Criminal Adaptations
Criminal Adaptations is a True Crime/Movie Review Podcast discussing some of your favorite films, and the true crime stories that inspired them. With hosts Remi, who spent over a decade working in the film and television industry, and Ashley, a clinical psychologist and forensic evaluator. They discuss a new movie each week and compare the film to the real life events that the film is based on.
Criminal Adaptations
House of Gucci
In this episode, we break down Ridley Scott’s star-studded biographical crime drama House of Gucci (2021). How accurately does the movie portray the rise and fall of the Gucci empire? What really happened between Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci? We’ll separate fact from fiction, explore the real-life events, and discuss the biggest differences between Hollywood’s version and history. Tune in for a deep dive into the scandal, betrayal, and power struggles that rocked one of fashion’s most legendary families.
Primary Source:
Forden, Sara. The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. Mariner Books (2001).
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Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, the show where we take a look at some of your favorite movies and the true crime stories that inspired them. I'm Remy. I spent over a decade working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, California.
Ashley:And I'm Ashley. I'm a clinical psychologist and forensic evaluator in the state of Oregon.
Remi:Welcome back to the most fashionable podcast on the internet and streaming today Criminal Adaptations. We are here to talk, Gucci. How are you doing today, Ashley?
Ashley:I am doing pretty darn good. I also want to add that we are apparently a podcast that loves true crime movies with Jared Leto for another movie, and that's just how it all played out.
Remi:I feel like this gives us a little bit to talk about with him and a lot of other stuff as well, so we can have a little pre and post-Joker acting comparison. And, of course, in case you can't tell already, we will be covering House of Gucci today. Do you own any Gucci, ashley? What are your thoughts on Gucci in general as a brand?
Ashley:I don't own any Gucci and I don't really think I ever have. I was kind of more into Prada and Kate Spade and brands like that when I got into them.
Remi:I as well do not own any Gucci products. I have a Louis Vuitton wallet and a couple other fancy things like that, but yeah, gucci has always been out of my price range for the most part. It definitely seems to cater to the more wealthy crowd. But had you heard of this story before?
Ashley:We have seen this movie before. Going into the movie back several years now, all I really knew was that Maurizio Gucci was murdered by his ex-wife, but I knew nothing about the rise and fall of Gucci and the intense legal drama that encapsulated that whole family.
Remi:I did not know of this crime before the film either, and when I watched the film I was only paying half attention and, honestly, I thought that Maurizio Gucci lived at the end. I thought he was just shot and injured. But during my second watching I had a jarring realization that I had been very, very wrong about that.
Ashley:Well, even right before you went into it the second time, you chastised me for spoiling it for you when I said he died, and I was like we watched this. You know he dies.
Remi:This movie has a weird way of going about telling its story. The editing is weird. It's kind of all over the place, and if you're not paying close attention, I do think you could legitimately not know that he died in the end, unless you, of course, read the closing card credits which explain that, which I did not, apparently. And of course, the star of this film is Miss Lady Gaga, and in case you are unfamiliar with Miss Gaga, here is a little sample of her music. What do you think of Lady Gaga as a singer or actress? Ashley?
Ashley:She's fallen out of my favor a bit in the past several years, probably because she hasn't really been doing much music. I love her as an actress. I think she is so good and back in the day I was obsessed with Lady Gaga. I've actually seen her twice in concert.
Remi:I would love to see Lady Gaga in concert. I think that would be a very, very cool show. Unless it was one of the Tony Bennett ones I think those were a little bit more downplayed and I think she is a very, very good actress. I think she takes it very seriously and, as a result, I think she takes herself very seriously even when she is doing some pretty weird ass shit like wearing a meat dress or hatching out of an oversized egg at the Grammys. But she is a talented actress I do have to hand it to her and she is a magnificent singer, of course.
Ashley:This is actually perfect timing, because she just came out with a new album, I think last week.
Remi:because she just came out with a new album, I think last week. This is also our second Ridley Scott film, which we had previously covered All the Money in the World, and this movie actually came out the same year as the Last Duel, which I know both of us really enjoyed but apparently nobody else saw. But I recommend on that one, and I love Adam Driver. I think he is a extremely talented actor. I know we were watching some clips of the real Maurizio Gucci leading up to this podcast and he does a magnificent job portraying him on screen, most notably Megalopolis, and I'm hoping he doesn't get on that actor blacklist thing, because there's only so many failures in a row that you can do before work starts drying up, a little bit for you.
Remi:He was good in that Ferrari movie that came out and he was playing an Italian in that film as well and, I must say, a very different character. He was not playing just the same stereotypical person in both films at all. He did a very good job of fleshing both of these people out. And finally, that of course brings us to Mr Jared Leto, who we covered in chapter 27,. And this is one of his post-Joker performances where apparently directors are just kind of letting him do whatever the hell he wants and nobody's reining him in or telling him maybe that's a bad idea to do that. And I think this film is a very, very good representation of Leto in that acting hemisphere. He is very, very silly and very, very buffoonish in this film, which is a shame because I really thought he was magnificent in Chapter 27.
Ashley:Let's get into the production of this. I'm sure there is a lot to cover, since there are so many huge names in this movie.
Remi:Indeed, there is, let's get into it. Can you keep?
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):a secret Father, son and House of Gucci secret Father, son and House of Gucci.
Remi:House of Gucci is a 2021 film directed by Ridley Scott, based on a 2001 book, the House of Gucci, a sensational story of murder, madness, glamour and greed by Sarah Gay Forden.
Ashley:I did read that book for this movie and if you are interested in learning more about Gucci after this podcast, I highly recommend it. It is very well written and incredibly detailed.
Remi:The film stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek and Al Pacino, who we covered in Dog Day Afternoon during our first season and again, very different performance in this one. Scott's interest in the Gucci dynasty began in the early 2000s, when his wife, producer Gianna Scott, first discovered the story and encouraged her husband to acquire the rights of Forden's book. In June 2006, Scott was set to direct the project for Paramount Pictures, with a screenplay written by Andrea Berloff. Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio were originally rumored to play Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci, but the project would ultimately end up being put on hold for several years due to numerous delays. By February of 2012, Scott's own daughter, Jordan Scott, had taken over as director and was in talks with Penelope Cruz for the lead role, which I think she would have been phenomenal personally, but this project as well would never come to fruition. Four years later, in November of 2016, Wong Kar Wai replaced Jordan Scott and Margot Robbie was in contention to play Reggiani, and Margot Robbie was in contention to play Reggiani. Finally, after years of development delays, Scott returned as director in November of 2019 with a new script by Roberto Bentavenina and Lady Gaga confirmed to star as Reggiani.
Remi:Scott described the film as a satire. Noting satire is really a posh way of saying. It's a comedy and I think a lot of it is comedic, certainly for the first two acts, and I disagree with that statement a lot. There is only one actor in this film that is treating it like a comedy and it's pretty obvious who that is.
Ashley:I was going to say I don't remember laughing once or even really chuckling when watching this movie once, or even really chuckling when watching this movie.
Remi:It's not a comedy. I'm going to flat out say that this film is not a comedy, but again there is one actor treating it like it is. The Gucci fashion house, led by CEO Marco Bazzari, also agreed to fully cooperate with the film's production by granting the filmmakers special access to the Gucci archives to utilize for wardrobe and props.
Ashley:That was a really good get.
Remi:Lady Gaga, whose previous acting experience includes American Horror Story Hotel and an Oscar-nominated performance in A Star Is Born, which I know you love. Ashley was initially hesitant to accept the role, stating I thought this could be incredibly stereotypical and paint a picture of a woman that I don't agree with, glorifying a killer in a way that's not in line with my values. Gaga also considered how her longtime friend, tony Bennett, felt about Italian representations in crime films, underlining the importance of portraying Reggiani as a real person rather than a caricature. In the end, scott was able to convince Gaga to accept the role by emphasizing the genuine love between Patrizia and Maurizio, which I also have a little bit of a problem with because of how she is portrayed in this film. So I kind of disagree with a lot of shit that Ridley Scott is spewing about this film. To prepare for her role as Patrizia Reggiani, lady Gaga immersed herself in extensive research, ranging from speaking with the family's psychic advisors to analyzing photographs to determine her character's preferred nail polish colors.
Lady Gaga:So I put a lot of strength into this character and I built her off of real things in her life that I discovered. I read everything that I could, I watched everything that I could, I worked on her accent, a Northern Italian accent that was centered around beginning in Vignola, italy, and then I also studied animals. I studied a house cat for the beginning of her life. Then I studied a fox because Maurizio was sort of like a mouse to me, meaning to her and fox hunt mice and I watched foxes hunting and they're playful and I put this into the character. And then I studied panthers, who when they are going for their prey they are slower and they will even eat and then cry. And I thought that this was so congruent with what I felt about her, which is that she made a huge mistake and that she regretted it.
Ashley:That went in a direction I was not expecting.
Remi:Well, buckle up, because there's a lot more where that came from. Gaga additionally studied Reggiani's vocal cadence and attitude, later explaining I felt the best way to honor Maurizio and Italians was for my performance to be authentic, not as an Italian-American woman, but as an Italian woman. In order to achieve this, gaga took method, acting to a downright absurd level by remaining in character for a staggering 18 months and speaking with an Italian accent for nine and a half of them, even when she was off set. I'm just going to let that set in for a second.
Ashley:These method actors, they just really put it all out there.
Remi:She out-lettoed Leto in this one. According to Gaga, another crucial step in her transformation was dyeing her hair brown, claiming it was nearly impossible for me to speak in that accent as a blonde. Gaga stayed at the luxurious Bagolini Hotel Regina in Rome during filming and even took up photography as an exercise to connect with Reggiani's possible interests, though there was never any evidence Reggiani had ever been a photographer.
Ashley:Yeah, that was not once mentioned in anything I read.
Remi:Gaga's dedication to the role also affected her mental health, and she later revealed that towards the end of filming, she sought on-set help from a psychiatric nurse to ensure her mental well-being. In April of 2020, mgm acquired the rights to the film and by August, adam Driver, jared Leto, al Pacino, robert De Niro, jack Houston and Reeve Carney were all in talks to join the cast. As we said previously, adam Driver had worked with Scott on the Last Duel and praised the director's unique four-camera setup, which helps speed along the production, stating I fucking love him. He uses four cameras at a minimum and it's like theater in the round. He draws his own storyboards and the productions move very fast. He doesn't lose momentum over any meaningless detail. It seems like actors and crew really do prefer the fast directors as opposed to the Stanley Kubrick's and David Fincher's of the world. While Scott wanted Driver for the role of Maurizio, initial scheduling issues led to Scott considering Chris Evans as a potential backup until Driver was able to free up his schedule.
Ashley:I think that would have been a really awful choice.
Remi:Hard agree on that one, ashley. I don't think Chris Evans is a terrible actor, but I do not think that he would have done a good job with this role. Driver, who has self-described himself as the polar opposite of the real-life Gucci, admitted that he found the role challenging, stating I do not live in the same world as Maurizio Gucci. The way he picks up things that are valuable and discards them the way he is the most elegant man. Those qualities were interesting to think about. Adam added that, after portraying Gucci for several months, he was so happy for it to come to an end that he even skipped the wrap party, though Driver did confess to stealing a pair of Gucci shoes as a souvenir, but has admitted that he will probably never wear them. Jared Leto, who previously appeared in a Gucci commercial, was initially approached for a different role in the film film, but fell in love with the character of Paolo Gucci after reading the script, despite having no idea what the real Paolo actually looked like.
Ashley:Do you know who he was supposed to be? I could not find that anywhere.
Remi:I was surprised that that information was left out of every interview I read about this, though I am very curious. The only person that I can think of is possibly Maurizio. There's no one else in that age range in the film. Really Playing Paolo proved to be a creative challenge due to the limited source material. Much of Leto's performance was crafted from a brief interview with Paolo he discovered online. Leto commented he was cheeky and naughty, taking the piss, had a sense of humor, a bit wicked, a dandy that was just enough to get off to the races. And boy did he get off to the races. Leto made a conscious effort to bring humor to the role as well, stating I believe there can never be enough comedy. It's nice to make people laugh, because mostly I've been making people scared or cry.
Ashley:Well, that's your own fault for sending people rats on set of Suicide Squad.
Remi:Maybe star in an actual comedy then, jared, this is not a comedy, despite how you're treating it. Leto's hair and makeup process to resemble Paolo would typically take around six hours to apply and another hour to remove every day. Leto's transformation was so convincing that on the first day of filming, leto greeted Al Pacino in full character and was initially not recognized by the legendary actor, who responded by telling Leto to fuck off before walking away. Who responded by telling Leto to fuck off before walking away.
