'House of Gucci' Blasted for 'Extremely Painful' Portrayal by Gucci Family
The Gucci family is not happy with their depiction in Ridley Scott's new movie, House of Gucci. The heirs of the late Gucci fashion house chairman Aldo Gucci, blasted the movie for showing members of the family as "thugs, ignorant, and insensitive to the world around them." Lady Gaga stars as Patrizia Reggiani, who is now in prison for her plotting the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci, played by Adam Driver in the movie.
"The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci – president of the company for 30 years [played by Al Pacino in the film] – and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them," members of the family said in a statement first published by the Italian news agency ANSA and later Variety. The movie has "a tone and an attitude to the protagonists of the well-known events that never belonged to them," the statement continued. "This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today."
The statement also criticized how Reggiani is depicted in the film, as well as statements by members of the cast, who suggested she was "a victim trying to survive in a male and male chauvinist corporate culture." This "couldn't be further from the truth," the family stated, pointing out that the Gucci company was "inclusive" when the family was running it.
"Gucci is a family that lives honoring the work of its ancestors, whose memory does not deserve to be disturbed to stage a spectacle that is untrue and which does not do justice to its protagonists," the statement concludes. "The members of the Gucci family reserves every right to protect the name, image and the dignity of their loved ones." Although the family is not happy with the movie, a source told Variety they do not plan to take legal action against Scott or Universal Pictures, the studio distributing the film in Europe. (It was released by United Artists Releasing in the U.S.)
Back in April, Patrizia Gucci, a cousin of Maurizio, told the Associated Press the family was "truly disappointed" by the movie. "They are stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system... Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything. but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed," she said at the time.
In a BBC Radio interview last week, Scott brushed off Patrizia Gucci's concerns. "I don't engage with that," the director said. "You have to remember that one Gucci was murdered and another went to jail for tax evasion, so you can't be talking to me about making a profit. As soon as you do that you become part of the public domain."
House of Gucci was based on Sara Gay Forden's book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, and written by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna. The movie spans three decades, beginning with Patrizia meeting Maurizio and ending with her being convicted for planning his 1995 assassination. Patrizia is still in prison, serving a 26-year sentence. The movie also stars Jeremy Irons as Maurizio's father Rodolfo; Al Pacino as Rodolfo's brother Aldo Gucci; and Jared Leto as Aldo's son Paolo Gucci. Patrizia Gucci, Paolo's daughter, called Leto's depiction of her father "horrible, horrible" and offensive.