2021 promises a bold crossover between film, music and fashion with Ridely Scott’s film Gucci set to be released in November.
On the morning of March 27 in 1995, Maurizio Gucci, head of the Gucci fashion house and grandson of the founder, walked into his workplace in Palestro, Milan. Moments later, he was fatally shot and killed. What followed was one of the biggest media frenzy’s Italy, and indeed the world, had ever seen.
Initially thought to be business related or a result of filial tension, the murder was investigated by a man named Fillippo Ninni, the head of the police in Lombardia, for over two years. An anonymous phone call led him and his fellow investigators towards Maurizio Gucci’s ex-wife, Patricia Reggiani. Gucci had departed for a business trip in Florence and never returned to his wife, who discovered her husband was planning a wedding with a younger woman and who was also unhappy with his handling of the business. She was obviously and understandably resentful towards her ex-husband, but no one predicted her offhand remarks about having him murdered were as serious as could be.
Though Reggiani claimed she had been duped into paying the money for a hitman, she and her accomplices were sentenced to 29 years in prison. Reggiani was released in 2014 on work-release, and still pleads innocence.
The story reads like a soap-opera, and the press were understandably drawn to it. Reggiani was nicknamed ‘Lady Gucci’, and then, after the claims against her, the ‘Black Widow’. The disrespectful and sensationalist style of newspapers and magazines, though entertaining, will hopefully not be mimicked in the upcoming film based around the incident, Gucci, directed by renowned talent Ridley Scott.
Based on a book written about Gucci’s murder by Sara Gay Forden, Gucci is set for a release in November of next year. While this may seem a lifetime away at the moment, snippets and tidbits of information have been steadily streaming out and generating interest in the film.
Scott is currently in the middle of filming a project titled The Last Duel, which will star Adam Driver and Matt Damon. This production has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is assumed once Hollywood kicks back into action and this film is completed, Gucci will be Scott’s next project.
Media giants MGM have secured the rights for Gucci following a bidding war with Netflix and other streaming services. Ridley Scott, most well-known for his epics and cinematic films such as Gladiator, Blade-Runner and Alien, was most likely drawn to the prospect of a theatrical release rather than a direct-to-streaming situation, which MGM will surely honour.
Most excitingly to many people, pop-icon Lady Gaga is rumoured to star as Reggiani. Gaga, who has previously appeared in Machete Kills, Sin City and A Star Is Born, will surely bring the glamour and drama needed to such a sensational story. There have also been rumours such renowned actors as Adam Driver, Al Pacino and even Robert De Niro may star. Ridley may truly be assembling an all-star cast for a film that blends celebrity, fashion and murder like we’ve never seen before.
Most of the world is obsessed with brands and fascinated by murder. These themes, combined with a stellar line-up of actors and a highly respected director like Ridley Scott in control, create a truly exciting atmosphere. Though Hollywood is in the shackles of the pandemic at the moment, true artists never cease bubbling their ideas beneath the surface of restriction. All we can do is wait for further information to be revealed to us, and revel in the growing excitement around the true spectacle that Gucci promises to be.
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