Al Pacino:We're in Italy. He was a strange-looking person and I thought okay. And I looked around just to know that he belonged there, because he came out of nowhere. He said Papa, and then somebody knew that I was a little perplexed with what to do. They said it's Jared. I had no idea. It was not anything I had ever seen before. He was a total different person. I've never seen that. I mean, that's one thing. People put makeup on. He is the person they made him up to be and I just bowed to him. I said when I see genius, I have to just bow.
Ashley:That is some really high praise from a legendary actor.
Remi:I don't want to question his judgment, but maybe he was more impressed by the makeup job than he was by the actual performance. Just my theory.
Ashley:When you look at him, when he's all done up, you cannot tell that that's Jared Leto.
Remi:Agreed. He looks more like Paul Giamatti than he does Jared Leto. Leto has described his portrayal of Paolo Gucci as his own personal love letter to Italy and later joked in an interview with TheIndependentcom. I was snorting lines of arrabbiata sauce by the middle of the so respectful, a little offensive. But his entire portrayal in this film is a little offensive, in my opinion. One person who didn't take kindly to Leto's portrayal was Paolo's daughter, patrizia Gucci, who called Leto's corduroy suit and unkept hair both offensive and horrible. It is also worth noting that Leto wore a fat suit to play Paolo, despite the real-life Paolo not being overweight.
Remi:Robert De Niro had originally signed on to play Rodolfo Gucci but exited the project in December, with Jeremy Irons stepping in to replace him, who me and Ashley will always think of as Scar from the Lion King, and he doesn't do an Italian accent in this film very much, so I just kept thinking of Scar the whole movie. While promoting the film, irons commented Gucci has an edge of vulgarity about it. It's sort of blingy, isn't it? And I thought Ridley developed that sort of slightly blingy feel to the whole film, which I thought was wonderful. By March, selma Hayek had joined the cast, marking her return to acting after a near-fatal case of COVID during the early pandemic days. Coincidentally, hayek herself has been married to the French billionaire François-Henri Pinault since 2007, who is the acting president and CEO of the luxury group Kiering, which has owned the Gucci brand since 1999.
Ashley:That is such a wild coincidence.
Remi:I know right what are the odds. To prepare for her role, hayek embraced the opportunity to put on a little weight in order to portray her Italian counterpart on screen, stating I was in Italy and it was like a dream come true You're in Rome and you're in a movie, and the rounder you are, the better it is for your character. That, to me, was nirvana. I would order with a smile on my face I'll have the pasta again, and it would come, and it would be guilt-free and, oh my god, it was delicious.
Ashley:Oh, I like Salma Hayek.
Remi:Me too. According to Ridley Scott, the film's acting style drew inspiration from Commedia dell'arte, a theatrical tradition from 16th to 18th century Italy known for exaggerated characters and comedic elements.
Ashley:So maybe that's what Leto was emulating.
Remi:That's what I can safely assume he was doing in this. In January 2021, during an interview with Italian magazine Novella 2000, the real-life Patrizia Reggiani endorsed Lady Gaga's casting and seemed genuinely excited that the legendary pop singer would be portraying her on screen, commenting that she immensely likes Gaga and even referred to her as a genius that she immensely likes Gaga and even referred to her as a genius. However, in March of that same year, reggiani gave another interview where she voiced her annoyance that Gaga had never reached out to meet with her in order to prepare for the role, stating it is not an economic question. I won't get a cent from the film. It is a question of good sense and respect.
Ashley:You're a murderer, lady.
Remi:You took the words right out of my mouth I was going to say says the woman who had her husband murdered. In response, gaga stood by her decision, insisting that nobody was going to tell me who Patrizia Gucci was. Not even Patrizia Gucci. The producers of the film later confirmed that they didn't want Gaga to meet with Reggiani, as they did not wish to endorse or support her crime in any way. Gaga added that she had no interest in colluding with Reggiani, but does sympathize with Reggiani's daughters, stating I do care deeply that this must be very painful for them. And finally, on the last day of filming, a bizarre incident occurred in which swarms of flies kept following Gaga around set and she began to truly believe that Patrizia Reggiani had somehow sent them in retaliation.
Ashley:That's hilarious and I can see why she would think that.
Remi:That was a lot of pre-production. So with that out of the way, should we get into the house of Gucci?
Ashley:Yeah, let's get on that catwalk and strut our stuff.
Remi:Our story begins in Milan with a voiceover from Patrizia Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga, describing the highly coveted status symbol that the name Gucci has become so synonymous with, as Maurizio Gucci, played by Adam Driver, sits outside of a cafe sipping espresso, dressed head-to-toe in impeccably stylish attire bearing his family's name. Once finished, maurizio rides his bicycle through the picturesque streets of Italy, before arriving at the front entrance of his home, then stopping to tie his shoe as a voice calls his name from off-screen and the scene cuts to black. We then flash back to 1978 with a title card claiming that the film is inspired by a true story. We then watch as Patrizia arrives at her father Fernando Reggiani's business in her dusty sports car and is greeted by blue-collar workers who catcall Patrizia as she confidently struts past them on her way to her father's office, located in a small trailer near the back of the lot. Way to her father's office, located in a small trailer near the back of the lot, patrizia begins her workday by expertly forging her father's signature on a stack of checks, a skill which her father, Fernando, seems oddly proud of for some reason.
Remi:Later that evening, patrizia and her friend crash a masked disco party being attended by several members of the wealthy elite. After getting their boogie-oogie-oogie on for a bit, patrizia heads over to the bar and orders a drink from a shy bi-spectacled man whom she assumes is the bartender. In actuality, the man turns out to be Maurizio Gucci, who politely admits that he is not a bartender but still offers to make Patrizia a drink anyway. When Patrizia hears the last name, gucci, she is visibly intrigued but plays it cool and invites Maurizio to dance. Though hesitant at first, maurizio does eventually relent and is confidently led out onto the dance floor by Patrizia, who grooves effortlessly to the classic disco beats, while Maurizio awkwardly tries to keep up, despite her best efforts to get him to stay a little longer. Maurizio eventually excuses himself after a few songs and bids his lovely dance partner a fond farewell for the evening.
Remi:Days later, patrizia spots Maurizio exiting a building, having clearly staked out his location in anticipation of his arrival. He then follows him into a small bookstore, pretending to run into him by happenstance, though Maurizio initially struggles to remember who she is exactly. After reminding him, patrizia inquires as to what is he doing there, and Maurizio explains that he is there to find books on the legislative process as part of his law studies. Outside, maurizio hops on his moped and attempts to leave, but Patrizia blocks his path until he agrees to ask her out. Aren't you going to ask me out?
Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver):You want to go on a date with me, you, you want to go on a date with me? Well, of course I would. I want to see how this story goes. Yes, sir.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):That's my number. I'm very busy, but I'll make time for you, Maurizio.
Ashley:I'm just going to say they are making her out to be way more aggressive than she actually was, at least in the beginning than she actually was, at least in the beginning.
Remi:That's why I had a little bit of a problem with Gaga agreeing to do this, because Scott convinced her that they were really in love. The movie really makes it seem like she's kind of a gold digger and staking him out, and really only becomes interested in him after she realizes he's a Gucci. And following him around in order to pretend to run into him by happenstance. And following him around in order to pretend to run into him by happenstance yeah, it's not as much of a love story as you would think. Patrizia's persistence pays off. In the end, though, their interaction is being watched closely by a mysterious man in a nearby car. During their first official date, maurizio and Patrizia enjoy a stroll through the city, and along the way, maurizio casually suggests that they stop for lunch at an upscale restaurant called Savini, but instead they ultimately opt for a humble yet delicious meal purchased from a neighborhood food truck. Can't beat a food truck.
Ashley:You really can't, that was a wise decision.
Remi:Afterwards, the two make their way down to the pier, embarking on a small rowboat, and share their first kiss together, while still being observed from afar by the mysterious man in his vehicle. In time, maurizio eventually introduces Patrizia to his father, rodolfo Gucci, played by Jeremy Irons, during lunch together. Patrizia is clearly nervous, wanting to make a good first impression on Rodolfo, but the conversations falter after Patrizia confesses that her father works in ground transportation, leaving Rodolfo at a loss for words. Desperate to change the subject, patrizia brings up Rodolfo's past acting career, only for it to become painfully obvious that she's never actually seen any of his films.
Ashley:To her credit, he had one hit and that was it.
Remi:Well, despite the awkward meal, we do learn that Rodolfo met Maurizio's late mother back in his acting days and he still loves and misses her very dearly.
Ashley:I left this out, but it's kind of a cute story. After she died, he started working on this like documentary project for Maurizio. That included snippets from his mother's old movies and family videos and clips from their wedding and things like that and he worked on it for like decades and then when he was finished, he held like a big premiere for it. That's actually really sweet. Was finished, he held like a big premiere for it.
Remi:That's actually really sweet, and I know you did a similar thing for your grandparents recently as well. After dropping Patrizia off, maurizio returns home, where it is revealed that the mysterious man from earlier had actually been the Gucci family's driver keeping tabs on Maurizio. The moment Maurizio walks through the door, rodolfo wastes no time sharing his honest opinion of what he truly thought of Patrizia.
Al Pacino:You know, there is a certain sort of young woman who makes their fortune from getting their hooks into someone like you.
Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver):Oh yes, Father, but Patrizia is not like that. Well, I had Franco do a little investigation. I think she's after your money, like they all are, the Reggianis are truck drivers. Her father has a very successful transportation business. It is a. It is an empire, oh a truck-driving empire. How many? How many what?
Al Pacino:How many trucks? 5,500?. What does she transport,500? What does she transport?
Ashley:Garbage. Huh, he is really dogging on her dad's very successful truck business.
Remi:Well, it is a very different industry than fashion, I would guess.
Remi:Maurizio scoffs at his father's presumption and declares his intention to marry Patrizia, despite Rodolfo's threats to disinherit Maurizio if he does so.
Remi:Oh, and Rodolfo coughs during this scene, which in movie terminology, means that a character has some sort of a terminal illness that they will most likely be dead from in the not-too-distant future. Anyway, maurizio refuses to dump Patrizia and, as a result, maurizio is disowned and expelled from the Gucci dynasty. Undeterred, maurizio catches a taxi cab over to the Reggiani's and proposes to Patrizia, who happily accepts I didn't mention this but he also asks for a job and a place to stay, in the same sentence that he asks her to marry him, oh, and for cab money to pay for the taxi he took there. To make ends meet, maurizio takes a job cleaning trucks at Fernando's company, where he surprisingly thrives and seems to be genuinely enjoying himself, even joining in on some playful water fights with his fellow blue-collar co-workers, who have all accepted him as one of their own. Since Patrizia and Maurizio now work together, the happy couple also enjoy ample opportunities for some midday hanky-panky and seem even more in love now than ever before.
Ashley:Side note she never worked for her dad.
Remi:Not long after the two are married in a ceremony at a grand cathedral, though Maurizio's side of the aisle is notably sparse compared to the bride's. Maurizio's uncle, aldo Gucci, played by Al Pacino, reads about the nuptials in a magazine, inspiring him to pay his estranged brother, rodolfo, a little visit. Aldo, who shares 50% ownership of Gucci with his brother, urges Rodolfo to reconcile with Maurizio during Aldo's upcoming 70th birthday party on Saturday. That weekend, patrizia and Maurizio arrive at Aldo's private villa to attend his birthday garden party, but Rodolfo is notably absent. A lively game of rugby is underway amidst the sprawling greenery of Aldo's grand estate, where we watch as Paolo Gucci, played by Jared Leto, fails in his attempt to catch the ball, resulting in a bloody lip. Later, the family gathers in a common room after the celebration, where Paolo pleads with Aldo for more creative freedom within the company, leading to the family mocking Paolo for his mauve-colored corduroy suit and other eccentric fashion choices. I had to look up what color the suit is. I've never heard of mauve before. On the drive home, maurizio voices his disdain for his family's opulence, but Patrizia believes that Maurizio is missing out on his rightful share of the Gucci fortune. Patrizia also reveals that Aldo gifted them two tickets to New York City as a wedding present, though Maurizio remains disinterested in anything his family has to offer. Later that night, while enjoying some delicious gelato, patrizia catches an infomercial for a psychic named Pina Aramina, played by Salma Hayek, and is immediately intrigued, so gives the 1-800 number a call. The two talk live on the air and Pina predicts great fortune in Patrizia's future. Sometime later, patrizia stalks Aldo while shopping at one of his Gucci stores in Milan, then pretends to run into him by chance in order to strike up a conversation where he readily agrees to join Patrizia in her efforts of convincing Maurizio to rejoin the family.
