House of Gucci is inspired by the shocking true story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire.
When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately…murder.
From visionary director/producer Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, The Martian) comes the true- life dynastic saga, House of Gucci, a riveting tale of ambition, greed, betrayal and murder set against the glamorous backdrop of high fashion and high finance.
The visually stylish film, which spans three turbulent decades in the Gucci family empire boasts a star-studded ensemble cast headed by Oscar® nominees Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) and Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Oscar® winners Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scent of a Woman), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) and Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune). Oscar® nominee Salma Hayek (Frida) and Jack Huston (American Hustle) round out the powerhouse cast.
SYNOPSIS
The scandal-ridden real-life family drama House of Gucci, the latest film from Ridley Scott, the protean director of such classics as Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and Thelma & Louise, is a thrilling exploration of three decades in the tangled history of the multi-generational Gucci family, a tale of ambition, greed, betrayal and murder.
And fashion.
Gucci is recognized and admired around the globe and was created by the prestigious fashion label’s founder Guccio Gucci, who opened his first quality leather goods store in Florence, Italy exactly one hundred years ago.
The story begins in the late 1970s, at a critical juncture in the famed Italian fashion empire’s history. As the Gucci family’s global reach has broadened so too have hints of financial improprieties, stifled innovation and a cheapening of the brand. The Gucci business is overseen by Guccio Gucci’s two sons, the colorful and wily Aldo (Oscar®-winner Al Pacino) and his more conservative and detached sibling Rodolfo (Oscar®-winner Jeremy Irons).
ALL IN THE FAMILY
From royal families and political lineage to media scions, the scandals and tribulations of rich and powerful dynasties has always exerted a fascination – fashion families are no different. Shortly after Sara Gay Forden’s “The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed” was published in 2001, Scott Free, the prolific production company of visionary director/producer Ridley Scott, optioned the feature film rights. The glitzy rise and fall of the Gucci family through three generations, which included extravagance, greed, betrayal and, eventually, murder, was an irresistible subject.
“The project came about because Ridley’s wife Giannina (one of the film’s producers), chased down the book twenty years ago,” says Kevin Walsh, president of Scott Free Productions and also a producer on House Of Gucci. “She was taken with the Gucci history and the power struggle and by what it’s like for a family to run a fashion dynasty. It’s a real testament to her as a producer that she stayed with the movie through to the finish line. This movie really got made because of her tenacity.”
A DREAM ENSEMBLE
For the pivotal role of Patrizia Reggiani Gucci, Scott approached the global superstar, multi- hyphenate, Lady Gaga, who wowed audiences and the Motion Picture Academy in her motion picture debut, A Star is Born for which she received an Oscar® nomination as Best Actress and won the award for Best Original Song.
“I became curious about Lady Gaga, particularly after I saw A Star Is Born,” says director Scott. “I thought, now here’s a formidable talent – as an entertainer, as a singer, as a producer and the writer of her own show. A real engine of creativity. Then we met and I liked her immediately.”
Having now completed two films with director Scott, Driver remarks, “Ridley really trusts his actors. And having that kind of trust brings out good things – in me, and all the other actors as well.”
“Adam is a rare breed,” says Scott. “He’s one of the best in the business right now, a business in which young talent comes and goes or they evolve and keep going better and Adam has evolved for a while now and just keeps getting better.”
The character of Aldo Gucci is volatile, playful and unfailingly charismatic and who better to embody those traits than the multi-faceted and limitlessly talented Al Pacino who, over the course of his career has accumulated nine Oscar® nominations, winning for Scent of a Woman in 1993.
Though both are storied cinema veterans, Scott and Pacino had never worked together, hadn’t even met, according to Giannina Scott. “One of the highlights of the film for Ridley was finally getting to work with Al.”
AND IN THE END…
House of Gucci not only depicts the end of the Gucci family’s control over its vast fashion empire, but the waning days of privately-owned fashion labels and the onset of conglomerate control of the industry.
In that regard, says production designer Arthur Max, the film is a “rollicking romp with all the sounds and looks of the period and the world in which the main characters lived and played. As the story unfolds, however, you witness how these characters interact and how off-kilter their lives become. A sad tale really, but told in a very entertaining way.”
But first and foremost, says Lady Gaga, “this movie is a genuinely good time. A wild ride and every second is entertaining. Part of Ridley’s magic is that, with all his artistic ways, ultimately, he wants the audience to enjoy themselves.”
The House of Gucci will premiere on Wednesday, November 24, 2021 in the U.S., and Friday, November 26, 2021 in the U.K.
Information found here from EPK.TV