Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937 in South Shields, England) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. His filmography ranges from his commercial takeoff with the horror and science fiction film Alien (1979), to other works such as the neo-noir dystopian film Blade Runner (1982), the road movie Thelma and Louise (1991), the Oscar-winning peplum and historical drama for best film Gladiator (2000) and the film science fiction The Martian (2015).

Starting his career in advertising, where he honed his filmmaking skills by making creative mini-movies for television commercials, Scott's work is known for its highly focused and atmospheric visual style. Although his films Varying widely in setting and period, they often feature memorable images of urban settings, be it Ancient Egypt (Exodus: Gods and Kings), 19th century II in Rome (Gladiator), from Jerusalem in the century XII (Kingdom of Heaven), medieval England (Robin Hood), contemporary Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down), the future landscapes from Blade Runner or the distant planets in Alien, Prometheus, The Martian and Alien: Covenant. Several of his films are also known for their strong female characters.

Scott is a three-time Best Director Oscar nominee (for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down). In 1995, both Ridley and his brother Tony received a BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Film. In a 2004 BBC poll, Scott was named the 10th most influential person in British culture. In 2015, he received a PhD honorary degree from the Royal College of Art in London, and in 2018 received the BAFTA Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement.

Biography

Early Years

Scott was born on 30 November 1937 in South Shields, the middle child of Elizabeth (née Williams) and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. Scott's great-uncle Dixon Scott was a pioneer of the movie chain; opening Tyneside cinemas. One of Dixon's cinemas, the Tyneside Cinema, still operates in Newcastle. It is also the last newsreel cinema to remain open in the UK. Ridley Scott was born shortly before World War II, he was raised in an army family. His father, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was absent for most of his early years. His older brother, Frank, joined the British Merchant Navy while still young, and the couple had little contact.During this time the family moved, living in (among other areas) Cumberland in North West England, Wales and Germany. He had a younger brother, Tony, who also became a film director. After World War II, the Scott family moved back to Teesside, eventually settling on Greens Beck Road in Hartburn, Co. Durham, whose industrial landscape would inspire scenes similar to those seen in Blade Runner. His interest in science fiction began with reading the novels of H. G. Wells as a child. He was also influenced by various movies saying, "The science fiction movies I watched at the time were things like It!, Them! and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Somehow they made me go a bit, but nothing really caught my eye until I saw Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. After seeing it I knew what he could do He studied at Grangefield Grammar School and West Hartlepool College of Art from 1954 to 1958, earning a diploma in design.

Scott went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London, contributing to the university magazine ARK and helping to establish the Department of Film within the academic institution. For his last show, he made a black-and-white short, Boy and Bicycle, starring his younger brother and his father (the film was later released in the "Extras" from The Duellists DVD). In February 1963, Scott was appointed as "Designer" in the intro to the BBC television program Tonight, about the harsh winter of 1963. After graduating in 1963, he took a job as a trainee stage designer with the BBC, which enabled him to work on the popular TV police series Z Cars and in the science fiction series Out of the Unknown. Originally, he was assigned to design the second series of Doctor Who , The Daleks , which would have involved performing the alien creatures of the same name. However, shortly before Scott began work, a schedule conflict meant that he was replaced by Raymond Cusick. In 1965, he began directing episodes of television series for the BBC, only one of which, an episode of Adam Adamant Lives!, is commercially available.

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury in Dorset's English county, where Scott filmed Hovis's television commercial in 1973.

In 1968, along with his brother Tony, he founded Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), a commercial and film production company. Working alongside Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, and cinematographer Hugh Johnson, Ridley Scott shot many commercials in RSA during the 1970s, including an advertisement for Hovis' bread brand in 1973, "Bike Round" (underscored by the slow movement of Dvořák's "New World" symphony, rearranged for brass), set in the north of England but filmed on location in Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset. A nostalgic-themed TV ad which captured the public imagination, it was voted the UK's favorite commercial in a 2006 poll. mass-market and old-fashioned. Directed by Scott in the 1970s and 1980s, Chanel's television commercials were inventive mini-movies with surreal fantasy and seduction production values, playing on the screens. same visual images, with the same silhouette of the bottle".

Five members of the Scott family are directors, all of whom have worked for RSA. His brother Tony was a successful film director whose career spanned more than two decades; His sons Jake and Luke are both acclaimed commercial directors, as is his daughter Jordan Scott. Jake and Jordan work from Los Angeles; Luke is based in London. In 1995, Shepperton Studios was bought by a consortium headed by Ridley and Tony Scott, who extensively renovated the studios while expanding and improving their facilities.