Remi:The following year, patrizia and Maurizio take a trip to meet Aldo for his 71st birthday at the Gucci family's original Tuscan tannery in Val di Ciana. This is also where the timeline for the film starts to get a bit more confusing, jumping around to new locations and years without much of a warning or any indication, which makes determining exactly where and when these things are happening far more difficult than it needs to be. But I digress. Oh, and on a personal side note here, al Pacino has some sort of food or something stuck on the side of his mouth during this scene, which I do not think was intentional and was really gross to look at. Moving on, aldo offers to mentor Maurizio and show him the ropes on his side of the company. Mentor Maurizio and show him the ropes on his side of the company. Maurizio is initially reluctant to accept his uncle's offer, insisting that he is content with his modest lifestyle, but reconsiders after learning that Patrizia is now pregnant.
Remi:Once in New York, maurizio and Patrizia move into a fully furnished luxury penthouse gifted to them by Aldo that comes complete with a breathtaking view of the entire city. Patrizia is, of course, positively giddy over their new lavish lifestyle, as the couple also indulges in an extravagant Gucci shopping spree on the company's dime, at the behest of their overly generous Uncle Aldo. Over dinner, aldo announces Maurizio's new role as Gucci's world affairs coordinator, though Maurizio remains uncertain as to what his new position actually entails. Meanwhile, paolo pays his uncle Rodolfo a visit to pitch his idea for a fashion line that Aldo had previously rejected. After humoring, paolo Rodolfo calls his nephew incompetent and dismisses Paolo's work as a triumph in mediocrity, wholeheartedly agreeing with his brother's decision to not move forward with Paolo's designs.
Ashley:Yikes.
Remi:Once alone, paolo defiantly urinates on one of Rodolfo's signature Gucci scarves as a form of retribution. Months later, patrizia and Maurizio's first child is born, and the couple return to Italy soon after learning that Rodolfo has fallen ill. Once Rodolfo learns that he is now a grandfather to a baby girl named after his dearly departed wife, alessandra, he is finally able to put aside his feud with Maurizio, leading to a touching reconciliation after many lost years. And it's also said in the movie that naming their daughter Alessandra was Patrizia's idea, which endeared her to Rodolfo.
Ashley:I do think that's true.
Remi:Rodolfo passes away not long after and we learn during his will reading that Maurizio has been bequeathed a house in St Moritz two beach houses, a penthouse apartment, which is the only one in all of Milan that has a swimming pool, and, of course, 50% ownership of Gucci SPA. However, a bureaucratic hiccup arises after it is revealed that Rodolfo had failed to sign the share certificate before his passing, which could result in a massive inheritance tax of around 14 billion lira. Seeking guidance, patrizia consults Pina, who advises her to fight for what's hers. Trust no one and wear red for protection and green for cleansing.
Ashley:Solid advice. Also, the fact that the share certificates weren't signed prior to death and were allegedly later forged is all speculation.
Remi:By 1983, the couple have settled into their extremely posh lifestyle, until one day when Patrizia sees that knockoff Gucci handbags are being sold on the streets of New York for a paltry $29.99. Did you ever own any knockoff Gucci handbags or anything, back in the day, ashley?
Ashley:Not Gucci, but I did own knockoff Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
Remi:I used to shop at those little knockoff markets in New York City all the time and I must say it was always a great place for a broke teen to buy a $20 Rolex that would inevitably stop working in about three weeks, but hey, they looked really cool. Anyway, patrizia is positively fuming over the counterfeit handbags, while Maurizio seems amused and even impressed with the bag's quality. At such an cretin.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):Don't call me a cretin sweetie. That's not what I said. I asked you not to be one. This is serious and you're laughing it off. At least it's my name on the mug. It's not yours Our name, sweetie On junk.
Ashley:I like that. He's taken it in stride.
Remi:I like Maurizio during the first half of this movie. His character does kind of turn to the dark side in the second half, but initially he is a very likable dude. Patrizia tries to address the counterfeit handbag issue with Aldo, but he dismisses her concerns, showing little interest in stopping the replicas. Frustrated by her lack of influence within the Gucci empire, patrizia begins to feel resentful over the limited power she holds, despite being married into the family. Back in Milan at the Gianni Versace spring fashion show after party, maurizio is doing his best to hobnob with the glamorous crowd, until his ego takes a massive hit from a male model who casually mentions that the Gucci brand is no longer considered fashionable. Meanwhile, tensions within the Gucci family have escalated as Paolo instigates a trade war after being granted several shares of the company by his father, aldo. In an attempt to maintain stability, patrizia decides to intervene personally and visits Paolo, hoping she can smooth things over. Stop, you're going to make me.
Al Pacino:You're going to make me cry. Nobody has ever said that to me. Nobody.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):Paolo, why don't you have your own line? These are just mock-ups I can't afford to get serious With your gift and your talent and your vision? Are you kidding? Gucci needs no blood, goodbye 1930s, hello, 80s, huh. You took the words right out of my guts, paulo Gucci, call me.
Remi:Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da taking it so seriously and, leto, absolutely not taking any of it seriously at all.
Ashley:I liked his little dance at the end.
Remi:And his little boof. He always says boof, boof, boof. I don't know what that means or why he says it, but he says it a lot in the film. During their meeting, Patrizia cleverly persuades Paolo to launch his own fashion line, emphasizing his unique designs and assuring him of Maurizio's potential backing.
Ashley:I want to point out that Patrizia really was trying to insert herself into company affairs, but she did not have enough sway or power to convince Paolo, much less any Gucci person other than maybe Maurizio, to do anything.
Remi:Well, when Maurizio finds out that Patrizia went behind his back to speak with Paolo, he is absolutely livid, but Patrizia defends herself, insisting that she was only acting in the family's best interests. Shortly after, maurizio meets with Paolo after a fencing match and is presented with documents revealing that Aldo had been evading taxes while committing financial fraud on a global scale for the past several decades. Seeing this as an opportunity, the cousins decide to join forces and use this incriminating information against Aldo to leverage their own power within the company. Paolo attempts to confront his father with this evidence, but Aldo simply shrugs him off, though he does clearly recognize the potential severity of the situation. Not long after calling Paolo's bluff, aldo is inevitably arrested during a racquetball match by the Department of Treasury for criminal tax evasion. With Aldo now out of the picture, maurizio finally agrees to greenlight Paolo's unconventionally quirky fashion line. Meanwhile, aldo is convicted of five counts of failure to file accurate tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to file a report of foreign bank accounts, garnering Aldo a total sentence of one year and a day in a federal penitentiary.
Remi:Sometime later, the big day finally arrives for Paolo's highly anticipated fashion show, chock full of chic fashionistas and buzzing with members of the press and industry insiders. This all comes to a screeching halt, however, once Paolo is served with a cease-and-desist notice backstage for violating exclusive copyrights not to reproduce, distribute, display or perform any protected work of Gucci SPA. As a result, the debut of Paolo's new fashion line is unceremoniously put to an end midway through its grand unveiling. Furious and humiliated, paolo confronts Maurizio, demanding an explanation for his betrayal. But Maurizio seems visibly puzzled by Paolo's accusations of treachery, and it is soon revealed that it was actually Patrizia who filed the copyright infringement claim against Paolo.
Ashley:She would not be able to do that. She's not listed anywhere in the company, but okay, Ridley.
Remi:The couple then offered to buy out Paolo's remaining shares in Gucci, but Paolo balks at their proposal, leaving them with these so eloquently put parting words leaving them with these so eloquently put parting words.
Narrator:Never confuse shit with cioccolato. They may look the same but taste very different.
Remi:Trust me, I know In due time the financial police do come a-calling for old Maurizio. But Maurizio manages to narrowly escape his arrest by making a daring getaway on a fancy motorbike and crossing over the border into Switzerland, before safely arriving at his luxurious Swiss villa in St Moritz moments later. Must be pretty convenient to have a house literally right over the border like that. Back in Italy, patrizia is questioned about a forged signature on Rodolfo's will, which she denies, then blames entirely on Maurizio.
Remi:That Christmas, while hitting the slopes in Switzerland, maurizio runs into an old acquaintance of his named, paola Franchi, played by Camille Cotton. The two reconnect and are soon back at the lodge together, drinking, smoking and laughing while enjoying a lively discussion amongst a group of other well-to-do skiers. However, this light-hearted mood takes a quick turn when Patrizia arrives unannounced with their daughter Alessandra. Though Patrizia tries to join the group, there is undeniably palpable tension between her and Maurizio. Later that evening, maurizio and Patrizia have a heated argument where Maurizio accuses Patrizia of constantly scheming and trying to turn him against his family. He orders Patrizia to stay out of all Gucci affairs, moving forward and let him handle the decision making. But Patrizia snaps, unleashing a tirade of vicious insults at Maurizio until he loses control and shoves her against the wall, abruptly ending their argument.
Remi:The following morning it is Christmas Day and little Alessandra is gleefully unwrapping her Teddy Ruxpin while Patrizia gifts Maurizio a stylish new Tiffany watch. Patrizia then eagerly unwraps her present from Maurizio, only to be utterly disappointed to find a meager Bloomingdale's gift card, which she also says she doesn't even shop there.
Ashley:Dale's gift card, which she also says she doesn't even shop there. I think in the book it said he got her like some sort of keychain that had to do with his yacht or something like that. So even worse.
Remi:I would much rather take a gift certificate than a keychain as a gift personally. Later that day, back on the slopes, paola finds herself alone with Patrizia, while Maurizio is off tending to their daughter. Though Patrizia's demeanor appears cordial, she delivers a veiled yet unmistakable warning to Paola that she better stay the hell away from her man.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):What, forgive me, I am trying to teach Alessandra the importance of not touching other people's belongings. I don't consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I am fair. What I cannot wrap my head around is people who steal just for ego or the pleasure of it for personal satisfaction, I would not fuck with her.
Remi:She sounds very intimidating for a small little Italian woman.
Ashley:She seems like a loose cannon and, to be fair, she is.
Remi:That night, Maurizio informs Patrizia that a driver will be arriving first thing the following morning to escort her and her daughter back to Milan. After Patrizia and Alessandra are gone, Maurizio is finally able to shift his focus back towards the Gucci empire. With Paolo still unwilling to sell his shares but in dire need of financial support, Maurizio decides to join forces with InvestCorp, a powerful investment firm led by an Iraqi businessman named Namir Kerdar, known for high-end retail investments, including the purchase of Tiffany Co back in 1984. Meanwhile, humiliated and heartbroken by her crumbling marriage, Patrizia turns her attention to her psychic friend Pina for guidance, who reassures Patrizia that she is a strong woman who can handle just about any situation. And side note here, Lady Gaga said that she pushed for a lesbian sex scene between her and Salma Hayek in the film, but it ended up being cut. However, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a character standpoint and I'm not really clear as to when exactly that scene was supposed to take place. But yeah, there you go. During his meeting with InvestCorp, Maurizio presents his vision for the company, proposing that InvestCorp buy out the remaining 50% of Gucci from Paolo and Aldo so that they can modernize the brand and usher Gucci into a new millennium. To sweeten the deal, Maurizio even throws in a one-of-a-kind pair of ultra-rare Gucci loafers from the Metropolitan Museum's collection as a gift to the president of Investcorp, Namir Kadar.
Remi:Time continues to pass and soon Aldo is inevitably released from prison, finally reuniting with his son, Paolo, who is now broke and heavily in debt due to a series of disastrous business decisions. Aldo moves in with Paolo and has big plans for starting anew, but is devastated to learn that Paolo had sold his shares of Gucci to Investcorp while Aldo was incarcerated, leaving their side of the family with less than 50% ownership and giving Maurizio and Investcorp majority control over the company. Back with Maurizio, we see that he has begun a romantic relationship with Paola, the woman from the ski trip, and it is implied that Patrizia's psychic friend Pina is somehow aware of this information and has already broken the news to Patrizia. Though Patrizia tries to confront Maurizio, he has gone to great lengths to successfully avoid Patrizia while preparing for their divorce, which Patrizia finds tremendously vexing. Elsewhere, Aldo and Paolo meet with Investcorp to discuss the sale of Aldo's remaining shares. Aldo initially refuses, but when Maurizio enters the room, Aldo is suddenly overcome with emotion and begins to weep. After regaining his composure, Aldo reluctantly signs over his remaining shares of the company, With his family out of the picture.
