident on Blade Runner: the crew nicknamed the movie "Blood Runner" because of this. He often makes use of classical music (the Hovis advertisements, Someone to Watch Over Me). Worked intermittently on the project of a film adaptation of the opera Tristan und Isolde beginning in 1976. Extensive use of smoke and other atmospheres (in Alien, Blade Runner and Black Rain), plus fans and fan-like objects (Blade Runner, Black Rain and the large Boeing jet engines in the 1984 TV advertisement). Fans are also used in Hannibal, for symbolic purposes. Consistency in his choice of composers, using Jerry Goldsmith (Alien and Legend), Vangelis (Blade Runner and 1492: Conquest of Paradise) or Hans Zimmer (Black Rain, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down and Matchstick Men). Scott has also twice used songs by Sting during the film credits ("Valparaiso" for White Squall and "Someone to Watch Over Me" for the movie of the same title). The criticism most often levelled against Scott is that he is a stylist whose overriding interest in visuals comes at the expense of believable characters and a strong narrative. Although some of his films have been highly praised, others have been less successful with audiences and critics. White Squall, G.I. Jane and Hannibal are the three major works most often attacked by critics, while 1492: Conquest of Paradise was a major commercial failure. Legend (1985) was, like Blade Runner three years before, an initial box-office disaster, but it too has since found cult status. Some actors who have worked with Scott have argued that he puts more emphasis on the sets and lining up shots than on them. Perhaps most famously among them, Harrison Ford complained that his relationship with Scott while making Blade Runner left a lot to be desired. The legend holds that the infamous chestbursting sequence in Alien is so effective partly because the director purposely did not warn most of the cast what exactly was about to take place - i.e that some of their shocked expressions are real. Paul M. Sammon, in his book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, commented in an interview with Brmovie.com that Scott's relationship with his actors has improved considerably over the years. Education, West Hartlepool College of Art; Royal College of Art, London (art, film). Brother of director Tony Scott. Father of music video director Jake Scott. Whilst working as a set designer at the BBC, Scott was assigned to design the Daleks for the popular BBC TV serial "Doctor Who" (1963). Scott passed the work on to his friend Raymond Cusick, as he was unable to attend the filming at Ealing. Owns the visual effects company Mill Film, based in London. They did the majority of the effects work on Gladiator (2000). 2001: Ranked #31 in Entertainment Weekly's Power List. 1986: Enya's recording "Aldebaran" is dedicated to him. 2002: Ranked #30 in Premiere's annual Power 100 List. 1990s: He was developing a film adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel, "I Am Legend". This project was never finished. Is the father of "director's cut". Owns Shepperton Studios in the UK with his brother Tony Scott. Has made over 2000 commercials. Son of Elizabeth Jean Scott. 2003: Knighted in the New Year's Honours List. 2003: Ranked #25 in Premiere's annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #30 in 2002. Father of actress Jordan Scott. Black Hawk Down (2001) is dedicated to his mother, who died in 2001. Directed a Maxwell House coffee commercial that starred Shakira Caine. Michael Caine saw the commercial and was so taken by her beauty, he desperately searched for her. They have been married 30 years. He cast his partner in life, Giannina Facio, in all of his films since Gladiator (2000). Usually casts / works with actors who have a strong theatre background and are graduates of drama school. Of all the professional actors he has hired / worked with for his films, over 50% come from elite drama schools and the theatre, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon, The Globe Theatre, The Old Vic and the National Theatre in London, which he feels brings as large a presence to the screen as the actors do to the stage. Graduated from the prestigious Royal College of Art in London, England, with a B.A. from the Film Arts school. Graduated from the London International Film School's one year master's program where two of his short films won awards. Is the only director, other than George Lucas, who has directed both Harrison Ford and Ewan McGregor in a movie. He and Michael Mann have both directed a Hannibal Lecter film. They have also both worked frequently with an actor who has played Jack Crawford. Mann directed Dennis Farina's first film, Thief (1981), and he also used him on "Miami Vice" (1984). Scott cast Harvey Keitel in The Duellists (1977) and Thelma & Louise (1991). Keitel went on to play Jack Crawford in Red Dragon (2002). Is left-handed and personally sketches most of his own storyboards with great artistic style. Likes to be personally involved with the casting of his movies. April 