We cast major actors from different ethnicities to reflect this diversity of culture, from Iranians to Spaniards to Arabs, there are many different theories about the ethnicity of the Egyptian people, and we had a lot of discussions about how to best represent the culture.

Ridley Scott

Categorized in : Top News

I'm not criticizing Hollywood because I work there, I partly live there. But I'm saying this is the way it is, commerce is taking over art. Commerce has become the most important thing in the film industry. Hollywood is an industry, it's not an art form, therefore they have to address the bottom line. But in a way it's sad when you get a remake, isn't it?

Ridley Scott

hollywood important art

There's a little thing on your shoulder called intuition and it whispers in your ear. Everyone has that, there is a voice telling you to do something. Most people ignore it - but you must listen to it. I do it every day, all day.

Ridley Scott

intuition voice people

Blade Runner was the godfather of all these fantastic movies that occur today. What's frustrating is that we're short of really great writing and great ideas. Blade Runner was full of them.

Ridley Scott

blade-runner writing ideas

Never be put off by anything because failure teaches you something.

Ridley Scott

teach

Life isn't black and white. It's a million gray areas, don't you find?

Ridley Scott

black-white gray-area black-and-white

There's nothing really original. Alien was a B-movie. Five directors passed on it before me. Because I was into Heavy Metal, I read it, and thought, "Wow, I want to do this." I was on a plane to Hollywood in 22 hours. It was a B-movie and was elevated to an A-plus movie by sheer good taste.

Ridley Scott

wow taste want

It doesn't matter how much faith you have or don't have [in aliens]. I just don't buy the idea that we're alone. There's got to be some form of life out there.

Ridley Scott

aliens matter ideas

The whole process of making movies and writing screenplays is visceral and intuitive.

Ridley Scott

visceral process writing

In my view, the only way to see a film remains the way the filmmaker intended: inside a large movie theater with great sound and pristine picture.

Ridley Scott

views sound way

I think one of the successes of Gladiator is how we manage to turn on a dime the character from one thing to another where you believe he is one thing and he is something very different.

Ridley Scott

character believe thinking

Once you crack the script, everything else follows.

Ridley Scott

cracks scripts directors

But Gladiator is one of my favourite adventures because I really loved going into the world. I loved creating the world to the degree where you could almost smell it.

Ridley Scott

smell creating adventure

I want to make films about the human condition, what we're doing to the world or ourselves.

Ridley Scott

film want world

Audiences are less intrigued, honestly, by battle. They're more intrigued by human relations. If you're making a film about the trappings of the period, and you're forgetting that human relationships are the most engaging part of the storytelling process, then you're in trouble.

Ridley Scott

film battle forget

How can you look at the galaxy and not feel insignificant?

Ridley Scott

galaxy feels looks

Nowadays, everything's evolved into superheroes and it's boring. If I see one more superhero movie I'm going to shoot myself.

Ridley Scott

superhero boring ifs

I love different themes, different venues, different movies. I love to jump about and tackle different subjects. I have no intellectual master plan.

Ridley Scott

different masters intellectual

Usually, when special effects get in the way, it's because the story isn't strong enough. If you don't start with a strong screenplay, it's easy to fall back on special effects, thinking it's going to carry you. But it never works. It's just tiresome.

Ridley Scott

strong fall thinking

I'm a moviemaker, not a documentarian. I try to hit the truth.

Ridley Scott

trying

That's a heavy word, but picking up a newspaper every day, how can you not despair at what's happening in the world, and how we're represented as human beings? The disappointments and corruption are dismaying at every level. And the biggest source of evil is of course religion... Everyone are tearing each other apart in the name of their personal god. And the irony is, by definition, they're probably worshipping the same god.

Ridley Scott

disappointment evil names