Remi:Maurizio barks on his ambitious mission of revamping the Gucci brand by enlisting the help of an up-and-coming Texas fashion designer named Tom Ford. Tired of being ignored, Patrizia ambushes Maurizio outside of his home one night, desperately pleading with him to return to his family. Uninterested in any kind of reconciliation, Maurizio coldly declares that their marriage is over and that he no longer loves her, leaving Patrizia sobbing on the sidewalk as he walks inside. Enraged by her husband's abandonment, Patrizia begins leaving numerous threatening voice messages on Maurizio's home answering machine, while also enlisting the aid of her psychic friend Pina to cast various vengeful spells on Maurizio, to no avail. As a last resort, Pina arranges a meeting with Patrizia and some shady associates of hers, where Patrizia agrees to pay 600 million lira or $327,000, give or take to have Maurizio assassinated. Meanwhile, the 1995 Tom Ford Gucci fashion show is a spectacular success, generating newfound buzz and excitement for the brand.
Ashley:I had no idea that Tom Ford really got his big start with Gucci and was with the company for so long.
Remi:He definitely helped bring Gucci into the modern era. It was most of his designs and I'm a huge Tom Ford fan as well. Love his glasses. But yeah, I had no idea this was where he got his start.
Ashley:For several years, when Gucci was in financial ruin, he was single-handedly designing all 11 of their product lines.
Remi:And one of my favorite parts in the film is when they're having a meeting and they are reading the newspaper headlines about what a success the Tom Ford show was and Tom Ford is in the room and after they've read these glowing reviews, talking about like Tom Ford's going to be the biggest thing in fashion ever. There's just a moment where he pauses and just says I need to go call my mom and he just runs out of the room. And I just thought that was very sweet. Well, unfortunately, investcorp's financial projections for 1996 still look bleak, with Gucci expected to lose $30 million due to Maurizio's decision to discontinue many of Aldo and Rodolfo's classic designs, with $85 million in debt and concerns over Maurizio's extravagant personal expenses Maurizio's extravagant personal expenses. Investcorp offers to buy out Maurizio's remaining 50% stake in Gucci for $150 million, but Maurizio storms out of the room without dignifying their proposal. With a response On Monday March 27, 1995, at 7.59am, we return to the opening scene of the film, with Maurizio enjoying a cigarette and an espresso at a cafe before hopping on his bicycle and riding home.
Remi:As Maurizio ascends the steps to the entrance of his building, he stops momentarily to tie his shoe, then hears someone call out his name. From just behind him, maurizio looks up and is shot multiple times by one of the hitmen hired by Patrizia, causing Maurizio to collapse onto the front stoop of his home and tragically pass away from his injuries. As the assassins flee the scene, immediately after Maurizio's death I mean immediately it seems like it's the next day Patrizia and her daughter wade through a sea of paparazzi as they return to the lavish penthouse that their family had once shared.
Ashley:It was the next day.
Remi:That is crazy to me. She just could not wait, huh. Two years later, in 1997, patrizia Reggiani was arrested for the murder of Maurizio Gucci. So too were Pina Aramina and Bendito Corralito and Ivano Saviani, the two hitmen. All were found guilty. Patrizia was sentenced to 29 years in prison, pina to 25 years, ivano to 26 years and Benedetto, the man who pulled the trigger, received a life sentence. Aldo Gucci died of prostate cancer in 1990 and Paolo Gucci died in poverty in London in 1995. That same year, gucci became a publicly listed company and, under the leadership of Domenico Del Sol and Tom Ford in the 90s and Marco Bizzari and Alessandro Michel today, gucci has become a global success story in the fashion world and is considered one of the world's greatest brands, with an estimated value of $60 billion. There are currently no members of the Gucci family at Gucci, and that was Ridley Scott's House of Gucci. How do you feel, ashley?
Ashley:I have a lot of feelings about how Petruccia's influence was portrayed in the movie. I get that Ridley Scott wanted this movie to be about her and Maurizio, but it seems in doing so he fabricated a lot of the turmoil that was going on within the family and tried to paint her as more of the schemer than she actually was. I think it would have been better suited to have it be more focused on the rise and fall of Maurizio Gucci than trying to superimpose Patrizia's influence as really the main plot point.
Remi:I agree. I do think this should have been Maurizio's story and not Patrizia, and I also feel that a director like Martin Scorsese could have done a much better job with this film. That's just me personally thinking that because of his Italian heritage movies, where it's covering long periods of time effortlessly, like he did with Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street, I would have loved to see a Martin Scorsese Gucci movie. But this is what we have and in my opinion, ridley Scott is someone who makes films very fast and the accuracy of that is not a factor whatsoever in his filmmaking.
Ashley:I agree, and I even think there could have been little things that would have been really easy to put in to help orient the Watcher, because from the time when Maurizio meets Petruchia to when she's killed, it's 25 years, and all of this stuff is going on primarily in Italy and America. So to orient the person, they could have just had like New York Gucci headquarters, 19, whatever, and the watchers would have been better able to follow what was going on where we were in time.
Remi:Agree 100% on that. I had to actually look up the script for the film to confirm where certain scenes were taking place, because in every screenplay they have the location of the scene listed right before it, and I shouldn't have to do that. I should know where things are happening and where they're taking place and how much time has passed in between things, and I don't feel like this film did a good job of that and, from the sounds of it, a lot of the facts were altered and manipulated in order to make this film.
Ashley:There were a lot of big and small changes.
Remi:Well, let's get into the release of House of Gucci. House of Gucci had its world premiere in London on November 9th 2021, followed by a theatrical release in North America on November 24th and in the United Kingdom on November 26th. United Artists debuted the first trailer for the film during the 2021 Summer Olympics. Following the trailer's release, social media accounts promoting the film amassed a total of 415.4 million followers across Instagram, twitter, youtube and Facebook, which included 234 million followers from just the cast alone.
Ashley:It does have a stellar cast and I do remember the hype for this movie was huge. People were really excited for it.
Remi:The campaign achieved at least 1.2 billion impressions and 407 million views online, incorporating strategies such as radio, social media partnerships, television spots and promotions on platforms like TikTok, twitter and Snapchat.
Ashley:Let's get the Gucci PR team on our side for our podcast.
Remi:Seriously, they were on their game with this one. Even crime podcasts were used to attract younger audiences, and United Artists would spend about $12 million in television ads alone. That's a lot of moolah. House of Gucci currently has a 62% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critical consensus that reads House of Gucci vacillates between inspired camp and dour drama, too often to pull off a confident runway strut. But Lady Gaga's note-perfect performance has a timeless style all its own.
Ashley:So she saved it.
Remi:She is phenomenal in this film. We were watching some clips of the real Patrizia before doing this podcast and yeah, she nails it. She has the voice, she has the mannerisms. She really, really knocked it out of the park in this one.
Ashley:Looks like all those animal studies paid off.
Remi:Who would have thought right? The film grossed $53.8 million in the United States and Canada, with an additional $99.4 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $153.2 million. Lady Gaga earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, while the film itself was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the Academy Awards but lost out to the Eyes of Tammy Faye, which we will be covering in a later podcast, and I also just want to point out this was nominated in the drama category, not the comedy category, at the Golden Globes.
Ashley:I also want to point out that the makeup here, I'm assuming, is primarily for Lady Gaga and Jared Leto, but the Eyes of Tammy Faye, jessica Chastain, is completely lost in that movie. It's crazy.
Remi:She is unrecognizable and her performance is phenomenal in that film. She deserved every award she got for that one. Meanwhile, jared Leto earned himself a Razzie Award for his performance, becoming only the second actor to win the dubious honor for a Ridley Scott film, following Demi Moore for GI Jane back in 1997. And I'm glad that she is making her comeback and proving all those haters wrong. Fucking. Get yours, demi. You are awesome. Also, watch the Substance if you have a strong stomach, demi, you are awesome. Also watch the Substance if you have a strong stomach.
Remi:Fashion designer Tom Ford shared a mixed review in Air Mail, comparing his experience of watching the film to living through a hurricane. While Ford praised much of the cast, he criticized Al Pacino and Jared Leto's performances as something more suited for a Saturday Night Live skit. Regarding Leto specifically, ford remarked Leto's brilliance as an actor is literally buried under latex and prosthetics. Paolo was eccentric and wacky, but not a crazed or mentally challenged caricature.
Remi:Patrizia Gucci, who is Paolo Gucci's daughter and Maurizio Gucci's first cousin once removed, released the following statement to the Associated Press on behalf of the Gucci family they are stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system. Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything, but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed. The Gucci's were similarly concerned with the film's inaccuracies the lack of contact with. We can talk about everything, but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed. The Gucci's were similarly concerned with the film's inaccuracies, the lack of contact with Ridley Scott and the casting of high-profile actors portraying people unconnected to the murder. Scott rejected the family's criticism, stating you have to remember that one Gucci was murdered and another went to jail for tax evasion, so you can't be talking to me about making a profit. As soon as you do that, you become part of the public domain.
Ashley:After Maurizio sold Gucci to Investacorp, the rest of the family really did slip into relative obscurity. They were very private people and have continued to be so, so I can understand why the family was unhappy with how they were portrayed.
Remi:In a statement to Variety, the Gucci family further criticized the film's portrayal of Aldo Gucci and their other family members by accusing the production of depicting them as ignorant, insensitive thugs, finding their portrayal to be extremely painful and an insult to the legacy upon which the brand was built. The statement concluded with the members of the Gucci family reserves every right to protect the name, image and dignity of their loved ones. Speaking on her own behalf, patrizia Reggiani additionally accused the movie of portraying her as a victim trying to survive in a masculine and macho corporate culture.
Ashley:I do not think she was portrayed as a victim in this.
Remi:Me neither. I don't think Patrizia saw the film. Ridley Scott defended the film's creative liberties, stating In the adaptation, you have to take some liberties with time and space. I tried to be as respectful as possible by being as factual as we can possibly imagine. In response to the family's numerous critiques, scott quipped that the Gucci's should be so fucking lucky to have actors like Al Pacino and Jared Leto portraying them.
Ashley:He seems like he is taking these criticisms very personally.
Remi:He comes off as kind of an ass. In a lot of these interviews I've read with him and he seems like someone that doesn't have much of a filter. But hey, that was Ridley Scott's House of Gucci A wacky, wild, fashionable ride. But I am very, very anxious to hear the true story of this because I know for a fact it's gonna be very different than what we just heard. So should we not dilly-dally and just go for it, ashley?
Ashley:Yes, and before we do, I want everyone to close your eyes and imagine that you're in Florence in the early 1900s.
Ashley:The story of the Gucci dynasty starts with Guccio and Ida Gucci. They married in Florence in 1902 and had five children Ugo, who was actually from Ida's prior marriage, grimalda, enzo Aldo Vasco and Rodolfo. Guccio started his fashion career at leather crafts companies, where he learned all about selecting and working with the product. His dream of opening his own shop materialized when he saw a small store for rent in 1921. The first Gucci store focused on selling high-quality leather goods at reasonable prices. Shortly after, he opened a small workshop behind the store where he began making his own products to supplement imports. He quickly turned a profit as the store became known for their reliable luggage. This allowed him to expand his workforce and open another shop in 1923.
Ashley:He hit a bit of a snag in 1924 as he couldn't pay back some of the vendors who lent him goods on credit. Luckily, grimaldi's fiancée gave Guccio the loan he needed to keep the shop afloat. After his debts were handled, he began encouraging his workers to produce original articles to sell in his stores. Most of Guccio's children began working for the family business once they reached early adulthood. This trend continued on with his grandchildren To install the value of the dollar in hard work and to help the young Guccis learn about the family business from the ground up. Everyone typically started as laborers, doing things like making deliveries and doing cleaning tasks, before they began working on the sales floor.
Remi:This is a thing that a lot of business owners do with their children.
Ashley:Of all of Guccio's children, aldo had the keenest sense of the trade. He was so good with customers that his father turned the other cheek when he began mixing business with pleasure. He married Olwen Price in 1927 and they had three kids together Giorgio in 1928, paolo in 1931, and Roberto in 1932.
Remi:There are already so many family members that have been excluded from the film.
