It’s hard to believe that after 27 feature films, Ridley Scott still has yet to win an Oscar. He came closest at the 73rd Academy Awards, where his 2000 film “Gladiator” won Best Picture and Russell Crowe won Best Actor. But Scott wasn’t a credited producer on that film, so the Best Picture win isn’t precisely his. Plus, he lost Best Director that year to Steven Soderbergh for “Traffic” and again to Ron Howard the following year after being nominated for “Black Hawk Down.” Scott hasn’t received a nod for Best Director since, with 2015’s “The Martian” the last time a film of his received a nomination for Best Picture.
Scott’s 28th movie may get him back in the Oscar mix. As “Napoleon” approaches its theatrical release, The New Yorker talked to the 85-year-old director about his latest film, career, and upcoming projects. And, of course, his lack of an Oscar came up. “You know, I haven’t gotten an Oscar yet,” Scott told the magazine. “And, if I ever get one, I’ll say, ‘About feckin’ time!’” Beyond his losses to Soderbergh and Howard (for “A Beautiful Mind“), Scott lost the Best Director race one other time, when “Thelma & Louise” lost out to Jonathan Demme for “The Silence Of The Lambs.”
If Scott gets nominated for “Napoleon” this Awards season, he’ll face stiff competition again. Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan are likely candidates for the Best Director Oscar for “Killers Of The Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer,” respectively. And don’t forget about Greta Gerwig for “Barbie“; a dark horse pick, but more likely than some think. Scott’s chances for nomination will become clear once “Napoleon” screens for the press next week. Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby star in Scott’s latest, a depiction of Napoleon’s rise to power that focuses on his volatile and obsessive relationship with Empress Joséphine.
Scott has two versions of his new film ready for audiences: the 157-minute theatrical version, which hits theaters on November 22, and a four-hour director’s cut that will stream exclusively at some point on Apple TV+. But the theatrical version will be in the hunt this Awards season. The film reunites Scott with David Scarpa, who wrote the director’s 2017 movie “All The Money In The World.” The pair also work together on Scott’s next film, “Gladiator 2,” which will resume production again soon.
At 85, Scott may have few chances left to snag an Oscar. How many films does the director have left in him? The New Yorker profile comments that Scott is storyboarding and scouting locations for a Western he plans to shoot after “Gladiator 2,” which may be an adaptation of an S. Craig Zahler novel. But even with Scott’s swift work ethic, that film would come out in 2025 at the earliest, when the director is 87. That begs the question: is “Napoleon” Scott’s last chance at an Oscar?
There may be an answer to that question after early reviews for “Napoleon” get published. If it’s unanimous praise, maybe this is a Ridley Scott historical epic on the same level as “Gladiator.” But if it’s mixed to poor reception, Scott’s latest could go the way of “The Last Duel” or “1492: Conquest Of Paradise.”