First films

His style elevates the importance of sensory experience—visual and sound—in a film. Scott's cinema uses lighting, photography, atmosphere creation and synchronization with music and sound as "actors" additions that contribute to the total viewer experience. This characteristic can be seen in the more than 2,000 television commercials that Scott has directed. His early films (especially The Duelists, Alien, and Blade Runner) provide the viewer with a complete experience where the scenes are remembered not only by the actors involved or by specific moments in the script, but by the environment recreated in them. He has been considered a cinema visionary ever since. Ridley Scott was the first to commercially use the name Director's Cut (director's cut) for a work that the director reissues for the public and in which differences can be seen with the version originally released. He has also participated together with his brother Tony de él in the production of the series based on the book of the same name The Pillars of the Earth .

The Duelists

The Duelists (1977) marked Ridley Scott's first feature film as a director. Shot in Europe, it was nominated for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival and won an award for Best Debut Film. The Duellists had limited commercial impact internationally. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it follows two French hussar officers, D'Hubert and Feraud (Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel) whose dispute over an initially minor incident turns into a long and bitter feud spanning fifteen years, interwoven with the larger conflict that provides its backdrop. The film has been hailed for providing a historically authentic depiction of Napoleonic uniforms and military conduct. The film's 2013 release on Blu-ray coincided with the publication of an essay about the film in a collection of scholarly essays on Scott.

Alien, the eighth passenger

Scott originally planned to next adapt a version of Tristan and Isolde, but after seeing Star Wars, he became convinced of the potential of large-scale, effects-driven films. specials. He accepted the job of directing Alien, the 1979 horror/sci-fi film that would earn him international success. Scott made the decision to change Ellen Ripley from the standard male action hero to a heroine. Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), who appeared in the first four Alien films, would become a cinematic icon. The final scene of the John Hurt's character has been named by a number of publications as one of the most memorable in film history. Filmed at Shepperton Studios in England, Alien was the sixth highest-grossing film of 1979, with over $104 million grossed worldwide. Scott was involved in the restoration and reissue of the original film in 2003. In promotional interviews at the time, Scott indicated that he had been in discussions to make a fifth film in the franchise. of Alien. However, in a 2006 interview, Scott commented that he was not happy with the Alien: The Director's Cut, feeling that the original was "pretty perfect."; and that the additions were merely a marketing tool. Scott later returned to Alien-related projects when he directed Prometheus and Alien: Covenant three decades after the film's release. original.

Blade Runner

After a year working on the film adaptation of Dune, and following the sudden death of his brother Frank, Scott signed on to direct the film version of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Retitled Blade Runner and starring Harrison Ford, the film was a commercial disappointment in theaters in 1982 but is now considered a classic In 1991, Scott's notes were used by Warner Brothers to create a rushed director's cut that removed the main character's voiceover and made a number of other small changes, including the ending. Scott later personally oversaw a digital restoration of Blade Runner and approved what was called The Final Cut. This version was released in theaters in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto on October 5, 2007, and as an elaborate DVD release in December 2007.

Today, Blade Runner is ranked by many critics as one of the most important and influential science fiction films ever made, thanks in part to its much-imitated portrayals of a future. urban landscape. It is often discussed along with William Gibson's novel Neuromancer as the initiators of the cyberpunk genre. Scott has described Blade Runner as his "most complete and personal film".

"1984" Apple Macintosh Commercial

In 1984, Scott directed a big-budget ($900,000 USD) television commercial, "1984", to launch Apple's Macintosh computer. Scott filmed the advertisement in England for approximately $370,000 USD, which aired in the United States on January 22, 1984, during Super Bowl XVIII, along with theatrical showings. This advertisement is considered by some to be a "breakthrough event" #3. 4; in advertising. and a "masterpiece. Advertising Age placed it at the top of its list of the 50 Best Commercials.

Set in a dystopian future inspired by George Orwell's 1984s, Scott's ad used his heroine (played by English athlete Anya Major) to represent the arrival of the Macintosh (indicated by her white sleeveless T-shirt embellished with a photo of the Apple Macintosh computer) as a means to save humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother), an allusion to IBM, at the time the dominant force in computing.