Ashley:The Gucci leather shop was hit hard when Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935, as the League of Nations imposed a trade embargo on Italy, meaning Guccio could no longer get the leathers and other materials needed to make his bags. To make ends meet, he started manufacturing shoes for the Italian army, expanded to smaller leather accessories like belts and wallets, and came up with alternative materials to use for his bags, things like wicker, wool, hemp and bamboo. This was also when the first signature Gucci logo was created, which later morphed into the iconic double G. Meanwhile, aldo became interested in expansion. Much to his father's dismay, he moved to Rome and opened the third Gucci store in 1938.
Ashley:Rodolfo, guccio's youngest, married Alessandra in 1944. Their only child, maurizio, was born four years later. Now, with a young family to support, rodolfo abandoned his acting career and asked to join the family business. He took to the work quickly and moved to Milan to manage a new Gucci store in 1951. By the early 1950s, gucci became known as a product of refined style. Everyone was wearing the label, including princess and soon-to-be queen, elizabeth, eleanor Roosevelt, elizabeth Taylor, the future Mrs JFK, betty Davis, catherine Hepburn and Sophia Loren. The Gucci company was also well-respected by artisans and employees. Workers saw the company as the ultimate employer with cradle-to-grave job security, no matter the ups and downs of the market. Guccio and his sons also got to know the employees and their families by name, even providing loans or down payments for those in desperate situations.
Remi:Guccio seems like he was a really good business owner.
Ashley:It was really portrayed like that in the book. Not only him, but Aldo too. When he started taking over, they would be walking around not only the shops but the factories every single day and greeting everyone by name, asking about their kids and their wives.
Remi:I like that.
Ashley:The post-World War II era also marked Aldo's rise in the company. As Guccio grew older, he became less resistant to Aldo's quest for expansion. Aldo also became a big proponent for product unification to ensure that the brand stuck out from its competitors. Aldo soon set his sights on America. With the help of a lawyer, he incorporated Gucci's first American company, gucci Shops Inc. A move that laid the foundation for Gucci's international expansion. Aldo's drive was relentless, but just 15 days after the first New York store opened in 1952, guccio died from a heart attack at age 72. His mother followed two years later. With Guccio's passing, the next generation stepped up to the plate, but this wasn't without controversy. Ugo was excluded from the company's inheritance given his lack of involvement over the years, but so was Grimalda, solely because she was a woman, even though it was her and her now husband who saved the company from bankruptcy in 1924.
Ashley:She didn't even realize she had no stake in the company until she was barred from business decisions by her three brothers, who each inherited equal shares. With Guccio gone, the business was split into three key areas. Aldo became the face of Gucci America and leading force behind continued expansion, traveling constantly to grow the brand overseas. Rodolfo took charge of the Milan store and was deeply involved in handbag design. And lastly, vasco oversaw the Florence factory and supervised Aldo's son, paolo, who joined the company in 1952. Despite everyone having their well-defined roles, aldo was undeniably the driving force behind Gucci's success and growth. He worked tirelessly and ruled with an iron fist, but he always sought consensus from his brothers when making critical decisions. By 1963, gucci opened its first store in Paris, marking another milestone in its global expansion.
Ashley:Aldo brought his youngest son, roberto, to New York, where he stayed for a decade, before returning to Florence in 1962 to establish administrative offices and a showroom. Giorgio briefly worked in New York before settling in Rome to manage the store there. He was the first to break away from the Gucci family mold and launched his own store, gucci Boutique, in 1969. This boutique catered to a younger clientele as it offered more affordable accessories and gifts. Giorgio even developed his own handbag and accessory line, produced in Gucci factories. This rebellion infuriated Aldo and Rodolfo and turned him into the black sheep of the family. The boutique was eventually reabsorbed by Gucci in 1982, though Giorgio continued to manage it.
Ashley:Meanwhile, paolo, the most creative of Aldo's sons, discovered his talent for design. While working in the Florence factory under Vasco, he was given free reign to innovate, leading to the company's first ready-to-wear line. Despite this milestone, he had a complicated relationship with his father, as he resented Aldo's authoritative management style. Despite intermittent family conflict, aldo's leadership helped Gucci soar to new heights. He treated staff like extended family, which earned their loyalty, but behind the scenes he had a reputation for being domineering. Customers adored him, even though he often mocked them behind their backs, a habit that made headlines years later. He was also a notorious flirt and maintained multiple affairs, but at this point none of that seemed to matter. His relentless drive for expansion led to a store in Beverly Hills in 1968. That same year, he introduced the men's low-heeled moccasin, later to be refined into a sleeker loafer. It was an instant status symbol and cemented Gucci's place in high fashion.
Remi:It was an instant status symbol and cemented Gucci's place in high fashion. I think it still is one of their hottest selling items today that loafer.
Ashley:By the 1970s, gucci's product range was vast, with over 2,000 products. They offered everything from $5 keychains to an 18-karat gold chain-link belt. As Gucci continued to grow, the risks within the family became more apparent. But before we get to that, it's finally time to turn our attention to Maurizio Gucci. Maurizio's mom died of cancer when he was just five years old. On her deathbed she made Rodolfo promise that Maurizio would never call another woman his mom, and he kept that promise by never remarrying or dating seriously. Since Rodolfo traveled often, maurizio grew up lonely and sad. Similar to how he was raised, rodolfo tried to teach his son the value of the dollar by giving him a very small allowance. Since Maurizio hated asking his father for anything, his closest confidant became the family driver, luigi Pirovano, who secretly loaned him money or let him borrow the car for dates. Rodolfo was also fiercely protective, with high expectations. While his peers were on summer vacations, maurizio was in New York working under Aldo, and when it came to relationships, no woman was ever good enough.
Ashley:Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani met at a debutante party in November 1970. For him, it was love at first sight, but she was engaged to someone else. However, the engagement soon ended and Maurizio wasted no time asking her to marry him on their second date. Patrizia's mom, silvana, was just 18 when she started having an affair with Fernando, a well-respected married businessman in his 50s. She moved to Italy shortly after Patrizia was born in 1948 to be closer to him. Mother and daughter moved into his home a few months after his wife died in 1956. He quietly married Silvana and adopted Patrizia soon after.
Ashley:Fernando adored Patrizia, and vice versa. She enrolled in translator school after she graduated high school and although she was smart and fluent in French, english and Italian, she was much more interested in maintaining an active social life than studying. Given her constantly done-up appearance, flashy wardrobe and late nights on the town, she became known around Milan as a provocative woman and social climber. But this didn't bother Maurizio. He hid the relationship from his father until he was confronted about an extravagant phone bill. Six weeks into the relationship, maurizio snuck out to spend the night with Patrizia and her family during a trip, even though Rodolfo told him he couldn't go. By the way, he's 22 years old.
Remi:I also think it's crazy that this guy was looking over his own phone bill. He doesn't have like an accountant or someone that's just doing that for him. Why would he care about the phone bill? He is so rich.
Ashley:As soon as Rodolfo noticed his son's absence, he called the villa and accused Patrizia of distracting Maurizio from his studies and only being interested in him because of the Gucci name.
Remi:This guy is super controlling.
Ashley:Well, you know what? He actually wasn't really wrong. Patrizia never hid her desire for a high-class, luxurious lifestyle, not to Maurizio or the press.
Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga):It's true money cannot buy happiness, this for sure. But anyway, it's much better to have money than not to have. It's better to cry in Rolls Royce than to be happy on a bicycle.
Remi:That's for sure. There is an old quote from Johnny Depp that says Money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy you a yacht that allows you to sail right up next to it.
Ashley:This argument worsened when Maurizio returned home, culminating in him packing his things despite threats of being disinherited. Determined to prove his love, he showed up at Patricia's doorstep and told Fernando he lost everything and wanted to marry his daughter, even though he no longer had anything to offer her and wanted to marry his daughter, even though he no longer had anything to offer her.
Ashley:I love that that's true. Fernando admired his courage, opened his home and gave him a job in his trucking business, on the condition that he finished his studies and made sure there was no funny business under his roof. For months, maurizio worked during the day and studied at night. He learned the ropes of the trucking business and respect of his future father-in-law, even though his own dad's pride prevented any sort of reconciliation. Fernando put their love to the test that summer by taking Patrizia on a trip. Her and Maurizio were more in love than ever when she returned in September 1971. This caused Fernando to finally give his blessing and they set their wedding for October 1972, despite Rodolfo's pleas to the Cardinal of Milan to stop it. Although the wedding was one of the biggest social events of the season, not a single Gucci family member attended. Determined to mend the strained relationship between Rodolfo and Maurizio, petruccia lobbied Aldo for help. He admired her for this and spoke to Rodolfo on her behalf. Two years after Maurizio left home, rodolfo finally reached out. Neither mentioned the disagreement or the wedding. Instead, rodolfo asked if the newlyweds wanted to move to New York to work under Aldo to learn more about the family business. The ecstatic young couple landed in New York less than a month later.
Ashley:Over the next few years, maurizio and Patrizia had two daughters, alessandra in 1976 and Allegra in 1981. In conjunction with their several luxury homes and new yacht, life seemed perfect. Seeking new ways to expand, aldo called a board of directors meeting in 1971 to ask them to re-examine the principles set by their father that any ownership of the company would never leave the family. He proposed selling 40% on the stock market to fund expansion into the Asian market, but his brothers didn't see the point. Undeterred, aldo accelerated Gucci's growth in the US to fund stores in Tokyo and Hong Kong. In just 20 years he built Gucci from a $6,000 corporation with one small workshop into a multi-million global empire.
Ashley:Despite this success, other business practices provided their own challenges. Aldo's tendency to poke fun at customers and hire inexperienced children of Italian families who really didn't care about their jobs resulted in New York Magazine naming Gucci as the rudest store in New York in 1975. Policies like no discounts or returns and just closing every single shop for an hour at lunch further frustrated customers, but they kept coming anyway. Aldo sought new business ventures in 1972. First he licensed the Gucci name to a Swiss watchmaker, becoming the first fashion label to get into that business, which is so wild. Gucci watches became so popular that they even landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling over 1 million units in just two years. By 1975, he launched Gucci Parfum International, which was restructured into Gucci Parfum Spa.
Ashley:Ownership of this company was equally divided between Aldo and his three sons, giorgio, roberto and Paolo. When Vasco died of lung cancer in May 1974, his third stake in the parent company passed to his widow, since he had no children passed to his widow. Since he had no children, aldo and Rodolfo bought the shares from her, meaning they each now controlled 50% of Gucci-O-Gucci. Aldo felt it was time to bring the next generation into the fold and split 10% of his stake between his sons, not caring that this technically meant Rodolfo was the primary shareholder. Rodolfo refused to do the same, as he still harbored resentments towards Maurizio for his earlier rebellion. By 1978, aldo introduced the Gucci Accessories Collection, a line of cosmetic cases, tote bags and small leather goods that were cheaper to produce. The goal was to appeal to a broader market by selling these products in department stores. While a respectful idea in theory, the move destabilized Gucci's image as it resulted in a loss of quality control made the brand less attractive to high-scale customers and opened the door to counterfeits.
Remi:There was a fashion designer back in the 90s named Isaac Mizrahi and he was a very well-respected fashion designer, and then he made a deal with Target and began exclusively making clothing for them, and that was the last I ever heard of Mr Mizrahi.
Ashley:It happens to a lot of people. They just want to really expand the accessibility of their line, but in doing so, the rich and powerful view it as like a low class product which sucks.
Remi:The exclusivity is a big part of the appeal.
Ashley:Well, speaking of counterfeiters, soon the Gucci name was showing up on everything from toilet paper to loaves of bread. So it wasn't just those knockoff purses in the street, people were putting the Gucci logo on literal stuff we use to wipe our butts.
Remi:Sounds kind of like Supreme.
Ashley:Meanwhile, paolo grew increasingly frustrated by his failure to secure a larger role in the company. He constantly butted heads with Rodolfo over the creative direction of the brand and business strategies. While he viewed his father as a natural-born leader, he also disagreed with some of his business decisions and thought he was poorly advised. In board meetings he began to wonder aloud about how the company wasn't turning a profit despite record sales. He and his brothers also started to resent Rodolfo's 50% stake in Gucci-O-Gucci as they felt it was disproportionate to his contributions to the business. Things came to a head when Paolo removed one of Rodolfo's handbags from a store display without consulting his uncle A little less serious of a transgression than pissing on product.
Remi:Rodolfo was still so petty, I mean, he took it out of the window.
