Veteran director Ridley Scott has always been his greatest publicist, but is throwing some major shade against the modern era of movies, and stating the quality of current releases is so dire, he’s been resorting to rewatching his own movies.
During a chat with his filmmaker son, Luke Scott (“Morgan”), for Metro, Ridley is under the impression that modern movies are “drowning in mediocrity” and has his own reasoning why that is.
“The quantity of movies that are made today, literally globally, millions. Not thousands, millions…and most of it is s**t…80% – 60% – eh, 40% is the rest, and 25% of that 40 is not bad, and 10% is pretty good, and the top 5% is great. I’m not sure about the proportion of what I’ve just said, but in the 1940s, when there were maybe 300 films a year made, 70% of them were similar…Because I think a lot of films today are saved and made more expensive by digital effects, because what they haven’t got is a great thing on paper first. Get it on paper!”
When asked if he has a “comfort movie,” Scott cited his own landmark military thriller “Black Hawk Down” as he’s been revisiting his filmography instead of new features.
“Well, actually, right now, I’m finding mediocrity; we’re drowning in mediocrity. And so what I do, it’s a horrible thing, but I’ve started watching my own movies, and actually, they’re pretty good! And also, they don’t age,” Scott said. “I watched [‘Black Hawk Down’] the other night and I thought, ‘How in the hell did I manage to do that?’ But I think occasionally a good one will happen, [and] it’s like a relief that there’s somebody out there who’s doing a good movie.”
That all said, Scott, a dedicated and workhorse director, isn’t slowing down anytime soon, as his next film, the virus sci-fi pic “Dog Stars,” is heading to theaters on March 27 with an impressive cast that features Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”), Margaret Qualley (“The Substance”), Josh Brolin (“Weapons”), Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”), and Benedict Wong (“Prometheus,” “Weapons”).
Other projects on the horizon for Scott are his Western pic “Freewalkers,” a delayed Bee Gees biopic, and the long-gestating WWI feature film “Covenant With Death.”
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