Legend

In 1985, Scott directed Legend, a fantasy film produced by Arnon Milchan. Scott decided to create a "once upon a time" in a world of princesses, unicorns and elves, filming almost entirely inside the studio. Scott cast Tom Cruise as the film's hero Jack, Mia Sara as Princess Lili, and Tim Curry as Satan's horned Lord of Darkness. Scott had a forest built on stage 007 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, with trees 18 meters tall and trunks 9 meters in diameter. In the final stages of filming, the forest was destroyed by fire; Jerry Goldsmith's original soundtrack was used for the European release, but was replaced in North America with that of Tangerine Dream. Rob Bottin provided the Academy Award-nominated makeup effects, most notably Curry's red-colored Satan figure. Despite being a huge commercial flop upon its release, the film has become a cult classic. Goldsmith's original score was restored in the 2002 Director's Cut.

Later films

1987-1992

Scott made Someone to Watch Over Me, a romantic thriller starring Tom Berenger and Mimi Rogers in 1987, and Black Rain (1989), a crime drama starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia, partially filmed in Japan. Both achieved mild success at the box office. Black Rain was the first of Scott's six collaborations with composer Hans Zimmer.

In 1991 he directed Thelma & Louise, starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. The film was a success both at the box office and with critics, reaffirming Scott's reputation and both leads were nominated for Oscars, although they lost to Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs. The plot is about two women who live in the state of Arkansas and who live surrounded by a macho environment and try to break with the situation, living endless adventures. A young 26-year-old Brad Pitt, then unknown, has a brief but powerful intervention in this film, which was his push to stardom.

1492: the conquest of paradise

In 1992, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, Scott directed 1492: The Conquest of Paradise starring Gérard Depardieu and Sigourney Weaver. The blockbuster had a cost of 47 million dollars but it did not obtain the success that was expected. What stood out the most in this film was the soundtrack, winner of countless awards, composed by Vangelis.

Despite the commercial failure at its premiere, over the years the film gained value and is currently considered a cult film. Followers of Ridley Scott's cinema expect a remastering and re-release.

1993-1999

In 1995, Ridley and his brother Tony formed a production company, Scott Free Productions, in Los Angeles. All of Ridley's subsequent films, beginning with White Squall and G.I. Jane, have been produced under the Scott Free banner. In 1995, the two brothers acquired a majority stake in the British film studio Shepperton Studios. In 2001, Shepperton merged with Pinewood Studios to become The Pinewood Studios Group, which is based in Buckinghamshire, England.

Gladiator

Success came again in 2000 with Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. The film received good reviews from specialized critics for reviving the almost extinct romans genre. It swept the Academy Awards, taking home awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. Scott worked with British visual effects company The Mill for the CGI. of the film, and this was dedicated to Oliver Reed, who died during filming. The Mill created a digital double for Reed's remaining scenes. Some have credited Gladiator with reviving the near-historic "sword and sandal" genre. The film was named the fifth greatest action film of all time in ABC's special: Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time.

2001-2005

In 2001 he directed Hannibal, the sequel to the classic The Silence of the Lambs, with Anthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal and Julianne Moore replacing Jodie Foster. It was a massive box office success, and while some critics praised the franchise's turn toward bloodier paths, the rest were disappointed when comparing it to its predecessor. In the following years she directed blockbusters. Black Hawk Down won two Oscars, for Best Sound and Best Editing. The Impostors, a black comedy about robberies and scams, received mostly positive reviews, but box office success. He did not respond in the same way, reaping moderate success. In 2005 he directed a film about the Crusades, Kingdom of Heaven, starring Orlando Bloom and marking Scott's first collaboration with composer Harry Gregson-Williams. The Moroccan government sent the cavalry of that country as extras for some battle scenes. Unhappy with the theatrical version of Kingdom of Heaven (which he blamed for paying too much attention to the opinions of previous audiences, as well as giving in when Fox wanted 45 minutes less), Scott oversaw the film's cut for a director's cut, The True Version of What He Wanted, which was released on DVD in 2006. The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven was received with It was a huge success, with Empire magazine calling the film an "epic," adding: "The extra 45 minutes in the directors section are like missing pieces in a beautiful but incomplete puzzle". "This is the one that should have come out" Scott mused. Asked if he was against previewing in general in 2006, Scott said: "It depends on who's in the driver's seat." If you have a madman doing my job then you need a preview. But a good director must be experienced enough to judge what he believes to be the correct version to go to the movies.