2005: The most successful British director in Hollywood in terms of box office to date. Has worked with three Aragorns. His first theatrical film, The Duellists (1977), featured Sir Robert Stephens, who played Aragorn in the BBC radio adaptation. His breakthrough film, Alien (1979), featured John Hurt, who voiced the character in the Ralph Bakshi animated film The Lord of the Rings (1978). G.I. Jane (1997) featured Viggo Mortensen, who played the part in Peter Jackson's live-action adaptation. He and his brother Tony Scott have worked with several of the same actors. Ridley cast Tom Skerritt as Capt. Dallas in Alien (1979), while Tony cast him as Mike Metcalf, mentor to Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun (1986). Cruise appeared in "Top Gun" for Tony, and Legend (1985) for Ridley. Giancarlo Giannini played a police officer in Hannibal (2001), and again in Man on Fire (2004). Gary Oldman appeared in True Romance (1993) for Tony and "Hannibal" for Ridley. Brad Pitt appeared in "True Romance" for Tony and Thelma & Louise (1991) for Ridley. Viggo Mortensen appeared in Crimson Tide (1995) for Tony, and G.I. Jane (1997) for Ridley. Denzel Washington appeared in "Crimson Tide", "Man on Fire" and Deja Vu (2006) for Tony, and American Gangster (2007) for Ridley. In addition, Tim Robbins, who appeared in "Top Gun", has been involved in a long-term relationship with Susan Sarandon, who appeared in "Thelma and Louise", since 1988. His first feature film, The Duellists (1977) is based on a Joseph Conrad story. In his next film, Alien (1979), the spaceship was known as the Nostromo and its escape ship as the Narcissus. Both are names taken from Conrad stories. 2005: Ranked #5 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!". 2005: Ranked #28 on Premiere's Power 50 List. Had ranked #32 in 2004. While in college at the Royal College of Art, he was a contributor to the college magazine ARK. He also helped establish a film studies department at the school. 1984: Directed the Famous Apple Macintosh commercial that was shown during the 1984 Superbowl. In 1994, he was slated to direct "Hot Zone" from a screenplay by James V. Hart based on the 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. The film was to star Robert Redford and Jodie Foster and was based on the true story of the discovery of the deadly Ebola virus. Various factors, including the development of the similarly-plotted Outbreak (1995), led to the project being cancelled. Has done four films with Russell Crowe: Gladiator (2000), A Good Year (2006), American Gangster (2007), and House of Lies (2008). Suffers from claustrophobia, a condition he actively sought to instill in his Alien (1979) cast by making their Nostromo living quarters as cramped as possible. Coming from an army and fine arts background, he is an inveterate stickler for detail who tackles each movie project with the vehemence of a general with a battle plan. His persistent scrutiny of minutiae on the Alien (1979) shoot prompted Sigourney Weaver to complain that he cared more about his props and sets than he did about his cast. Divides his time among his homes in Hampstead (UK), France and Los Angeles. Like his brother Tony Scott, he is an avid smoker of Montecristo Cuban cigars. In late 2005, he was preparing to direct "The Invisible World" from a screenplay by Dana Stevens based on a treatment by Washington Post correspondent David Ignatius. The film was to star Angelina Jolie, and was based on the abduction of a female journalist in Iraq. However, Jolie's pregnancy at the time halted production, putting off the project altogether. This sudden opening in Ridley Scott's schedule allowed him to direct American Gangster (2007) the following year. Ranked #35 in the 2008 Telegraph's list "the 100 most powerful people in British culture". Scott is known for his enthusiasm for the DVD format, providing audio commentaries and interviews for all his films where possible. In the July 2006 issue of Total Film magazine, he stated: After all the work we go through, to have it run in the cinema and then disappear forever is a great pity. To give the film added life is really cool for both those who missed it and those who really loved it. The special edition DVDs of Scott's films are often well regarded for their high quality picture and sound, as well as comprehensive documentaries and commentaries, produced by his longtime DVD producer, Charles de Lauzirika. Running alongside his enthusiasm for DVD, Scott is sometimes considered the "father" of the director's cut, a description which is somewhat ironic considering that the impetus to produce such Scott directors cuts has sometimes begun with other parties. The positive reaction to the Blade Runner Directors Cut encouraged Scott to re-cut several movies that were flops at the time of their release (including Legend and Kingdom of Heaven). Today the practice of alternative cuts is more commonplace, though often as a way to make a film stand out in the DVD marketplace by adding new material. |
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