Gladiator II Cinematographer Says Ridley Scott ‘Changed’ and Is ‘Lazy’ Now
cinematographer and longtime Ridley Scott collaborator John Mathieson had some strong words for the legendary director, saying that he’s changed for the worse in how he makes movies.
During a recent appearance on the DocFix podcast (via World of Reel), Mathieson — who has worked with Scott as a cinematographer on Gladiator, Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, and the most recent Gladiator II — said that the way Scott makes movies now is “really lazy.”
“It’s really lazy,” Mathieson said. “It’s the CG [computer graphic] elements now of tidying-up, leaving things in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, bits of set hanging down, shadows from booms. And they just said [on Gladiator II], ‘Well, clean it up.’
Mathieson went on to say that Scott’s impatience often results in him trying to “get as much as he can at once,” and that the use of so many cameras at once doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting a better product.
“He is quite impatient so he likes to get as much as he can at once,” said Mathieson. “It’s not very good for cinematography…Look at his older films and getting depth into things was very much part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants to get it all done.
“Having lots of cameras I don’t think has made the films any better…It’s a bit rush, rush, rush. That’s changed in him. But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think many people do, but people love his films and he’s Ridley Scott and can do what he wants.”
It’s unclear whether or not Mathieson and Scott will be working together in the future, but it seems clear that they clash in terms of how they prefer to make movies now. As for Scott, he’s got several movies in development now, including another project with Gladiator II star Paul Mescal.
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