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Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 14, 2020, 08:33:18 PM
Is this already replacing Gucci? :D

Quote from: Andrea90 on Oct 14, 2020, 08:36:11 PM

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 14, 2020, 08:33:18 PM
Is this already replacing Gucci? :D

It comes after Gucci.
Great news, great casting, great director.

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 14, 2020, 11:15:04 PM
Prometheus based on a true story

(https://moviusdudem.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/prometheus-cave-painting.jpg?w=800&h=438)

Quote from: Stolen on Oct 15, 2020, 05:17:58 AM
Kitbag is an awful title.

"Napoleon" by Ridley Scott. Simple, efficient, logical and better.

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 15, 2020, 10:25:38 AM
I would love to see Crowe in it.

(https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1529491.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Javert)

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 15, 2020, 05:55:56 PM
Crowe's picture is from Les Misérables (2012).

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/878/541/e0c.gif

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 15, 2020, 04:41:39 PM

Quote from: Stolen on Oct 15, 2020, 05:17:58 AM
Kitbag is an awful title.

"Napoleon" by Ridley Scott. Simple, efficient, logical and better.

"Pack up your troubles in your old kitbag: And smile, smile, smile... " ;D

But yeah, "Napoleon" or simply "Bonaparte" does sound better. He'll probably change the title if he ever gets around to filming this.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 15, 2020, 04:41:39 PM

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 15, 2020, 10:25:38 AM
I would love to see Crowe in it.

(https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1529491.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Javert)

Master and Commander? That was also set during the Napoleonic wars.

I must say, Joaquin Phoenix does look suitably Napoleonic in Gladiator but isn't he a bit old for the role now?

Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Oct 16, 2020, 04:39:36 AM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 15, 2020, 04:41:39 PM

Quote from: Stolen on Oct 15, 2020, 05:17:58 AM
Kitbag is an awful title.

"Napoleon" by Ridley Scott. Simple, efficient, logical and better.

"Pack up your troubles in your old kitbag: And smile, smile, smile... " ;D

But yeah, "Napoleon" or simply "Bonaparte" does sound better. He'll probably change the title if he ever gets around to filming this.

Bonaparte! That one is perfect.

---

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 15, 2020, 04:41:39 PM

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 15, 2020, 10:25:38 AM
I would love to see Crowe in it.

(https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1529491.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Javert)

Master and Commander? That was also set during the Napoleonic wars.

I must say, Joaquin Phoenix does look suitably Napoleonic in Gladiator but isn't he a bit old for the role now?

You are never too old to wear a bicorne.

(https://i.ibb.co/y4ZBWVx/iron-mask-blog-1581611682175.jpg)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 20, 2020, 09:01:05 PM
Yeah, Ridley lately seems to enjoy casting actors out of their character's age groups and going ballistic with the make-up.

Guy Pearce in Prometheus, Kevin Spacey in All the Money (who was later replaced by an actual octogenarian).

Quote from: DeadlineEXCLUSIVE: Apple Studios has committed to finance and produce Kitbag, the Napoleon Bonaparte epic that Ridley Scott will direct, with Oscar-winning Joker star Joaquin Phoenix playing the French emperor and military leader. Production will begin in early 2022 in the UK. Scott and Kevin Walsh will produce for Scott Free.

Deadline last October revealed the aspirations of Scott and Phoenix to re-team on this film, which now has a screenplay by David Scarpa. He wrote the Scott-directed Getty kidnap drama All The Money in the World. Scott Free's deal with 20th Century Studios obliged him to show it there last fall, but it became free and clear towards year end, and a world rights deal closed within the past two weeks at Apple Studios, where Scott Free has its first look deal for television projects.

"Napoleon is a man I've always been fascinated by," Scott told Deadline. "He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Josephine. He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn't, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process."

While Scott has long wanted to make a Napoleon film — and other great filmmakers like the late Stanley Kubrick also tried but did not succeed — key for Scott was having the right actor to capture the complexities of a character who brought a whole country to heel and used that power for his own conquering ambitions. Scott saw Phoenix's ability to do something close to that when he directed him in the role of Roman leader Commodus in the 2000 Best Picture winning drama Gladiator.

"No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin," Scott said. "He created one of movie history's most complex Emperors in Gladiator, and we'll create another with his Napoleon. It's a brilliant script written by David Scarpa, and today there's no better partner than Apple to bring a story like this to a global audience."

The film's title is derived from the saying "There is a general's staff hidden in every soldier's kitbag." The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The intention of the film is to capture Napoleon's famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.

It is another big feature commitment for Apple, which under Apple Worldwide Video heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht is beginning to show how their slates will factor in the streaming ecosystem. The emphasis will not be on the volume coming from Netflix or Disney+ but that doesn't mean Apple won't step up for a fog cutting A list movie package to embellish its growing tastemaker slates for display on theatrical and Apple TV+.

The Kitbag deal is at least on the financial scale of the one Apple Studios made last fall to acquire world rights to Emancipation. That film package with Antoine Fuqua directing Will Smith in a Willam N. Collage-scripted action thriller about the harrowing escape of Peter, a runaway slave forced to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey North where he joined the Union Army. Apple also stepped up for Greyhound, the WWII drama that Tom Hanks wrote and starred in for director Aaron Schneider, which premiered last July. And Killers of the Flower Moon, the $180 million + adaptation of the David Grann book that Eric Roth scripted and which has Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio set to star.

Beyond Greyhound, Apple has several movies in the awards season hunt now including the Sofia Coppola-directed On The Rocks with Rashida Jones and Bill Murray, the docu Boys State, the animated Wolfwalkers, and the upcoming Cherry, a harrowing drama that is the first film Joe & Anthony Russo directed after Avengers: Endgame. Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo star.

Despite a pandemic that has stunted the progress of many filmmakers, the ever-ambitious Scott has continued to be prolific for the Scott Free banner Walsh runs for him.  Scott most recently wrapped The Last Duel, with script by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, for 20th Century Studios. Scott re-started production after the pandemic shutdown and completed production in Ireland under strict protocols. Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Affleck star in the period drama
chronicling one of France's last legally sanctioned duels, when King Charles VI (Affleck) which declared that Knight Jean de Carrouges (Damon) settle his dispute with his squire Jacques LeGris (Driver) over a claim of sexual assault by the knight's wife (Comer) in 1386.

In March, Scott begins production in Italy on Gucci, the MGM drama that will star Lady Gaga as the murderess Patrizia Reggiani alongside a killer cast including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Jeremy Irons. Scott and Giannina Scott are producing. Kitbag will follow.

Scott and Phoenix are repped by WME, Scarpa by Gersh.

https://deadline.com/2021/01/napoleon-movie-joaquin-phoenix-ridley-scott-apple-studios-kitbag-1234672742/

QuoteThe Kitbag deal is at least on the financial scale of the one Apple Studios made last fall to acquire world rights to Emancipation.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 15, 2021, 05:24:00 PM
Do they usually do Blu Ray releases as well or would that compete with their streaming service?

Quote from: Andrea90 on Jan 15, 2021, 06:26:18 PM
120 million dollars, is it confirmed?

Quote from: KiramidHead on Jan 14, 2021, 09:01:47 PM
Ridley: "Suck it, Stanley!"

QuoteEXCLUSIVE: After blowing him away with her upcoming performance in The Last Duel, Ridley Scott is moving fast to work with Killing Eve star Jodie Comer again and looks to have found that next project to team up on. Sources tell Deadline Comer is Scott's choice to play Napoleon Bonaparte's beloved Josephine in Apple Studios' upcoming epic Kitbag. Insiders add that it is in early talks and there is still a possibility a deal may not make. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star in the Bonaparte role with Scott planning to direct after he finishes the MGM crime thriller House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga.

Sources tell Deadline, that even though Comer's star had been on the rise following her Emmy-winning work on Killing Eve, Scott had no idea who she was when he set her as the female lead opposite Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck in The Last Duel. Insiders say Scott was blown away by her work during production of the film, which recently wrapped production and the end of last year. Though Comer still had to meet with execs and Scott for the role of Josefine, sources say Scott always felt she was in front-runner and was quick to declare her as his choice for the part.

Apple Studios committed to finance and produce the movie at the top of the year when the package was brought to market. Deadline first broke the news of Scott's plan to direct the film reunite with Gladiator star on the film last October, which now has a screenplay by David Scarpa. He wrote the Scott-directed Getty kidnap drama All The Money in the World. Scott Free's deal with 20th Century Studios obliged him to show it there last fall, but it became free and clear towards year end, and a world rights deal closed quickly with Apple Studios, where Scott Free has its first look deal for television projects.

Scott and Kevin Walsh will produce for Scott Free.

The film's title is derived from the saying "There is a general's staff hidden in every soldier's kitbag." The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. While the intention of the film is to capture Napoleon's famous battles, ambition and strategic mind, the love story he had with Josephine is just as important to the origins and way the great military leader was.

Besides The Last Duel, which will premiere later this year in thick of award season, Comer is expected to shoot the highly anticipated fourth season of Killing Eve later this year. She also has the 20th Century Studios action comedy Free Guy, also starring Ryan Reynolds bowing later this year.

She is repped by WME and Independent Talent Group.

https://deadline.com/2021/03/jodie-comer-josephine-joaquin-phoenix-apple-ridley-scotts-napoleon-kitbag-1234704485/ (https://deadline.com/2021/03/jodie-comer-josephine-joaquin-phoenix-apple-ridley-scotts-napoleon-kitbag-1234704485/)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 02, 2021, 09:12:35 PM
Yeah, you just ninja'd me.

Here is the full article:

QuoteEXCLUSIVE: After blowing him away with her upcoming performance in The Last Duel, Ridley Scott is moving fast to work with Killing Eve star Jodie Comer again and looks to have found that next project to team up on. Sources tell Deadline Comer is Scott's choice to play Napoleon Bonaparte's beloved Josephine in Apple Studios' upcoming epic Kitbag. Insiders add that it is in early talks and there is still a possibility a deal may not make. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star in the Bonaparte role with Scott planning to direct after he finishes the MGM crime thriller House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga.

Sources tell Deadline, that even though Comer's star had been on the rise following her Emmy-winning work on Killing Eve, Scott had no idea who she was when he set her as the female lead opposite Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck in The Last Duel. Insiders say Scott was blown away by her work during production of the film, which recently wrapped production and the end of last year. Though Comer still had to meet with execs and Scott for the role of Josefine, sources say Scott always felt she was in front-runner and was quick to declare her as his choice for the part.

Apple Studios committed to finance and produce the movie at the top of the year when the package was brought to market. Deadline first broke the news of Scott's plan to direct the film reunite with Gladiator star on the film last October, which now has a screenplay by David Scarpa. He wrote the Scott-directed Getty kidnap drama All The Money in the World. Scott Free's deal with 20th Century Studios obliged him to show it there last fall, but it became free and clear towards year end, and a world rights deal closed quickly with Apple Studios, where Scott Free has its first look deal for television projects.

Scott and Kevin Walsh will produce for Scott Free.

The film's title is derived from the saying "There is a general's staff hidden in every soldier's kitbag." The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. While the intention of the film is to capture Napoleon's famous battles, ambition and strategic mind, the love story he had with Josephine is just as important to the origins and way the great military leader was.

Besides The Last Duel, which will premiere later this year in thick of award season, Comer is expected to shoot the highly anticipated fourth season of Killing Eve later this year. She also has the 20th Century Studios action comedy Free Guy, also starring Ryan Reynolds bowing later this year.

She is repped by WME and Independent Talent Group.

https://deadline.com/2021/03/jodie-comer-josephine-joaquin-phoenix-apple-ridley-scotts-napoleon-kitbag-1234704485/ (https://deadline.com/2021/03/jodie-comer-josephine-joaquin-phoenix-apple-ridley-scotts-napoleon-kitbag-1234704485/)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 02, 2021, 09:23:41 PM
Are you human though?

I always thought you were AVP Galaxy's movie news bot.  :-\

QuoteScott had no idea who she was when he set her as the female lead opposite Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck in The Last Duel.

Quote from: Dariusz WolskiOff to the next one, Malta early scout for Napoleon

QuoteRIDLEY SCOTT Luke has a talent for writing. ... I work so fast, I'm better off directing and trying to get some great footage. Luke has a talent for writing, and I know he's stepping up to the plate right now, doing something right now.

What are you working on right now, Luke?

LUKE SCOTT (Quick pause.) I'm not going to tell you! (Laughs.)

Quote

Ridley, anything you want to ask Luke about?

RIDLEY SCOTT Well, he won't tell you what he's [working on next] ... but he's about to find out what it's really like to design something that's going to be really scary.

Quote from: Gazz on Jun 15, 2021, 12:47:42 AM
This is just me bullshitting but is Luke Scott working on something Alien related? From the interview he's very guarded about what the project is he's currently working on:

QuoteRIDLEY SCOTT Luke has a talent for writing. ... I work so fast, I'm better off directing and trying to get some great footage. Luke has a talent for writing, and I know he's stepping up to the plate right now, doing something right now.

What are you working on right now, Luke?

LUKE SCOTT (Quick pause.) I'm not going to tell you! (Laughs.)

The only hint Ridley lets loose is:

Quote

Ridley, anything you want to ask Luke about?

RIDLEY SCOTT Well, he won't tell you what he's [working on next] ... but he's about to find out what it's really like to design something that's going to be really scary.

Just a stray thought.

Quote from: DeadlineDEADLINE: You will next shoot Kitbag, with your Gladiator star Joaquin Phoenix, and Jodie Comer, who played the wronged woman in The Last Duel and will portray Josephine, whom Napoleon was obsessed with. Why them?

SCOTT: Well, I think you got to land on a talent. When I chose Joaquin for Gladiator, everybody wondered why. I chose him because of a body of work that was so special and so personal. I also found that he was a very fragile kind of guy at that particular point, and I wanted to capture the fragility which would give me that scene with the father, Richard Harris, saying I'm not going to give you the big job, dude. Sorry about it. He is elegant enough to contain his rage and say, what older, wiser man can do this instead of me? So, it's almost Shakespearean, and I think, you know, Joaquin can do anything. So, when he then does something like Joker, there are moments in the Joker that I've never seen before. There are reactions in the Joker which are silly. You can't just say they're not evil. They're coming from a damaged soul. And that's what I'm looking for, What will Joaquin's version of Napoleon be? He will be the painter of his own portrait, and I'll be there to monitor it as best I can because that's what I do. I make sure I cast great. If I cast great, half my work, there's that part, for me is done on the day, and after that I'm tagging along as their partner. Meanwhile, I've got a few other things to think about as well, right?

And oh, Jodie Comer. I became the biggest fan of Jodie because I kept watching Killing Eve, which I think was always fantastic. The interplay between her and her nemesis, Sandra Oh, was so comedic and marvelous. I just watched every show after that. Then I watch her evolve into this kind of Russian vernacular. She's genius. I think she can do anything. So, I want to be in her painting class.

DEADLINE: Stanley Kubrick is one you hold in such high esteem that you credited his 2001: A Space Odyssey for inspiring George Lucas' Star Wars, which led you to drop the film you were going to make, and find Alien. He had an epic Napoleon film he wanted to make it right after 2001 when he was at the peak of his powers. He couldn't do it. How are you able to?

SCOTT: It was birth to death, the entire story of Napoleon Bonaparte. I think what Stanley would've done is made the whole f**king thing, birth to death, and then he'd reorganize the whole f**king thing once it was all on cinema.

DEADLINE: He did recut several of his films after they were released.

SCOTT: I also think the script was too straightforward. There was no dimension in the story. Mine, I developed it. I had this idea of saying what I want to do next is Napoleon, and I usually choose what I want to do next anyway. Sometimes something falls in front of me, and The Last Duel was that. Matt Damon called me and said we got this thing we want to do. Are you interested? You've done the duel already with The Duellists, but this is a different. He told me about it, and I was in. and I got a screenplay in about six weeks. Sorry, what was your question?

DEADLINE: I was asking what you learned from Kubrick's approach to Napoleon, and it seems like you've broken off a piece of the story instead of taking the whole bite like Kubrick did.

SCOTT: No, you can't. You'll bore the ass off of everyone. Have you ever watched Waterloo? Holy f**k. That's just doing one battle. I'm sorry, Sergei Bondarchuk. You've got to be very careful in battle films that you understand what's going on. Otherwise they very quickly wear out and get boring. I don't care how majestic it is. I don't care how many uniforms you got. It gets boring. Napoleon had about 61 battles. Bondarchuk tried to do it with one. You can't tell Napoleon in one either, because we're meeting him at the end of his life as a leader, and he would go on another six years after Waterloo when he was in prison on Saint Helena. I feel you can't do Napoleon in one battle. So, I narrowed it down to this.

DEADLINE: Your take on Napoleon?

SCOTT: I narrowed it down to what was so needful of Napoleon to this woman, and what became so needful for this woman to Napoleon Bonaparte. Why this connection? You can't say sex because sex wears out, right? That would be way too simple. By the time he set eyes on her, she was already a courtesan, which means she was definitely a high-end lady in the courts where she was on the lookout for the next guy who had enough money that could cope with her.

But also, she was vulnerable, which was key. She was mid-30s, and she knows beauty doesn't last forever, and she knows she had to find something in her life to give her some kind of sense of permanence. Napoleon is very interesting because we think he might've been, and I don't want to use the word because it sounds too simplistic, but slightly dysfunctional, very lacking in social graces, and it's certainly a bit like one who doesn't think things absolutely through, but just goes for it. Actually, he sounds like me. I just f**king go for it. I don't give a f**k what happens, but he just goes for it, that works. That Napoleon is a very interesting character we're building. In fact, I'm seeing Joaquin in an hour. We're talking about how we dare waltz with an accent, and you can't do that. You've got to find the rhythm. Like, in Gucci you find the Italian rhythm.

QuoteNext up for Scott is his epic Napoleon drama Kitbag, which he revealed to the BBC is to start filming on January 15.

Quote from: Local Trouble on Nov 24, 2021, 09:55:02 PM
Anyone else notice how Ridley loves to show airborne particulates in his movies?  Here's an example:

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Nov 26, 2021, 05:32:43 PM
I envisage a lot of shaggy youths with cell phones.

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Nov 26, 2021, 05:35:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Nov 26, 2021, 05:32:43 PM
I envisage a lot of shaggy "millennians" with "f*cking cell phones".

Quote from: Ingwar on Dec 23, 2021, 10:31:14 PM
In terms of colour pallet this movie will stand in opposition to The Last Duel. It's going to be colorful.

Quote from: DeadlineRidley Scott just turned 84 years old on November 30 and he must be slowing down. He only had two, count 'em, two major, star-laden, big-scale movies he directed that were released this fall: House of Gucci and The Last Duel. Oh, and he has already prepped, storyboarded and cast his next massive epic about Napoleon and Josephine tentatively titled Kitbag and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Jodie Comer. It starts shooting right near the start of the new year in France (Covid permitting, but that has not stopped Scott, who made both the above mentioned 2021 films in the midst of the pandemic).

As he told me when I spoke with him for this week's episode of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens, this new film will have just six major battle sequences as opposed to only one in some past films based on the historical figure. As you might recall, none other than Stanley Kubrick was planning a Napoleon film that just never got off the ground, but that is almost never the case with Scott, who also has a new sequel to his 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner Gladiator, and another chapter in the Alien saga in the pipeline.

https://deadline.com/video/ridley-scott-behind-the-lens/

Quote"Unfortunately, due to COVID and changes of schedule, I don't think I can make Kitbag work right now due to a scheduling conflict," the actress told THR's Scott Feinberg on his Awards Chatter podcast. She wasn't thrilled about the development, calling it "rubbish."

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 04, 2022, 09:05:41 PM

Quote"Unfortunately, due to COVID and changes of schedule, I don't think I can make Kitbag work right now due to a scheduling conflict," the actress told THR's Scott Feinberg on his Awards Chatter podcast. She wasn't thrilled about the development, calling it "rubbish."

She didn't call the development rubbish but the fact that due to covid and schedule conflict she couldn't make it. Journalists f**king hell.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 05, 2022, 04:27:44 PM
It's also bad for the picture, because with The Last Duel, Comer did a lot of research on the Lady Marguerite prior to filming. She would likely have heavily researched the Empress Josephine as well. Now Kirby is being thrown into the deep end at the eleventh hour with no time for research or preparation.

