Ridley Scott defends 'House of Gucci,' calls Gucci family's statements 'alarmingly insulting'

House of Gucci has made a considerable impression at the box office since its Nov. 24 release, and though the heirs of Aldo Gucci are not impressed, director Ridley Scott is standing behind his film.

"I tried to be as respectful as possible by being as factual as possible, and as factual as we can possibly imagine," Scott told Total Film during an extensive interview. "Time and space sometimes has to jump because of the nature of the length of the film. But the people that were writing from the family to us at the onset were alarmingly insulting, saying that Al Pacino did not represent physically Aldo Gucci in any shape or form. And yet, frankly, how could they be better represented than by Al Pacino? Excuse me! You probably have the best actors in the world, you should be so f—king lucky."

In April, Patrizia Gucci denounced House of Gucci to The Associated Press on behalf of the Gucci family. She specifically called out Pacino's version of Aldo Gucci: "My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant. He is being played by Al Pacino, who is not very tall already, and this photo shows him as fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly. Shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all." 

Patrizia Gucci is the daughter Paolo Gucci, played by Jared Leto, and she also called that portrayal "horrible."

With Total Film, Scott continued: 

"The story, in a funny kind of way, it's a satire. And therefore, satire is really a posh way of saying it's a comedy. And I think a lot of it is comedic. Certainly for the first two acts. Jared Leto, there's not a lot of information about [his character] Paolo, but there are pictures of Paolo and that's exactly what Paolo looks like. We found the pictures and Jared did what he did and dressed the way Paolo dressed. There's not a lot of Paolo on camera talking. And so that had to be, to a certain extent, imagined, but clearly Paolo was a very colorful and flamboyant man, was married to a woman who is a very good opera singer. The lady portraying Paolo's wife in this film has a really great voice, that's her singing. The flamboyance of Paolo was quite nicely captured. And how could that be offensive? We paid attention to not getting too overt if we can avoid it."

Most recently, on Monday (Nov. 29), the following statement was released by the heirs of Aldo Gucci to Italian news agency ANSA, translated to English by Variety: 

"The Gucci family takes note of the release of the film House of Gucci and is a bit disconcerted because, although the work claims to want to tell the “true story” of the family, the fears raised by the trailers and interviews released so far, are confirmed: the film carries a narrative that is far from accurate.  "The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci – president of the company for 30 years – and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them, attributing to the protagonists, events, a tone and an attitude that never belonged to them. This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today. "Even more objectionable is the reconstruction that becomes mystifying almost to the point of paradox when gets to the point of suggesting an indulgent tone towards a woman who, definitively convicted of having been the instigator of the murder of Maurizio Gucci, is painted not only in the film, but also in the statements made by cast members, as a victim who was trying to survive in a masculine and macho corporate culture. "This couldn’t be further from the truth. Moreover, over the course of it 70-year history during which it was a family business, Gucci was an inclusive company. Indeed, precisely in the 1980s – the historical context in which the film is set – women were in several top positions: whether they were members of the family or extraneous to it, these included the president of Gucci America, the Head of Global PR & Communication, and a member of the board of directors of Gucci America. "Gucci is a family that lives honoring the work of its ancestors, whose memory does not deserve to be disturbed to stage a film that is not true and that does not do justice to its protagonists. The members of the Gucci family reserves every right to protect the name, image and the dignity of their loved ones."

House of Gucci is billed as "inspired by the shocking true story of the family empire behind the Italian fashion house of Gucci. Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it's worth, and how far a family will go for control."

The movie begins around Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) meeting Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party. His father, Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons) disapproves and disowns him because of their relationship. They married in 1972, and before Rodolfo's death, he and Maurizio reconciled, so Maurizio inherited Rodolfo's 50 percent share in the company. Over the next several years, Patrizia encourages Maurizio to cut out Aldo and Paolo and take over a then-flailing Gucci. 

Ultimately, Maurizio tires of his wife's scheming and divorces her. Scorned, Reggiani hires a hitman to shoot and kill him, which occurred in March 1995. Reggiani was convicted for the murder in 1998 and served 18 years in prison before her 2016 release.

Prior to his death, Maurizio had sold his Gucci stake to Investcorp in late 1993.

Watch the House of Gucci trailer below.