Talk:Ridley Scott

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Contents

[edit] Added a trivia section

It includes the following:

"The name for a character called "Ridley," from the video game Metroid, may be an homage to Ridley Scott. Elements of this game are believed to have been inspired by Alien."

Mister Tog 03:47, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, the addition was speculative. If you can cite sources then there's no problem re-instating it. :-) Chris 42 11:46, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Macintosh Advertisement

The article says:

Having cut his teeth on television commercials—most notably one for Apple Macintosh computers titled 1984—he graduated to Hollywood...

This does not seem right. Prior to 1984, Scott had already achieved major success in Hollywood with Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982).

I think you are right. The Mac add shouldn't be mentioned at this point, he probably got that job off the back of Blade Runner. The transition to film directing was following his UK adds of the 1970s including the Hovis advert and a Guinness advert with Rutger Hauer. This Hovis add is still widely remembered in the UK, 30 years later. -- Solipsist

From what source are the Genre Rankings taken?

Its just subjective. I expect it could be presented better than given in this table - see for example the 2 para in this newspaper review -- Solipsist 07:58, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Sorry, that answer is not entirely accurate. For the Apple 1984 ad, there is some ranking evidence given in its article:
For example Advertising Age named it the 1980s 'Commercial of the Decade' and in 1999 the US TV Guide selected it as number one in their list of '50 Greatest Commercials of All Time'.
The film rankings could be taken from IMDB rankings but you would have to do more work to put them into genres. So for example Gladiator would be number 3 in 'Sword and Sandal' because Spartacus and Ben-Hur rate higher. But the division into genres would still be subjective, and Blade Runner should be only a top10 as there are several other Sci-fi films above it, whilst Alien could be the No.1 in Horror, if you decide Silence of the Lambs and Psycho are Thrillers not Horror movies. -- Solipsist 08:22, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The article says:

In 2004, while on location in Morocco during the filming of Kingdom of Heaven, a movie about the Crusades, Scott reported receiving death threats from Islamist extremists. The Moroccan government sent hundreds of soldiers to protect Scott and the production.

But the article for Kingdom of Heaven says the the soldiers were part of the cast and the protection story is incorrect.

I agree, it looks suspicious. I suspect elements of the story must be true (there is plenty of discussion on the web, with unattributed quotes from crew members and mentions of King Mohammed of Morocco getting involved), but much of it must be the media getting carried away with a good terrorist-threat story. This article in the Economist gives a good overview. I particularly like the line;
Many producers maintain that the risks from terrorism are 
greatly exaggerated. They say that the paparazzi are far more 
likely to impede film shoots than members of al-Qaeda.
Sir Ridley closed the set of 'Kingdom of Heaven' to terrorists 
and journalists alike.
-- Solipsist 07:58, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Scott's World view!

[edit] Scott's Worldview ?

Would someone be able to tell me what Ridley Scott's worldview is? who shaped his mind? Where did he study? What was he taught by his parents, teaches, university proffessors / lecturers and his peers? What does he really believe? For this film did he research the historical facts? Who does he represent in making this film?

He went to this Brittish arts academy thanks to a school teacher of his who helped him get there, i cant remember any of it, but Scott talks about it in this Directors special, he also stated that his success is largely thanks to his brother, who helped him found RSA. He doesnt seem to research historical facts often, as he usually works close (or fights a lot) with the writter of the script, the worst situation of a script was in Blade Runner, in wich he had to fight with the 2 screen writters almost everyday, as all 3 of them had different views on what the movie should be. However, Scott is an avid reader of history. In representations, he really doesnt seem to have a statement per se, although there was this left-wing message in Kingdom of Heaven, some critics named him the "Leni Riefenstal of America's Army" for his work on Black Hawk Down.

[edit] Scott's world view

Scott has frequently stated in interviews the effect of his father being in the army as a child meant that family life was dominated by his mother. This relects on some of his Directorial choices for films with strong female characters.

Scott's studies at the Royal College of Art would have had a strong cross artform basis. This would explain why in his early films he had such close interest in production and costume design. Scott has also said that his interest is totally visual - this may indicate that he suffers from some form of word recognition disorder or considers the level of literary education he recieved as a child - not unlikely considering he comes from the North East of England - was inadequate.