QuoteVanessa Kirby is Ridley Scott's choice to play Empress Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon in Kitbag, the historical drama for Apple that begins production this spring.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 06, 2022, 11:25:09 AM
I don't think that's a big issue. She'll rely one the script. Also Ridley and maybe Scarpa (if he's going to be on the set) might help. But at the end she's an actress and it's going to be her interpretation of the character. Frankly speaking I know nothing about Josephine :)

QuoteI'm intrigued about those 6 main battles. Any ideas?

QuoteAlso, does anyone perhaps have David Scarpa's script and is willing to share it by PM? I've heard it is circling around.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 06, 2022, 03:32:06 PM

QuoteAlso, does anyone perhaps have David Scarpa's script and is willing to share it by PM? I've heard it is circling around.

Is the script out in the wild yet? Wasn't aware. KiramidHead can fix you up with any script if that is indeed the case.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 06, 2022, 11:25:09 AM

QuoteVanessa Kirby is Ridley Scott's choice to play Empress Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon in Kitbag, the historical drama for Apple that begins production this spring.

Spring?

https://deadline.com/2022/01/kitbag-vanessa-kirby-joaquin-phoenix-ridley-scott-napoleon-apple-replace-jodie-comer-1234904510/

Quote from: nanison on Jan 06, 2022, 06:38:33 PM
I really don't see how you can cram 6 battles in 1 movie. The movie must have a mammoth running time.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 07, 2022, 11:20:22 PM
Has Ridley ever shot in Malta?

QuoteIt's the hand Scott uses to draw the storyboards for his films in pen and ink, to operate a camera on his shoots and to do oil paintings on weekends. It's also the hand that Scott had just put down on a thick, rusty screw jutting from a piece of driftwood in early December, when he slipped on some rocks on a beach in France while scouting locations for his next movie, Kitbag.

"The worst thing about it is when you're my age they think, 'Oh, the old guy's fallen down,'" Scott says. "I say, 'Get off. I'm fine. Get off. You go on, I'll see you later.' So I went up to the hospital, bleeding hand, and got stitches and things. I heal like a shark. So I'm healed. Now, my mother would say, 'You'll be fine.' And that's why I'm fine, and I'm fine."

Quote"We start pretty soon, in a few weeks now."

Quote"So I'm just trying to stuff in all my knowledge about French history, and about this really extraordinary person, Josephine "

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 14, 2022, 06:07:03 PM
I'm sure any reservations about above mentioned films would have been tempered by the likes of Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louis, The Duellists, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven DC, Black Hawk Down, The Martian and The Last Duel. :P

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 18, 2022, 08:35:46 PM
Kitbag retitled to Napoleon. No surprise.

https://deadline.com/2022/01/kevin-walsh-moves-scott-free-president-to-apple-production-deal-1234912124/

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 28, 2022, 07:13:05 PM

Spoiler

an execution of the queen.

[close]

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 28, 2022, 08:55:50 PM

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 28, 2022, 07:13:05 PM

Spoiler

an execution of the queen.

[close]

Spoiler

Marie Antoinette?

[close]

QuoteIt is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The King seems to understand this truth.

— Marie Antoinette

QuoteJoaquin Phoenix arrived on Friday the 28th, with Rooney Mara and his son River, in London to start filming #Napoleon by Ridley Scott #Kitbag

QuoteRidley Scott, Russell Crowe and Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow were among the honorary winners at the inaugural Malta Film Awards on Saturday night (Jan 29). (...) Scott, Crowe and Keitel weren't in attendance but recorded video messages in which they also paid tribute to Malta and its film industry.

In his speech, Scott, who shot Gladiator and White Squall on the island, confirmed that he plans to return to Malta with his new Napoleon Bonaparte epic, Kitbag. This time round, he will be turning Fort Risacoli in Kalkara, Malta – which he first used in Gladiator – into the site of Bonaparte's first victory, at the siege of Toulon in 1793.

Quotesiege of Toulon in 1793.

Quote*IMPORTANT INFORMATION | PLEASE READ*

Due to a large private event, we are sorry that we have some #closure dates in February and March 2022. The closure dates and details are as follows:

👉🏽 From 7th - 9th February, the Park, Shop, and Oxfordshire Pantry will be open. The Palace and Formal and Walled Gardens will be closed.

👉🏽From 10th - 27th February, we will be fully closed, this includes parking and access to any areas on site.

👉🏽From 28th February - 2nd March, the Park, Shop, and Oxfordshire Pantry will be open. The Palace and Formal and Walled Gardens will be closed.

QuoteTwo weeks of road closures ahead of Joaquin Phoenix filming in Lincoln

Joaquin Phoenix will play Napoleon Bonaparte, with Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine after the actress replaced Jodie Comer who was originally cast for the role. According to IMDB, Youssef Kerkour and Liam Edwards will also be in the cast.

Two 10 Casting previously issued a casting call for paid extras for project 'Marengo'. Marengo was also the name of a battle fought in June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy.

The exact locations for filming have not yet been publicly revealed due to security reasons, however due to upcoming road closures it looks likely Lincoln Cathedral may be used. Filming will also reportedly take place in Oxfordshire and it is believed the film will be released in 2023.

QuoteMarengo (c. 1793–1831) was the famous war horse of Napoleon I of France. Named after the Battle of Marengo, through which he carried his rider safely, Marengo was imported to France from Egypt following the Battle of Abukir in 1799 as a six-year-old. The grey Arabian was probably bred at the famous El Naseri Stud. Although small (only 14.1 hands (57 inches, 145 cm)) he was a reliable, steady, and courageous mount.

Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Feb 18, 2022, 04:52:31 PM
I was about to ask that in Hawley's Alien series for derailment's sake.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Feb 18, 2022, 04:06:26 PM
Boney's sister.

I reckon the role will go to Grace Jones.

Quote from: Ingwar on Mar 08, 2022, 08:02:03 PM
Cannot wait ;D

https://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/guillotine-gif-10.gif

Quote from: Kradan on Mar 10, 2022, 02:01:03 PM
I thought my life was a tragedy, then I realised I'm in a Ridley Scott movie

QuoteHillingdon fire was in workshop of new Apple TV blockbuster directed by Ridley Scott

Filming for the historical epic slated for 2023 started yesterday in Greenwich

The West London fire on Thursday (March 10) night that required 70 firefighters to extinguish also enveloped a workshop that was part of the production of a new Ridley Scott epic being made for Apple TV, MyLondon has been told.

According to a source the workshop was 'destroyed' by the fire, which London Fire Brigade are still investigating the cause of. The film, with the working title Napoleon, is based on the historical figure Napoleon Bonaparte and stars Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as the French leader.

A source explained to MyLondon: "All I can say is that it's all been destroyed, the workshop. They're working there for a film called Napoleon, they've got various other workshops as well as this location. As for how the fire started they don't know at the moment."

The film has just started shooting in Greenwich this Friday in the wake of the fire in Uxbridge on Pield Heath Road Thursday evening. Star Joaquin Phoenix has even been sighted during the filming dressed in full military regalia, resembling the 18th century leader.

According to London Fire Brigade the blaze began at a storage unit at around 7.13pm. According to the Brigade one single-storey unit was completely alight and part of an adjoining unit was also alight as the fire spread. The single-storey storage unit as well as two shipping containers were completely destroyed by the blaze, while another single-storey storage unit was damaged.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 11.52pm, with no injuries having been reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Station Commander Clive Robinson, who was at the scene, said: "Crews worked hard to bring the fire under control and stop it spreading to other units.

"There were a number of cylinders involved in the fire, so firefighters cooled and removed them as cylinders can explode when exposed to heat.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 12, 2022, 06:30:49 PM
Ridley just walked away from that disaster and went and played a game of tennis.

Quote from: Ingwar on Mar 12, 2022, 07:08:24 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 12, 2022, 06:30:49 PM
Ridley just walked away from that disaster and went and played a game of tennis.

For real? :)

Quote"Killing Eve" star Jodie Comer is set to star in drama series "Big Swiss" from producer Adam McKay, which is currently in the development stage at HBO.

Quote from: Ingwar on Mar 13, 2022, 10:01:24 PM
Big spoiler

Spoiler

QuoteThe dramatic scenes shot in Greenwich, South-East London, on Thursday depict a key moment in Napoleon's ascent when his enemies tried to kill him in Paris on Christmas Eve in 1800.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/12/23/55276649-10606417-Sir_Ridley_said_Napoleon_is_a_man_who_has_always_fascinated_me_H-a-81_1647126569398.jpg)

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/12/23/55276617-10606417-He_added_He_conquered_the_world_to_try_to_win_her_love_and_when_-a-82_1647126577629.jpg)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10606417/The-Crowns-Vanessa-Kirby-Joaquin-Phoenix-recreate-night-Napoleon-assassinated.html

[close]

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 19, 2022, 05:03:35 PM
Sir Puffer Jacket is walking with a strange gait, almost like he has a leg injury?

Quote from: Ingwar on Mar 19, 2022, 07:19:10 PM
He ain't young anymore.

Quote from: Kradan on Mar 19, 2022, 07:54:18 PM
Oh f**k, didn't realise Puffer Jacket wasn't real name

Quote from: Ingwar on Mar 19, 2022, 01:12:23 PM
Paul Rhys joins Napoleon.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOKSciKXoAI7hq8?format=jpg&name=900x900

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Mar 19, 2022, 08:49:15 PM

Quote from: Kradan on Mar 19, 2022, 07:54:18 PM
Oh f**k, didn't realise Puffer Jacket wasn't real name

Sounds like a character from the new Alien FX series.  :laugh:

QuoteAnd I'm now a month in on this [Napoleon]. I'm already a month in. I've got three months to go.

Quote from: Facehugger001 on Mar 21, 2022, 12:51:00 PM
Could this be for the the crossing of the alps / battle of Marengo?

QuoteHillingdon fire: Hollywood film workshop damaged by blaze 'didn't have planning permission'

A blockbuster film workshop damaged by a blaze in West London was built without planning permission, the local council has confirmed. The workshop at Pield Heath Road in Uxbridge caught fire on the evening of March 10 along with two shipping containers.

Documents show that planning permission to build five temporary workshops on the site of an old garden centre was refused by Hillingdon in June 2021. The company wanting to build the workshops, Locate Studios, also applied for permission to use the space for commercial filming at the same time.

According to Hillingdon Council, the workshop that caught fire was one of several on the site that did not have planning permission at the time of the fire. A council spokesperson said: "Some of the buildings damaged by last Thursday night's fire did not have planning consent. At the time of the fire, the council had an active planning enforcement investigation on the site and the council will now need to carefully consider next steps in light of the incident."

According to the documents, the workshops would be used to create props and sets for a film being produced at nearby Pinewood Studios. Planning permission for the workshops was refused after the council was concerned they would harm the environment in the surrounding Green Belt and disturb residents by being too noisy.

Speaking to MyLondon, a source confirmed that the workshops were built to support the new Ridley Scott epic 'Napoleon', a Napoleon Bonaparte biopic, starring Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix and produced by Apple TV.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "All I can say is that it's all been destroyed, the workshop. They're working there for a film called Napoleon, they've got various other workshops as well as this location. As for how the fire started they don't know at the moment."

Quote from: Ingwar on Apr 01, 2022, 08:27:54 PM
Oxfordshire

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/01/17/56098851-10676641-Movie_magic_Cast_members_were_seen_on_horseback_as_they_acted_ou-a-7_1648830685534.jpg)

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/01/17/56098833-10676641-Battle_Extras_dressed_in_military_wear_typical_of_the_French_Rev-a-8_1648830685535.jpg)

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/01/17/56098823-10676641-Acting_out_Vanessa_Kirby_is_to_replace_Jodie_Comer_in_the_projec-a-10_1648830685536.jpg)

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/01/17/56098837-10676641-All_stars_A_number_of_big_names_are_attached_to_the_Apple_movie_-a-9_1648830685535.jpg)

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/01/17/56098827-10676641-Plot_The_story_is_set_to_focus_on_the_passionate_love_between_Na-a-12_1648830685537.jpg)

Quotekimichischool Exciting filming stuff going on on board HMS Victory

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Apr 01, 2022, 08:48:28 PM
That might be battle of Waterloo.

The terrain looks very similar:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Panorama_waterloo_v2.jpg/2560px-Panorama_waterloo_v2.jpg)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Apr 09, 2022, 12:03:59 PM
Sounds like historically, there was some heavy rain the previous day and overnight, making for a very muddy battlefield.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Apr 14, 2022, 04:42:07 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQQPnL1WYBAcLkO?format=jpg&name=large)

QuoteOn 24 June 1812 and the following days, the first wave of the multinational Grande Armée crossed the Niemen into Russia. Through a series of long forced marches, Napoleon pushed his army of almost half a million people rapidly through Western Russia, now Belarus, in an attempt to destroy the separated Russian armies of Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration who amounted to around 180,000–220,000 at this time.[21][22] Within six weeks, Napoleon lost half of the men because of the extreme weather conditions, disease and hunger, winning just the Battle of Smolensk. The Russian Army continued to retreat, under its new Commander in Chief Mikhail Kutuzov, employing attrition warfare against Napoleon forcing the invaders to rely on a supply system that was incapable of feeding their large army in the field.

The fierce Battle of Borodino, seventy miles (110 km) west of Moscow, was a narrow French victory that resulted in a Russian general withdrawal to the south-east of Moscow.[23] On 14 September, Napoleon and his army of about 100,000 men occupied Moscow, only to find it abandoned, and the city was soon ablaze, instigated by its military governor. Napoleon stayed in Moscow for five weeks, waiting for a peace offer that never came.[24] Because of the nice weather he left late and hoped to reach Smolensk by a detour. Losing the Battle of Maloyaroslavets he was forced to take the same route as he came. Lack of food and winter clothes for the men, fodder for the horses, and guerilla warfare from Russian peasants and Cossacks led to greater losses. Again more than half of the men died on the roadside of exhaustion, typhus and the harsh continental climate. Heavy loot was thrown away; artillery was left behind.

In early November it began to snow, which complicated the retreat.

Quote from: nanison on Apr 15, 2022, 12:11:09 AM
That's not a lot of extras for a battle scene, I take it the rest will be cgi or with some clever camera tricks

Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Apr 14, 2022, 06:32:39 PM
Were there helmets and mullets during the Napoleonic war?

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Apr 15, 2022, 10:32:39 AM

Quote from: nanison on Apr 15, 2022, 12:11:09 AM
That's not a lot of extras for a battle scene, I take it the rest will be cgi or with some clever camera tricks

It's probably still due to COVID restrictions. They had a similar problem on The Last Duel, couldn't use large crowds of extras, so CGI extras had to fill in:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTozTFi-k0gCbBFdU_uJ0M-W4UkI0slxqbow&usqp=CAU

Quote from: Some Old Dude on Apr 29, 2022, 02:42:00 PM
So... nobody told him about the title change lol.

QuoteShe was incorporated in the fleet that invaded Egypt, and after the Battle of the Nile, Bonaparte departed for France aboard. She later took part in the Battle of Algeciras Bay.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on May 07, 2022, 05:05:35 PMNote the ship's name, "Muiron"

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on May 31, 2022, 03:45:18 PMhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUEbVwVXsAI9BUk?format=jpg&name=medium

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on May 31, 2022, 04:59:07 PMYeah, they wrapped about 2 weeks back. This is an older photo, not previously published.

Strange that they are shooting at 48fps. Might be for a battle scene that they are going to slow down like Scott did in Gladiator and KoH.

Quote from: Andrea90 on May 31, 2022, 06:12:04 PM48 fps only the Hobbit i remember in that format.

QuoteThe American composer Steve Jablonsky will be in charge of the music for Napoléon by Ridley Scott.

QuoteJoaquin Phoenix's upcoming film NAPOLEON directed by Ridley Scott is expected to release this December.

Quote"In 'Napoleon', I play Talleyrand who was the brains behind Bonaparte and stayed with him till the end. I hear that film is out in December. I loved Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix very much. Vanessa Kirby and I did a few scenes together which was great too." - Paul Rhys

Quote from: KiramidHead on Jul 11, 2022, 11:21:07 PMIsn't Talleyrand the guy who tried to extort bribes out of U.S. ambassadors?

QuoteRidley Scott's upcoming Napoleon is being edited by Sam Restivo. Restivo previously served as "additional editor" on House of Gucci and The Last Duel for Scott. He also has done editing work on "Better Call Saul"

He will serve alongside Ridley's usual editor Claire Simpson

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 11, 2022, 09:02:32 PM"This video is not available"

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jun 02, 2022, 10:14:21 PMI saw that earlier today and tried to check whether it's fan art or official, but could only trace it back to one account which appears to belong to a stunt person or something. :-\

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 11, 2022, 05:34:09 PMhttps://twitter.com/jphoenixupdates/status/1546377306649907201

QuoteJoaquin Phoenix's upcoming film NAPOLEON directed by Ridley Scott is expected to release this December.

Quote"In 'Napoleon', I play Talleyrand who was the brains behind Bonaparte and stayed with him till the end. I hear that film is out in December. I loved Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix very much. Vanessa Kirby and I did a few scenes together which was great too." - Paul Rhys

QuoteAccording to World of Reel, word around town is that Ridley Scott's #Napoleon is aiming for a 2023 Cannes premiere and a summer release.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jul 26, 2022, 06:56:54 PMMore that its release day I'm wondering what project Scott is doing next :)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 26, 2022, 08:11:08 PMScott was supposed to delve right into that after Napoleon, but I haven't seen any movement yet.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jul 26, 2022, 07:13:18 PMI still hope that Gladiator 2 will never happen. Why sequel? Why?

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jul 29, 2022, 03:37:36 PMYou know what Gladiator 2 needs?

QuoteWe just saw a set/location from Ridley Scott's upcoming 'Napoleon' movie but were asked not to post pics because movie isn't out yet. Spoiler alert: a scene in the movie has Napoleon walking in a room with statues.
#JurassicWorldDominioninMalta

QuoteRidley Scott and his executive producer Aidan Elliott were in Rome working on House of Gucci when the two were discussing locations for Scott's upcoming historical epic Napoleon for Apple when the director thought Malta, where he'd famously filmed Gladiator, would make for a great location for a beginning scene in the film for the siege of Toulon.

"The siege of Toulon was Napoleon's first military victory where he really showed his potential as a future expert in the field," says Elliott. "There was a very specific geography needed to achieve this and Ridley, being someone who likes to do things practically as much as possible as opposed to visual effects, remembered Valletta and the port there, which is a spectacular Napoleonic port."

They decided to fly from Rome the next day to take a look at Valletta's suitability and, says Elliott, "it was almost a no-brainer."

The cherry on top came when they found that Malta, at the time, was about to introduce an enhanced cash rebate, stipulating more attractive incentives that included a new hybrid above-the-line cap and opening up below-the-line expenditures to all international crews.

"There was a beta version of it flying around, an unapproved white paper that was doing the works in the government and the idea was that we'd be the first film to actually take advantage of it, which we happily did," says Elliott. "It just absolutely cemented our decision to go there because not only did we have this great location and backdrop, but we also had this incredibly, incredibly generous cash rebate."

He adds, "I would go almost as far to say it's probably the most generous cash rebate in the world, and I don't say that lightly."

What's so attractive about this rebate, from an international perspective, is that it applies not only to local crew and local facilities, but it applies to all incoming crew and, even equipment coming in from the outside, "so long as it can't be sourced locally in Malta," says Elliott.

"We took around 500 people to Malta and we were able to get the rebate on all of those people and that equipment," he says. 

Napoleon (which is estimated to be a more than $100 million budget) shot 15 days of its 100-day shoot in Malta and was, says Elliott, an incredible experience. He was particularly impressed by the strength in its local construction departments.

 "We built the Toulon sets on the very same ground that Ridley had previously built the Colosseum for Gladiator and [Ridley said] there were a lot of the same faces in the construction this time around," says Elliott.

"The quality and the finish of the sets were exemplary – as you know [production designer] Arthur Max is a very demanding designer with very high standards, and he was very happy with the finish."

https://deadline.com/2022/10/hot-spots-ridley-scotts-napoleon-producer-amp-foundation-producer-talk-shooting-in-malta-why-its-rebate-is-the-most-generous-cash-rebate-in-the-world-1235155125/

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 26, 2022, 05:08:30 PMGreat, but where's the trailer ;D

Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Oct 26, 2022, 05:09:26 PMWow, I had forgotten about this  :o  Remembering it made me think for a thousandth of a second that it was a Ridley Scott movie already released a long time ago 😅 (ala Prometheus.... 😬👉👈)

QuoteRidley Scott's 'Napoleon' Test-Screening Next Week

A surprising development. Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" is said to test-screen next week in the West Coast.

