The Gucci family is not pleased with the new film House of Gucci, saying in a statement that the portrayal ‘couldn’t be further from the truth’ and that they take issue with how members were painted ‘as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.’
The film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Adam Driver and Lady Gaga, hit theaters on November 24 and raked in $21.8 million during its first five days — but the heirs of Aldo Gucci, who was played by Al Pacino in the movie, are criticizing it for inaccuracies.
In a statement released in Italian, they say they are ‘a bit disconcerted’ because ‘the film carries a narrative that is far from accurate,’ adding that the misrepresentation is ‘extremely painful’ and ‘an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.’
Unimpressed: The heirs of Aldo Gucci, who was played by Al Pacino in House of Gucci, are not pleased with the movie
In a statement released in Italian, they say they are ‘a bit disconcerted’ because ‘the film carries a narrative that is far from accurate’ (pictured: Aldo Gucci in 1982)
According to Variety, the statement reads: ‘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,’ the statement continues.
‘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.
Hurtful: They say that the misrepresentation is ‘extremely painful’ and ‘an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today’ (Aldo Gucci pictured in 1982)
‘The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci,’ they said
‘Moreover, in the 70 years of history in which it was a family business, Gucci was an inclusive company,’ they said
‘This couldn’t be further from the truth. Moreover, in the 70 years of history in 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 different top positions: whether they were members of the family or extraneous to it, they 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 bothered 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,’ the statement concludes.
Aldo Gucci’s heirs are not the only people displeased with the film — and the fact that the players involved in the drama were not consulted.
Patrizia Reggiani also said she was not happy that Lady Gaga didn’t show her the ‘courtesy’ of meeting her before playing her in the movie
In 1997, Reggiani, now 72, was convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison for hiring a hitman who shot and killed her ex in March of 1995
‘I’m annoyed by the fact that Lady Gaga is portraying me in the new Ridley Scott film without even having the courtesy or the good sense to come and meet me,’ Patrizia (right) said
Patrizia, pictured in her mugshots, said: ‘I believe that any good actor should first get to know the person that they are meant to be playing’
Patrizia Reggiani — whose plot to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci, is portrayed in the film — also said she was not happy that Lady Gaga didn’t show her the ‘courtesy’ of meeting her before playing her in the movie.
In 1997, Reggiani, now 72, was convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison for hiring a hitman who shot and killed her ex in March of 1995. She was released in October 2016 after serving eighteen years.
In March, she complained to the Italian news agency Ansa that she was displeased that Gaga didn’t meet her ahead of filming House of Gucci, accusing the star of being disrespectful.
‘I’m annoyed by the fact that Lady Gaga is portraying me in the new Ridley Scott film without even having the courtesy or the good sense to come and meet me,’ she said.
‘It’s nothing to do with money because I won’t be taking a single cent from the film. It’s about common sense and respect,’ she went on.
‘I believe that any good actor should first get to know the person that they are meant to be playing. I think it is not right that I wasn’t contacted. And I say this with all the sympathy and appreciation that I have for her.’
‘It’s nothing to do with money because I won’t be taking a single cent from the film. It’s about common sense and respect,’ Patrizia added
‘I think it is not right that I wasn’t contacted,’ Patrizia said (pictured in 1998)
Patrizia, pictured on trial in 1998, was released in October 2016 after serving eighteen years
The singer also indicated to British Vogue that she didn’t want to be influenced by whatever story Reggiani told about herself (pictured in January 2019)
But Gaga, it seems, had no intention of showing respect to someone who had someone else killed.
‘I didn’t want to meet her because I could tell very quickly that this woman wanted to be glorified for this murder, and she wanted to be remembered as this criminal,’ she said on Good Morning America.
‘I didn’t want to collude with something that I didn’t believe in. She did have her husband murdered,’ she pointed out.
The singer also indicated to British Vogue that she didn’t want to be influenced by whatever story Reggiani told about herself.
‘I only felt that I could truly do this story justice if I approached it with the eye of a curious woman who was interested in possessing a journalistic spirit so that I could read between the lines of what was happening in the film’s scenes,’ she said.
‘Meaning that nobody was going to tell me who Patrizia Gucci was. Not even Patrizia Gucci.’