Well, I for one find that highly unlikely, given that Scott was privately educated at one of the more prestigious Tyneside public (i.e. private) schools - something that is not mentioned in the article. 217.155.20.163 22:17, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Scott appears to be genuinely apolitical. Many of the figures that he was associated with such as Putnam, Parker, Hudson and Saatchi have all gone on to high profile rolls in UK political positions or to work for one of the parties but aside from issues of tax support for British film production Scott has made few direct statements this way.

[edit] The Table

I really think the table should be removed as it is very unclear where the rankings come from. I had no idea what it was talking about. You have to attribute the listings to a source, you can't just say "Rank No.2" without explaining it. I'll leave it a bit and then i'll probably remove it unless there are any objections in the meantime. JW 00:41, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'm happy enough to remove the table since I added the original version. The Ranks mostly came from IMDB popularity ratings, but as discussed above they are still arbitrary since the division into genres can never be clear cut (is Alien SciFi, Horror or both?). Nevertheless, similar results are often expressed in other surveys, so it would be worth making the point in a less exact way. The second paragraph of this Gaurdian review puts it quite well,
But what is really unusual is that he has triumphed in so many different genres - costume drama, sci-fi, chick flick, horror, Roman epic and now war film.
(Chick flick - is that really a genre? and is Thelma and Louise a Chick Flick, Road Movie, or both?). -- Solipsist 16:53, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

That was quick! Maybe it could be rephrased somehow. I think the ranking for his advert should be mentioned somewhere too, that's quite interesting, especially if the vote was from within the industry. I think it might also be worth mentioning that he and Tony Scott ran Shepperton Studios for a few years in the 90s, but I'm not sure about the details of that. JW 22:40, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Or you could just say that he is just influential, both visual-wise and acting wise. I remember watching a movie called "Romasanta" that had the same visuals that gladiator, plus the HBO series "ROME" seems to be largely "Gladiator" oriented. Not to mention this other tv series about the U.S. army that uses the same colors that "Black Hawk Down"

[edit] Added an trademarks section

just in case, any type of thing that should or would be added (or removed), perhaps should go through here. Most of the info was taken from IMDB and the BRmovie.com website. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 200.113.116.71 (talk • contribs) 04:26, 16 December 2005.

Well for the moment I've removed
*Extensive use of Masonic symbolisms in many of his movies, particulary in both Blade Runner & Hannibal.
which was originally 'Renaissance symbolism' - I would tend to agree with use of fans and to a lesser extent smoke, but I can't find any good sources suggesting Masonic or Renaissance symbolism.
Many of the other examples listed are hardly trademarks. You could argue for the use of music by Hans Zimmer as being a trademark if its used in more than half his films. But with music by Vangelis and Goldsmith having been used in only two films each, I wouldn't say that means anything in particular.
In this interview Scott says that his trademarks are concentrating on the photography and art direction. I must say that comes through much more strongly in his films than any personal involvement in casting. -- Solipsist 07:45, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
  • use of symbolisms on scott features is quite extensive, from the symbolism of Doves and Icarus in Hannibal, to symbolising each character in Blade Runner with an animal, Scott does an extensive use of many symbolisms that can be found mostly in paintings, from renaissance to flemish paintings. As sometimes symbolisms dont have any profound meaning (such as the orange in the godfather, the tree in Eraserhead, all of them dont really have a background but are symbolisims), Scott's symbolisms have a background, usually mythologic, religious and/or just as a puzzle, such as the hand cream in Hannibal, wich although is not explained there, a quick research will lead that is made from the amputated hand of a whale.

[edit] Death of brother?

The article Blade_Runner#Production claims Ridley (and Tony) Scott had a brother who died around 1980. Is this true? If so, it should be mentioned here. --Saforrest 05:37, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Frank Scott, Ridleys' older brother (i think it was his older brother). He died before he started to make Blade Runner, and his death was significant in the depressive mood of the movie (a lá Picasso).

I have added this into the text. Ridley Scott states on Mark Kermode's documentary 'the Edge of Blade Runner' that he took the job of directing the film after being affected by his brother's death (he thought it was going to be a 'quick fix emotionally').

[edit] Sir

Why is Sir?

Once you are knighted by the queen, you are refered to Sir before your name ("dame" if the honour goes to a lady). Its pretty much in the same way we call those who have doctorate: Doctors (usually a medic or lawyer there).