Recent and upcoming movies

2006-2011

Scott reteamed with Gladiator star Russell Crowe to direct A Good Year, based on a best-selling book. In 2007 he directed American Gangster, based on the real life of drug lord Frank Lucas and a detective trying to bring down his drug empire, Richie Roberts. Again starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, the film was highly praised by critics, even calling it "the 'Black Scarface' of the film. or the 'Godfather of Harlem'" (Peter Travers: Rolling Stone). It did well at the box office.

Scott talking to the stars Prometheus, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender at the 2012 Wondercon in Anaheim, California, March 17, 2012

At the end of 2008 Web of Lies was released again with Russell Crowe and also with Leonardo DiCaprio, which again opened the box office and divided critics. In 2010 he premiered a modern revision of the Robin Hood myth, Robin Hood with Russell Crowe in the title role. Reviews were not positive for the film, which was criticized for mediating between fact and fiction, and for demystifying Robin Hood.

On July 31, 2009, news broke of a two-part Alien prequel with Scott attached to direct. The project, which ultimately boiled down to a single film called Prometheus, which Scott described as an exchange of "strands of Alien DNA" Not being a direct prequel, it was released in June 2012. The film starred Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, with Noomi Rapace playing the lead role of the scientist named Elizabeth Shaw. The film received mostly positive reviews and grossed $403 million at the box office.

In August 2009, Scott planned to direct an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World set in dystopian London with Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2009, the television series The Good Wife opened with Ridley and his brother Tony credited as executive producers. On July 6, 2010, YouTube announced the release of Life in a Day, an experimental documentary produced by Scott. Released at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2011, it incorporates footage taken on July 24, 2010 submitted by YouTube users from around the world. As part of the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics, Scott produced Britain in a Day, a documentary film consisting of footage shot by the British public on 12 November 2011.

2012-present

In 2012, Scott produced the commercial for Lady Gaga's fragrance "Fame.. On June 24, 2013, Scott's series Crimes of the Century debuted on CNN. In November 2012 it was announced that Scott would produce the documentary, Springsteen & I, directed by Baillie Walsh and inspired by Life in a Day, which Scott also produced. The film featured images from fans around the world of what musician Bruce Springsteen meant to them and how he impacted their lives. The film opened for one day only in 50 countries and on more than 2,000 cinema screens on July 22. of 2013.

Scott, participating in a question and answer session on NASA's trip to Mars and his film The MartianAugust 18, 2015.

Scott directed The Counselor (2013), from a screenplay by author Cormac McCarthy. On October 25, 2013, Indiewire reported that "Before McCarthy sold his first screenplay special For Scott's film (The Counselor), the director was actively involved in developing an adaptation of the 1985 novel Blood Meridian with screenwriter Bill Monahan ( The Departed). But as Scott said in an interview with Time Out, '[The studios] didn't want to do it. The book is so uncompromising, which is what's so good about it. Described as 'anti-Western'... ". Scott directed the Biblically inspired epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings, released in December 2014, which it received negative feedback from critics and grossed $268 million on a budget of $140 million, making it a box office bomb. Shot at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, the film starred Christian Bale in the title role.

In May 2014, Scott began negotiations to direct The Martian, starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney. Like many of Scott's previous works, The Martian features a heroine in the form of the character Jessica Chastain, who is the mission commander. The film was originally scheduled to open on November 25, 2015, but Fox later changed its release date to Victor Frankenstein, and thus The Martian was released on October 2, 2015. The Martian was a critical and commercial success, grossing over of $630 million worldwide and became Scott's highest-grossing film to date.

A sequel to Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, began shooting in 2016, opened in London on May 4, 2017, and was released on May 19, 2017. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising Michael Fassbender's double performance and calling the film a return to form for director Ridley Scott and the franchise.

In August 2011, information leaked about a sequel to Blade Runner being produced by Alcon Entertainment, featuring Alcon partners Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Scott informed Variety magazine in November 2014 that he was no longer the director of the film and that he would only fulfill the role of producer. Scott also revealed that filming would begin sometime in 2015, and that Harrison Ford had signed on to reprise his role from the original film, but his character should only appear in "the third act." of the sequel. On February 26, 2015, the sequel was officially confirmed, with Denis Villeneuve attached to direct the film and Scott executive producing. The sequel, Blade Runner 2049, was released on October 6, 2017.

