Ridley Scott: Celebs Rumors

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” could be facing a Waterloo in China, where early box office indications point to a disappointing opening shot. The Apple Original Films production had clocked RMB6.1 million ($860,000) by 7:45 p.m. local time in mainland China on Friday, according to estimates from ticketing and box office tracking firm Maoyan.

Ridley Scott, director of sci-fi classics like “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” is terrified about AI technology running away with society.In an interview with Rolling Stone promoting his film “Napoleon,” Scott was asked if artificial intelligence worried him, and the answer was an emphatic yes.“We have to lock down AI. And I don’t know how you’re gonna lock it down,” he told the outlet. “They have these discussions in the government, ‘How are we gonna lock down AI?’ Are you f—ing kidding? You’re never gonna lock it down.

Ridley Scott returned to comfortably epic territory with Napoleon starring Joaquin Phoenix.The director’s latest film depicts the French leader’s rise to power, along with his turbulent relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby) amid the French revolution.Napoleon was released in cinemas on November 22, 2023. An extended four-hour director’s cut is set to arrive on Apple TV+ at a later date.It marks Scott’s 28th feature film, following the likes of The Martian, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Alien and Blade Runner.Gladiator 2 will be Scott’s next film and his 29th feature as director.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Somewhat mysterious and fearless, Oscar-winning British actor Jeremy Irons has played a host of different characters during his decades-long career, from Adrian Veidt in Damon Lindelof’s TV series “Watchmen,” to Rodolfo Gucci in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in “Munich: The Edge of War” and Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe films, including the latest “Justice League.” Reteaming with Palme d’Or winning Bille August for the third time, Irons will next play Abbé Faria, a noble and wise character, in the prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” starring opposite fellow British actor Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès. The premum limited series is distributed worldwide by Mediawan Rights, in cooperation with CAA (for North America).

EXCLUSIVE: After working with Noah Hawley on the fifth season of his Emmy-winning drama Fargo, which just debuted last week, David Rysdahl has solidified his place in his FX family with a series regular role in his Alien prequel series, Deadline can exclusively reveal.

Naman Ramachandran Sony’s magnum opus “Napoleon,” directed by Ridley Scott, debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with a regal £5.2 million ($6.6 million), according to numbers from Comscore. In its second weekend, Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” dropped down a spot to second place with £2.6 million for a total of £10.1 million.

Timothy Olyphant‘s next role is booked!

EXCLUSIVE: Timothy Olyphant is reuniting with Noah Hawley and FX, signing on for a major role in the upcoming Alien series. Olyphant, who recurred on Season 4 of Hawley’s FX anthology series Fargo, is set to star opposite Sydney Chandler in Hawley‘s prequel to the Alien franchise, sources tell Deadline.

J. Kim Murphy The Gotham Awards are a night to celebrate independent film, but Cailee Spaeny snuck in a tease for 20th Century Studios’ upcoming “Alien: Romulus” when asked about the project on the red carpet Monday evening. The “Priscilla” star is leading the Fede Alvarez-directed revival, which has been described as a standalone story in the “Alien” universe.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Frenchie Shore,” the local adaptation of the popular American reality show “Jersey Shore,” rivaled Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” as November’s most polarizing entertainment topic in France. Since launching on Paramount+ and MTV France on Nov. 11, the reality show has inundated social media, especially TikTok where users have been posting sexually explicit, yet blurred, clips from the show illegally.