Are Apple TV thinking of doing a surprise December launch for this one? I'm skeptical, but anything is possible in this unpredictable movie year. I was told a few months back that a summer 2023 release was being eyed for Scott's epic.

Regardless, what we have here is confirmation that Scott has a cut ready to go, whether it's the final cut remains to be seen. "Napoleon" started shooting in February and wrapped production on May 17th in Malta. That gave Scott almost 8 months to edit the movie.

If you remember, Scott's last film, "House of Gucci," ended filming in May 2021 and was then released in November. There is likely much more VFX on "Napoleon" than on 'Gucci,' especially, I presume, if war scenes are included.

QuoteWorld of Reel
Ridley's Scott's 'Napoleon' Said to be a "Masterpiece" by Viewer at Test-Screening
November 4, 2022 Jordan Ruimy

Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" stunned an L.A. moviegoer last night. He's calling Scott's epic a "masterpiece." The film was test-screened at The Grove in Los Angeles last night.

Judging by this reaction, and the fact that not much editing needs to be done, you'd think Apple would want to release this one as their main contender this year instead of "Emancipation," alas I don't think that's going occur. Anyway, here's the reaction:

"I think the picture is a masterpiece, or very nearly one. It's the culmination of Ridley's life's work as a filmmaker. His staging of battle scenes on a near-cosmic scale is mind-blowing. Joaquin gives a Brando-like performance, taking some very big risks, and at times verging on the absurd, but always taking the audience with him. As a movie about a nationalist in a time of chaos and disintegration who thinks in terms of pure power, it has a lot of parallels to 2022. It's a great movie and I'll be surprised if there is anything better released in 2023."

From what I heard a few months back, Apple wants to release "Napoleon" in the summer of 2023. Given that rumors are pointing to "Killers of the Flower Moon" being launched at next year's Cannes Film Festival, would Apple also want to also world premiere Scott's film on the Croisette?

Scott has been hit and miss for most of his entire five-decade career, but he's one of the all-time greats. He's automatically an all-timer just for "Alien," "Blade Runner," "The Duellists," "Thelma and Louise," "Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down," and "American Gangster." Not mention his underrated works such as "Matchstick Men," "The Last Duel," "Kingdom of Heaven," and, yes, even "Prometheus."

I've been emailing back and forth with this attendee, trying to get more details on this one. The cut shown is said to be around 3 hours. I'll be updating this post with more details to follow ...

QuoteIt's 150 minutes. Covers the sweep of Napoleon's life from his promotion around the time of the revolution, to the end. I think it's bigger, better and MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL than Scott's epics like Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator. Also more political.

Quote from: KiramidHead on Jan 28, 2023, 03:01:36 PMSo is Riddles going to blame these reactions on phones?

QuoteAnother 'Napoleon' Reaction Calls it a "Masterpiece" ...

On Saturday, I posted a mixed reaction of Ridley Scott's "Napoleon," which had recently test-screened, for the second time, at L.A.'s Grove cinema.

Now I have another, more in-depth, reaction from someone who seems to have genuinely been blown away by Scott's epic. 

Some minor SPOILERS below —

So, I disagree with most of the points made in the last reaction you posted, besides Phoenix being terrific. The first half hour of the movie is

Spoiler

pretty abrupt, since it starts with the execution of Marie Antoinette and within 20-25 minutes Napoleon is commanding a huge army in Egypt and we don't really get a sense of how this happened or why, besides that he won one battle and killed a couple protesters.

In the first half hour Phoenix's performance is mostly subdued and he speaks in either exposition or military orders, so we don't have a great sense of the character either. After the Egypt part though the movie really takes off and becomes fantastic, I would say Scott's best historical movie. Weirdly the movie I was reminded of most was "Phantom Thread", because Napoleon and Josephine have this perverse but also funny and sad and abusive relationship. Kirby is great.

[close]

The battle scenes are all huge in scope and unique and probably the best of Scott's career. I wouldn't say Napoleon is whiny, but more that he's an egomaniac and Phoenix does a great job of portraying that. The humor hit for me and it felt like it did for the rest of the audience, with the scene where Napoleon stages a coup being one the funnier scenes I've seen in a movie in a while. Overall it's much weirder than I would've expected from Scott or the subject. Also, It's beautifully shot from beginning to end. I'd have to see it again, but based on that cut I'd probably call it a masterpiece.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jan 30, 2023, 09:38:34 PM

Spoiler

pretty abrupt, since it starts with the execution of Marie Antoinette and within 20-25 minutes Napoleon is commanding a huge army in Egypt and we don't really get a sense of how this happened or why, besides that he won one battle and killed a couple protesters.

[close]

QuoteMartin Phipps signs the soundtrack for the historical drama "Napoleon" (2023) directed by Ridley Scott.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jun 29, 2022, 05:14:21 PMNot sure if true.

Steve Jablonsky is Harry Gregson William's former assistant and best known for the Transformer movies soundtracks:

https://twitter.com/MarianaR/status/1541899837255417857

QuoteThe American composer Steve Jablonsky will be in charge of the music for Napoléon by Ridley Scott.

QuoteApple Original Films has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment and set a November 22 worldwide theatrical release launch for Napoleon, the historical action epic directed by Ridley Scott that stars Joaquin Phoenix as French conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine. After the theatrical run, the film will stream globally on Apple TV+.

This becomes the second awards-season film from Apple set for an ambitious theatrical run, after the Cannes-bound Martin Scorsese-directed Killers of the Flower Moon was set for a late October release through Paramount Pictures. Paramount had some Killers rights and always was part of the Apple deal, but this is the first time Apple went out and aligned in a one-off distribution deal. Sony's Tom Rothman worked often with Scott when the filmmaker's Scott Free was based at Fox, and he will be primed to help maximize the awards chances of the director, who hasn't yet won an Oscar but has been nominated three times for Best Director, for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.

Napoleon had been in the Cannes Film Festival conversation at one point, but it became clear that wouldn't happen because of its fall release plans. It is still early, but expect Telluride, Venice and Toronto to chase this pic, as well as New York, whose September 29-October 15 date falls closest on the calendar to Thanksgiving. Deadline revealed last week that the Denis Villenueve-directed Dune sequel was unlikely to bow at Venice as did the original, because of the gap between Venice an the film's November 3 release date. A NYFF bow seems most likely for that film.

Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, Napoleon tells the story of the French emperor and military leader's origins and swift, ruthless climb to emperor. That is viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The film captures Napoleon's famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary. An Apple Studios production in conjunction with Scott Free Productions, Napoleon is produced by Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam and Phoenix, with Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers.
Napoleon and Killers of the Flower Moon give the three-year-old Apple Original Films two prime entries in the awards race, after it became the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar two years ago with CODA.

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Apr 03, 2023, 11:01:41 PMUnless Apple ends up doing physical releases (please Apple, start doing physical releases), yep.

Quote from: Daily MailALISON BOSHOFF: Vegan activist  Joaquin Phoenix gets back in the saddle for Napoleon - five years after sharing his 'regret' at riding horses for movie roles.

Ardent vegan activist Joaquin Phoenix finds himself uncomfortably on horseback in the new Napoleon film by British director Ridley Scott.

Indeed, you can see in Phoenix's face just how much he enjoys it.. the answer being, not a lot.

Phoenix will have found himself horribly conflicted when forced to get back in the saddle.

He has been vegan since the age of three and believes that using any animal products — or using animals full stop — is a 'gross abuse of power'.

In 2018 he talked about having to ride horses in The Sisters Brothers — and how he regretted it.

'I didn't really think about it until I was there and realised: "Oh, it's a western and we're on horses a lot."

'I felt bad about riding them. I had the feeling that they were like, "I don't really want you on my back."

When somebody suggested the experience might be mutually enjoyable for rider and mount, Phoenix said: 'Yeah, but the horses tell you something different.'

The Apple TV+ movie will get a cinema release in November. British actress Vanessa Kirby co-stars as 'not tonight' Josephine.

In 2020 Phoenix took to the streets of London in a bid to urge Londoners to embrace a vegan lifestyle as he protested on behalf of animal rights.

The screen star, who just hours later would scooped the coveted Leading Actor trophy at the EE British Academy Film Awards, also tied himself to the city landmark Tower Bridge as he joined forces with activist group Animal Equality.

Showing his commitment to the cause, the Hollywood actor joined fellow protesters as they unfurled a huge 390 square-foot banner over the bridge, which read: 'Factory farming is destroying our planet. Go vegan.'

Further sharing his views on the matter, he said: 'I think we have a personal responsibility to take action right now and one way that we can mitigate climate change is by adjusting our consumption and by going plant-based.'

He added: 'I feel sometimes like it s not being talked about enough. So I'm just encouraging people to learn more about eating plant-based and to make a difference to make whatever personal impact they can on the climate emergency.'

To further drive the message home, Joaquin joined the activists in holding placards, which showed the impacts of animal agriculture on the environment and climate.

Days later Phoenix won the coveted Oscar award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Joker and launched a passionate speech animal rights and Speciesism, the idea that human superiority leads to the exploitation of animals.

He added: 'I feel sometimes like it s not being talked about enough. So I'm just encouraging people to learn more about eating plant-based and to make a difference to make whatever personal impact they can on the climate emergency.'

Quote from: T Dog on Apr 08, 2023, 03:56:30 PMI was talking to my mate today who worked on The Last Duel and they described Ridley as being a lot like Brian Cox's character on Succession, except a lot funnier and a bit less scary!  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

Quote from: Ingwar on Apr 08, 2023, 05:24:27 PM@The Eighth Passenger

At least he didn't eat raw bison liver as DiCaprio (also vegan) in The Revenant ;D

QuoteWhile speaking to Variety, DiCaprio admits that the prop department did indeed build a faux bison liver from jelly—certainly a more edible alternative to the authentic organ. But DiCaprio, concerned that the fake did not look genuine, volunteered to eat an actual bison liver. In addition to the challenge of finding a real bison liver, however, production had to get permission to feed one of Hollywood's most valuable movie stars a raw, potentially diseased animal organ by getting clearance from both his team of lawyers and agents.

DiCaprio generously walks Variety through the experience of biting into uncooked bison liver, explaining, "The bad part is the membrane around it. . . . It's like a balloon. When you bite into it, it bursts in your mouth."

Speaking to Yahoo several months back, DiCaprio confirmed that Iñárritu included the take of him eating the real deal in the final cut of the film. "When you see the movie, you'll see my reaction to it, because Alejandro kept it in," DiCaprio revealed. "It says it all. It was an instinctive reaction."

Quote from: Ingwar on Apr 08, 2023, 05:46:18 PMComparing spinach, carrot or onion to a cow, one of the most intelligent mammals on the planet is huge misunderstanding of the subject.

Quote from: IndieWireRidley Scott and costume designers Janty Yates and David Crossman, "Napoleon"

"Napoleon" is the latest in a 15-film collaboration between Scott and Yates that spans more than 20 years, beginning with "Gladiator" in 2000 (for which the costume designer won the Oscar). For the last several years, they've focused on period pieces, including "All the Money in the World," "The Last Duel," and "House of Gucci." Yet "Napoleon" represents their most ambitious collaboration since "Gladiator." In fact, the director reshaped the script (originally titled "Kitbag") to fit star Joaquin Phoenix's personal take on Napoleon Bonaparte. The film is probably the most expansive cinematic depiction since Abel Gance's silent classic, "Napoleon." It explores his rise to power as general and emperor, fueled by his obsessive love for his wife, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). With its extensive battles, however, there was the need to take on an additional costume designer, David Crossman ("Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," "The Batman"), to handle the vast array of military uniforms.

Quote from: The Hollywood ReporterRidley Scott's 'Napoleon' Unveils Epic Battle Scene at CinemaCon.

Sony film boss Tom Rothman shared the first footage scene from the Apple Original Films project, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader.

Napoleon is on his way.

During Monday night's Sony presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the studio revealed the first footage ever of Ridley Scott's epic from Apple Original Films. Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, Napoleon stars Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader Napoleon Bonaparte. The feature is notable as it signals Apple is serious about entering the theatrical space, which is welcome news for theater owners.

Sony film boss Tom Rothman introduced the footage, noting the film will have a "robust theatrical window and a full-throttle marketing campaign before moving to Apple TV+." He added to theater owners, "We trust you will all give maximum support to this film," as it could portend more cooperation between theaters and streamers to come.

Rothman noted that an epic tale of this scale has not been seen in years.

Indeed, the footage shown supports that notion. The moody scene takes place on a snowy battle field, as Napoleon led enemy troops onto a frozen lake, and then proceeds to rain cannon fire down as soldiers fall into the water, bodies and blood mixing. Napoleon stands from a hilltop, watching his carnage unfold. (For those curious, Phoenix does not seem to be speaking in a French accent in the film.)

"Epic is the only proper description of that Apple Original Film," Rothman said after showing the scene.

The film is said to be an "original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby." Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Matthew Needham and Ludivine Sagnier round out the cast.

An Apple Studios production in conjunction with Scott Free Prods., Napoleon is produced by Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam and Phoenix with Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers. Apple announced earlier this month that Scott's film will first be released exclusively in theaters across the globe in partnership with Sony on Nov. 22. After its theatrical run, Napoleon will then stream globally on Apple TV+.

CinemaCon, the official convention of National Association of Theatre Owners, is being held inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from April 24-27. Sony Pictures Entertainment kicked off the studio presentations on Monday night by teasing its 2023 slate and beyond.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ridley-scotts-napoleon-cinemacon-1235398734/amp/

Quote from: DeadlineRothman conveyed to exhibs in Caesars Palace Colosseum theater how baffled he is that Scott still hasn't won an Oscar for Best Director. "I know that he can do things cinematically that filmmakers half his age, can't do," Rothman said praising the 85-year-old filmmaker.

How's the footage? Let's just say it would make Barry Lyndon director Stanley Kubrick jealous. The clip shown has Joaquin Phoenix's title character commanding the French army in a foggy, blurry wintery epic battle with the Russian and Austrian forces. Napoleon knows it's coming; he has invited the attack. Lots of bayonets slicing and soldiers falling in the icy water. Next to other notable big battle pics like Braveheart and 1917, Napoleon stands apart.

"Let them think they have the high ground!" says the Joker Oscar winner.

"Old school, big screen," exclaimed Rothman about the footage.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2023/04/ridley-scotts-apple-movie-napoleon-invades-sonys-cinemacon-presentation-1235335821/amp/

Quote from: KiramidHead on Apr 25, 2023, 03:59:12 AMI can only imagine Ridley threatened to put one of his cigars out in someone's eye if the movie was phone exclusive.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Apr 25, 2023, 10:21:12 AMHe may have threatened Apple by publicly admitting he filmed Napoleon on a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Quote from: Facehugger001 on Apr 25, 2023, 02:00:04 PMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfiwgpSujCM
WOW!They played 10 minutes of footage! They are saying Ridley will win his first academy award. Sounds incredible.

QuoteIn the footage, we join Napoleon and his forces after they have been discovered by the Russian and Austrian armies. We see Napoleon looking at enemy troops through a spyglass before he screams, "Wait! Let them think they have the high ground."

The enemy starts to charge and Napoleon tricks his opponent to retreat onto a frozen lake. As they scream, "it's a trap," Napoleon unleashes his cannons that quickly shatter the ice, sending the troops and horses to an icy, watery grave.

It's a very intense and terrifying scene, with men getting trapped under horses in an attempt to not get pulled into the lake. There is lots of blood in the water, which stands in stark contrast to the very grey-blue-white color palette in the scene.

Quote from: Variety"Napoleon," Ridley Scott's sweeping historical epic about the French military leader, debuted footage for the first time at CinemaCon. The film is a mixture of the new and old worlds, and not just in terms of its subject matter. It's being produced by Apple Original Films, one of the new tech players to enter the movie business, and is being distributed in theaters by Sony, a traditional studio that used its presentation to talk up the movie.

"The film shouts big screen," Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman teased.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Napoleon Bonaparte, the brilliant military strategist who conquered much of Europe only to see his empire crumble. But the film isn't all about the battles that determined the course of history. It will also offer a more personal look at the visionary commander by dissecting his volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby.

But marital discord wasn't on offer in the footage shared at CinemaCon, which focused on a snowy conflict between the French and an opposing army (possibly the Cossacks?), who are lured into a trap with bloody consequences.

"Let them think they have the higher ground," Napoleon tells his troops. Calvaries charge, cannons fire and Napoleon's unlucky enemies are tricked into retreating onto sheer ice. It's real cast-of-thousands stuff that must have cost a pretty penny. (It helps that Apple has a market cap that would leave Napoleon trembling.)

The film could be a major awards season player. Kirby was previously nominated for an Oscar for "Pieces of a Woman," while Phoenix won the best actor prize for "Joker." Plus, Scott knows his way around a historical epic, having previously directed the likes of "Gladiator," "The Last Duel" and "Exodus: Gods and Kings."

"He can do things cinematically that few, if any, filmmakers half his age can do," said Rothman, who noted that Scott has yet to win an Oscar. That could change, the studio chief suggested. This time, Scott "does it on a scale not seen in years," Rothman said.

"Hold on to your tri-corner hats," Rothman said, debuting a tagline that probably won't make the final poster.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2023/film/news/ridley-scott-napoleon-joaquin-phoenix-spectacular-battle-footage-cinemacon-1235592957/amp/

QuoteSony Chairman Tom Rothman personally set up the footage for Ridley Scott's latest. Russian and Austrian armies have joined forces against Napoleon. They've discovered a French camp at the edge of a field, and our titular character has hidden his cannons and invited the attack. Let the historical epic begin. We see dark gray skies and, beyond that, there is a blue tinge to the footage. Phoenix is (rather appropriately) wearing a tri-cornered hat. "Wait," he tells his army. "Let them think they have the higher ground." Fog rolls in as the armies approach — and it looks like it's snowing

Armies on horseback and on foot roll in, and they're carrying muskets. They ride into a line of soldiers, slicing with swords atop their horses while the armies fire their guns. Napoleon is watching from a distance, barking orders and surveying the horrific action like a chess master. Our main man then sends in the infantry. At this point, it's clear that the movie looks very big in scope, with hundreds and hundreds of extras. "Pierce their flanks!" Napoleon shouts. Riders emerge from his side, bursting out of the tree line into a large field aimed square at the now-exposed enemy forces. They retreat.

We get a pretty nice hero shot of Napoleon witnessing the carnage. He drops his hand, signaling his people to fire the hidden cannons. The ground explodes as it's revealed that the battlefield is actually a frozen lake! The cannonballs blast through the ice, causing the enemies to fall into the freezing water below. It's utter chaos, and the enemy forces are getting, per Mr. Pearson's observations, "absolutely owned." We see some very red blood in the icy water mixed in with some really cool underwater shots of the cannonballs dropping under the ice. More chaos as a guy is crushed by his horse and people are scrambling to get out of the water — but they only slide in deeper.

"Cut off their retreat!" Napoleon yells. The cannons go nuts as we get more smoke, explosions, violence, and yes, more red blood in the water. An enemy flag sinks as a body drops to the bottom of the lake. And that's about it! Mr. Pearson also notes that the footage looks "awesome," though for much of it, the color is just a "blah" gray, though that is just about the only downside – and we did get some color once the blood hit the water. Also of note: it is tough to tell if Phoenix is doing a French accent or not as his lines were short but, so far as could be gleaned from this footage, it does not appear so.

Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/1267118/napoleon-footage-reaction-cinemacon-2023/

Quote from: Ingwar on Jun 02, 2022, 09:14:55 PMLegit?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUP07V8XsAAVVft?format=jpg&name=medium

Quote from: Mala'kak on May 24, 2023, 09:33:02 AMWhen do we expect the marketing to begin?

Quote from: ace3g on Jun 05, 2023, 10:58:51 PMhttps://twitter.com/jphoenixupdates/status/1665819667703689216

Quote from: Facehugger001 on Jun 06, 2023, 10:34:57 AMThe HD footage is on Apple's Vision Pro YouTube upload towards the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYkq9Rgoj8E

Looks like they might use the movie as part of their official promo.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jun 05, 2023, 08:48:09 PMhttps://images.thedirect.com/media/photos/napoleon1.jpg

QuoteHMS Inconstant (1783)

HMS Inconstant was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had a successful career serving in the French Revolutionary and ...