From May to August 2017, Scott filmed All the Money in the World, a drama about the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams. Kevin Spacey portrayed originally to Getty Sr. However, after several sexual assault allegations against the actor, Scott made the decision to replace him with Christopher Plummer, saying that "You cannot tolerate that type of behavior in any form. We cannot allow the action of one person to affect the good work of all these people. It's that simple'. Scott began reshooting Spacey's scenes with Plummer on November 20, which included filming at Elveden Hall in West Suffolk, England. With a release date of December 25, In 2017, the movie studio had its doubts that Scott would make it, saying: 'They said, 'You never will. God be with you'.

On October 15, 2021, Ridley Scott released his next film The Last Duel, an adaptation of Eric Jager's book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France, starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer.

He has also directed House of Gucci, a film about the assassination of Maurizio Gucci by Patrizia Reggiani, starring Adam Driver and Lady Gaga, respectively. Its premiere is scheduled for November 24, 2021.

Upcoming and canceled projects

In January 2016, Scott was in early negotiations to direct the film version of the 1968 British television series The Prisoner. In May of the same year, it was announced that Scott and Drew Goddard, who had worked together on The Martian, would do so again to adapt the book Wraiths of the Broken Land by S. Craig Zahler. It is described as a piece of fiction that combines elements of "Asian horror, noir and ultra-violence".

In February 2017, the filming of The Cartel was announced, selecting Scott as the location of the old prison in Malaga (Spain), closed since 2009. The film narrates the merciless fight for control of the drug trafficking between Mexico and the United States. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, it was scheduled to be filmed in the summer of 2017.

In March 2017, Scott confirmed that the script for the sequel to Alien: Covenant was ready and that filming would begin in 2018. In a subsequent meeting, the director was told what could be the title of said film escaped him, Alien: Awakening, placing its plot between the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. And that if the Alien franchise continued to attract public attention, his intention would be to make another trilogy that linked directly to the original 1979 film. However, on July 21, 2017, the Hollywood Reporter claimed in a report that 20th Century Fox he was re-studying the sequels while Scott was busy with his next projects. Covenant grossed half as much as its predecessor, plus the cold reception from the public would have been enough to make the studio think twice before investing in the two sequels the director had in mind. However, on May 24, 2019, taking advantage of the fortieth anniversary of Alien, Variety magazine confirmed that the mythical science fiction saga would have a new film in the form of prequel that would continue the events of the last installment, Alien Covenant, and would try to establish that missing link after Scott's latest projects. Still in the script phase, the British director revealed that this follows the line of Prometheus and Covenant, being the end of a trilogy that would link to what we saw in Alien, the eighth passenger. Years later, after various delays and impediments, the entire project was postponed sine die.

In April 2017, 20th Century Fox set Scott up to direct a film about the World War II Battle of Britain, where the Royal Air Force defended the country from attacks by the German Luftwaffe, described as a "passion project" for the director.

On January 4, 2018, it was reported that Scott was in talks with Disney to direct a film adaptation of The Merlin Saga, based on a twelve-book series about the wizard Merlin written by T. A. Barron.. The screenwriter of The Lord of the Rings Philippa Boyens would participate in it.

That same month, Scott stated that he has "another [story] ready to evolve and develop, [that] there is certainly one to be made for sure," referring to a third Blade Runner film. . In March 2018, it was reported that Scott is in talks to adapt Greg Rucka's graphic novel, Queen & Country, for 20th Century Fox.

In early November 2018, Deadline confirmed that Ridley Scott had begun work on the script for the sequel to Gladiator. Scott had been proposing the continuation of the Oscar-winning film for years and thus confirmed his creation together with screenwriter Peter Craig. The story of this sequel focuses on the adult life of Lucio, whose life was saved by Máximo (Russell Crowe) in his childhood in front of Cómodo (Joaquin Phoenix) while avenging his family.

Scott is currently directing Napoleon, a film scheduled for release in 2023. It is a biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte played by Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon. Filming began in February 2022 and ended in August 2022.

TV projects

Ridley Scott and his brother Tony produced the CBS series Numb3rs (2005–10), a crime drama about a math genius who helps the FBI solve crimes; and The Good Wife (2009–2016), a legal drama about a lawyer balancing her job with her husband, a former state attorney trying to rebuild her political career after a major scandal. The two Scotts also produced a 2010 film adaptation of the 1980 television show The A-Team, directed by Joe Carnahan.

Ridley Scott executive produced the first season of Amazon's The Man in the High Castle (2015–16). Through Scott Free Productions, he executive produces the dark sci-fi comic book series BrainDead, which debuted on CBS in 2016.