Napoleon has made a strong start at the French box office despite some scathing reviews from French critics.The film – which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the famed French emperor – has received largely positive reviews internationally, though some French critics have slated the film.French GQ called it “deeply clumsy, unnatural and unintentionally funny”, while Le Figaro compared it to “Barbie and Ken under the Empire”.Nevertheless, it took $1.019million (£810,000) during its opening day in France last week (via Variety) – accounting for nearly a third of international takings – before making a total $5.6million (£4.44million) over its first five days.Its weekend takings also make France one of the biggest international markets for Napoleon, second behind the UK with $6.6million (£5.23million), according to ScreenDaily.Last week, director Ridley Scott hit back at French critics of the film, telling the BBC: “The French don’t even like themselves”.He added: “The audience that I showed it to in Paris, they loved it.”Scott also previously hit back at historian Dan Snow’s criticism of the film, after the latter broke down Napoleon‘s historical inaccuracies.“Get a life,” the director said. “I tend to be visual above all things, before the written word.”Napoleon focuses on the emperor’s rise to power and his relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” may not have conquered the top spot in North America, but it emerged victorious at the worldwide box office. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French ruler, debuted to $78.8 million, including $46.3 million internationally — enough to stave off the competition on global charts.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney may need to find another star to wish upon. “Wish,” the studio’s newest animated adventure, was projected to land on top of box office charts over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” stayed at No. 1 at the box office on Black Friday, retaining the top spot in its second week on the screens.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon through Thursday has grossed an estimated $21M worldwide. The Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures action epic is now eyeing a $70M-$73M five-day global opening, including $40M from the international box office. Should those numbers hold, this will be well ahead of pre-weekend projections.

Napoleon was released in cinemas in the US and UK yesterday (November 22), ahead of an eventual digital release.The new movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as the historical military commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, and charts his rise to power, as well as his relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).According to an official synopsis, Napoleon “is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor”. It continued: “Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed”.The film also stars the likes of Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles and Rupert Everett.No streaming release date has been announced for Napoleon at the time of writing.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Despite being plagued by harsh reviews from French critics and a derisive retaliation by director Ridley Scott, “Napoleon” had a strong opening in France on Wednesday, grossing an estimated €868,000 ($946,000) from approximately 120,000 admissions. The figure, unveiled by Comscore France, includes about 8,000 tickets sold at preview screenings across France, notably in Paris where Sony Pictures held a lavish world premiere of the historical epic on Nov.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Hollywood might not be feeling so festive this Thanksgiving. The holiday period is traditionally a busy time for moviegoing, but audiences aren’t turning out in force over Turkey Day, leaving the box office suffering from too much tryptophan. In this drowsy state of play, Disney’s “Wish” earned a lackluster $8.3 million on Wednesday.

Jordan Moreau Disney is wishing upon a box office star this Thanksgiving, as its latest animated movie “Wish” takes on Apple’s historical drama “Napoleon.” “Wish” is expected to come out on top this weekend, but “Napoleon” won the first box office battle in previews. “Napoleon” made $3 million in previews, which began on Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and “Wish” made $2.3 million. The family friendly animated movie about Disney’s iconic wishing star is expected to make $35 million over the typical weekend.

Joaquin Phoenix‘s new epic movie Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott, is now playing in theaters and you might be wondering if there’s a post-credits scene.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It’s become a holiday tradition for Disney to release an animated movie around Thanksgiving, and this year is no different. “Wish,” a musical origin story for the Wishing Star that so many Disney characters have wished upon before, is expected to lead box office charts over the busy weekend. But it won’t be all Disney, all the time, like it was last year when two of the studio’s offerings, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Strange World,” topped the box office.

Ridley Scott has fired back at French film critics after they published a series of negative reviews of his new biopic, Napoleon.Despite receiving generally positive reviews by UK critics, several high-profile French publications have been less kind, with French GQ saying it was “deeply clumsy, unnatural and unintentionally funny”, while Le Figaro likened it to “Barbie and Ken under the Empire”.In an interview with the BBC, Scott retorted: “The French don’t even like themselves”.“The audience that I showed it to in Paris, they loved it.”Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon Bonaparte in the film, which hits UK cinemas on Wednesday (November 22). It follows the French leader’s rise to power and his relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). Other cast members include Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles and Rupert Everett.It is not the first time that Scott has made headlines during the promotion for Napoleon.