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jun 06, 2023, 08:19:02 AM

Quote from: ace3g on Jun 05, 2023, 10:58:51 PMhttps://twitter.com/jphoenixupdates/status/1665819667703689216

If Ridley doesn't use this song for the trailer music then I'm outta here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj_9CiNkkn4

Quote from: Kradan on Jun 06, 2023, 05:28:19 PMI'd demand that movie's score to be nothing but ABBA songs

Quote from: ace3g on Jun 06, 2023, 04:04:35 PMRober De Niro as Napoleon.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jun 07, 2023, 03:35:59 PMhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fx-AuveWIAUY7y-?format=jpg&name=900x900

QuoteIt's epic. Joaquin is extraordinary. It's Ridley's finest historical biopic, really. It's got incredible battles and an amazing character study, like Joaquin does. It was a pleasure. It was a pleasure to do it. I loved it.

Quote from: ace3g on Jun 06, 2023, 04:04:35 PMRober De Niro as Napoleon.

Quote from: World of ReelA trailer for Ridley Scott's much-anticipated "Napoleon" is attached to IMAX copies of 'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.'  I presume the trailer might be released online this coming week.

Although it will be gunning for awards season, "Napoleon," according to Screen Daily, is currently set to skip the fall festivals.

At time of writing Screen understood the film will not receive a world premiere festival berth.

Produced and financed by Apple, Scott's epic reunites the filmmaker with Joaquin Phoenix as the European conquering emperor. Scott is 85-years-old, but this is said to be one of the most ambitious films of his career.

The exclusive footage shown at this past April's CinemaCon was said to feature a winter battle scene where Russian and Austrian forces team-up against a French advance only to fall victim to a battlefield trap concocted by Napoleon.

Here's The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood describing what he saw:

The scenes featured hundreds (a thousand?) extras on horseback ("Kingdom of Heaven" vibes) and almost entirely in-camera visual effects (lots of on-the-ground explosions). There were at least three or four individual shots that anyone in the room will still remember weeks from now, which obviously a very good thing. The only concern is Scott has allowed all the actors to speak in their native accents which in this case means Napoleon sounds American. Scott got away with it on his last film, "The Last Duel," but we're a bit concerned it won't work in this particular historical context.

The film, which opens exclusively in theaters on November 22, has already been test-screened twice — I posted three reactions so far, masterpiece, masterpiece and mixed.

"Napoleon" stars Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. It is 154 minutes in length and tackles Napoleon's world-conquering theatrics, not to mention his frosty relationship with wife Joséphine (Kirby).

Scott's epic has also been "Rated R" for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief language. Based on what I've heard, it's a bloody and gruelling epic that has an incredible performance from Phoenix.

QuoteThough it's hard to say if and why the British invented the short Napoleon trope, there is some truth in Cruikshank's representation: Napoleon was probably significantly shorter than his troops. Several sources note that his elite guards were taller than most Frenchmen, and thus Napoleon had the appearance of being shorter than he really was. Yet interpretations of Napoleon's death certificate estimate that his height when he died was between 5'2" and 5'7" (1.58 and 1.7 meters). The discrepancy is often explained by the disparity between the 19th-century French inch, which was 2.71 cm, and the current inch measurement, which is 2.54 cm. Sources consequently estimate that Napoleon was probably closer to 5'6" or 5'7" (1.68 or 1.7 meters) than to 5'2". Although the range may seem short by 21st-century standards, it was typical in the 19th century, when most Frenchmen stood between 5'2" and 5'6" (1.58 and 1.68 meters) tall. Napoleon was thus average or taller, no matter the interpretation.

Quote from: Ingwar on Jul 10, 2023, 01:47:48 PMNapoleon wasn't actually short. It's a myth :)

Quote from: Still Collating... on Jul 10, 2023, 11:43:18 PMCan't resist Joaquin

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jul 10, 2023, 03:26:10 PMIt's missing something.

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jul 11, 2023, 12:26:20 AM

Quote from: Still Collating... on Jul 10, 2023, 11:43:18 PMCan't resist Joaquin

Ever seen SpaceCamp?

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 08, 2023, 08:31:03 PMStrange, Mission Impossible DR is a Paramount production, not Sony Pictures. And action/adventure audiences aren't generally historical drama fans.

Quote from: nanison on Jul 21, 2023, 12:47:57 PMThe fascinating part being how can you get people so far that they'd be willing to massacre one another without questions asked.

Quote from: nanison on Jul 24, 2023, 10:57:17 AMI can find a home everywhere.

Quote from: kwisatz on Jul 24, 2023, 11:27:22 AM

Quote from: nanison on Jul 24, 2023, 10:57:17 AMI can find a home everywhere.

Preferably in a democratic country, I suppose?

QuoteDavid's close association with the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror resulted in his signing of the death warrant for Alexandre de Beauharnais, a minor noble. Beauharnais's widow, Joséphine, went on to marry Napoleon Bonaparte and became his empress; David himself depicted their coronation in the Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine, 2 December 1804.

David had been an admirer of Napoleon from their first meeting, struck by Bonaparte's classical features. Requesting a sitting from the busy and impatient general, David was able to sketch Napoleon in 1797. David recorded the face of the conqueror of Italy, but the full composition of Napoleon holding the peace treaty with Austria remains unfinished. This was likely a decision by Napoleon himself after considering the current political situation. He may have considered the publicity the portrait would bring about to be ill-timed. Bonaparte had high esteem for David, and asked him to accompany him to Egypt in 1798, but David refused, seemingly unwilling to give up the material comfort, safety, and peace of mind he had obtained through the years. Draftsman and engraver Dominique Vivant Denon went to Egypt instead, providing mostly documentary and archaeological work.[22]

After Napoleon's successful coup d'état in 1799, as First Consul he commissioned David to commemorate his daring crossing of the Alps. The crossing of the St. Bernard Pass had allowed the French to surprise the Austrian army and win victory at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800. Although Napoleon had crossed the Alps on a mule, he requested that he be portrayed "calm upon a fiery steed". David complied with Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard. After the proclamation of the Empire in 1804, David became the official court painter of the regime. During this period he took students, one of whom was the Belgian painter Pieter van Hanselaere.

One of the works David was commissioned for was The Coronation of Napoleon (1805-1807). David was permitted to watch the event. He had plans of Notre Dame delivered and participants in the coronation came to his studio to pose individually, though never the Emperor. (The only time David obtained a sitting from Napoleon had been in 1797.) David did manage to get a private sitting with the Empress Joséphine and Napoleon's sister, Caroline Murat, through the intervention of erstwhile art patron Marshal Joachim Murat, the Emperor's brother-in-law. For his background, David had the choir of Notre Dame act as his fill-in characters. Pope Pius VII came to sit for the painting, and actually blessed David. Napoleon came to see the painter, stared at the canvas for an hour and said "David, I salute you." David had to redo several parts of the painting because of Napoleon's various whims, and for this painting, he received twenty-four thousand Francs.

David was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1803. He was promoted to an Officier in 1808. And, in 1815, he was promoted to a Commandant (now Commandeur) de la Légion d'honneur.

Quote from: EmpireSpecial things happen when Ridley Scott sets his sights on history. Sometimes, you get Gladiator – a thunderous, immersive, near-mythical tale that ensures you are entertained. Sometimes, you get the grand sweep of Kingdom Of Heaven (the director's cut, in particular) – an epic evocation of the Crusades, packed with clashing swords and astonishing combat. Sometimes, you get The Last Duel – a psychological deep-dive told across multiple perspectives. Now, make way for Napoleon. Scott's next historical epic looks to be all those things at once: a wild, non-typical biopic that breaks the rules to keep you hooked; a story told on a gigantic scale, with war, revolution and bloody battlefields; and, ultimately a scalpel to the psyche of Napoleon himself, and his tempestuous relationship with Joséphine de Beauharnais. The fuse is lit – get ready for the boom. In the new issue of Empire, we take a world-exclusive journey inside into Napoleon with Scott, plus his two lead stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby – getting the inside story on a huge new drama that burrows deep under the skin of its central figures. From the mercurial mindsets of Napoleon and Joséphine themselves, to the surprisingly swift shoot, to the mammoth undertaking of the production, and the blood-spattered legacy of its titular figure, get ready to charge into the heart of Scott's latest saga. Packed with never-before-seen images, surprising historical revelations, and stories as only Ridley Scott can tell them, it's the ultimate access to a major new event from one of cinema's greatest filmmakers.This month's newsstand cover sees Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon himself – with that infamous bicorne hat – take centre stage.And this month's subscriber cover is a striking geometric vision of one of history's wildest warmongers, illustrated exclusively for Empire by Noma Bar.

Quote from: ace3g on Jul 29, 2023, 01:19:03 PMhttps://twitter.com/empiremagazine/status/1685243959189049344

QuoteHow do you solve a problem like Napoleon Bonaparte? That's the quandary at the centre of Ridley Scott's upcoming historical epic, simply titled Napoleon – a film that is, at once, the kind of battle-fuelled behemoth you want from the director of Gladiator, and the exact opposite of that too. Emperor, conqueror, monster – the French military leader was many things. And Scott's film, above all else, is about trying to get into his head (perched somewhere under that gigantic bicorne hat) to find out exactly what made him tick.

The contradictions at play in Napoleon himself are channelled into Napoleon. While Scott is playing on a vast historical canvas, this isn't a rousing story of triumph. Instead, we get a film that doesn't shy away from the considerable amount of blood on Napoleon's hands. "I compare him with Alexander The Great. Adolf Hitler. Stalin," Scott tells Empire in our world-exclusive cover feature. "Listen, he's got a lot of bad shit under his belt. At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do and in his dominance. He was extraordinary." Joaquin Phoenix, too, was intent on subverting the usual tropes of heroics, victories, and the story of a rebellious figure rising through the ranks. "That's definitely something we wanted to avoid," he says. "Certainly speaking for myself, I actively wanted to avoid the conventions of the biopic."

Central to Scott's take was to focus on the tumultuous relationship between Phoenix's Napoleon – the star reuniting with his Gladiator director – and Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby). "It was very hard work, because it's so easy to start talking about battles when I want to talk about Napoleon," says Scott. "So I kept reining it in, I kept going back to Joséphine." For Kirby, it was a trip trying to discover the real Joséphine – who she was herself, and who she was to Napoleon. "What was so challenging, and kind of elusive, about her, was that every single book, whether it was first-hand accounts, third-hand stories, documents, testimonies, and Napoleon's letters... every single one was completely different," she explains. "She was just this massive contradiction. Every time I thought I'd locked down, 'Okay, this is who she is, and I think I can get hold of this', something would completely counteract it."

As for embodying Napoleon himself, Scott knew Phoenix was the man for the job when he caught up with Joker. ("I'm staring at Joaquin and saying, 'This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.' He looks like him.") Together they've created something that's a Ridley Scott movie through and through. "If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading," Phoenix tells Empire. "Because if you see this film, it's this experience told through Ridley's eyes. It's just such a complex world. I mean, it's so f**king complex. What we were after was something that would capture the feeling of this man." Bring on the psychological warfare.

Quote from: kwisatz on Jul 29, 2023, 01:33:57 PMImpressive half-ornamentation

Quote from: VarietyRidley Scott Says Joaquin Phoenix Told Him 'I Don't Know What to Do' Two Weeks Before 'Napoleon' Shoot, So They Spent 10 Days 'Talking Scene by Scene'

Ridley Scott told Empire magazine that Joaquin Phoenix felt clueless two weeks before cameras were set to roll on their historical epic "Napoleon." The film marks a long-in-the-works reunion between the director and the Oscar-winning actor, who worked together over two decades ago on "Gladiator." Phoenix is headlining the film as the French emperor opposite Venessa Kirby as his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.

"He'll come in, and you're f**king two weeks' out, and he'll say, 'I don't know what to do,'" Scott said about Phoenix. "I'll say, 'What?!' 'I don't know what to do.' I said, 'Come in, sit down.' We sat for 10 days, all day, talking scene by scene. In a sense, we rehearsed. Absolutely detail by detail."

Scott went on to call Phoenix "the best player of damaged goods," which is why he was so perfect to cast as Napoleon. The actor said it wasn't too tough of a decision to sign up for another film directed by Scott.

"The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again," Phoenix said. "I had such an incredible experience working with Ridley on 'Gladiator,' and I was so young. It was my first big production. I really yearned for that experience again, or something similar. He's approached me about other things in the past, but nothing that felt like it would be as demanding for both of us. And so I really liked the idea of jumping into something with Ridley that was going to be that."

Scott previously revealed to Empire that casting Phoenix as Napoleon resulted in the script being entirely rewritten to make the actor more comfortable. The "Napoleon" script was penned by David Scarpa, who also wrote the screenplay for the Scott-directed "All the Money in the World."

"Joaquin is about as far from conventional as you can get," Scott said. "Not deliberately, but out of intuition. That's what makes him tick. If something bothers him, he'll let you know. He made ['Napoleon'] special by constantly questioning."

"With Joaquin, we can rewrite the film because he's uncomfortable. And that kind of happened with 'Napoleon,'" the director continued. "We unpicked the film to help him focus on who Bonaparte was. I had to respect that, because what was being said was incredibly constructive. It made it all grow bigger and better."

Apple and Sony are releasing "Napoleon" in theaters on Nov. 22.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 31, 2023, 03:26:44 PMArt History Professor @Kradan should write a thesis on Ridley Scott's use of classical paintings in his films.

Quote from: Kradan on Jul 31, 2023, 05:11:05 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 31, 2023, 03:26:44 PMArt History Professor @Kradan should write a thesis on Ridley Scott's use of classical paintings in his films.

Sure, right after I'm done with my thesis about a group of graffiti artists from Kherson

Quote from: Empire MagazineNapoleon's Unscripted Slap Came From An Agreement To Go To Dark Places: 'We Always Wanted To Surprise Each Other', Says Vanessa Kirby.

Underneath all the battles, the blood, and that bicorne hat, Ridley Scott's Napoleon is actually about a relationship – and a deeply unhealthy one at that. Right from its inception, his film was intended to hinge on the French Emperor's tumultuous relationship with Joséphine de Beauharnais – a push-pull of power, lust, and twisted personal dynamics, as the pair both clash with and complement each other through their years together. In those roles, Scott has put together a powerhouse on-screen couple – the ever-uncompromising Joaquin Phoenix more than meeting his match in the formidable Vanessa Kirby.

Together, Phoenix and Kirby allowed each other to go to dark and unexpected places, to find spontaneity and life in historic material. And it delivers shocking moments – including one unscripted interaction during their (historical spoiler alert!) divorce scene, where Phoenix's Napoleon slaps Kirby's Joséphine. "We were using the real words from their divorce in the church," explains Kirby. "When that happens, you can faithfully go through an archival re-enactment of it and read out the lines and then go home. But we always wanted to surprise each other." To do just that, the pair decided to create a space where they could be free to go wherever felt right in the moment. "It's the greatest thing when you have a creative partner and you say, 'Right, everything's safe. I'm with you. And we're gonna go to the dark places together'," Kirby explains.

For Phoenix, the boundaries were clear on what he and Kirby might expect from one another when those unplanned moments arose. "She said, 'Look, whatever you feel, you can do.' I said, 'Same thing with you.' She said, 'You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever it is'," he recalls. "So we had this agreement that we were going to surprise each other and try and create moments that weren't there, because both of us wanted to avoid the cliché of the period drama. And by that I mean moments that are well-orchestrated and designed."

The results, they hope, create some kind of portrait of Napoleon and Joséphine's chaotic relationship, in all its volatility, pain, and passion. "We never really got to the bottom of it," says Phoenix. "I don't know if you can call it love. I don't know what it was. But we encouraged each other, demanded of each other, to challenge ourselves to shock each other in moments. And that's what came out of that, that moment." That's the approach when it comes to Napoleon all around: expect the unexpected.

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/napoleon-unscripted-slap-wanted-to-surprise-each-other-vanessa-kirby-exclusive/

Quote from: Kradan on Aug 01, 2023, 02:37:37 PMOh, you remember that ? How sweet of you

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 03, 2023, 02:40:40 PMhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/F2m_mHQXsAAJuZm?format=jpg&name=large

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 03, 2023, 02:40:40 PMNew stills from Empire Magazine:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F2m_m-3WQAAvjWa?format=jpg&name=medium

Quote from: Ingwar on Aug 03, 2023, 10:09:05 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 03, 2023, 02:40:40 PMNew stills from Empire Magazine:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F2m_m-3WQAAvjWa?format=jpg&name=medium

Fake snow, Scott's signature :)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 04, 2023, 07:50:24 AMAlso wearing his trademark (TM) pufferjacket.  ;D

Quote from: Slash FilmRidley Scott Cut Napoleon's Bloody Battle With Hemorrhoids: 'Too Distracting'

Napoleon Bonaparte fanatics, I have some very bad news for you. And for you non-fanatics, I've got some delicate explaining to do.

As you hopefully learned in school, Napoleon was one of the greatest military strategists in world history. He scored decisive victories against the massive Russian and Austrian militaries at Austerlitz in 1805, and served as Emperor of the French twice for a combined 11 years. His brilliance has been analyzed in countless books and dramatized in many movies (from Sergei Bondarchuk's masterful "War and Peace" to Stephen Herek's equally masterful "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure").

He was a fascinating man, and, ultimately, hubristic. He suffered a severe setback when he invaded Russia in 1812 (returning to France with 6,000 men after leaving with 450,000), and famously endured his final comeuppance at Waterloo, which resulted in the British exiling him to the island of Saint Helena where he died at the age of 51.

His life will once again be explored on the big screen in Ridley Scott's forthcoming "Napoleon," which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the enigmatic general. For a biopic that purports to depict Napoleon's rise and fall, Scott's film runs a surprisingly brisk 158 minutes. Scott is, of course, famous for truncated theatrical releases (most notably "Kingdom of Heaven," which hit multiplexes missing an hour of essential narrative in 2005), but he's also more than earned the benefit of the doubt over his remarkable 46-year career.

Still, details about what's not in the movie are beginning to trickle out. And when I say "trickle," I mean ... well, if you're at all squeamish when it comes to rectal maladies, you might want to click your way out of this article.

Napoleon's problems really piled up at Waterloo

Hemorrhoids. They happen, and for folks who do a surfeit of sitting, they can get pretty gnarly. Truckers, writers, and horseback riders are especially susceptible to this accursed condition. And they apparently did to Napoleon's backside what he did to Austria.

Scott acknowledged this in an interview with Empire, and, in classic Scott fashion, discussed the subject with amusing bluntness. "Napoleon was a horseman, he suffered from piles," said the director. "That's varicose veins up your butt, right? I don't have them, but they're very, very painful, it ain't funny. It's like having a toothache up your butt. There's nothing you can do."

Over the years, some historians have speculated that Napoleon's throbbing tuchus cost him the battle of Waterloo. He was in such searing posterior pain that he couldn't summon his celebrated battlefield genius. Scott initially sought to depict this facet of Napoleon's final defeat, but thought better of it. Here's how he explained his thinking to Empire:

Quote"We sense history might have been different had Napoleon not had a very bad attack of piles on the day of Waterloo. You heard this one? Okay. So I had him at Waterloo, sitting on the loo, and it's pouring with rain outside, and he does his business. He gets up, looks in the loo, there is blood. Then he does the day in battle, sweating and in agony with the piles. David [Scarpa, the screenwriter] said, 'Isn't this rather undignified?' I said, 'Maybe, but it's accurate.' But we took it out of the movie because it became too distracting."

The excision of the hemorrhoid subplot will doubtlessly please some historians like Alasdair White, who believes the impact of this affliction was invented by butt-hurt Napoleon fanboys. I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this subject, but I tend to believe his physical discomfort might've been less of a factor than his arrogance and the simple fact that the French were outnumbered by the Seventh Coalition. He was due a spanking one way or another.


And yet I'm disappointed that we won't get to see Best Actor-winner Joaquin Phoenix endure a difficult bowel movement. It's a scene that could very well belong in the scatalogical pantheon with Jeff Daniels' porcelain punishment in "Dumb and Dumber" and Christopher Meloni's spandex-clad mishap in "They Came Together." But I'll leave you with this encouraging thought: Scott might be known for slashing material out of his theatrical cuts, but he's just as famous for restoring this footage with his director's cuts.

When you're dealing with a Ridley Scott film, sooner or later, it all comes out in the end.

Quote from: The TelegraphLetting Napoleon slap Josephine 'is romanticising abuse', film warned
New Ridley Scott picture shows volatile nature of French emperor's relationship with his wife, but campaigners worry it sends a bad message.

Women's groups have warned that depictions of Napoleon's relationship with Josephine in a spectacular new biopic could inadvertently glamourise domestic violence.