Ashley:so Well, furious, rodolfo fired him from the Italian division in 1978, an act that Aldo saw as an outright declaration of war. Paolo accepted Aldo's offer to come and work for him in New York and put him in charge of Gucci America's accessories and designs. However, paolo quickly realized that Aldo was not ready to take him seriously, leading him to secretly start work on his own line by contacting suppliers, ironing out his designs and even making plans for mass distribution, and it was not Patrizia who encouraged or suggested he do this. Nonetheless, aldo was livid when he made this discovery. Although he and Rodolfo argued constantly, they were united when it came to protecting the Gucci name and officially fired Paolo from Gucci in 1980 without severance pay. Paolo retaliated by suing the company and filing a trademark for his brand's name. His father and uncle fought back by warning every supplier and licensee that if anyone worked with Paolo, they would be blacklisted from Gucci.
Ashley:This was the start of an all-out trade war that lasted for nearly a decade. Unbeknownst to most, rodolfo was battling prostate cancer during this time, facing his own mortality. He finally decided it was time to bring Maurizio into the business side of things, fully believing he was the only Gucci heir competent enough to take over in the future. It also didn't help that Aldo refused to give up control over the highly profitable perfume division, even though he and Rodolfo shared equal ownership of Gucci. O Gucci, enter Domenico de Sol, a sharp lawyer who seemed to be the only person who wasn't intimidated by the family's wealth and power, and this is who I bet Jared Leto was supposed to play in the movie.
Remi:He is in the film, but he is kind of just in the background until the very end when he ends up like owning part of the company out of nowhere.
Ashley:Maybe not. Then he and Rodolfo devise a strategy to merge Gucci perfumes into the Gucci-O-Gucci parent company. To increase Rodolfo's power. Aldo was so furious that he turned to his estranged son, paolo, to try to get his vote at the next shareholders meeting. Paolo agreed on one condition he wanted to run his own division under his own name. Aldo exploded with rage at this proposition and threw the biggest object he could get his hands on right at Paolo's head.
Remi:This family is very dramatic.
Ashley:Furious and humiliated, paolo vowed to destroy Gucci, no matter the cost.
Remi:If they wanted the film to be a comedy, they would have included scenes like this, like this is kind of a ridiculous reaction from this guy. I mean right.
Ashley:That was another reason why I had mentioned earlier like, oh, they should have cast Jared Leto as Aldo, because he's kind of, in my eyes, the more extravagant one than Paolo is.
Remi:They tone down Aldo in the movie and definitely ramp up Paolo. So if they were going to pour makeup on Leto, I think he maybe could have been a better choice for Aldo had it been more of a representation of this Aldo.
Ashley:Despite family tensions, everyone came together in January 1982 for a massive restructuring meeting. All Gucci companies were merged into a single entity, gucci Spa or SPA, and plans were made to go public in Milan. Aldo kept 17% ownership, while his sons received 11% each. Paolo was named VP and granted his own division with authority to sign licensing deals. It seemed like Paolo got everything he wanted until he realized every single one of his product line's ideas were being shot down one by one in March 1982. He was fired again just three months later. Then came the famous board meeting on July 16, 1982. During a heated discussion, palo once again demanded transparency of the company finances. Anticipating resistance, he opened his suitcase and turned on his own tape recorder so it would document all of his grievances. 77-year-old Aldo lunged at his son in pure rage. Paolo's face was scratched in the scuffle and he filed a $15 million lawsuit citing assault and breach of contract. But the New York court refused to hear the case. Since the incident happened in Italy.
Remi:This is all ludicrous. A nearly 80-year-old man lunging at someone gets some self-control. That's madness.
Ashley:Yeah, he needs anger management. However, paolo had another weapon financial documents he'd been secretly collecting for years. In October 1982, paolo filed damning financial records in the New York federal court exposing what appeared to be massive tax fraud. Within Gucci, millions of dollars in taxable revenue had been siphoned into offshore accounts. There also appeared to be a system of false invoicing to avoid paying taxes. There also appeared to be a system of false invoicing to avoid paying taxes. Paolo's goal in revealing these documents was to pressure Aldo into giving in to his demands, but they ended up sparking a full-blown investigation by the IRS and US Attorney's Office.
Remi:What is with rich people not paying taxes? They've got the income.
Ashley:So Aldo actually kind of has a little bit of an excuse, which is why he only gets sentenced to a year later. This is one of the things that the judge recognizes, as well as his old age. But even though he became a US citizen in 1976, he didn't really understand the American attitude towards paying taxes, because in Italy people were actually considered smart if they avoided paying them. It wasn't something the government came after people for not doing. He also didn't see a difference between personal and corporate finances. In his eyes, he deserved access to whatever funds he wanted, since he built the company. So it was kind of this cultural difference in attitude. It's not a viable excuse to completely get out of trouble, but the judge does recognize this difference in cultural views and paying taxes. Meanwhile, rodolfo's health rapidly deteriorated. He had little energy left to fight and, with the US government investigating Aldo for tax fraud, this left the door wide open for Maurizio's rise to power. Maurizio had worked under Aldo in New York for seven years, watching and learning everything he could about the business, similar to how he treated his own sons. Aldo shared his knowledge but kept Maurizio in his place. By the time his father called him back to Milan.
Ashley:In 1982, the fashion world's attention shifted to Italy, with new designers like Giorgio Armani, gianni Versace, fendi and Prada. Maurizio recognized that if Gucci wanted to stay relevant, it needed to evolve. He also realized that the current structure of the company, with each family member essentially operating their own branch independently, with little oversight or cohesion, was another factor holding the company back. He believed Gucci needed structure and modern, creative leadership. His first ideas were to hire an outside designer to revamp the ready-to-wear collection and change Gucci's approach to advertising. By hiring an agency, he also began streamlining Gucci's product line by cutting down the thousands of disorganized styles in an attempt to return to a more focused, high-quality brand identity, with Maurizio taking on more of a leadership role.
Ashley:Patrizia saw herself as a secret weapon. He was shy, reserved and awkward at social events, while she was outgoing, ambitious and sociable. She encouraged him to aim higher and urged him to set his sights on company president. She even got involved in a product design, though her outrageously expensive pieces looked more like costume jewelry. Rodolfo Gucci died of cancer at the age of 71 on may 14, 1983. Although his will wasn't found immediately, a problem marizio would have to face later, he was still the legal heir under italian inheritance law. At just 35 years old, he inherited his father's 50 ownership of gu Gucci Spa, meaning he was now in the position to challenge his uncle and reshape Gucci into his vision.
Ashley:Even with his inheritance secured, he wasn't exactly welcomed into the business with open arms by his family. At the first board meeting after Rodolfo's death, everyone was shocked when he produced shared documents supposedly signed by his father before his death, and quietly questioned if they were forged. Maurizio shared his thoughts on modernizing Gucci, but his uncles and cousins weren't on board. Undaunted by the resistance, he moved forward with his vision of streamlining the designs, production and distribution. Even when idea after idea was shut down. The investigation into Aldo's personal and professional financial affairs was well underway come mid-1984. While reviewing Gucci's financial documents, desoul discovered that, in addition to illegally transferring millions of dollars out of Gucci America into his offshore accounts, aldo personally cashed company checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Desole tried to get Aldo to realize the gravity of the situation, but he didn't seem to listen. For Maurizio Aldo's impending indictment was the opportunity he needed. With the help of DeSole, he developed a strategy to take over the board of directors. But to make it work he needed an ally within the family, someone with voting power, and he saw Paolo as his only option. Even though the pair hadn't spoken since the disastrous boardroom incident two years ago, he knew Paolo was pragmatic and facing his own financial difficulties.
Ashley:They first met in June 1984, and the deal was simple. They would form a new company which would control all Gucci brand licensing. Maurizio would own 51% and Paolo 49%. In return, paolo would vote with Maurizio on the Gucci board with his 3.3% stake in the parent company. He also promised to buy out Paolo's shares for $20 million at a later date and the two would drop all pending lawsuits against each other. Paolo agreed depositing his shares in exchange for a $2 million good faith payment. Once the new company was founded, he would get the full $20 million.
Ashley:The plan went into action. At the yearly Gucci America board meeting in New York that September. Desole, representing Maurizio, proposed dissolving the existing board and appointing Maurizio as chairman. Ironically, aldo had elected to skip the meeting and sent his CEO in his place. By the time he was told what was happening, he realized there was nothing he could do to stop it. It's funny he was actually just downstairs while this was going on. I'm shocked he didn't storm up there and like flip the table or something, but he just kind of stayed at his desk and was like well, it's done.
Remi:That is surprising. He seems like someone that would overreact in this scenario.
Ashley:This same scenario played out at the Florence board meeting in November. Maurizio was nominated chairman of Gucci Spa, aldo as honorary president and Giorgio and Roberto as vice presidents. Desol was appointed the new president of Gucci America and tasked with cleaning up the company's financial affairs. He did his best to increase direct revenues over the next few years by buying back some independent and wholesale distribution rights, but it wasn't enough to repair the damage that had already been done. In January 1988, gucci America went into debt to pay the IRS $21 million in back taxes and fines, but the company carried on.
Ashley:Maurizio's relationship with Patrizia changed after he gained control of Gucci in 1984. His reliance on DeSalle and growing obsession with Gucci's transformation alienated Patrizia. She felt shut out, while he felt suffocated by her criticisms and continued efforts to guide him. Things came to a head in May 1985 when he packed a small suitcase and told her he was going to Florence for a few days. The next afternoon, while having lunch with a friend, she learned that he wasn't coming back. This is so cold. He had two different people tell her that he wasn't coming back. I think the second person went to her like a day or two later and was like you need to pack Maurizio's things. He wants them, and Patrizia was stunned. She never imagined he would leave her and their daughters.
Ashley:At first, the couple agreed to keep up appearances for the public and their children, leading to Patrizia to continue to harbor hopes for a reconciliation. She dressed up whenever he came to see the kids, only to lock herself in her room and cry for hours when he left. She also started keeping a diary where she wrote down their every interaction. Things went on this way until Christmas 1985.
Ashley:Although Maurizio agreed to spend the holidays with his family, including going to midnight mass and a party holidays with his family, including going to midnight mass and a party with Patrizia, he went to sleep early each night. When she angrily confronted him, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground, while his petrified young daughters watched from the doorway. Before leaving, he took Alessandra aside and told her Daddy doesn't love mommy anymore and I have a new house with room for you guys. This really is the time that marks the change in Maurizio. He doesn't really seem to be this happy-go-lucky guy anymore. He seems focused on one thing and one thing only to conquer the Gucci empire at no matter the cost.
Remi:Absolute power corrupts.
Ashley:By June 1985, Aldo and his sons were ready to launch their counterattack on Maurizio. He turned over a detailed file to the authorities, complete with names of witnesses he claimed proved Maurizio forged Rodolfo's signature on the share certificates to avoid paying inheritance taxes. This constant power struggle within the family was so confusing to onlookers since everything seemed to be happening behind closed doors.
Sacrement Trailer:Aldo's misdeeds, and I understand that Aldo, through lawyers in Italy, was talking about Maurizio's misdeeds. They all seem to hate each other and, except if you'd get them all in a room, they'd act like guys at an Italian wedding. You know kissing and hugging and so on.
Ashley:It is just crazy to me. The family dynamics are so intense here like they are filing all these serious legal lawsuits that could cause one another to go into financial ruin, but then, whenever they got together, they never talked about it, they hugged and acted like nothing was going on. By september 1985, a milan court launched an investigation and temporarily sequestered marizio's 50% stake. Aldo Roberto and Giorgio also filed suit against him. Maurizio responded by terminating Aldo from Gucci America and filing a suit accusing him of siphoning off $1 million from the company. I think he learned about this because DeSoul had all of his belongings packed and just had him sitting at the front desk. And then when Aldo came in, he got his stuff and was banned from entering.
Ashley:To make matters worse for Maurizio, his agreement with Paolo came crashing down in November. According to legal documents filed by his cousin, maurizio didn't respect the terms of their agreement and froze him out of the company they were supposed to have founded together. He filed a new suit against Maurizio a few days later, alleging he seized control of Gucci in violation of the agreement. So I do agree that Paolo is kind of an eccentric guy. He's clearly lawsuit happy, but he's just getting fucked over by every single person in his company His uncle, his dad and now his cousin. He just wants to make his own line.
Remi:It seems like he was kind of treated like the black sheep of the family.
Ashley:In December, aldo realized his role in Gucci was over. To protect his assets from heavy IRS fines, he divided his Gucci shares between Giorgio and Roberto. Aldo pled guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy to evade personal and corporate income taxes. The next month the 81-year-old man was sentenced to a year in prison. On September 11, 1986. He surrendered to a federal detention center in Florida. A month later he served five and a half months before he was released to a Salvation Army halfway house.
