HOUSE OF GUCCI PRODUC T I ON .
we used a stage for the cabins; the Swiss ones are so uniquely quaint that they had to be built. But this was the only stage we used in the entire movie.” REMOVING THE FACADE The visual direction was a little out of the ordinary for Wolski, who’s had ample experience shooting period films: “They’re usually more subdued and darker, whereas House of Gucci is flashier and more playful with lighting,” he says. “At the same time, we didn’t want to go too overboard with spectacle, because although this is a fashion story, it’s the underside of that tale that we wanted to get to: the mystery, the greed and the horror. We were inspired by William Klein, who took fashion photography in FOREBODING FRIENDSHIP Salma Hayek (below) plays the role of psychic Giuseppina Auriemma – friend and later accomplice of Reggiani
Loose script Ridley Scott is known to encourage actors to improvise, allowing them to explore their characters as they wish – which often has fabulous results. ‘Father, son and House of Gucci’, which has become the unofficial tag line for the movie, was ad-libbed by Lady Gaga.
a whole new direction, capturing both the beautiful and the grotesque by taking models out of the studio and onto the streets – I wish there was more of that in the film, because that was real life, which was what we were capturing.” Wolski shot on an Arri Alexa Mini LF, which is the camera he used on The Last Duel and the Oscar-nominated News of the World (for this, he was given one of the earliest models by Arri). He doesn’t describe himself as a very ‘technical‘ person, but says it’s the tool he’s most comfortable with. He feels the same about
lenses, and shoots using Panavision for most of his films. For House of Gucci , he chose the vintage 65s – for the classic look they bring to modern day – and the Panaspeeds, which are the high-speed, large format companions of the Primos. “You could spend years testing lenses, and I’m not going to do that,” he says. “I know what I’m comfortable with and I know how to make them work for me, regardless of setting.” Wolski is a man with tremendous experience – and is a trusted collaborator of Ridley Scott. He’s had the pleasure of photographing many illustrious celebs. But when you do this eight or nine times over, you’re bound to become numb to that starstruck feeling mere mortals enjoy – that was until he got his camera out on House of Gucci . He explains: “Of course, seeing Adam and Lady Gaga act together was phenomenal, but casting Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci and Jeremy Irons as Rodolfo Gucci was special for me. I grew up watching their movies, so it was an honour and a privilege to film them.” Out now in US and UK cinemas
13. JANUARY 2022
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