#Ridley Scott to Release Extended Cuts of The Last Duel & House of Gucci

Ridley Scott has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. The renowned director embroiled himself in a controversy when he blamed the box office failure of his film, The Last Duel, on millennials and their smartphones. Earlier this month, Scott rallied against superhero movies in an expletive-filled rant, calling them “boring as sh*t.” Scott is currently busy promoting his latest directorial venture House of Gucci. The film is a historical true crime drama based on the Gucci family and the infamous murder of its head Maurizio Gucci by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani. Adam Driver and Lady Gaga play the estranged couple, with Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino starring in supporting roles.

Ridley Scott has received flak for his recent comments but they may have inadvertently worked in his favor. Where The last Duel became one of the biggest box office bombs ever, House of Gucci is doing better than expected. The Lady Gaga starrer eyes a respectable $23 million opening weekend, which is almost as much as the total box office gross of The Last Duel. If it’s any consolation, House of Gucci will at least recoup its budget. Both films have a star-studded cast and deal with uncomfortable subject matters, but one is outperforming the other. Experts have cited The Last Duel’s marketing, or lack thereof, as the main reason for its failure.

Based on a true story, The Last Duel is about a knight, Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), challenging his best friend, Jacques Le Gris, to a duel after Jean’s wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Jacques of raping her. The Last Duel is a thrilling and fabulously acted historical drama about a harrowing event that failed to click with the audience. The film’s 153-minute runtime and R-rating also contributed to its middling box office performance. Ridley Scott is known for his lengthy, character-driven dramas and is willing to release an even longer version of his latest film.

Ridley Scott sat down with the ReelBlend Podcast to talk about his recent movies. When asked if there would be director cuts of House of Gucci or The Last Duel, Scott seemed hesitant at first but came around later, saying he’d consider a “long cut” but not necessarily a director’s cut.

“No not really. I mean what goes out tends to be the film and I’m pretty responsible I know I’m not going to say it’s going to be four hours like a moron. There’s already two and a half plus which is long but I think I’m very aware of the bombing factor, you’ve got to watch that audiences aren’t getting out, ‘Jesus, this is too long.’ So I’m aware of that as well. But I think things do play better at home because you will pause it, get a beer, and come back. So, I will probably do a director’s cut, yeah. A long cut. But it won’t be a director’s cut. It’d be a long cut.”

House of Gucci clocks in a lengthy 157-minute run time and is being called a mishmash of two conflicting tones – a camp entertainer and a serious crime drama. Perhaps longer, hopefully, better versions of both of Scott’s movies will win over the audience. For now, we’ll have to make do with the theatrical cut only. House of Gucci was released worldwide on November 24, 2021.

This news comes to us from ScreenRant.

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