Sir Ridley Scott's Napoleon includes scenes in which the French emperor slaps his wife over their divorce.

The film is understood to depict the volatile, sometimes violent relationship between the couple, played by Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby.

But campaigners have warned that the glamorous historical setting and costume drama format of Napoleon could trivialise what is an abusive relationship.

In an interview with Empire magazine Phoenix said that ahead of shooting the divorce scene, Kirby said to him: "You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever it is."

He added: "Both of us wanted to avoid the cliché of period drama, and by that I mean moments that are well-orchestrated and designed.

"We are trying to capture this mercurial , strange relationship that they had. There was something really volatile and dangerous about their interactions."

Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of The Crown, says: "Right from early on, we wanted to be able to go to any places. Nothing is really off-limits, as long as it's true to their natures."

However, people who work with victims of domestic violence have said that even with consent between two actors to make a scene "authentic", there is a danger of making abuse appear acceptable and even romantic when depicted in a film about a famous couple in a historical setting.

A spokeswoman for Women's Aid told The Telegraph: "While the portrayal of domestic abuse and violence in cinema and on TV can generate greater awareness and discussion of the topic, it is vital that this is handled responsibly, with great awareness of the experience of survivors and with the sole purpose of educating the viewer – not romanticising abuse.

"While this may have been a consensual part of the acting process in this case, descriptions like these could benefit from being more measured and the fact that domestic abuse and violence are completely intolerable in our society made explicitly clear."

Kirby says she came to feel passionately about the way Josephine – who was born in Martinique, in the French Antilles in 1763 and had been married once before her wedding to Napoleon in 1796 – has been sidelined by history.

She told Empire: "As I came to learn, there are thousands of books on Napoleon and only about 60 on Josephine. That stayed with me. Her life is so astonishing. Every year of it, in different ways.

"I love taking on women that you don't know much about, that have led really cool lives."

As part of her preparation for the role Kirby visited Josephine's tomb, "in the back of a tiny church, way outside Paris. And then to come into Paris and see his [Napoleon's], and it's this huge monument. I feel so passionate on her behalf."

In the interview Scott, who directed Napoleon mostly in England and Malta, said he did not think the slap in the divorce scene had been planned by the two actors.

"He just f---ing slapped her. She didn't know it was coming either, The whole room went [sharp intake of breath]. And you know, what could have been a boring scene suddenly had magic."

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 07, 2023, 10:20:26 AMInteresting... thought Ridley's grand daughter, Cuba Tornado Scott was going to do that, since she made The Last Duel documentary.

Ridley is nepotic like that.   ;D

QuoteAboard the Bellerophon
Maitland was given command of the 58-gun HMS Goliath between 1813 and 1814, and was sent aboard her to the Halifax and West Indian stations. He was appointed to the 98-gun HMS Boyne in November 1814 and ordered to sail to North America. Maitland spent the early part of 1815 gathering a fleet of transports and merchants in Cork harbour in preparation for crossing the Atlantic, but found himself unable to set sail due to a succession of strong westerly winds. Before he could sail, news reached England of Napoleon's escape from Elba and his return as Emperor of the French. Maitland's orders were immediately countermanded, and he was moved to the 74-gun HMS Bellerophon. He sailed aboard her from Plymouth on 24 May, under the orders of Sir Henry Hotham. The Bellerophon was stationed off Rochefort in the Bay of Biscay, watching the French warships in the harbour. Whilst the Bellerophon was off Rochefort, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. News of this reached Maitland on 28 June, followed by a letter from Bordeaux that warned him that Napoleon was planning an escape to America from the French Atlantic coast, probably from Bordeaux. Maitland believed that Rochefort was the more likely point of escape, but took the precaution of sending two smaller craft to cover other ports, one to Bordeaux, and another to Arcachon. He kept the Bellerophon herself off Rochefort. Hotham was aboard HMS Superb covering Quiberon Bay, whilst a string of British frigates, corvettes, and brigs were watching all along the coast. Hotham told Maitland that should he intercept Bonaparte, he was to take the former emperor to England.

Maitland and Napoleon
Maitland's instincts proved correct, and Napoleon arrived at Rochefort in early July. By this time, he was in an untenable position. He could no longer remain in France without risking arrest; indeed, Prussian troops had orders to capture him dead or alive. However, the Bellerophon and the rest of Hotham's fleet were blocking every port. He therefore authorised the opening of negotiations with Maitland. The negotiations opened on 10 July. Maitland refused to allow Napoleon to sail for America, but offered to take him to England instead. The negotiations went on for four days, but eventually Napoleon acquiesced. He surrendered to Maitland on 15 July and embarked the Bellerophon with his staff and servants. Maitland placed his cabin at the former emperor's disposal and sailed the Bellerophon to England. She reached Torbay on 24 July, but was ordered to Plymouth, whilst a decision was made by the government over Bonaparte's fate. She sailed again on 4 August and whilst off Berry Head on 7 August, Napoleon and his staff were removed to HMS Northumberland, which conveyed him to his final exile on Saint Helena. Maitland later wrote a detailed Narrative of Bonaparte's time on the Bellerophon, which he subsequently published in 1826.

Quote from: Ingwar on Aug 08, 2023, 08:31:30 PMMy guess is Maitland.

Quote from: The TimesNapoleon film row as Ridley Scott likens emperor to Hitler and Stalin
Frenchman's admirers say the comparison is unsuitable and believe director's stance has been misguided by inept Anglo-Saxon historians.

In an interview about his upcoming biopic Ridley Scott said "I compare [Napoleon] with Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, Stalin."

Sir Ridley Scott, the British film director, is facing criticism in France for comparing Napoleon Bonaparte to Hitler and Stalin while promoting his forthcoming biopic.

His film, Napoleon, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the soldier who himself proclaimed emperor of France, is due out in November but is already stimulating debate.

Napoleon's admirers say the comparison is inappropriate and believe that Scott has been influenced by inept Anglo-Saxon historians.

Focusing on the rise to power of the French emperor, Scott's movie will come out in November and features Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 09, 2023, 07:55:54 PMThe Sir just can't stay out of trouble:

Quote from: The TimesNapoleon film row as Ridley Scott likens emperor to Hitler and Stalin
Frenchman's admirers say the comparison is unsuitable and believe director's stance has been misguided by inept Anglo-Saxon historians.

In an interview about his upcoming biopic Ridley Scott said "I compare [Napoleon] with Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, Stalin."

Sir Ridley Scott, the British film director, is facing criticism in France for comparing Napoleon Bonaparte to Hitler and Stalin while promoting his forthcoming biopic.

His film, Napoleon, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the soldier who himself proclaimed emperor of France, is due out in November but is already stimulating debate.

Napoleon's admirers say the comparison is inappropriate and believe that Scott has been influenced by inept Anglo-Saxon historians.

Focusing on the rise to power of the French emperor, Scott's movie will come out in November and features Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon.

There was quite a big row on twitter  by French users about those comparisons after the Empire article came out.

Quote from: Ingwar on Aug 09, 2023, 08:21:14 PMBloody Anglo-Saxons historians! ;D

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 10, 2023, 09:35:00 AMBut he was also a pretty ruthless and insatiable warlord with an ego that makes Elon Musk look like a shy guy with some serious low self-esteem issues.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 10, 2023, 12:03:44 PMImagine if they had twitter back then...  :laugh:

QuoteAhead of his new epic, with Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, Scott has caused anger with his comments about his lead character, comparing him to Hitler and Stalin. What's the truth of the matter, asks Neil Armstrong.

It was the opening of his campaign, and the British veteran unleashed a salvo of shots at the French lines. That is to say, director Ridley Scott was promoting his latest film, due to be released in November.

Napoleon promises to be an epic account of the rise of the emperor, played by Joaquin Phoenix, focusing on his volatile relationship with his first wife Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

And while there's months to go before we see the end result, conversation has started swirling around the biopic in earnest, thanks to comments Scott has made in an interview with film magazine Empire. "I compare [Napoleon] with Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, Stalin. Listen, he's got a lot of bad shit under his belt," he declared, explaining his take on the character.

Quoi? Arrête! The French wasted no time in returning fire and correcting the impudent Brit. "Hitler and Stalin built nothing and only wrought destruction," Pierre Branda, academic director of the Fondation Napoléon, told The Telegraph. "Napoleon built things that are still in place today." Thierry Lentz of the Fondation Napoléon said in the same piece: "Napoleon did not destroy either France or Europe. His legacy was subsequently celebrated, embraced and expanded on." So what is the truth of the matter – and does Scott have a leg to stand on?

Napoleon, a brilliant military commander, seized power in 1799 during a period of political instability in France following the French Revolution. Admirers say he made France a more meritocratic country than it had been under the pre-revolutionary ancien régime. He centralised the government, reorganised banking, overhauled education and instituted the Napoleonic code, which transformed the legal system and served as a model for many other countries.

But he also waged a series of bloody wars across Europe, establishing an empire that, at its height, stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to Moscow. By 1812, the only areas of Europe free from his control, by direct rule or puppet rule or through alliance, were Britain, Portugal, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire. He was finally defeated in 1815 by an alliance of nations led by Britain in the Battle of Waterloo.

Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars loomed large in the minds of British people of the period and beyond. Cartoonists were obsessed with him. He is in the background of Jane Austen's novels. Pride and Prejudice, which was published in 1813, for example, features the militia that was to repel the expected invasion by Napoleon. Charlotte Brontë owned a fragment of Napoleon's original coffin, given to her by her tutor in Brussels. Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective Sherlock Holmes dubs villain Professor Moriarty "the Napoleon of crime". In George Orwell's Animal Farm, published in 1945, the pig who becomes a dictator is called Napoleon. But is calling Napoleon a dictator – and equating him with other infamous dictators – really fair?

The differing views of him

Philip Dwyer, professor of history at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and the author of a three-volume biography of Napoleon, doesn't think so. "You can have a debate about whether Napoleon was a tyrant or not – I'd be leaning towards the tyrant – but he was certainly no Hitler or Stalin, two authoritarian dictators who brutally repressed their own people, resulting in millions of deaths."

Some have even argued that the Empire was a 'police state' because there was a complex system of secret informers keeping tabs on public opinion," he continues. "But very few people – a number of aristocrats more or less involved in plots to overthrow the regime, a couple of journalists – were actually executed by Napoleon for their opposition. If I was going to compare Napoleon to anyone, then I would go back in history to Louis XIV, an absolute monarch who waged unnecessary wars costing thousands of lives.

"So too Napoleon waged wars  – again debatable whether they were necessary or not – costing the lives of millions of people, although we don't know how many civilians were killed directly or indirectly as a result of the wars."

French journalist and Telegraph columnist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet agrees that Napoleon is not comparable to Hitler or Stalin. "He [Napoleon] did not have concentration camps," she tells BBC Culture. "He did not single out minorities for massacre. Yes, there were intrusive political police but ordinary people could live as they liked and say what they wanted."

Moutet says that the French view Napoleon principally as a reformer.

"He had a remarkable mind and was the instigator of a body of laws and institutions that we still live by today.

"We like to think – and it's not entirely false – that lots of people were much happier being ruled by the French than living under whatever feudal laws they had had."

However Charles Esdaile, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Liverpool and the author of several books on Napoleon including Napoleon's Wars: An International History 1803-15, has a different view.

"I see Napoleon as a warlord," he says. "A man who was driven by personal ambition and who was absolutely ruthless. A man who had a very clear vision of the sort of France he needed to construct and, indeed, the sort of Europe he needed to construct, to support his war machine. Any idea that he was some sort of liberator, some sort of a man of the future – essentially this is all part of the Napoleonic legend.

The Napoleonic propaganda machine was a very, very powerful tool in the course of the Empire and churned out a version of his wars in which much of the fault was down to perfidious Albion," he adds. "It wasn't France at all – it was everybody making war against France. This powerful Napoleonic legend continues to operate to this day. Napoleon is a living presence. He continues to operate from beyond the grave. He continues to mould the way in which we see him."

But Esdaile also rejects the Hitler and Stalin comparisons.

"Napoleon had many faults and was a loathsome individual but the racial ideology that underpinned the Nazi regime simply wasn't there," he says. "Napoleon is not guilty of genocide. Napoleon doesn't engage in wholesale purges. In fairness to Napoleon, the number of political prisoners in the course of his reign is relatively limited. To compare him with Hitler and Stalin is a historical nonsense."

Of course, Ridley Scott, a titan of the film industry, director of Blade Runner, Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, Alien and many others, has been in the business long enough to know how to promote a movie. (Napoleon is a return to the milieu of his first feature, The Duellists, released more than four decades ago.) It's entirely possible he knew the Hitler and Stalin remarks would generate publicity and that is why he made them.

So will Esdaile be going to see Napoleon when it is released?

"I suppose I'm going to have to but I know it can't be any good because Rod Steiger is not playing Napoleon," he jokes. "There is so much wrong with the 1970 film Waterloo but Steiger's performance as Napoleon is just outstanding."

Quote from: Esquire MagazineAre We Entering a New Golden Age of Historical Epics?
With a Napoleon biopic and Gladiator sequel on the horizon, there's clearly an appetite for Big Event Movies.

Now that the radioactive fallout from Oppenheimer's detonation is starting to settle, and the mushroom cloud that was Barbenheimer has drifted away on the breeze, it's a bit easier to see the whole thing for what it was. Christopher Nolan has made a good film, and loads of people went to see it at the cinema, and so far it's made north of $725 million on a $100 million budget. Happy days, whichever way you slice it.

Leave aside the typically Nolanesque time-scrambling narratives and Oppenheimer is, in a lot of ways, a blast from the past. It's a war story packed with stars, led by a prestige director and hotly tipped for awards season. You've seen a hundred of 'em. They're BBC4 fodder. Yet Oppenheimer – in a quite Nolan-y twist – might also be the future too.

Oppenheimer hasn't started a trend, but it's the first of a run of historical epics which could turn out to be blockbusters like it has become. Ridley Scott continues his ridiculously productive eighties with a biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the general and Vanessa Kirby as his wife Joséphine. When it was announced Scott said he'd always been fascinated by the French emperor. "He came out of nowhere to rule everything – but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Joséphine," Scott said. "He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn't, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process."

He's also working on Gladiator 2 with (Esquire's newest cover star) Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, which should be gigantic. They're all about different times and different ideas, and their attitudes toward actual history range from painstakingly researched to a broad feeling for vibes. And, really, the historical epic never went away. But it feels like it's back as one of the pillars of Big Event Movies after some time gathering dust in the archives.

There's a distinction here between a historical epic and a period drama. A period drama plops a story and characters into a time and place in a few specific bits of the past: the whole of the 20th century is up for grabs, plus the grottier bits of the nineteenth, the fancier bits of the early 18th, and Shakespearean London. A historical epic is less about using a time and place as a setting and more about using it as an engine for the story. Gladiator might be fictional, but it's the heaving tides of history that take Maximus Decimus Meridius from the front lines of the war against Germanic tribes to North Africa and back to Rome.

But more than anything, it's about the size of the ideas. Period dramas tend to be drawn on a smaller scale while historical epics reach for something timeless and gigantic. For instance: Oppenheimer broke apart the fundamental matter of the universe and made it possible for humanity to destroy itself; Pearl Harbor was more interested in blowing things up. One is an epic, the other is Pearl Harbor.

We're in the middle of one of the occasional booms in historical movies. Last year there was The Woman King and All Quiet on the Western Front, both of which made their mark – the latter won seven Baftas including Best Film – but along with musicals they're a type of movie that have been popular as long as there's been movies.

The late Twenties and Thirties were a golden age: between 1929 and 1939, six of the 10 Best Picture Oscar winners were historical epics. They were big through the early Sixties too: the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton Cleopatra bombed but was a massive story, while Ben-Hur, Spartacus, El Cid and Lawrence of Arabia were huge.

You can see the appeal for filmmakers and studios: some of these stories are so embedded within the culture that everyone roughly knows what they're getting themselves into beforehand. Making a movie about Napoleon – or Hitler, or Henry VIII, or Helen of Troy – makes marketing a breeze. It's the historical equivalent of making another Expendables. You know where you are.

So why are they back now? Well, on one level, they might not actually be back. This might be two Ridley Scott films and a Chris Nolan film landing in the same 18-month period, to the power of a one-off grassroots cross-promotional meme-storm. This isn't like the boom in biopics about products and brands. It's not like every streamer is going to be able to join the rush by running to one of Britain's A-list directors and getting them to knock together a biopic of Charlemagne.

I think there's certainly something to the excitement which Oppenheimer, Napoleon and Gladiator 2 have generated though. They're all likely to be very serious films with designs on big awards, and though the stock of historical movies goes up and down it's rare that there's a year when not a single one is nominated for the Best Picture Oscar – it was 2009 last time that happened. But none of those movies challenged the top 10 of the biggest grossing movies in their years. You've got to go back to The Last Samurai in 2003 for the last historical movie to make the global top 10. As it stands, Oppenheimer is fourth in the 2023 list.

Oppenheimer strikes a noticeably grown-up tone for a Big Event Movie to take after a good 15 years where most of the Big Event Movies have either been from Marvel or the world of Avatar. In fact, movies like Oppenheimer are the exact opposite of the huge hits we've gradually become blasé about. Not every movie can be an event, but as the various multiverses unravel, there's hope in the fact that stories told inventively by skilled directors have shown they can get people buying cinema tickets and talking about movies. We're not looking at a chain reaction here, but a spark which might catch light.

Quote from: World of Reel'Napoleon': Ridley Scott Has A "Fantastic" Four and a Half Hour Cut He'd Like to Release

Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" hasn't even been released yet, but its filmmaker is already banging the drums for his original director's cut to get released.

Speaking to Empire Magazine, Scott says he has a "fantastic" cut of "Napoleon" that clocks in at 270 minutes and which further fleshes out Vanessa Kirby's performance as Joséphine:

Napoleon' is almost three hours long, although Scott has a "fantastic" near four-and-a-half-hour cut, which features more of Joséphine's life before she meets Napoleon. He'd love Apple (who funded the film) to eventually screen it. But what they have now is hardly slight. "It's an astonishing story," Phoenix says of Napoleon's life. "Hopefully we captured some of the most interesting moments." Even without the piles.

"Napoleon" has a theatrical runtime of 157 minutes, it's already been MPA rated so that will likely not change. However ... cue in #ReleaseTheScottCut hashtags. The cut Scott talks about above is over an hour longer.

Apple clearly has high hopes for the film. They've decided to release it during the thick of awards season on November 22nd. Something does have to be said about that.

"Napoleon" has been "Rated R" for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief language. Based on what I've heard, it's a bloody and gruelling epic that has this incredibly eccentric performance from Joaquin Phoenix.

Produced and financed by Apple, Scott's epic reunites the filmmaker with Phoenix as the European conquering emperor. Scott is 85-years-old, but this is one of the most ambitious films of his career. It is said to tackle Napoleon's world-conquering theatrics, not to mention his frosty relationship with wife Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

Scott is no stranger to "Director's Cuts." We all know about the multiple "Blade Runner" cuts. Also, his Crusades epic, "Kingdom of Heaven," was originally released in the summer of 2005 to negative reviews which led to Scott adding more than an hour's worth of deleted footage. The result? More fully fleshed-out characters, plot holes no longer visible and action sequences which could now breathe and sing in effective fashion.

Is the same story again happening with "Napoleon"?

Quote from: World of ReelRidley Scott's 'Napoleon' Might Be Delayed to 2024

A new report from Variety claims that Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" might delay its November release date to 2024.

"Napoleon" should be the next calendar shift at Sony, given its biopic casting of Joaquin Phoenix as the titular emperor. Without Phoenix to help on the promo side, the film could struggle to stand out among five other films set for the Thanksgiving window. Streaming partner Apple has yet to set its own date for the film, so it'll be best to figure out a new release plan sooner than later."

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2023/9/1/1t4t0z5dgckokkyqdqzrk3kvfgudj6

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 25, 2023, 08:55:39 AM

Quote from: Ingwar on Aug 25, 2023, 01:50:05 AMJust look at Oppenheimer. It did spectacular at the box office as R rated movie without proper promotion. Moving Dune to March is nonsense. What's the point?

I wonder if Napoleon's release date is going to swift as well? Haven't seen any indications yet and it's now three months out from release.

Vanessa Kirby is British and Scott isn't busy with Gladiator so they at least would be able to participate in the press tour.

Also less competition at the box office for Napoleon with Dunc II removed from the November slot.

Quote from: SiL on Sep 04, 2023, 07:42:22 AMKirby is a member of SAG-AFTRA from what I can tell, so she also can't do any promotional work on it.