Ashley:Although Aldo was out of the picture, maurizio's reprieve didn't last long. Towards the end of 1986, he learned he was being investigated for financial crimes, based on accusations from his cousins that he too diverted company's funds, including when he bought his prized yacht years prior. To avoid a surprise arrest, he spent months out of the country, changed up his daily routine and checked into local hotels almost every night, sometimes even sleeping in his car tills almost every night, sometimes even sleeping in his car. Things came to a head on July 23, 1987, when Luigi, his long-term driver, burst into Maurizio's attorney's office in Milan and informed him the Italian financial police were waiting for him. If he didn't want to be arrested, he needed to drive across the Swiss border immediately, since they wouldn't extradite him for financial crimes. The Milan court once again seized his 50% stake in Gucci and appointed a temporary chairman in his place. For the first time since Gucci was founded, someone outside of the family was in charge.
Ashley:Maurizio spent the next year in Swiss exile. His bitter treatment of Patrizia caught up with him, as she had excuse after excuse as to why she couldn't bring the girls to see him, and seeing as how one of the last times he met, he literally grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. I do not blame her. He could still do most of his duties from Switzerland, but it wasn't the same. But clever as always, maurizio had a plan. Several months before he fled Italy, he secretly contacted an investment banker about buying his cousins out of the company. He knew they wouldn't ever sell their shares to him and even if they agreed, he didn't have the money to buy them out anyway. What he needed was a third party, someone with deep pockets and an interest in revitalizing Gucci. Enter Invescorp, a Bahrain-based investment firm that made a fortune in 1984 by turning around Tiffany Company and selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange. They also did the same thing to A&W, root Beer and Avon Cosmetics.
Remi:W Root Beer and Avon Cosmetics. So they would essentially buy these companies and give them like a facelift and a new PR campaign and presentation and all that.
Ashley:Yeah, the founder, namar Kadar, had this simple business strategy. They would buy up struggling companies, inject capital and expertise to turn them around and then sell them for a profit.
Remi:Kind of like buying an old house and flipping it, just a larger scale.
Ashley:Well, lucky for Maurizio, gucci was the exact kind of challenge Kadar was looking for. Despite Maurizio's financial problems, kadar and the investment bankers were charmed by him. During a meeting in September 1987. They came to an agreement buy out the rest of the Gucci family, instill professional leadership, relaunch the brand and list it on the stock market.
Remi:Did he give the president of Investcorp a pair of Gucci loafers from the Metropolitan Museum?
Ashley:I didn't see that, but it doesn't sound completely out of the realm of possibility. Under Maurizio's recommendation, Invescorp bought Paolo's shares, first in October 1987. Now with majority control, the family members had little choice but to follow suit. Things were now starting to look up for Maurizio. He was allowed to come back to Milan in July 1988 after his arrest warrant was revoked by November. He was convicted of one count of tax fraud in order to pay $24 million in back taxes. But on the plus side, he wasn't given a prison sentence. He was acquitted on a slew of other charges and he promptly filed an appeal. The last domino fell into place in January 1989, when Aldo Gucci agreed to sell his shares as long as they were not going to Maurizio. Investcorp's rep omitted his nephew's involvement and assured him they were going to the investment institution. It wasn't until the deal was closed in April 1989 that anyone realized Maurizio had any involvement with any of this.
Remi:That is very sneaky.
Ashley:In the book there are several people that express just complete dismay that they were able to keep this quiet for God over a year. Sadly, aldo died from prostate cancer at the age of 84 just nine months later. Maurizio got to work as soon as he was re-elected. A month after Invescorp got Aldo's shares, he hired experienced management and made plans to reshape the company. He received more good news in December 1989 when the Milan Court of Appeals absolved him of all the charges against him, determining there was not enough evidence to prove he or anyone else forged Rodolfo's signatures. Free of all legal and financial restraints, he was finally able to focus entirely on Gucci, wasting no time.
Ashley:He made a bold move in January 1990 by discontinuing Gucci's duty-free and wholesale business. Although this cut $110 million in revenue, almost overnight, maurizio didn't care. Almost overnight Maurizio didn't care. His goal was to bury Gucci's drugstore image once and for all. Another big decision he made is he pulled all of the cheaper canvas collections from the store and just kind of threw everything in a warehouse. So he was pulling all this product, but they didn't yet have new things to replace it with, so it caused the company to lose a lot of money. What he should have done is phased it out gradually so they'd still be having income, but instead they just had all this product sitting in warehouses with nothing designed yet to replace it.
Remi:I would also definitely call this family extremely impulsive.
Ashley:He also decided that Gucci products would now only be sold in the 64 boutiques, all of which he planned to renovate extravagantly. Although he remained focused on accessories, Gucci's new creative director knew the key to building a new identity lie in a ready-to-wear fashion line. As luck would have it, a new American designer was looking for a quieter, less stressful life after his partner overcame a battle with cancer. Eager for a new opportunity, Tom Ford moved to Milan and joined the Gucci team in September 1990. Although Gucci seemed to be making positive changes, the company was bleeding money. Maurizio seemed to be pulling sales projections out of his ass and refused to acknowledge the company's losses to Investcorp or to the press.
Maurizio Gucci:An answer to this is that when we took the responsibility of Gucci America, which America was making $54 million volume of business with $6 million profit, today we do $138 million business with $18 million profit. This is the answer to a dream I accept.
Ashley:And none of this was true. They were consistently losing millions and millions and millions of dollars because he's shelling out all this money to create new collections, renovate those stores, and they didn't have enough product to have in the stores at all. Maurizio's refusal to face reality made Investcorp decide they needed to flesh out a precise legal operating structure. Gucci's financial officers tried to convince him to let someone else manage operations, but Maurizio refused to listen and now viewed even his allies like Kadar as the enemy. His personal finances were also out of control. He was $40 million in debt thanks to legal fees and massive loans to refurbish his Milan apartment and luxury yacht. Investcorp became more critical of him once sales reached an all-time low in January 1991. At one point there was so little merchandise in the stores that everyone thought Gucci was closing. They tried to find creative ways to offer suggestions without offending him, but Maurizio just agreed to the proposals and then did whatever he wanted anyway. But Maurizio just agreed to the proposals and then did whatever he wanted anyway.
Ashley:Gucci's financial situation took a dire turn in February 1992 when Citibank called in a credit repayment of $25 million, which was $8 million more than Gucci's net worth. The parent company also couldn't pay Gucci America for merchandise, meet payroll or even cover other daily operating expenses. Maurizio was given a deadline to come up with a plan to increase sales and decrease expenses. That deadline came and went and yet, even as his leadership continued to falter, many held out hope for a miracle. I am shocked. Invescorp let this go on for as long as it did and VestCorp.
Remi:let this go on for as long as it did. Seriously, he seems to be tanking the company on purpose, almost pulling all the products and having nothing to replace any of it with. That's crazy.
Ashley:That's business suicide by early 1993, maurizio had no choice but to resume sales of a cheap canvas bag collection. They were temporarily saved by the Sultan of Brunei, who paid $2.4 million for 27 crocodile luggage bags. This allowed Maurizio to hang on for a few more months until the bank once again came a-callin', resulting in all of his personal assets, including his 50% stake in Gucci, being sequestered yet again. He had until May 1993 to pay off his debts. Investcorp presented a final offer that would get him out of financial ruin but require him to sell 5% stake in Gucci. His noncommittal answer resulted in Investcorp finally deciding to use force to get him out of the company. But before they could do so, maurizio sued Gucci America for $63.9 million, claiming it was for unpaid merchandise to the parent company. Many viewed the lawsuit as an attempt to siphon assets from the US subsidiary to prevent him from losing control. In response, invescorp hired a third party to conduct a full financial investigation. The report concluded Maurizio's latest price structure imposed on Gucci America involved artificially inflated prices, meaning the company had no legitimate debt. Things turned nastier still when DeSoul voted against another desperate money-grabbing plan by Maurizio during a board meeting. This sparked a whole new string of lawsuits amongst Maurizio, desol and Invescorp. By September 1993, invescorp had no choice but to turn Gucci's accounts over to the court. If no agreement was reached, the company's assets would be sold off to pay creditors. Maurizio was given 48 hours to make a decision. On Friday September 23, 1993, he sold his Gucci steak for $120 million. Invescorp formally seized 100% control of Gucci on Monday September 26, which just so happened to be Maurizio's 45th birthday.
Ashley:Gucci made a full recovery in the years that followed, primarily thanks to Tom Ford and DeSole, who was made CEO of Gucci in October 1994. It became a publicly traded company in April 1996 and merged with the design house that owned Yves Saint Laurent in 1999. In the years to follow, design house that owned Yves Saint Laurent in 1999. In the years to follow, the company purchased controlling stake of Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga, to name a few. Desole and Ford both left the company in 2004.
Ashley:It took a few months for Maurizio to come to terms with his decision to sell Gucci. At first he felt like he betrayed his father, but as the weeks passed he realized he was free from the burden of constant debt and legal battles. He started drafting ideas for new business ventures in early 1994 and gave himself a year to come up with an investment prospect in any sector except fashion, which was probably a wise decision on his part. He also moved into a three-story apartment with his girlfriend Paola, a woman he had been dating for four years, and her nine-year-old son, charlie. He tried to spend more time with his daughters, but Petruccia made this difficult. Speaking of Petruccia, it's time to catch you up on what their relationship had been like during the years he was fighting to save Gucci.
Remi:I was gonna ask yeah.
Ashley:And you can see, like, how this story is split up. Not only all that's happening across the seas, but he has all this stuff going on with the company and his personal life. It would be hard to coherently tell this story on screen in a linear fashion, which is kind of why I've split it into these sections. Otherwise, linear fashion, which is kind of why I've split it into these sections.
Ashley:Otherwise I would just be so disjointed Like the movie was. Since he was exiled to Sweden, maurizio and Patricia talked and argued often. She became increasingly enraged and obsessed after he started making public appearances with Paola in 1990. Although she feigned indifference, she watched and documented their every move, asked psychics to make her potions and spells and even held some midnight seances. She replaced witchcraft with a murder vow after he filed for divorce in February 1991. Her initial steps involved repeatedly asking housekeepers to leave cans of gasoline outside of his residence and she would take care of the rest. Thankfully, they informed Maurizio of her threats.
Ashley:In May 1992, after months of excruciating headaches, providers found a large tumor in her brain. Her mother asked Maurizio if he could take care of the girls for a while while she recovered. They were 11 and 15 years old at the time and he he said uh well, there's not enough room for them at my bachelor pad, but I can take them out to lunch. Patrizia had surgery to remove the tumor, which did turn out to be benign, on May 26th 1992. She held out hope Maurizio would visit before she went under. Not knowing that her mother and doctors told him not to come for fear it would upset her. He did send her flowers and the card read Maurizio.
Remi:He has a way with words, doesn't he?
Ashley:She began thinking more about revenge as soon as she recovered. She recovered Also when he sold Gucci. She took it as like a personal blow, because she continued to think that she was the reason behind his success. Their divorce was finalized on November 19th 1994. As one final punch to her gut, Maurizio sought legal action to prevent her from using the Gucci name and started working on paperwork seeking full custody of their daughters, that latter of which is super fucked up because he was an incredibly absentee father, even when she would let him visit the girls.
Remi:Seems like it's more of a pride thing with him or I don't know. It doesn't seem like he's doing it for the right reasons.
Ashley:Maurizio arrived at his office around 8.30 in the morning on March 27, 1995. The doorman, Giuseppe, was sweeping leaves from the entryway and greeted him as he made his way up the stairs. As soon as he reached the top, a man approached the foot of the stairs and fired three shots into his back, followed by a fourth into his temple after he fell. The gunman noticed Giuseppe as he turned to leave and shot him twice in the arm. Maurizio's lawyer stood next to his body for hours while paramedics and law enforcement worked around him. Patrizia wrote a single word in her diary that day paradise in Greek. She was at Maurizio and Paolo's apartment by 11 am. She was at Maurizio and Paolo's apartment by 11 am, along with her lawyers and oldest daughter. Paolo was instructed to leave ASAP since she had no legal claim to Maurizio's estate, which was going directly to their children.
Remi:Maybe wait a little longer than 24 hours to do this sort of thing.
Ashley:This was hours after his death. He died at 8.30ish and she was at the apartment door by 11.
Remi:Yeah, that kind of draws some attention to you I would say.