[edit] re-work of the movie section

Even though Scott is far from being an autheur director, he seems to have been have several different phases in his directorial career, beginning from what it could be called his years of being heavily influenced by Kubrick (from The Duelist to Blade Runner) to then taking a more visual aproach on his movies, thus a "middle age" in his career in wich movies turned out to be perfect in visuals, yet lacking acting and script (from Legend to 1492, with the exception of Thelma & Louise, wich although still has a visual aproach of what Scott refered as "americana", as all is sharp clean and very bright). To then a small intermezzo in wich he directed White Squal and G.I. Jane to then pass to a resurection perhaps, starting with Gladiator to Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, these are only ideas, as i feel much is lacking from the page, as theres also no clear separation between his commerials director to his movie director career. Thoughts?

[edit] Early Life

I believe that the section on Scott's early life needs to be improved. He was born in South Shields and eventually settled on Teeside. However, the article states that the family moved to the NE (years after Scott was born) and that he studied there. Given that Scott was born in South Shields and it's in the NE, when did the family actually move away from the region? This needs to be explained. I have therefore added "moved back" to the NE until I can find further information. hedpeguyuk 20 July 2006, 7:38 (UTC)

I've sorted it out. hedpeguyuk 20 July 2006, 7:34 (UTC)

While I'm at it, I've removed Tyne and Wear from the infobox. Tyne and Wear did not exist at the time. I think SS was its own borough, or part of Co. Durham (I forget which) at the time. Look at articles on other people from the Tyneside area such as Neil Tennant and Bill Travers from N.Shields, "Northumberland". hedpeguyuk 20 July 2006, 8:20 (UTC)

[edit] Blade Runner re-release

"Scott personally supervised a digitally restored Blade Runner and approved the Final Cut to be released in 2007," could maybe use attribution/update, as they've been talking about this DVD for years and nothing ever comes of it. There's a website specifically dedicated to the question (brmovie.com), and they don't seem to know with any certainty, either. There appear to be some legal difficulties with the re-release. -cneron

sorta, the news was released by the studio (or so i remember, a couple of months back). Scott plans to first release the 1992 DC with enhanced image and sound (wich was already realeased), to then a theatrical release of HIS version of the DC, to then release his DC along with the theatrical cut plus The Workprint later. So 2007 its going to be filled with Blade Runner aparently.
I attributed recent (May 06) information regarding the 2007 release to a report on the SciFi Channel website. Alcarillo 15:39, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Memorable scenes from Black Rain

Sato Steals the Plates

Conklin Meets Sugai

The Oyabun meet

[edit] Academy Awards

Ridley Scott is "an Academy Award winning director and producer"? According to IMDb, he has been nominated for directing 3 times, never winning. Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but he was an uncredited executive producer on that film, so he didn't get the award. When has he received an Academy Award? I don't think he's ever won. Jmartinsson 04:56, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

I've changed "Academy Award-winning" to "Academy Award-nominated". Jmartinsson 18:08, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
Better a removal of the phrase on my opinnion, i mean come on, the guy has won an award in Cannes and yet still the Oscar is the holy grial of movies here in IMDB. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.215.168.240 (talk) 05:33, 28 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] So which one will be his upcomming feature?

According to IMDB, it will be Body of Lies (Penetration) and Blood Meridian (though that one seems unlikely for a number of reassons). But aparently thats not the only picture hes making... since hes also directing Tripoli, Nottingham (?), the invisible world and Shadow Divers. What amazes me the most is that in all these future productions either he's working with William Monahan or Russell Crowe (sometimes even both). Is there any chance to clean this pre-production mess?

[edit] Success of Kingdom of Heaven

In the Trademarks-section it says that Kingdom of Heaven was a flop (which is, at least according to IMDb and my own personal experience of watching the film in the theatre with only a few other people, correct). In the section Gladiator and Beyond section KoH is called "internationally successful". Seems like one of the two is wrong.

It fared much better overseas than in the US, and thats actually a fact, you can check boxoffice mojo for it (budget: 130 mil; earnings national: 40 mil; earnings international: 160 mil) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.215.161.72 (talk) 02:04, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sting songs 'trademark'

I'm not sure that in a directoral career that spans around 20 movies, the fact that two of them close or open with songs by Sting makes that a 'trademark'. Atraxus 18:55, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Link that leads to wrong place

The Gladiator link at the top should lead to the page about the film, but instead leads to the page about historical gladiators. How do you fix that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.20.150.9 (talk) 21:42, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

I've fixed it. Chris 42 22:47, 16 September 2007 (UTC)