On November 20, 2017, Amazon reached an agreement with AMC Studios for a worldwide release of The Terror, Scott's series adaptation of the novel by Dan Simmons, a speculative retelling of British explorer Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 1845-1848 to force the North West Passage, with elements of horror and supernatural fiction; the series premiered in March 2018.

Personal life

Scott and his partner Giannina Facio at the world premiere The Martianheld at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2015.

Ridley Scott was married to Felicity Heywood from 1964 to 1975. The couple had two sons, Jake and Luke, who work as directors at Scott's production company, Ridley Scott Associates. Scott later married advertising executive Sandy Watson in 1979, with whom he had a daughter, Jordan Scott, and divorced in 1989. His current partner is actress Giannina Facio, who has been in all of his films since White Squall, except American Gangster and The Martian. He divides his time between his homes in London, France, and Los Angeles.

His older brother, Frank, died, aged 45, of skin cancer in 1980. His younger brother, Tony, who was also his business partner in his Scott Free company, died on August 19, 2012 at the age of 68 after jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning the Port of Los Angeles, after a long originally disputed fight against cancer.

Before Tony's death, he and Ridley collaborated on a miniseries based on the Robin Cook novel, Coma for A&E. The two-part miniseries premiered on A&E on September 3, 2012, to mixed reviews.

Ridley has dedicated several of his films in memory of his family: Blade Runner to his brother Frank, Black Hawk Down to his mother, and The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings to his brother Tony. Ridley also paid tribute to his late brother Tony at the 2016 Golden Globes, after his film, The Martian , will win for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

In 2013, Ridley declared that he is an atheist, although when asked by the BBC in a September 2014 interview if he believed in God, Scott replied:

I'm not sure. I think there are all kinds of questions raised... that's such an exotic question. If we observe the whole thing practically speaking, the big bang happened and then we went through this evolution of millions, billions of years in which, by coincidence, all the correct biological accidents came out the right way. To some extent, that doesn't make sense unless there's a controlling decision maker or mediator in all that. So who was that? Or what was that? Are we a great experiment in the basic general blinking of the universe or galaxy? In what case, who's behind? We may be an experiment that can last a billion years, but it is a blink in its terms and then they can say: "Well, that didn't work, let's exploit it!"

Approach and style

Russell Crowe, who appeared in the title role of Scott's Gladiator and Robin Hood, commented: "I like being on Ridley's set because the actors can act [...] and the focus is on the artists". 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. Most recently, while filming Scott's 2012 film Prometheus, Charlize Theron praised the willingness from the director to hear the cast's suggestions for improving the way their characters appear on screen. Theron worked alongside the writers and Scott to give her character more depth during filming.

Scott's work is noted for its striking imagery, and female heroines are also a common theme. Her visual style, incorporating a detailed approach to production design and innovative atmospheric lighting, has influenced a generation to come. of filmmakers. Scott commonly uses the slow pace until the action sequences. Examples include Alien and Blade Runner; LA Times critic Sheila Benson, for example, would call the latest "Blade Crawler" & # 34; because she is very slow & # 34;. Another technique he employs is the use of sound or music to build tension, as heard in Alien, with hissing steam, beeping computers, and the noise of machinery in the spaceship. Scott claims to have an eidetic memory which he says helps him visualize and storyboard scenes from his movies.

Artificial intelligence is a unifying theme throughout Scott's directorial career, particularly on Blade Runner, Alien and Prometheus The recent book The Culture and Philosophy of Ridley Scott identifies Alan Turing and John Searle, a professor at the University of California, presenting relevant models of artificial intelligence testing known as the Turing test and the Thought experiment in the Chinese room, respectively, in the chapter. titled "What's Wrong with Building Replicants', which has been a recurring theme for many of Scott's films. The chapter titled "Artificial Intelligence in Blade Runner, Alien, and Prometheus& #34;, concludes by citing the writings of John Stuart Mill in the context of Scott's Nexus-6 replicants in Blade Runner (Rutger Hauer), the android Ash (Ian Holm) in Alien , and the android David 8 (Michael Fassbender) in Prometheus, where he applies himself to Mill to assert that intelligence measurements and tests must also assess the actions and moral behavior of androids to effectively address the themes that Scott explores in these films.

