Ridley Scott has made 29 films in 50+ year career. However, he has yet to win a directing Oscar. He wasn’t even nominated for "Alien” and "Blade Runner," his two best films, and that’s understandable given that both films were not met with glowing praise upon release.
The closest Scott came to winning was in 2001 when “Gladiator” won Best Picture, but he lost Best Director to Steven Soderbergh for “Traffic”. Two decades later, do people still believe Soderbergh’s win was deserved? I believe it was — “Traffic” remains one of Soderbergh’s best films.
The following year, Scott, again, lost Best Director to Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”) after being nominated for “Black Hawk Down.” In 2015, he was snubbed in that same category for “The Martian,” which is also the last time a film of his was nominated for Best Picture.
Will Scott’s 29th film, “Gladiator II,” get him back in the race? “Gladiator II” is indeed coming, and Scott might have another Best Picture nominee here. Early reactions, although they should be taken with a grain of salt, have raved the epic, but internally, I’ve been hearing more mixed takes from critics.
Then again, in a recent piece over at The Guardian, Variety’s Steven Gaydos claims, “The few people who’ve seen the film so far are rather bullish about it,” reports Gaydos. “It will clearly be a big hit with a solid critical reception […] “Gladiator II will be a serious, legitimate contender in all major awards categories. Now it’s time for Ridley. He’s never won, yet is clearly one of the greatest film-makers in the history of cinema.”
Scott, 87, has not been shy in his insistence that he deserves to finally win an Oscar. The topic came up in a conversation with The New Yorker. Scott’s blunt response:
You know, I haven’t gotten an Oscar yet. And, if I ever get one, I’ll say, ‘About feckin’ time!
Although "The Martian" was not the greatest work he’s ever done, most people were not only predicting a Scott nomination, but even a win that year. Hopefully, Scott has a few more gems left in him. He’s a workhorse.
With the already-mentioned “Gladiator II,” Scott is going to shoot his Bee Gees biopic next year and is already working on “Gladiator III.” Also in development, there’s his adaptation of Kevin McMullin’s short story “BOMB,” the Wall Street thriller “Big Dogs” and the spy thriller “Queen & Country.”
“Gladiator II” will be in theaters on November 22nd.
Coppola lost more than $100M on "Megalopolis," got hammered for it, and he knows the clock is running out for one more film. If "Glimpses of the Moon" is that film, someone needs to write the check soon.