Ridley Scott is a man who has earned the right to be a bit… brash with his comments. This is a right given to someone who has created multiple iconic films over the course of his career, literally inspiring generations of filmmakers with works like “Alien” and “Blade Runner.” So, when critics start taking him to task because of “Napoleon,” he clearly couldn’t care less.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott is shrugging off the negative reviews coming out of France for his new historical epic “Napoleon,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Reviews are all over the place for the biographical drama.

Ridley Scott has been typically dismissive of critics taking issue with his forthcoming movie Napoleon, particularly French ones.

Will Tizard Contributor Recreating epic battle scenes was just part of the challenge in filming “Napoleon” with director Ridley Scott, says Polish-born cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, who screened the grand-scale biopic at the Camerimage cinematography festival in Poland on Friday. Getting the realism needed to capture the vast brutality of the Battle of Austerlitz or Waterloo, says Wolski, depends on exhaustive planning and coordination, of course, but also some impressive juggling.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon marches into cinematic battle with the bluster and confidence that comes with a reported $200-million budget and Sir Ridley’s decades-deep track record of well-mounted action epics.All that money and prestige is visible onscreen in the film’s far-flung locations, hundreds of extras, delectable period costumes and decor, and, as advertised, several massively-scaled scenes of battle, on land and sea, circa 1789 to 1815.Legions of infantry and cavalry clash on various rolling hills of Europe, shot in icy, desaturated blues and grays by Dariusz Wolski, Scott’s cinematographer on his last nine films (though not his next one, Gladiator 2, being lensed by Gladiator d.p. John Mathieson).Against vast fields of green or snow-covered grasses, and CGI-enhanced masses of combatants, soldiers’ coats flash a red that’s many shades brighter than the blood that flows and bursts violently across the screen.The filmmakers spare no visual detail in depicting the bodily devastation of hand-to-hand armed combat — death by bayonet, point-blank gunfire, horse hooves, or long-range artillery.Death here is bloody, disgusting, and woefully unnecessary, but it’s also the main currency of war, and this movie revels in the loud, explosive spectacle of war far more enthusiastically than it casts its feebly critical eye at the men who clamor for it.Above all else, the film renders tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, portrayed by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix as a shrewd but coarse, fearless, petulant, glowering egomaniac who rises to imperial power fighting and winning wars.

EXCLUSIVE: Getting a leg-up here on our Thanksgiving stretch preview, Apple Studios production of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon will invade the global box office via Sony this Wednesday, in what’s shaping up to be a $46M WW global start.

Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara are stepping out for the night.

To the surprise of no one, eternal curmudgeon Ridley Scott doesn’t buy into the superhero movie hype. In a new interview with Deadline, the director said he isn’t “a superhero fan” and has “been offered” to make several but always turns them down.

Joaquin Phoenix reportedly “walked out” of the premiere of his new film Napoleon earlier this week.The historical drama stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role as Napoleon Bonaparte, the military mastermind and Emperor of France. It spans 32 years from the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 to Napoleon’s death on St Helena in 1821, and explores significant battles as well as the romantic turmoil with his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais.Phoenix was spotted walking out of the film’s premiere in Paris on Tuesday (November 14) before it started.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Ridley Scott-directed historical epic “Napoleon” is set to get a release in mainland Chinese theaters next month. The Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures’ title has received approval for import into China and release in a Dec. 1 slot, Sony said on Thursday. Per a Sony synopsis, the film “details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix.

Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures’ Ridley Scott-directed action epic Napoleon has landed a theatrical release date in China of Dec. 1.

Noah Hawley‘s FX series Alien will be heading back into production early next year in Bangkok, Thailand, the Fargo creator told Deadline at the season 5 premiere in LA last night.

Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby are stepping out for the UK premiere of their new movies.

2024 is a big year for the “Alien” franchise, with Fede Álvarez‘s “Alien: Romulus” hitting theaters on August 16, 2024. But what about Noah Hawley‘s long-gestating “Alien” TV series for FX? Not according to TheWrap, with Hawley telling the outlet that show will air “somewhere in the in the first half of [2025],” given strike-related delays.