DVD format and the Director's Cut

Scott is known for his enthusiasm for the DVD format, providing audio commentary and interviews for all of his films whenever possible. In the July 2006 issue of Total Film magazine, he stated: "After all the work we put in, having it played in the theater and then gone forever is a great thing." grief. Bringing the film to life is truly great for both those who forgot it and those who truly loved it". Along with his enthusiasm for the DVD, Scott is known for his use of the director's cut. The positive reaction to the Director's Cut of Blade Runner encouraged Scott to remake several films that were disappointing at the time of their release (including Legend and Kingdom of Heaven), which have received wide acclaim. Today these days, the practice of alternate cuts is more common, although it is often a way to make a film stand out in the DVD market by adding new material.

Complete filmography

Year	Movie	Director	Producer	Cast	Notes
1965	Boy and Bicycle	Yes.	No.	with Tony Scott	First short film
1977	The Duelists	Yes.	No.	with Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel and Albert Finney	First feature
1979	Alien, the eighth passenger	Yes.	No.	with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt
1982	Blade Runner	Yes.	No.	with Harrison Ford, Sean Young and Rutger Hauer
1985	Legend	Yes.	No.	with Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry
1987	The shadow of the witness	Yes.	Yes.	with Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers and Lorraine Bracco
1989	Black Rain	Yes.	No.	with Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia and Kate Capshaw
1991	Thelma & Louise	Yes.	Yes.	with Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Brad Pitt
1992	1492: the conquest of paradise	Yes.	Yes.	with Gérard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver and Armand Assante
1996	White storm	Yes.	No.	with Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall and John Savage
1997	Lieutenant O'Neil	Yes.	Yes.	with Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen and Anne Bancroft
2000	Gladiator	Yes.	No.	with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen
2001	Hannibal	Yes.	No.	with Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore and Ray Liotta
2001	Black Hawk Down	Yes.	Yes.	with Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana and Ewan McGregor
2003	The impostors	Yes.	Yes.	with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman
2005	The kingdom of heaven	Yes.	Yes.	with Orlando Bloom, Eva Green and Liam Neeson
2006	A good year	Yes.	Yes.	with Russell Crowe, Abbie Cornish, Albert Finney and Marion Cotillard
2007	American Gangster	Yes.	Yes.	with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe
2008	Network of lies	Yes.	Yes.	with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe
2010	Robin Hood	Yes.	Yes.	with Russell Crowe and Mark Strong
2012	Prometheus	Yes.	Yes.	with Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender
2013	The Counselor	Yes.	Yes.	with Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem
2014	Exodus	Yes.	Yes.	with Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton and Aaron Paul
2015	The Martian	Yes.	Yes.	with Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kristen Wiig and Sebastian Stan
2016	Morgan	No.	Yes.	with Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones, Rose Leslie and Boyd Holbrook
2017	Alien: Covenant	Yes.	Yes.	with Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston
2017	Blade Runner 2049	No.	Yes.	with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling
2017	All the Money in the World	Yes.	Yes.	with Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Charlie Plummer, Andrew Buchan and Timothy Hutton
2019	The Aftermath	No.	Yes.	with Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Jason Clarke
2021	The Last Duel	Yes.	Yes.	with Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck
2021	House of Gucci	Yes.	Yes.	with Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino
2023	Napoleon	Yes.	Yes.	with Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim

Artistic recognitions

Sir Ridley Scott, Honorary Doctor, at Royal College of Art, July 2015

Scott was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2003 New Year Honors for services to the British film industry. He received his recognition from Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 8 July 2003. Scott admitted to being "stunned and truly honored " after the ceremony, saying: "As a kid growing up in South Shields, I never would have imagined that he would receive such special recognition. I am truly honored to receive this precious award and I believe it also recognizes the excellence of the British film industry."

He has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Director - Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down - as well as a Golden Globe, BAFTA and 2 Primetime Emmy Awards. Ridley and his brother Tony were awarded the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Film in 1995. In 2018 he received BAFTA's highest award, the BAFTA Fellowship, for his lifetime achievement.

Scott was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2017, the German newspaper FAZ compared Scott's influence on the science fiction film genre to Sir Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers and John Ford's western films. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2012, Scott was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous work of art: the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life he most admires to celebrate his 80th birthday. On 3 July 2015, he was awarded the Royal College of Art an honorary doctorate at a ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall, in which he described how he still keeps his school's report card, which ranks him 31st out of 31 in his class, on his office wall, and how his professor encouraged him to pursue what became his passion in art school.