After lining up Al Pacino (The Irishman) and a number of other A-list performers to join Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) in Ridley Scott’s Gucci biopic, the cast is growing even further with the addition of Emmy-nominated Watchmen star Jeremy Irons, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Roberto Bentivegna’s script is based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 novel The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed that used the murder to delve into the complex yet dishy family history, filled with infighting, corporate intrigue and gobs of money. Gucci, the grandson of Guccio Gucci, ran the company in a declining period in the 1980s after wrestling it out of his uncle’s hands.
Sources reported in August that Pacino, Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Jack Huston (Antebellum), Jared Leto (Morbius) and Reeve Carney (Penny Dreadful) were all in talks to star in the film, with Driver being eyed for Maurizio Gucci, and that Robert De Niro (The Irishman) was in talks to portray Maurizio’s father, Rodolfo, though those proved to be misinformed as Irons has signed on for the role.
Pick up your copy of Forden’s novel here!
Coming off from the critical success of 2018’s A Star Is Born which earned her an Oscar for Best Original Song and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, Lady Gaga is attached to portray the role of Maurizio Gucci’s ex-wife and mother of his two daughters, Patrizia Reggiani, who was tried and convicted for orchestrating her ex-husband’s murder on the steps of his office in 1995. Despite her children’s pleas to the court and public to reevaluate her mother’s case as the operation drastically changed her behavior, she was portrayed darkly in the media, being dubbed the Black Widow and was sentenced to 29 years before being let out early in 2016 after only 18 years.
The film will be produced by Ridley Scott and Giannina Scott through their Scott Free Productions banner. Kevin Walsh has also boarded the project to serve as a producer.
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MGM has set Gucci’s release date for November 24, 2021.
(Photo Credit: Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images)
