The great-grandchildren of Guccio Gucci, who founded the luxury fashion house that bears his name a century ago in Florence, are asking filmmaker Ridley Scott to respect his family’s legacy in a new film that focuses on a sensational murder.
“The House of Gucci,” starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, is based on a book about the assassination of one of Gucci’s grandchildren, Maurizio, in 1995, and the subsequent trial and conviction of his ex-wife.
Patrizia Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga, served 16 years in prison for the murder.
One of Maurizio’s first seconds, Patrizia Gucci, is worried that the film will go beyond the story of a real crime that monopolizes the headlines and delves into the private lives of Guccio Gucci’s heirs.
“We’re really disappointed. I’m speaking on behalf of the family,” Gucci told AP Wednesday. “They’re stealing a family’s identity for profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system … Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything, but there is a border that can’t be crossed.” .
Patrizia Gucci said she approached Ridley Scott’s wife, Giannina Facio, for clarification on the film’s scope, but has no answer.
Facio met with members of the Gucci family in the early 2000s to discuss another project that should have focused on the roles of Patrizia Gucci’s father, Paolo, and grandfather, Aldo, in expanding the brand into a global luxury player.
The fact that the producer did not approach the new film only raises the family’s concerns, he said.
Ridley Scott’s producer did not respond to requests for comment, also made through her Italian counterpart.
The Guccis are not the first Italian fashion family to struggle with on-screen performances about tragic events.
The Versace family issued a statement in 2018 about Ryan Murphy’s “American Crime Story” season about the murder of fashion house founder Gianni Versace, saying the TV series was not authorized and it should be considered “a work of fiction.”
Patrizia Gucci said her family will decide what additional actions they will take after watching the film.
His concerns stem from the casting of the best actors to play family members whose stories are little crossed with the murder of Maurizio Gucci, the current lack of contact with Scott’s producer and the inaccuracies they see in the book in what the film is based on.
At the Pacino she plays Aldo Gucci, whom her granddaughter remembers as an expert saleswoman who opened Gucci stores in Rome through Condotti and New York, attracting VIP customers and expanding the brand’s global reach.
And Jared Leto plays Paolo Gucci, creative contributions included the idea of creating the famous Gucci double G logo, as well as his characteristic plasticized loafers and bags.
It is this story that he tells in his own book, “Gucci, the true story of a successful dynasty,” which was published in Italian in 2015.
Patrizia Gucci said the paparazzi photos from the “House of Gucci” set have not been at all reassuring.
“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all guccis, and very tall, blue-eyed and very elegant. He is being played by A l’Pacino, who is no longer very tall, and this photo shows him fat, low, with sideburns, very ugly. Shameful, because it doesn’t look like him at all, “said Patrizia Gucci.
Meanwhile, Leto’s Paolo Gucci is shown with sloppy hair and a purple corduroy dress that doesn’t fit his daughter’s memories at all. “Horrible, horrible. I still feel offended,” he said.
The Gucci family has not been involved with fashion house Gucci since 1993, when Maurizio sold his remaining stake in Bahrain-based company Investcorp. It was later bought by the French group PPR, which is now Kering.
The fashion house is cooperating with “The Gucci House”, opening its archives to the film company for costumes and accessories. Salma Hayek, the wife of Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, appears in the film. Leto is a close friend of creative director Alessandro Michele.