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As further information comes to light on Ridley Scott’s forthcoming biopic, House of Gucci, the family of which the film is based upon has responded. Unsurprisingly, they are not too pleased, with Patrizia Gucci, one of Maurizio’s second cousins saying, “we are truly disappointed.”
According to the Associated Press (via Marie Claire), Ms. Gucci said, “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.”
Ms. Gucci has reportedly attempted to reach out to Scott’s wife and co-producer on the crime film, Giannina Facio, without success. Facio reportedly had spoken with the family on the project in the early 2000s.
Ms. Gucci’s complaints arrive off the back of paparazzi images from set that have since flooded the internet in recent weeks. She believes her grandfather has been misrepresented in the casting of Al Pacino.
“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,” she said. “Shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all.”
On Jared Leto’s casting as Paolo Gucci, the family member continued, “Horrible, horrible. I still feel offended.”
In addition, Maurizio Gucci’s ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani – set to be played by Lady Gaga – expressed her own frustration with the project.
“I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me,” Reggiani told ANSA, an Italian wire service. She also noted that she will “not make a cent” from the film.
House of Gucci is based on the novel of the same name and written by Sara Gay Forden. It follows the true story of the assassination of Maurizio Gucci and the subsequent fall of the fashion family dynasty. Reggiani was tried and convicted of orchestrating Mr Gucci’s murder in 1995 after he left her for a younger woman. She served 18 years in prison and was released in 2016.
