In a statement, the heirs of Aldo Gucci, who presided over the Gucci fashion firm from 1953 until 1986, said they were “a little alarmed” by the way they were portrayed in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci” movie.
The statement said that “the film’s creators did not bother to contact the heirs before characterizing Aldo Gucci, the company’s 30-year president [played in the movie by Al Pacino], and the Gucci family as bullies, stupid, and insensitive to the society around them.”
The picture, it was further stated, “appears to give the protagonists of the well-known events a tone and an attitude that was never theirs.”
It stated that the situation was “very unpleasant from a human perspective and an affront to the legacy on which the brand is now founded.”
The statement further criticizes how Milanese socialite Patrizia Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga in the movie, is “portrayed not only in the film, but also in statements from cast members, as a victim trying to survive in a male and male chauvinist corporate culture.” Reggiani was convicted in 1998 of helping to arrange the murder of Maurizio Gucci, played by Adam Driver. Variety has a copy of the statement.
According to the statement, “there were several women who held top positions” at Gucci during the 1980s, when the movie is set, whether they were related to the company or not. These positions included the president of Gucci America, the director of global PR and communications, and a member of the board of directors of the Gucci America company.
The statement concluded, “The members of the Gucci family reserve the right to take action to protect the name, image and dignity of themselves and their loved ones. Gucci is a family that lives honoring the work of its ancestors, whose memory does not deserve to be disturbed to stage a spectacle that is untrue and which does not do justice to its protagonists.
Despite the tone of the message, an inside source said that the Gucci family is not currently pursuing legal action against Scott’s Scott Free shingle and Universal.
Patrizia Gucci, speaking on behalf of the family, had previously criticized the director to the Associated Press, charging that the director had “stolen the identity of a family to make a profit,” according to Scott, who addressed the allegation on BBC Radio 4’s Today show last week.
Scott told BBC Radio, “I don’t interact with that.” You must keep in mind that one Gucci was murdered and another was sentenced to prison for tax evasion, so you are not allowed to discuss generating money with me. As soon as you take that action, you enter the public domain.
The Gucci family notices the release of the movie “House of Gucci” and is a little alarmed because, despite the work’s claims to want to tell the “true story” of the family, it confirms the concerns raised by the trailers and interviews that have already been made public: the story told in the movie is not at all accurate.
Before characterizing Aldo Gucci, who served as the company’s president for 30 years, and other members of the Gucci family as ignorant brutes who were insensitive to their surroundings, the film’s production neglected to consult the heirs, attributing to the protagonists events, a tone, and an attitude that never belonged to them. From a human standpoint, this is both excruciatingly painful and insulting.
An ancestor-honoring family like the Guccis shouldn’t have their memory harmed by staging a movie that isn’t accurate and doesn’t treat its main characters fairly.
The Gucci family members reserve the right to uphold their loved ones’ honor, reputation, and dignity.
IMAGE SOURCES: HOUSE OF GUCCI