QuoteInternationally, SAG-AFTRA members are authorized to continue work in the United Kingdom under pre-established Equity collective bargaining agreements, as UK law criminalizes solidarity strikes.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Sep 04, 2023, 07:59:36 AMShe's British, but I see she's won a Screen Actors Guild award, so she probably has dual British/US citizenship.

Quote from: Entertainment WeeklyRidley Scott filmed Napoleon like a general: 'I plan it, in a funny kind of way, like a battle'
The filmmaker talks about filming Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia, as seen in EW's exclusive sneak peek.

It takes one to know one, they say. So, to make his new film about one of the most successful military generals in history, Napoleon director Ridley Scott had to become a bit of a general himself.

"I can read all the books in the world on him, but instead, because the film is such a large event, I rely on my very good team," Scott tells EW. "My team does marvelous military costumes like I've never seen before. The costumes are mind-blowing, and then I have a military expert for cause-and-effect battle sequences. That's all coordinated. I plan it, in a funny kind of way, a little bit like a battle."

Just as a military commander like Napoleon Bonaparte might coordinate a battle plan beforehand with his general staff, Scott needed to meet regularly with the heads of various departments in order to plan massive sequences... like, say, Napoleon's invasion of Russia, which you can glimpse in EW exclusive photos below

"When you do a film like this, you have to have all your department heads edge around the table regularly," Scott says. "We have meetings once a week, and we go page by page. Page one, I have a problem. What's the problem? And then on to page two. We fly through it like that because everybody's in the picture and the left hand always knows what the right hand is doing."

The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby as wife Josephine. Scott wanted to make their romance the center of the movie, but still chronicle the highlights of Napoleon's extensive military career. Over the course of a single decade, the commander led a revolutionary French army against the other great powers of Europe, and succeeded for years — even bringing the Holy Roman Empire to an end after breaking their army at Austerlitz.

For all Napoleon's brilliance on the battlefield, he severely miscalculated his invasion of Russia. In these photos, you can see his arrival in Moscow — which was deserted when he arrived. Soon, it was burning.

"I don't think he was, in any shape or form, naive," Scott says. "He would have known very much what a Russian winter could do — and yet he went in a little late and stayed a little too long. And while he was in Moscow, he found the city was deserted. He wanted confrontation to see who could do what to who, but it was not what he expected. There wasn't much facing off on the battlefield, like there was at Waterloo. The Russians employed a very efficient group called the Cossacks who did a lot of hit-and-run continual harassment."

"What happened with the burning of Moscow," Scott continues, "was he became even more impressed by what the Russians would do to obviate a loss. In a way, they neutralized his victory."

After tearing across Europe for years, Napoleon's career finally came to an end on the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died at the relatively young age of 51. Scott, though, never wants his filmmaking struggle to end.

"These kinds of films are like climbing a mountain," Scott says. "At the ground level, the peak looks a long way off. But as you climb up the hill with your partners in this ridiculously challenging LEGO kit of information you're trying to put together, sometimes pieces don't fit and you're already at 20,000 feet. It's a continual day-by-day process, but that's why I do it. I love it."

Quote"The Russians don't know how to make either war or peace. They are a degenerate nation." - Napoleon

QuoteThe sheer size of Napoleon's army is hard to compute. He had over 1 million men under arms in 1812 which was larger than the entire population of Paris at the time. It was certainly the largest invasion force in the history of mankind to that time, and very much a multi-national one. Poles made up the largest single foreign contingent, but it also comprised Austrians, Prussians, Westphalians, Württembergers, Saxons, Bavarians, Swiss, Dutch, Illyrians, Dalmatians, Neapolitans, Croats, Romans, Piedmontese, Florentines, Hessians, Badeners, Spaniards and Portuguese.

QuoteAn average of 1,000 horses were to die for every day of the 175 days that the Grande Armée spent in Russia.

QuoteUp to 140,000 of Napoleon's soldiers died of disease in 1812, the majority of them from typhus but a significant number from dysentery and related illnesses.

QuoteHundreds killed themselves, recalled Lieutenant Karl von Suckow, a Mecklenburger serving with the Württemberg Guard, 'feeling no longer able to endure such hardship. Every day one heard isolated shots ring out in the woods near the road. Medicine had become almost unobtainable

QuoteGeneral von Scheler reported to his king that even as early as crossing the Vistula 'all regular food supply and orderly distribution ceased, and from there as far as Moscow not a pound of meat or bread, not a glass of brandy was taken through legal distribution or regular requisition'

QuoteThe army utterly lost its morale and its military organization. Soldiers no longer obeyed their officers; officers paid no regard to their generals; shattered regiments marched as best they could. Searching for food, they dispersed over the plain, burning and sacking everything in their way ... Tormented by hunger, they rushed on every horse as soon as it fell, and like famished wolves fought for the pieces. Meanwhile toes, fingers, noses, ears and sexual organs were lost to frostbite.

QuoteWith the thermometer dropping to -30ºC on November 7, and blizzards seemingly continuous, the retreat slowed to a crawl. Some 5,000 horses died in a matter of days. Men's breath turned to icicles when it left their mouths, their lips stuck together and their nostrils froze up. In an echo of the desert ophthalmia of the Egyptian campaign, men were afflicted with snow-blindness. Comradeship collapsed; men were charged a gold louis to sit by a fire, and declined to share any food or water; they ate the horses' forage, and drove wagons over men who had slipped in front of them.

QuoteThere were several well-documented instances of cannibalism; Kutuzov's British liaison officer Sir Robert Wilson saw that when groups of French were captured around a campfire, 'many in these groups were employed in peeling off with their fingers and making a repast of the charred flesh of their comrades' remains'.

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 03, 2023, 01:15:57 PMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCm9ouUNqA

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 02, 2023, 03:30:49 PM70MM release!!!

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 03, 2023, 02:51:09 PM

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 02, 2023, 03:30:49 PM70MM release!!!

Pardon my ignorance, but how does 70mm work in this day and age? Obviously Ridley/Wolski shot in digital, so does the finished movie then get printed onto actual film and projected or is it merely a digital projection equivalent to 70mm film?

QuoteRidley Scott filmed Napoleon in just 62 days – despite it featuring six huge battle scenes

Ridley Scott is no stranger to historical epics, from 1492: Conquest of Paradise to Gladiator – which single-handedly revived the swords-and-sandals genre – to Kingdom of Heaven. And he's back staging huge-scale battles against a period backdrop in the upcoming Napoleon.

This take on the French leader, played here by Gladiator actor Joaquin Phoenix, covers his rise and fall in the context of his relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby), looking as much at politics of the bedroom as the battleground.

In the new issue of Total Film, which hits shelves next week, Scott talks in-depth about Napoleon (as well as digging into the biggest films of his career). At 85 years old, he's showing no signs of slowing down – literally, in terms of how quickly he can prep and shoot a movie. And there's no shrinking of his ambitions when it comes to spectacle too. Here's an exclusive shot of Scott on set with Phoenix from the new issue of Total Film:

Scott announced that he'd be turning his attention to Napoleon on 14 October 2020, the same day that The Last Duel wrapped filming. He works fast, and had begun the 62-day shoot – yes, just 62 days, ridiculous for a film of this scale – by February 2022.

As Scott points out, Napoleon took part in 66 battles over the course of his career, which would be impossible to put on screen. In the film, there are six battles, and each is staged differently, and each one wows.

Scott puts his prowess with shooting action down to his background in commercials (having shot a lot of sport) and also, particularly, his time at art school.

"The best thing for my career I could ever have done was to go to the art schools I went to. I can really draw. After seven years of art school, you bloody better well be able to. I'll draw all my own storyboards. Every frame is drawn from close-up to medium shots. The locations I haven't found yet – I'll imagine the location. So we'll look for that location. Visual narrative is my strength. I find it very easy, therefore, to handle eight or 11 cameras at once."

Scott used to shoot two commercials a week and would operate the camera on all of them. He took that into his filmmaking. "I was the only operator – one camera – on Alien," he says. "I was the only operator – one camera – on The Duellists. Legend. Thelma & Louise. On all these things, I operated the camera. And so I know exactly what a lens will give me. Today, that has evolved into six to eight to 11 cameras. So I'll sit in my trailer. I'll have monitors like this [spreads arms to indicate a bank of screens]. I'll be sitting there, talking to each operator.

"Every scene is geometry. By having 11 to 14 cameras, we shot Napoleon in 62 days. I'm doing Gladiator 2 now in 54 days, because I'm not doing 50 takes with one camera, on one shot, and then turning around. This normal fight [scene] that could take anything up to a month, I'll take six days. So the savings are colossal."

Napoleon opens in cinemas on November 22. For much more on the film and Ridley Scott's career, pick up a copy of the news issue of Total Film when it hits shelves on October 12. Check out the covers below:

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 06, 2023, 02:23:43 PM

QuoteAs Scott points out, Napoleon took part in 66 battles over the course of his career, which would be impossible to put on screen. In the film, there are six battles, and each is staged differently, and each one wows.

Quote from: DeadlineRidley Scott On Capturing Epic 'Napoleon' & Why He Chose Joaquin Phoenix To Play The Emperor At Contenders London.


Napoleon director-producer Ridley Scott was on stage at Deadline's Contenders London event to discuss the journey behind his latest epic and why he chose Joaquin Phoenix to portray the iconic Emperor.

Speaking about casting Oscar-winner Phoenix, who he had previously worked with on Gladiator [in which Phoenix played another Emperor], filmmaking legend Scott told the audience that he had always viewed Phoenix's character in that movie as "the most sympathetic character in Gladiator, being the product of such a neglectful father."

He continued: "I was blown away by his outrageous film Joker. I didn't like the way it celebrated violence but Joaquin was remarkable. I thought he'd be an amazing asset to Napoleon, [not only creatively] also in a commercial sense. There were only two actors I had in mind for the role. I won't mention the other one."

The film captures Napoleon's famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.

Four-time Oscar nominee Scott revealed that he shot the movie in only 62 days. "Normally a film like this would be shot in around 110," he revealed. "I discovered years ago that eight cameras are eight times faster. Every department has to be able to keep up with my speed. Actors don't want to hear the story of life before each take. I discovered that early on. A well known Welsh actor once told me 'I love what you do because you move so quickly'. You've got to know the geometry of the scene. If you don't, it'll be 3pm before your first shot gets rolling."

Scott said that his passion for the subject was partly born out of his love of France. The filmmaker recalled visiting Saint Tropez on holiday as a teenager, "slathering myself in olive oil and getting the worst sun burn in my life": "I've always enjoyed the French way of life. I've never forgotten the French summers. I loved Paris so much that I have an office there. My first film The Duellists was about Napoleon, though he wasn't in it."

The Blade Runner and Thelma And Louise filmmaker said that his approach to the film was initially visual: "There are 400 books on Napoleon, but I'm a child who looks at pictures. When you look at the paintings of French painter David, you get a history lesson from the paintings".

Scott was joined on stage by Janty Yates, costume designer; Martin Phipps, composer; and Kate Rhodes James, casting director.

James described the chemistry between Phoenix and co-lead Vanessa Kirby: "They have an intimacy that you can't masquerade. Vanessa has a particular quality about her: she's highly intelligent. Josephine the character was an intelligent, manipulative survivor. There were moments in the film that the two actors improvised and it was magical. They were incredible together."

Yates, a regular collaborator with Scott, said that historical accuracy was key to the project: "Normally we research the granny out of our subject then put our own spin on it. Accuracy was everything on this movie. For example, there was embroidery ordered for very specific generals from Russia, Prussia, Britain, France and more..."

Quote from: Total Film MagazineExclusive: Ridley Scott has given an update on the director's cut of his upcoming historical epic Napoleon.

Ridley Scott has chopped down his Napoleon director's cut, but it's still over 4 hours.

The director, known for an incredible body of work that includes Gladiator, Alien, and Blade Runner, has been open about his plans for a director's cut of his new film, Napoleon. Now, he's given Total Film magazine an update on how it's looking in our celebration issue.

"I'm working on it. It was four [hours] 10 [minutes] this morning," Scott tells us in the new issue, which hits newsstands on Thursday, October 12. "And so what will happen is, we'll screen [the theatrical cut] first with Sony, and then it has its run, and then the perfect thing is that [the director's cut] goes to streaming, and we have four hours 10 minutes."

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 02, 2023, 03:31:49 PMhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/F7cazYZaoAAobtc?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Aug 09, 2023, 08:10:03 AMHistorical advisor: "Wellington never met Napoleon."

Scott: "He bloody well did now!"  ;D

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 09, 2023, 05:45:47 PMNew look from a brand new trailer? Great, but where is that trailer? :)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 10, 2023, 02:54:35 PM

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 09, 2023, 05:45:47 PMNew look from a brand new trailer? Great, but where is that trailer? :)

How's your Spanish?  ;D  These guys probably jumped the gun a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ke1ulzlDjg

Quote from: PullthePlug on Oct 11, 2023, 02:05:33 PMhttps://twitter.com/sonypictures_es/status/1712045439623606743

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 11, 2023, 06:12:37 PMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcYKl_UsQM

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 11, 2023, 06:12:37 PMYeah, but the poster looks horrible :)

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 11, 2023, 06:52:27 PMLooks like they got it from Deadline's Contenders event in London recently. Here's the full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur3aUzRqdd0

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 11, 2023, 06:12:37 PMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcYKl_UsQM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 18, 2023, 02:35:54 PMNot sure if Black Sabbath and Napoleon really go together but whatever...

Quote from: IngwarLyrics are about absurdity of war and absolute power so it kind of fits :)

Quote from: ForbesThere's Just One Thing Wrong With The New Joaquin Phoenix 'Napoleon' Trailer

Joaquin Phoenix is one of those actors whose screen presence is so strong and so compelling that whether he's playing a goofy side-character in Signs or a lunatic in Joker or an emperor in Gladiator you just can't look away.

At times magnetic, at times almost grotesque, at times charming, always crackling and vulnerable in one form or another, Phoenix is riveting, inviting audiences to dance along the dark paths he walks.

The Johnny Cash actor now takes on his most epic role yet as French tyrant and military genius, Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's upcoming Apple TV film, Napoleon. Of course, the last time Scott and Phoenix worked together it was on Gladiator, where Phoenix played the cruel and mercurial Emperor Commodus.

I'll have to rewatch that movie before I go see Napoleon, which—although it will come to Apple TV streaming at some point—looks like the type of movie you really ought to see in a theater on the biggest possible screen. Behold, the epic second trailer:

This looks great. That scene where he crowns himself is peak Joaquin Phoenix. The relationship between Napoleon and his wife, Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby) looks particularly fascinating. And the battle scenes look every bit as epic as I'd hoped.

I will make one quibble with the otherwise great trailer: Why Black Sabbath? Why have War Pigs play over a historical epic? That song belongs in a Call Of Duty trailer, not a movie about one of the greatest despots in European history. What a terrible call. Why sully such an epic trailer with Ozzy bloody Osbourne and electric guitars?

Sigh. Let's just hope it's only in the trailer and not in the movie—if this wasn't a Ridley Scott film I might actually be worried!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/10/18/theres-just-one-thing-wrong-with-the-new-joaquin-phoenix-napoleon-trailer/

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 19, 2023, 04:36:25 PMShe's good :)

Quote from: VarietyRidley Scott's 'Napoleon' Oscars Submissions Revealed, Including Vanessa Kirby for Supporting Actress (EXCLUSIVE)

Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" an epic look at the French emperor and military leader's rise to power, is one of the final potential awards hopefuls awaiting its first reactions from critics and pundits. As awards season approaches, Variety has learned exclusively which Oscar categories the film will be submitted for. Most notably, Vanessa Kirby will vie for best supporting actress.

Joaquin Phoenix, who won best actor for the villain origin story "Joker" (2019) and has received three additional mentions during his career ("Gladiator," "Walk the Line" and "The Master"), will submit for leading actor for his performance as Napoleon. Kirby, who picked up her inaugural nom for "Pieces of a Woman" (2020), will vie for supporting actress for her role as Josephine, Napoleon's wife and one true love. Two supporting actors will be submitted — Tahar Rahim ("The Mauritanian") and Rupert Everett ("My Best Friend's Wedding").

Scott has received nominations across his career — three for directing "Thelma & Louise" (1991), "Gladiator" (2000) and "Black Hawk Down" (2001) and a best picture nom for "The Martian" (2015). He will again be up for directing consideration, along with co-producing with Kevin J. Walsh and Mark Huffam.

The artisans behind "Napoleon" will angle for attention in cinematography (nominee Dariusz Wolski, "News of the World"), film editing (Sam Restivo and winner Claire Simpson, "Platoon"), production design (three-time nominee Arthur Max, "The Martian," "American Gangster" and "Gladiator"; and set decorator Elli Griff), makeup and hairstyling (Jana Carboni and nominee Francesco Pegoretti, "Pinocchio"), sound (five-time nominee Oliver Tarney, "No Time to Die," "News of the World," "1917," "The Martian" and "Captain Phillips"; and winner Paul Massey, "Bohemian Rhapsody"), visual effects (Neil Corbould, Luc-ewen Martin-fenouillet, Simone Coco and nominee Charley Henley, "Prometheus") and original score (Martin Phipps).

https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/napoleon-awards-submissions-joaquin-phoenix-vanessa-kirby-1235762011/

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 19, 2023, 05:45:40 PMThey forgot about Janty Yates.

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 25, 2023, 04:20:55 PMYeah.

At least we don't have a big photoshop floating head ensemble pic (yet), though?

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 25, 2023, 04:34:54 PM

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 25, 2023, 04:20:55 PMYeah.

At least we don't have a big photoshop floating head ensemble pic (yet), though?

Got a bit of a photochop job with this one:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F8JmuICXMAAXh6K?format=jpg&name=large

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 25, 2023, 04:20:55 PMYeah.

At least we don't have a big photoshop floating head ensemble pic (yet), though?

Quote from: KiramidHead on Oct 26, 2023, 04:36:53 AM

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 25, 2023, 04:20:55 PMYeah.

At least we don't have a big photoshop floating head ensemble pic (yet), though?

That will be on the physical release, I'm assuming.

Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Oct 25, 2023, 04:16:06 PMWhat a downgrade with the font they've shifted to on the latest posters.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Oct 26, 2023, 08:37:19 AM@Nightmare Asylum, do you know if Killers of the Flower Moon has a streaming release date yet?

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 26, 2023, 04:05:45 PMNapoleon was Raised by Wolves ;D

Quote from: Box Office ProNapoleon
Sony Pictures & Apple Studios
November 22, 2023
3-Day (FSS) Opening Weekend Tracking Range: $16M-$21M
Domestic Total Tracking Range: $46M-$74M
PROS:

Joaquin Phoenix could be a considerable draw with the added appeal of portraying a famous historical figure on top of the actor's own star appeal and mainstream audience goodwill that may carry over from his Oscar win for Joker.
Ridley Scott's directorial credit is a notable selling point given that some of his career's biggest hits have been cut from a similar epic, historical, and star-driven vehicles such as Gladiator and The Martian.
The absence of significant competition for adult audiences could spur extra demand over the holidays as Napoleon opens one month after Killers of the Flower Moon and, pending any release date shifts, films such as late December's American Fiction, The Color Purple, and Ferrari.

CONS:

With only the aforementioned Flower Moon as a sample size to judge by, some volatility in marketing footprints should be expected as this will be Apple's latest collaboration on a theatrically exclusive distribution with a major studio.
Reviews and reception will be key given the reality that period films are challenging to sell among today's moviegoers, while Scott's own box office history is quite varied in recent years.
Even more so than Wish, the ongoing labor dispute preventing actors from promoting films will likely impact Napoleon in a meaningful way if Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby are unable to help market the film to its intended adult audience.

Quote from: Ingwar on Oct 27, 2023, 12:51:16 PMHopefully it won't end up like The Last Duel  :)

Quote from: ralfy on Nov 03, 2023, 12:27:06 AMReminds me of Barry Lyndon and Bondarchuk's epic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EykTXlhVmTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqanxfecIA

Quote from: DeadlineLet the feast begin: A pair of Thanksgiving releases and awards-season contenders, Disney's Wish and Apple Original Films and Sony's Napoleon, are set to open over the Wednesday-to-Sunday holiday stretch with respective grosses of $50M+ and $24M+. Both pics open on Thanksgiving eve, November 22.

Ridley Scott's Napoleon is tracking with older and younger guys, of course, and its five-day opening is in the range of the helmer's 2021 Thanksgiving launch, House of Gucci, which did $22M, and Prime Video's Ben Affleck-directed Air, which minted $20.2M in a five-day Easter launch this year.

Napoleon reps Apple's second mega-wide theatrical release on a long window after Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which Paramount distributed. That pic opened to a solid $23.2M in the middle of an actors strike where performers aren't permitted to promote struck work. Napoleon, which begins media previews Wednesday, stars Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix in the title role and has a 2 hour, 38 minute running time — significantly shorter than Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon at 3½ hours. Deadline first told you about Apple financing the $130M epic back in January 2021.

Full article: https://deadline.com/2023/11/box-office-wish-napoleon-projection-1235591106/

Quote from: Ingwar on Nov 03, 2023, 09:15:52 AM$130M for an epic movie like Napoleon? That's cheap. For comparison Killers of the Flower Moon's budget was $200M.

QuoteRidley Scott's "Napoleon" Complex
Does the director of "Alien," "Blade Runner," and "Gladiator" see himself in the hero of his epic new film?

Sony's Tom Rothman calls the octogenarian director "the single best argument for a second term for Joe Biden."

On the morning of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was full of catastrophic confidence. His seventy-three thousand troops were camped on a ridge near a tavern called La Belle Alliance. His nemesis, the Duke of Wellington, occupied a slope across the fields, with a mere sixty-seven thousand troops. Over breakfast, Napoleon predicted, "If my orders are well executed, we will sleep in Brussels this evening." When his chief of staff offered a word of caution, Napoleon snapped, "Wellington is a bad general and the English are bad troops. The whole affair will not be more serious than swallowing one's breakfast."

He was already making mistakes. Underestimating his enemies' capabilities and overestimating his own, he assumed that the woods behind the British would block their retreat, but Wellington had strategically used the forest to hide more soldiers. An overnight downpour had left the fields soggy, and Napoleon, instead of striking at nine, as he had planned, held off until midday, giving the Prussians crucial time to reach Wellington as backup. Napoleon was tired. He was ill. He was strangely apathetic, declining to survey parts of the battlefield himself. Michael Broers, a Napoleon scholar at Oxford, told me, "The real question isn't so much Why did he lose? but How on earth did he ever think he could win?"

In 2020, Broers was grading a student's essay when he got a call from an assistant in Ridley Scott's office, explaining that the director was planning an epic film about Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Summoned to Scott's headquarters, in London—crammed with movie props, it reminded Broers of Aladdin's cave—the professor advised Scott on everything from the motivations of Empress Josephine to whether Napoleon was left-handed. (He wasn't.) Scott was particularly interested in battles, from both a practical and a psychological perspective. "He saw at eye level," Broers recalled. "His Waterloo was like a diorama." At one point, Broers drew him a map, and the director studied it like a hardened general preparing for battle—which, in a way, he was. "He's not un-Napoleonic himself," Broers said. "When he's there, he's in charge, and you have complete confidence in him. He dishes it out, and he can take it."

Scott, who has filmed and fought more than his share of battles, will turn eighty-six this month, a week after the release of "Napoleon," his twenty-eighth film. His movies have tackled other Great Men of History (Moses, Columbus), as well as aliens, androids, con men, gangsters, goblins, soldiers, serial killers, and the Gucci family. He creates visceral worlds, whether the rain-streaked, mechanized dystopia of "Blade Runner" or the dusty Roman arenas of "Gladiator," and several of his screen images—a slime-covered creature bursting out of an astronaut's chest in "Alien," Thelma and Louise zooming off a cliff—are lodged firmly in the popular imagination. But he's tough to pin down. "Is Ridley a fine artist? Is he an art-cinema director? Is he a commercial hack? Is he all of the above?," Paul Sammon, a writer who has published three books about Scott, said. "That's what I really enjoy about Ridley—he is unclassifiable."

The director feels the same way. "My choices tend to be random," he told me in September. He was in the West Hollywood offices of the Ridley Scott Creative Group, a sprawling enterprise that produces features, music videos, and commercials, with outposts in Amsterdam and Hong Kong. We sat in an airy conference room, the walls of which were covered with photographs of Scott on his various sets. Like Logan Roy, the patriarch in "Succession," he wears his authority like an old sweater, his northern English burr unsoftened by Hollywood. He's a growler, a grumbler, a barker, a chortler. His narrow eyes peer over a long, stern nose, and his resting scowl is framed by an untidy white beard, which he occasionally strokes, more in irritation than in contemplation.

Scott regards his œuvre with pugnacious pride, especially his less loved films, such as the 2013 crime thriller "The Counselor," which he maintains was the victim of bad marketing. ("They f**ked it up.") When a movie fails, I asked, does he question his instincts? "No," he grunted. "I blast the shit out of a tennis ball." Beside him was Pauline Kael's four-page evisceration of "Blade Runner," which ran in this magazine in 1982 and contains, among other gibes, the line "Scott seems to be trapped in his own alleyways, without a map." Scott had the review framed for his office wall years ago and had asked an assistant to lay it on the table for me; I got the sense that he had agreed to a New Yorker Profile in order to have the last laugh.

Scott was on an enforced hiatus. In July, he'd been more than halfway through shooting "Gladiator 2," on the island of Malta, when the actors' strike halted production. But, unlike Napoleon during his exile on Elba, he wasn't taking salt baths and stewing. He was busy preparing an extended cut of "Napoleon" for Apple, which produced and will stream the film. He'd been editing what he had of "Gladiator 2," slated for next fall, and "reccing"—reconnoitering—locations for a Western. As he approaches ninety, Scott is not slowing down but speeding up. Tom Rothman, the head of Sony's film division, which will distribute "Napoleon" theatrically, told me, "Ridley Scott is the single best argument for a second term for Joe Biden." Paul Biddiss, a burly British ex-paratrooper who was Scott's military adviser for "Napoleon," recalled shooting the siege of Toulon, in Malta: "He goes, 'Can you touch your toes? Come on!' We're in the middle of Fort Ricasoli, we're both touching toes to see who's flexible, and he was, like, 'You've got to take up yoga.' "

While many directors are embracing a gentler, more collaborative mode of authority, Scott characterizes his style as a benevolent dictatorship. "Working with Ridley, it's very much military in some ways," Arthur Max, his longtime production designer, told me. David Scarpa, the screenwriter of "Napoleon," said, "The striking thing about Ridley, more than anything else, is this enormous will. You send him pages while he's shooting, he shoots twelve hours a day, he then goes out to dinner with the actors, then he works on editing what he's shot that day. After that, he reads your pages, and the next day you get the e-mail from Europe, and he's storyboarded them. That would kill ninety per cent of the directors in Hollywood."

Researching the script, Scarpa began noticing similarities between director and subject. "Seeing Napoleon and Ridley side by side, I think that there are people who simply don't have that internal sense of limitation that normal people have," he said. "I remember reading about how one time Napoleon was finishing up a battle, and he was simultaneously designing the currency."

Joaquin Phoenix, like other actors who have worked with Scott, was unable to talk to me for this story because of the actors' strike. But, earlier this year, he told Empire magazine, "If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading. Because if you see this film, it's this experience told through Ridley's eyes." Ten days before filming, Phoenix went to Scott and said, "I'm agonizing over this. I don't know how to do it." The two spent several twelve-hour days psychoanalyzing the Emperor, scene by scene. "We found that he's a split personality," Scott said. "He is deeply vulnerable, and while doing his job he's able to hide that under a marvellous front. His forceful personality was part of his theatre."

Napoleon has enticed filmmakers practically since movies were invented. The French director Abel Gance débuted his five-and-a-half-hour silent epic, "Napoléon," in 1927; with its use of cameras attached to guillotines and sleds, it was a breakthrough in special effects. ("I couldn't get through it, honestly," Scott said.) In 1970, Sergei Bondarchuk released "Waterloo," starring Rod Steiger as a sweaty, screaming Napoleon. It was filmed on Ukrainian farmland, with seventeen thousand extras borrowed from the Soviet Army. At the time, Stanley Kubrick, hot off "2001: A Space Odyssey," was laboring over his own Napoleon project, for M-G-M, envisioning Jack Nicholson in the title role. "He fascinates me," Kubrick said, of the Emperor. He devoured biographies, obsessing over minutiae. One designer quit after an argument over whether rhododendrons had been brought from India by Napoleon's time. When Kubrick's plans fell apart, he funnelled his period research into "Barry Lyndon," which in turn inspired Scott's first film, "The Duellists," in 1977, about a pair of rival officers during the Napoleonic Wars. Years after Kubrick's death, Scott was sent his unused Napoleon script. Scott found it underwhelming, in part because it spanned "birth to death," he said. (Steven Spielberg is currently developing the Kubrick project as an HBO series.)

Scott became interested in Napoleon about fifteen years ago, when he happened upon a book by Sten Forshufvud, a Swedish dental surgeon, who, in 1961, tested Napoleon's hair for arsenic and theorized that he had been poisoned. (Broers, the Oxford historian, is doubtful. "Forshufvud forgot something—everyone was a bit 'arsenic poisoned' in those days," he said. "Wallpaper and many other things were made with levels of it that would be banned today.") Scott started thinking about Napoleon's final exile, on St. Helena. He was intrigued by his friendship with a young girl who liked to play with the Emperor's sword and hat. "He would sit there and watch her hacking away at a tree," Scott said. "She had no idea who he was, other than a prisoner of war."

Unlike Kubrick, Scott wasn't big on biographies. He gave up after two or three books and ordered Scarpa, his screenwriter, to bone up. "One of the questions I found myself asking is Where am I supposed to come down on this guy?" Scarpa said. "In history, we tend to sort characters into heroes or villains. You're either Martin Luther King or you're Adolf Hitler." He was curious about Napoleon's marriage to Josephine, who carried on a flagrant affair with a Hussar in her husband's Army. "What stuck was Napoleon's seeming ineptitude with women," Scarpa explained. "His attachment to Josephine over the course of his entire life, but also the bizarre disconnect in a guy who is able to kill eighty thousand people on a battlefield in Eastern Europe, almost as a sporting event, and yet, to him, it simply wouldn't be sporting to deal with his rival for his wife's affections."

The angle appealed to Scott. "Who was this person, and why was he vulnerable?" he asked. "And it was this woman called Josephine." He cast Jodie Comer, who had starred in his 2021 film "The Last Duel," but two months before filming she had to drop out and was replaced by Vanessa Kirby.

Scott has described the "environment" as a character in all his films, and critics have accused him of prioritizing spectacle over substance. "I tend to be visual above all things, before the written word," he said. He is fond of the adage "A picture is worth a thousand words," which he attributes to Hitchcock. (In fact, it dates back at least to a speech in 1911 by the newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane.) His hand-drawn storyboards, known as Ridleygrams, are his method of thinking and communicating. His older son, Jake, recalled going on a family vacation in France when he and his brother were children: "He had us illustrate the holiday, and he wrote the text. That was a form of storyboarding."

Luke, Scott's younger son, has worked as a second-unit director on several of his father's films, beginning with "Exodus: Gods and Kings," from 2014, starring Christian Bale as an unlikely Moses. For a sequence with the ten plagues, Luke was tasked with filming vultures landing on a statue. When it was done, he recalled, "I think, All good, pretty good shots of vultures. And then I get a phone call: 'What the f**k was that?' He says, 'The top of the statue has to be covered in bones, detritus, all of that!' " Luke called the vultures back and reshot the scene with the jetsam of pestilence. "I was misreading the storyboard," he said.

Scott's closest collaborators are trained to anticipate his aesthetic preferences. Arthur Max, the production designer, named a few: "Smoke. Thick, crusty, shiny, black, thick paint. Heavy aging. Filth. Dirt. Textures of all kinds. Shiny glass mirrors. Chrome. Metallic, silky fabrics. Corrosion. Small, fine, delicate mechanisms." Janty Yates, his costume designer, avoids fluorescent fabrics for his films. "He prefers rich jewel colors," she told me. "He loves gold trim, but old gold. He loves shadow. He really doesn't like green—and then suddenly he'll like green. He's quite a hummingbird." On "The Martian," he surprised her by requesting a "pop of orange."

In his L.A. office, Scott had an assistant bring in a bound copy of his "Napoleon" storyboards, which looked like a comic-strip biography. He flipped through: the Battle of Austerlitz, in which Napoleon lures the Russians onto a frozen pond; a cut scene of Napoleon and Josephine discussing politics in a bathtub; the Fire of Moscow, in 1812. ("It burned like a son of a bitch.") "This is now the day of Waterloo," Scott said, pointing at a page. Originally, he had planned to show Napoleon on the toilet, noticing blood; he'd read that the Emperor suffered from hemorrhoids, which were common to equestrians. (It's possible that he actually had stomach cancer.) "As I got close to the release, I thought, I haven't got the courage," he said, and he cut the toilet scene. He turned to a drawing of Wellington in gray, asking a scout when the Prussians would arrive. A scribbled note read, "Does NB have similar intel?"

To play the role of Waterloo, Scott's team scouted dozens of fields in England—"tromping around in Wellington boots in muddy fields, avoiding cowpats," Max recalled—before settling on a farm in Berkshire. The production set up a "war room" in Brentford, a London suburb, with three-dimensional models of the terrain. Biddiss, the ex-paratrooper, ran five hundred extras through "boot camp" at the Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, which were built in Napoleon's era. He assessed the extras to make sure they were "physically and mentally robust" and put the best three hundred up front. (C.G.I. multiplied them into the thousands.) Biddiss had studied old military manuals and showed the extras how the French and the English loaded their muskets in different ways. Scott is less of a stickler. When the trailer came out, the TV historian Dan Snow posted a TikTok breakdown of its inaccuracies. (At the Battle of the Pyramids, "Napoleon didn't shoot at the pyramids"; Marie-Antoinette "famously had very cropped hair for the execution, and, hey, Napoleon wasn't there.") Scott's response: "Get a life."

Waterloo was shot in the course of five days, with eleven cameras rolling. "It was quite blustery," Max recalled. "I knew Ridley would like it, because he is very visceral about the elements. If he got an earthquake, he'd find a way to use it." Biddiss told me, "Uniformity is very important with Ridley—right down to the guys, making sure their hats are straight. There wasn't a bayonet that was out of synch." The most complicated maneuver was forming human squares, with bayonets pointed outward—an infantry formation that the British used to scare off the Frenchmen's horses. "I had some sleepless nights, because I wanted to make sure that those guys did this square perfectly," Biddiss said. On the day, "they pulled it off brilliantly. I could hear Ridley on the radio—'Buy those boys a pint!' "

Scott calls himself a war baby, though he was born in 1937, two years before England entered the Second World War. The Scotts lived in South Shields, on the northeast coast. "When the air-raid warnings sounded off, my father was in London already as an officer," Scott recalled. "My mother would hustle us under the stairs, and we'd sit drinking cocoa, singing 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' while bombs came down around us.

been a clerk in a shipping office, but the war was good to him. Despite his Geordie accent, he rose up the ranks to brigadier general overseeing civil engineering; according to Ridley, he received letters from Winston Churchill, thanking him for his input on D Day. After the war, Francis was asked to help rebuild Germany's infrastructure. He moved his wife and sons—Ridley, his older brother, Frank, and his younger brother, Tony—to a sumptuous house in Hamburg. In 1952, Francis was offered a prestigious role leading the Port Authority for the Elbe and the Rhine. (Scott said, "That's like being offered the St. Lawrence and the Hudson!") But Ridley's mother, Elizabeth, wanted to be near her relatives in England. Ridley remembers speaking up, saying, "Take the job!" and getting a thwack. They returned to England and lived in modest state housing. He said, "Already I was learning how life changes so quickly, you know?"

Despite Scott's machismo, he is known for populating his films with strong women: Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, in "Alien," one of Hollywood's first female action heroes; Thelma and Louise; G.I. Jane; Lady Gaga's vengeful Patrizia Reggiani, in "House of Gucci"; even the sledgehammer-wielding rebel in his "1984" commercial for Apple. Sigourney Weaver credits Scott with the longevity of Ripley and "Alien." Earlier this year, she told Total Film, "They made Ripley a woman, without making her this helpless creature." In AnOther magazine, she recalled, "I'd been put in a baby-blue space costume, and Ridley took one look at me and said, 'You look like f**king Jackie O. in space!' " He put her in an old nasa flight suit instead. "Ripley is not a sexy space babe," Weaver said. "I never worried how I looked, I worried about getting down the corridors fast enough to escape the explosions!"

Scott is not one to expound on gender roles. When asked about his predilection, he responds vaguely, as he did in 1998, speaking to Sammon: "I'm drawn to strong, intelligent women in real life. Why shouldn't the films reflect that?" When I raised the subject with his son Jake, he replied, "I can tell you where that comes from—my grandmother."

"I shouldn't say this," Scott told me, "but my mother was the man of the house. My mother insisted she was five feet—she was four foot eleven. And she was ferocious. My dad was a real gentleman. He was a sweetheart, a nice man, who took more than he should have from my mum." Elizabeth, he recalled, "would take a belt or a stick to us". She never worked outside the home, although, in the seventies, she offered to be a receptionist at Scott's commercial-production company. ("I didn't want to say it, but she'd scare away more clients than she'd bring in.") Elizabeth lost her brother and four sisters to cancer, then lived until ninety-six. "She was formidable," Scott said. "Her famous words to me before she died were 'This is ridiculous.' "

I asked Jake which of his father's characters most resembled Elizabeth. He laughed and said, "Mother, in 'Alien.' " Mother, or mu/th/ur 6000, is the spaceship's computer system, Scott's answer to Kubrick's hal 9000, from "2001." At the end of "Alien," she counts down to self-destruction in a firm, matronly voice. (The voice actress, Helen Horton, was in her fifties.) Jake said, "Even 'Napoleon' begins with a defiant Marie-Antoinette at the guillotine, which is a sort of punk image." Then he thought of another film, "A Good Year," which features the actress Archie Panjabi as a hard-charging executive assistant. "That's another Grandma," he said. "Do you know what? There's Grandmas in his films. They're here, there, and everywhere."

Does Scott see his mother in his heroines? "No, no," he told me. "But I learned to give as good as I take. She'd say, 'Don't you talk to me like that.' And I'd say, 'Don't you talk to me like that.' " In "Napoleon," Josephine is the only person who seems unimpressed by her husband's conquests. In a particularly strong scene, he confronts her about her philandering, demanding that she say, "Without you, I am nothing." Later, as they sit by a fire, she makes him say the same to her, reducing the Emperor of France to a whimperer. "By forgiving her, it in a way is both generous and a weakness," Scott said. Later, his son Luke talked about how Elizabeth ruled over Ridley and his brother Tony. "The only person in the world who could tell them to shut up and get in line was her," he said.

Scott was a terrible student, but by the age of nine he'd discovered two passions: smoking and painting. At seventeen, having flunked all his exams except art, he decided to enlist in the National Service; his older brother, Frank, had joined the British Merchant Navy. "You've got nothing to learn from the Army," Ridley's father advised him. "You should go to art school." He enrolled in a local program, in West Hartlepool, an industrial seaside town. He'd walk the beaches by the steelworks, watching "towers belching filth and junk," he said. "It's a wonder I've still got a pair of lungs." Years later, he drew on those polluted skies while envisioning the dystopian Los Angeles of "Blade Runner."

He went on to the Royal College of Art, in London. His classmates included David Hockney, whom he remembers getting bored in a life-drawing class and sketching a skeleton in the corner instead. The school had no filmmaking program, so Scott joined the theatre-design department, where, in 1962, someone lent him a Bolex 16-mm. camera. He returned to West Hartlepool to make a short film, "Boy and Bicycle," starring his teen-age brother, Tony, who would follow him into art school. Scott was fascinated by Joyce's "Ulysses" with its "organically visual descriptions" of, say, a butcher laying a "moist tender gland" onto "rubber prickles." In "Boy and Bicycle," a freckled lad skips school and bikes through town,as we hear his inner monologue on time, the stench of the smokestacks, and death. Scott said, "The idea was, boy plays hooky for the day, thinks it's freedom. It's not—it's actually prison."

His final student show got him an offer of a design job at the BBC, which he deferred to travel the United States on Greyhound buses. In New York, he met fashion designers and worked for the documentarians Richard Leacock and D. A. Pennebaker. He was full of drive but unclear which direction it should take. Back in London, he designed sets for such BBC series as "The Dick Emery Show." He recalled, "From designing, I'd been groomed to be a senior department head, and I surprised them by saying, 'I don't want that.' Then they surprised me by saying, 'Would you want to do a director's course at the BBC?' " For the class, he made a "potted version" of Kubrick's war drama "Paths of Glory." The next Monday, he was offered his first directing job, on a police procedural called "Z-Cars."

One day in the mid-sixties, a colleague asked him to cover for her at a test shoot for a Benson & Hedges cigarette ad in Chelsea. Freelance commercial directing was better paying and less bureaucratic than the BBC, and Scott was soon shuttling in his white Mini between the BBC's White City Place and a studio in Chelsea. Within a year,he'd shot hundreds of commercials, starting with a Gerber baby-food ad, during which "the baby spattered porridge all over me," as he recalled with a grimace. Britain's ad business was experiencing a creative revolution, with dull, market-research-driven spots giving way to mini movies that captured the buzz of Swinging London. "British advertising had been waiting for a figure like Scott for some time," Sam Delaney writes in "Get Smashed," his chronicle of the era. "A generation of writers and art directors had elevated the standard of creative ideas but were unable to find directors who could properly execute their scripts."

Commercials trained Scott in economical storytelling, conjuring atmosphere, delivering on time and on budget, and making lots of money doing so. He was known for infusing banal scripts with a sheen of artistry; he shot a soap-powder ad in the style of "Citizen Kane" and a toothpaste spot inspired by "Doctor Zhivago." As competitors moved in on his turf, he realized that he could profit off his rivals and, in 1968, he founded Ridley Scott Associates, which signed up-and-coming commercial directors. When his brother Tony got out of school, dreaming of making documentaries, Ridley urged Tony's wife to dissuade him: "I said, 'Dear, if he does documentaries, he's going to be riding the bicycle in forty years' time. Come with me, because I know he really wants a Ferrari.' So Tony came with me, and, sure enough, he got a Ferrari." With the company flourishing, the brothers earned a reputation for avarice. One industry in-joke went, "What do you get if you drop a penny between the Scott brothers? A metre of copper wire!"

In 1973, Ridley made a commercial for Hovis Bread, featuring a boy pushing a bicycle, its basket stuffed with loaves of fresh bread, through the cobblestoned streets of an English village, set to Dvořák's "New World" Symphony. It was "Boy and Bicycle," with existential dread swapped out for nostalgic warmth. (Tagline: "As good for you today as it's always been.") In 2006, it was voted Britain's favorite advert of all time. Both brothers were part of a wave of rock-star British ad directors, many of whom would become feature filmmakers, including Alan Parker ("Midnight Express") and Adrian Lyne ("Fatal Attraction"). But Ridley, approaching forty, was impatient to get his movie career going. He developed a project with the Bee Gees, but they didn't want to sing on film, and the project collapsed. When Parker landed his first movie, "Bugsy Malone," produced by the former adman David Puttnam, Scott was so envious that he couldn't sleep.

After "Bugsy Malone" played at Cannes, in 1976, Paramount asked Puttnam if he knew anyone else like Parker. He did—Ridley Scott, who had two potential screenplays. The first, about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, would cost $2.2 million. The second, "The Duellists," a dark comedy based on a Joseph Conrad story about the madness of competition, would cost $1.4 million. "I'll take that one," the Paramount executive said. After making his first film, Scott recalled, "I thought, Blimey, that was easy." At Cannes in 1977, "The Duellists" was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the prize for the best début film.

By then, Scott had divorced his first wife, Felicity Heywood, a painter he'd met in art school and the mother of his sons. In 1979, he married the advertising executive Sandy Watson, with whom he had a daughter, Jordan. (He's now married to the actress Giannina Facio, who played the wife of Russell Crowe's character, Maximus, in "Gladiator.") All three children have become filmmakers, and all are partners in the family business. I mentioned the "Succession" vibes at the company to Jake. He laughed and replied, "It's been said." A few years ago, he was at a restaurant in London when Brian Cox, who played Logan Roy, walked in. "My friend was, like, 'Oh, your dad's here!' "

The three children were raised by Watson, and when they were young Scott was subsumed with work, spending evenings laboring over his Ridleygrams. In the seventies, the family lived in a mock-Tudor town house on Wimbledon Common, which Ridley designed with the exactitude he devoted to his sets. Jake recalled a conservatory with a checkered floor and a kitchen with no right angles. Both boys appeared in their father's and uncle's commercials; Luke remembered stuffing his mouth with Cadbury chocolate. In "The Duellists," they play aristocratic boys in breeches and pageboy haircuts, and Jake asks a character played by Keith Carradine if he's ever talked to Napoleon.

The boys saw less of their father as he made trips to Hollywood to drum up films. He developed an idea about Tristan and Isolde, but that fizzled in May, 1977, when Puttnam brought him to see "Star Wars" at Mann's Chinese Theatre. "It was beyond a crazy football crowd," Scott recalled. He hadn't been much interested in science fiction but was seized with a need to top George Lucas. "I couldn't sleep for a week. I said to David, 'Listen, I don't know why I'm doing Tristan and Isolde.' He said, 'Think of something else.' "

So he did "Alien." Scott was engrossed with how it would look. He wanted the spaceship to feel claustrophobic, arguing a producer into lowering the ceilings. He was frustrated that the audience wouldn't be able to smell the creature, which he imagined had a horrible stench. For the chest-bursting scene, he said at the time, "We wanted to do something so outrageous that no one would know it was coming." Kubrick, whom he idolized but had never met, later called him to ask how the hell he had pulled it off. At a preview screening in Dallas, women ran to the bathroom to vomit, and an usher fainted in the aisle. Scott was thrilled.

"Alien" turned Scott into a bankable studio director, but he was entering perhaps his darkest phase. In 1980, his brother Frank died, at forty-five, of melanoma. "I was going through a nervous breakdown and didn't know," Scott told me. "I've always been very rational, and death is irrational. It became a nightmare to go to bed, because I'd walk the floor for nine hours." He was attached to direct "Dune," but shooting was at least two years off, and he was restless. Instead, he returned to an idea he'd rejected, an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novel "Do  Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" As he sketched out the world that became "Blade Runner," what emerged was doom: a future of endless rain, perpetual night, environmental ruin, and technology that blurred the line between human and machine to a vanishing point.

The "Blade Runner" shoot was notoriously fraught. The first day, for a scene set in a corporate ziggurat, Scott looked through the lens and saw that the building's columns had been installed upside down. Paul Sammon, who was embedded on set and chronicled the film's making in his book "Future Noir" recalled, "Within the first few weeks, I felt this radical shift in his personality. I saw him go from being fairly personable to being a screamer." Scott was unaccustomed to American union rules, which prevented him from operating his own camera. He sat in a video-playback booth, which isolated him from his unhappy star, Harrison Ford; the two men could never agree whether Ford's character, Deckard, was a man or a "replicant."

Midway through, the Guardian ran an interview in which Scott said that he preferred British crews, because he could give them orders and they'd say, "Yes, guv'nor!" The crew printed up T-shirts that read "yes guv'nor my ass!" Scott and his British compatriots tried to quell the insurrection by wearing T-shirts reading "xenophobia sucks." The budget ran two million dollars over. The final days were a frenzy, with the last scene—Rutger Hauer's moody android death—shot against the last sunrise to dawn before Scott's cameras would be taken from him. In postproduction, Scott was fired—twice—but worked his way back. When preview audiences expressed confusion, Scott, against his better judgment, added a voice-over and a happy ending in which Deckard and his android paramour flee Los Angeles; Kubrick gave him helicopter footage left over from "The Shining."

"Blade Runner" came out in June, 1982, two weeks after "E.T.," which synched better with the sunny Reagan era than Scott's bleak dystopia did. Kael wasn't its only detractor; another critic wrote, "I suspect my blender and toaster oven would just love it." After making six million dollars on its opening weekend, the film all but disappeared. Although it grew into a cult classic and became a touchstone for such filmmakers as Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve (who directed the 2017 sequel), Scott still speaks of "Blade Runner" with an ache. Asked what it taught him, he sounded like a defiant general routed by an undeserving enemy: "I learned that the only opinion that matters, when all is said and done—even with failure in your face, and you're lying on the mat, crushed—is, What did you think of it?"

Just as Napoleon had Versailles, Scott maintains his own seat of power in the French countryside: Mas des Infermières, a winery in Provence, situated in a hilly patch of the Luberon region dotted with cypress and olive trees. Scott bought the property, with eleven hectares of vines, in 1992, after he made "Thelma & Louise." He was eager to tell me that it once belonged to General Baron Robert, a health officer in Napoleon's Army.

The day before I met him there, on a cloudless morning in October, his son Luke told me about the house: "It's the sacred space, the mental palace. Everything within is the construct of this person who thinks visually. You'll go, 'Holy shit, this place is beautiful!' But it's not accidental that it's that beautiful, because it's him pitting himself against nature itself. He is Canute sitting on the shores of England, shouting at the ocean, 'I command you to get back!' It's like all of his movies virtually encapsulated, with the waft of the curtains and the drift of the pollen and the mist."

I found Scott not in the house but in a building that he constructed on the property in 2019, with a wine cellar, a tasting kitchen, and a gift shop. The outside is faux-rustic, capped with terra-cotta roof tiles. The inside is sleekly modern, with concrete floors, a steel staircase spiralling down to the cellar, and movie memorabilia everywhere. Next to a table with wineglasses and spittoons were four spacesuits, from "The Martian," "Prometheus," and "Alien: Covenant." The mise-en-scène: Cézanne meets Planet Hollywood.

Scott sipped an espresso at a café table, beside the bicycle that Adam Driver rode in "House of Gucci." He wore a dark T-shirt, trousers, and a plastic watch the color of a traffic cone (a pop of orange). "If I come here, I find that I can sit and think and draw," he said. He showed me a print of one of his oil paintings, of a mesa in Spain that he had spotted shooting "Exodus." He put on a tan fedora and led me through the back door, to an expanse of fields. "This place is bloody heaven!" he said. "My vineyard goes way across. See those cypress trees? I go beyond that." He hadn't paid much attention to his vintner's work until his reds began winning prizes in Paris. "So far, I'm just losing money like crazy, but it doesn't matter. It's a pleasure."

In 2006, Scott made the Euro-kitsch screwball comedy "A Good Year," in which Russell Crowe plays a London financier who inherits his uncle's vineyard in Provence and learns to appreciate the good things in life. It was filmed eight minutes away. "Russell was damaged goods—he'd thrown the phone in the Mercer Hotel," Scott recalled, referring to a tabloid incident from Crowe's post-"Gladiator" bad-boy period. "In the morning, I see him in handcuffs. I went, f**k! 'The phone stopped ringing,' he said. 'No one's calling!' And I said, 'O.K., I got a film.' That's how it began. I got him back on his feet. He'll never admit that." (Indeed, a representative for Crowe disputed this account.)

Back inside, past the spacesuits, Scott showed me a hall full of huge stainless-steel wine tanks, each with a blackboard indicating the variety. A circular window above a pair of barn doors was inspired by a monastery in Narbonne where he'd filmed part of "The Last Duel." "It's a church," Scott whispered, taking in the quiet and the pleasant, vinous aroma. "The standards in France are rigid. You can't force aging. You can't add sugar. I find Californian wine way too sweet—you get drunk off one glass." Scott illustrates all of his wines' labels. In the gift shop, he tapped on a bottle of red, showing two dogs howling at the moon. "I thought all the wine should be about health, fun, sex, dogs," he said.

A tasting group was coming in, so he led me down the staircase, warning, "I've got dodgy knees—too much tennis." (Arthur Max told me that Scott had injured his knee operating a camera on "G.I. Jane" but "blames it on tennis, which is more glamorous.") In the cellar were rows of barrels aging the best of the reds, plus more movie artifacts: a sword from "Kingdom of Heaven," his 2005 Crusades epic; a miniature of the Colosseum, from "Gladiator"; a chain-mail suit worn by Oscar Isaac in "Robin Hood"; a plaster alien head. "This shit is museum quality," Scott said, stopping in front of two Napoleon uniforms. He picked up a gilded scimitar, with the inscription "recte faciendo neminem timeas." "I was never good at Latin," Scott said. (It means "In acting justly fear no one.")

He asked an assistant for another espresso. He'd been busy. After finishing the extended cut of "Napoleon," he started storyboarding the Western; he showed me pages of Ridleygrams, featuring a snowy fight scene. With sag-aftra and the studios back in negotiations, he was preparing to pick up "Gladiator 2," which stars Paul Mescal, the moment the strike was resolved. "I could shoot on Monday," he said. (The talks fell apart a week later.) In the meantime, he'd been polishing the ninety minutes he had, including a scene in which the hero fights a pack of baboons; he'd been haunted, he said, by a video of baboons attacking tourists in Johannesburg: "Baboons are carnivores. Can you hang from that roof for two hours by your left leg? No! A baboon can."

I asked why he wanted to make a "Gladiator" sequel, and he gave a practical answer: the first one made a lot of money. But, as he described the new film, his thoughts turned toward immortality. In the first "Gladiator," there's a recurring shot of Maximus' hand grazing the tops of wheat stalks in a field, which we come to realize is the afterlife. Scott had captured the image spontaneously, when he saw Crowe's body double walking through a wheat field in Umbria, smoking a cigarette. "Do I believe in immortality?" Scott asked, unprompted. "I'm not sure."

I thought back to something that Luke had told me the day before. "In each movie, there is always a character who I think is Ridley," he'd said. "They tend to be quite peripheral, almost observers. It's the one with a darker humor, the one who is, perhaps, more divisive. The one who has the agenda." He thought of Guy Pearce's character in "Prometheus," an eccentric billionaire who longs for immortality, or of Tyrell, the corporate wizard from "Blade Runner." In "Gladiator," it's the trainer played by Oliver Reed who advises Maximus, "Win the crowd and you'll win your freedom." "In 'Napoleon,' " Luke said, "it's Napoleon."

I asked Scott if he was all these people, and he chortled. "No!" he said. "Oh, dear." But he does see "winning the crowd" as his job description. "I have to," he said. "There's nothing worse than doing something where you're thinking, I really got that right—and it fails."

After "Blade Runner," Scott's ability to win the crowd was in doubt. He had kept up his commercial business, directing a series of chic Chanel No. 5 ads inspired by René Magritte. (Chanel's chairman, Alain Wertheimer, had come to him, pleading, "Chanel No. 5 is my flagship perfume. It's only seen as a present for Grandma!") The "1984" Apple ad, which aired during Super Bowl XVIII, became an advertising classic and established the company's image as a nonconformist juggernaut. But Scott's next film, "Legend," a grotesque fairy-tale fantasy starring Tom Cruise as a sprightly woodland boy, bombed. In 1987, he tried his hand at gritty realism, with the noir thriller "Someone to Watch Over Me." It also failed. Tony, meanwhile, directed the back-to-back mega-hits "Top Gun" and "Beverly Hills Cop II." "He was competitive with me, naturally, because I'm the older brother," Ridley said.

His unlikely comeback was Thelma and Louise, in 1991. Scott picked up the script, by Callie Khouri, with the intention of producing it. After four directors turned him down, he was in a meeting with Michelle Pfeiffer, who was unavailable to star but told him, "Why don't you come to your senses and direct it?" Again, Scott was thinking visually. As an outsider in America, he wanted to capture the grandeur of the Southwest: "I felt, I'm doing an odyssey of two women on the last journey, and so the last journey had better be beautiful." The old Route 66 had become industrialized, so he shot in Bakersfield, California. "What he did was put it in an incredibly heroic setting, where John Wayne's films had actually been shot, which I think was really special," Susan Sarandon, who played Louise, later told W. Arriving during the throes of third-wave feminism, the movie was a lightning rod—and a hit. (As a bonus, it gave the world Brad Pitt.)

Then Scott drove his career over a cliff. His follow-up film was the plodding "1492: Conquest of Paradise," starring Gérard Depardieu, of all people, as Christopher Columbus. Even in 1992, post-colonial sentiment was such that Scott's treatment seemed weirdly hagiographic. But he clearly saw himself in the explorer. In one scene, Columbus argues with Queen Isabella's treasurer over the budget for his voyage, like a director haggling with a studio head: "You expect me to take all the risks while you take the profit?"

The rest of the nineties were rough. Scott's next films, "White Squall" and "G.I. Jane," disappointed. He was divorced, again. His company had personnel problems. "He was being pulled in multiple directions," Sammon observed. "He almost dipped below the radar." In 2000, he rebounded with another once-in-a-decade hit, "Gladiator." The movie, critically dismissed as a swords-and-sandals rehash, made nearly half a billion dollars and won the Oscar for Best Picture, though Scott lost the directing prize to Steven Soderbergh, for "Traffic." "You know, I haven't gotten an Oscar yet," he told me. "And, if I ever get one, I'll say, 'About feckin' time!' "

"Gladiator," for better or worse, revived the Hollywood historical epic, along with Scott's career. Instead of face-planting again, he directed two more hits, "Hannibal" and "Black Hawk Down." He was sixty-two when "Gladiator" was released; since then, in a mad sprint, he's directed seventeen movies, many of them grand in scale. In 2017, his film "All the Money in the World," about the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's grandson, was six weeks from release when its Getty, Kevin Spacey, was accused of sexual abuse. (Spacey denied the allegations and has since been cleared in two trials.) Scott told Tom Rothman, at Sony, that he wanted to reshoot all of Spacey's scenes with Christopher Plummer as Getty. Rothman recalled, "I said, 'Let me tell you absolutely, positively, it cannot be done.' And absolutely, positively, he did it." Plummer was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. In 2021, Scott released the medieval drama "The Last Duel" and the campy "House of Gucci" within weeks of each other.

Jake Scott has a theory about what is driving his father's turbocharged late period: "I think he didn't get to do it early enough." Ridley reminded me twice that he didn't release his first movie until he was forty. "He's watching Spielberg, he's watching George Lucas, he's watching all those guys in their twenties and thirties," Jake said. "Beginning in midlife means that he didn't get to do all those films that he wanted to do." Or maybe, Jake conjectured, it has something to do with what happened to Tony.

One August night in 2012, Scott was in France when his brother called from L.A. Tony had been battling cancer and was recovering from an operation. He'd survived cancer twice before, as a young man, but his earlier chemotherapy had complicated his treatment. He sounded downbeat, so Scott tried to energize him about work: "I said, 'Have you made your mind up about this film yet? Get going! Let's get you into a movie.' " What he didn't know was that Tony was standing on the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbor. After hanging up the phone, he jumped. He was sixty-eight.

Scott shut down his offices for days. He dedicated his next film, "The Counselor," to Tony. Then he made another. And another. "Ridley once told me that he has been dogged by deep depression his whole life," Sammon said. "He calls it 'the black dog,' which is what Churchill called it." (Scott's fashion and music-video division is called Black Dog Films.) "He says, 'If I stop, I find myself sinking.' "

Napoleon was just forty-five at the Battle of Waterloo, but David Scarpa, the screenwriter, sees him as a man battling against time. "This sense of infinite possibility that he had when he was younger is gone," he said. Napoleon died six years later, banished and broken.

In 2014, Scott told Variety that he found his brother's suicide "inexplicable." At his offices in L.A., I asked if he still found it so. He didn't. Tony, he explained, was a serious mountain climber. "He'd done El Capitan twice. He would go to the Dolomites. And the operation meant he couldn't climb again. I think climbing was his enthusiasm. It was his mojo." He pointed to a photo on the wall, showing a youngish Tony sitting on a craggy mountaintop, a cliff yawning behind him.

Then Scott drifted into a memory: When Tony was sixteen and Scott was twenty-two, Tony took him climbing in the Yorkshire Dales. "I said, 'Why?' He said, 'Let's see what you're made of.' " The Dales were wet and windy and grim. Scott recalled, "I think, Why am I here? And he's looking around, going, 'Isn't it fantastic?' " Tony tied a rope and scaled up an eighty-foot granite rockface, then called down to his brother, "All right. You come up." Scott started climbing, as Tony clutched the rope from above. "I'm saying, 'This is a bad idea.' He's going, 'Oh, no, I've got you!' In the fog, I said, 'My arms are going!' He said, 'That's because you're holding on too strong.' "

Scott felt himself losing his grip on the rockface. "Tony said, 'Don't peel off!' I said, 'I can't help it!' " Scott let go and spun on the rope, "like a dead spider hanging on the wall," he recalled. As a movie played in his mind of his younger self dangling in midair, all his battles ahead of him, Scott gave a wicked, staccato laugh. "This sixteen-year-old is going, 'I've got you. I've got you.' And then he lowered me down, with his hands burning."