Ashley:And then she came back to kick her out the next morning. Patricia made all the arrangements for Maurizio's funeral on April 3rd 1995, even preventing him from being buried with his family in Florence. Paolo grieved alone at home. Milan authorities met with Paolo the afternoon of Maurizio's death and asked her if he had any enemies. She told them they should probably talk to Patricia, since she told her prior attorneys that she wanted him killed back in the fall of 1994. Despite this and clear evidence that Patrizia was upset with Maurizio, their investigation stalled. Authorities thought they were dealing with a professional killer, given the mafia-style execution to the temple. But it also didn't make sense that there were so many bullets fired and two witnesses left alive, giuseppe and a woman the killer almost collided with as he ran away. With no real leads or suspects, the case went cold until January 8th 1997, almost two years after the murder. Late that evening the prosecutor got a call from police saying there was a man on the phone who needed to talk to him. The anonymous caller asked to meet face-to-face, as he knew who killed Maurizio Gucci. This man was 49-year-old Gabriel Carpenissi, who recently moved back to Italy with his wife, in poor health and with limited financial means. They found cheap lodging at a hotel and made friends with the doorman, who happened to be the owner's 41-year-old nephew, ivano Savioni. After a few months, carponesi's job search stalled and his savings dwindled. In a desperate attempt to avoid eviction, he told Savoni he had millions of dollars in drug money stashed in US bank accounts and promised to pay his rent as soon as some unresolved legal issues cleared up. Now I am not all for lying, but this guy is in a desperate situation. Apparently, him and his wife moved back to Italy because they needed medical care and were super, super sick, and he was trying to get a job and just couldn't. Because he was in such poor health and, lucky for him, savoni was also in debt and constantly scheming up new ways to pay it off. He convinced his aunt to let the mystery tenant stay rent-free for a few more months in hopes that he would be brought into this lucrative drug trade. The pair grew closer throughout the summer of 1996. Over the course of several weeks he shared every single detail about his involvement in the planning and execution of Maurizio, all at the request of Patrizia. What happened was this Sometime in 1994, patrizia approached her psychic BFF, pina Aramina, and offered her $375,000 to kill Maurizio.
Ashley:Pina enlisted the help of her husband's friend Ivano, who in turn recruited Orazio Ciccala, a pizzeria owner with gambling debts. Petruccia paid a down payment of $93,000. As the plan came to fruition, she put unrelenting pressure on Pina, who facilitated a contract between Petruccia and the rest of the gang Come 1995, petruccia was sick and tired of waiting. One day she showed up at Shikala's house with Savano promising enough money for several generations of offspring. This was exactly what the desperate Shikala needed to stop stalling.
Ashley:In the following weeks, pena called Shikala every day with updates about Maurizio's whereabouts. Since he didn't think he had it in him to pull the trigger, he hired Benedito Serrallo, a small-time drug dealer and mechanic, and instead drove the getaway car. A small-time drug dealer and mechanic, and instead drove the getaway car. After the initial down payment, pina was the only person who continued receiving any money from Patrizia in the form of a monthly stipend of about $1,600. That was well and good for her, but the rest of the group wanted more for their efforts and became increasingly frustrated by Patrizia's refusal to pay up.
Ashley:Following the January 1997 meeting, carpinesi agreed to talk to Savani while wearing a wire. The next day he introduced Savani to an undercover detective, pretending to be a professional killer for the mob, who would persuade Patrizia to give her co-conspirators more money for their troubles. Following this meeting, all the suspects' phone lines were tapped and tracking devices were put on their car. As a side note here, after Carpinesi's involvement was done, the prosecutor visited him and his wife regularly and even helped him get a job, which I thought was really, really sweet. While the phone taps resulted in a dearth of information about the co-conspirators' involvement, patrizia never said anything compromising. Nonetheless, they decided they had enough to arrest everyone on January 31st 1997.
Remi:I can't believe this was in the 90s. For some reason I always thought this happened in the 80s, and this was around the same time that Versace was murdered as well, I think.
Ashley:It was, I looked this up. Gucci was killed in 1995. A British fashion designer named OC Clark was killed in 1996, and then Versace in 1997. They were all murdered.
Remi:That is crazy. It literally was back to back to back. All of this happened.
Ashley:Savione gave a full confession the day of his arrest, soon followed by Shikala, but the other three kept their mouths shut. Authorities raided Patrizia's cell in the fall of 1997 and found big statements showing withdrawals of the exact amount she allegedly paid her co-defendants. Why she had this incriminating information in her jail cell, I do not know.
Remi:Just holding onto it for safekeeping.
Ashley:Pina finally broke her 15-month silence in May 1998 after Patrizia delivered a message saying she would be showered with gold if she took the fall. Patrizia delivered a message saying she would be showered with gold if she took the fall. The trial of the Black Widow, as Patrizia was dubbed by the press, started in May 1998. There are some interesting procedural differences compared to how we do things here in the States that I want to highlight. First and we saw this recently in a Canadian film even though defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty, those with violent charges have to sit in a cage for the duration of proceedings.
Remi:This was not shown this way in the film.
Ashley:So since the gunman and getaway driver were the only two at the scene when Maurizio was killed, the other three were allowed to sit by defense counsel. The judge was also responsible for deciding the case, along with the jury, so they would all come to a decision. He set a three-day hearing schedule and reserved the other two for private meetings with the jury, where they would all sit and review the evidence together.
Remi:So what happens if the jury's voting one way and the judge wants to vote another way?
Ashley:I don't know.
Remi:I need to learn more about the European justice system.
Ashley:Judges, which we've seen this depicted in Anatomy of a Fall, are also allowed to interrupt at any time and question the witnesses.
Remi:Which I think we should be able to do here, question the witnesses, which I think we should be able to do here Well.
Ashley:Also interesting witnesses aren't required to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth when testifying, so it sounds like there's no law against perjury. You can lie.
Remi:Why is it legal to lie?
Ashley:I don't know. I don't know if it's just in Italy where they don't have to tell the truth. If it's witnesses that are being, it might not be all witnesses, it might be defendants. Because how this comes out is the getaway driver says Bandito wasn't the shooter, because it was suspected he was afraid of retaliation. No one believed him, but he didn't get in trouble for potentially lying because he was the defendant. So it might just be the defendant who can lie not all witnesses.
Remi:If anyone out there knows any more interesting details about the Italian justice system, please shoot us an email.
Ashley:During the six-month trial, the defense painted Patrizia dressed head-to-tail in Gucci, I might add as Pina's puppet.
Remi:That is ballsy of her.
Ashley:Hold on to that, because it's not the only ballsy thing she does. That's a direct stab at the surviving Gucci family members. She didn't deny that she hated and even wished Maurizio dead, but she claimed Pina arranged the murder without her knowledge and extorted money from her by threatening to kill her and her daughters after the fact.
Remi:Just throwing Pina under the bus here.
Ashley:Wow. She claimed she didn't go to authorities because she was afraid of a potential scandal. The months of documented pleasantries, phone calls and even a getaway cruise the two women had together was only to keep up appearances. Oh and that $93,000 she paid Pina months before that was nothing but a very, very generous loan. When confronted with her obsessive diary entries, phone calls and threats, she said she had nothing better to do and was just blown off steam. Her mother even admitted to hearing Patrizia talk openly about wanting to find an assassin, but assured the jury that her daughter wasn't actually serious.
Ashley:The judge allowed each defendant to make a closing statement on the last day of trial. Patrizia recited one of Aldo's favorite proverbs never let even a friendly wolf into your chicken coop. Sooner or later it will get hungry. This understandably infuriated his surviving sons. After seven hours of deliberation, all four defendants were convicted of murder on November 11, 1998. The gunman was sentenced to life, patrizia and the driver to 29 years, uravano to 26 years and Pena to 25 years.
Ashley:Patrizia immediately filed appeal after appeal, trying to overturn her conviction, claiming her brain tumor affected her personality, which doesn't make sense because it was removed three years before Maurizio was killed. The appellate court upheld the conviction but reduced her sentence to 26 years in March 2000. Even though she was court-ordered to pay Giuseppe the doorman $100 million for the injuries he sustained in the shooting, he never saw a single dime, required physical therapy and was in significant pain for the rest of his life. Unsurprisingly, petruccia didn't get along with most of her fellow inmates, often accusing them of assaulting her. These claims were believed to be an effort to support her continued early release requests. She was moved to another facility outside of Milan but moved back after she attempted suicide, seemingly because her impinia had made up and couldn't stand to be apart. Her mother faithfully visited every Friday, always bringing her favorite home-cooked meals, stacks of gossip magazines and lingerie. Despite prison rules against pets, her legal team convinced the prison to allow her pet ferret, bambi, live with her.
Remi:So she has lingerie and ferrets in her cell.
Ashley:Unfortunately, someone sat on Bambi and that was the last pet she had in prison.
Remi:That is sad, but you probably shouldn't have a ferret in prison to begin with.
Ashley:She became eligible for parole under a work release program in October 2011, but she refused because she quote never worked a day in her life and certainly wasn't going to start now. She was released on good behavior after serving 18 years in October 2016. She moved into her mother's apartment in Milan and briefly got a job at a costume and jewelry firm. She reportedly helped design a collection of rainbow-colored jewelry and bags inspired by her pet, beau, who she could frequently be seen walking around Milan with it perched on her shoulder.
Remi:So she went from a ferret to a parrot. This is an eccentric woman.
Ashley:She really is and if you look at our Instagram, there's a photo of her with Beau. Unfortunately, I don't think any photos exist with her and Bambi.
Remi:Weren't a lot of photographers in prison.
Ashley:Shortly after her release, a TV crew asked why she didn't shoot Maurizio herself, to which she replied my eyesight is not so good, I didn't want to miss. That makes me think that she has zero regrets about killing Maurizio. That is a cold, cold, cold quote.
Remi:I do not think she feels bad about having him killed at all.
Ashley:Although her daughters visited her as often as they could in prison, they were estranged by the time she was released in 2016. They enrolled in business and law school, taking after their father, and maintained his yacht, which they entered in yearly racing competitions in his memory. Petruccia is currently 76 years old. And what about the rest of the Gucci family? Despite the dozens of lawsuits filed by Paolo, only one made it to court. In 1988. The judge prohibited him from using his name as a trademark, since it would confuse customers, but he was allowed to identify himself as a designer under a separate trademark. He launched Designs by Paolo Gucci in November 1988, but his business ventures and marriage ended in 1991. He was briefly jailed in March 1993 for failing to pay child support and filed for bankruptcy by the end of the year. He lived in relative obscurity for the next two years, often unable to pay his electric or film bills. He died at the age of 64 from chronic hepatitis on October 10, 1995.
Ashley:Roberto founded his own leather goods business in Florence just one month after Gucci was sold. His five children worked for the company. He died at the age of 76 on October 28, 2009. And lastly, giorgio also became a respected leather goods manufacturer in Rome. He ran the company with his son and continued to be one of Gucci's suppliers. Years later, he moved to Cuba and opened a fashion boutique featuring his own collection of apparel and leather accessories. He died at the age of 94 on December 22, 2002. And that is the true story of Ridley Scott's House of Gucci. What are your thoughts, remy?
Remi:What an epic Italian soap opera of a tale. My first impression is that the film should have been centered around Maurizio, based on the true story. It seemed like everything was kind of centered around him and she was way less involved with the company going ons and things of that nature than she was portrayed in the film.
Ashley:I agree and I also think all of the background about everything that was going on with Gucci and within that family, and even all the stuff with Investacorp, and how Maurizio was really wanting to change Gucci into this well-respected brand or turn it back to that, and just couldn't because he didn't have the experience. I think that aspect of the story is so much more interesting than this woman that was painted as trying to manipulate and scheme her way deeper into a family she was already a part of.
Remi:And that is definitely not the impression I got about her from your true story version of everything. From what it seems, it should have centered around Maurizio and Patrizia should have been in the background, should have been. It's a weird reference, but there's a character in a movie called the Life of Garp starring Robin Williams, and this character is in the movie throughout and at the end spoiler alert she murdered him.
Remi:So I think something like that could have worked a lot better than having the entire story centered around her character. She should have been present, but not the focus of everything.
Ashley:And I do think she was in his ear a lot when he was in New York, but after he took control of Gucci she didn't really have much of a say and she certainly wasn't going behind his back to try to convince all these other people to do these scheming things and file lawsuits against each other.
Remi:Yeah, they made her a lot more involved and conniving and manipulative than it seems like she really was, which is weird that she thought that they made her portrayal sympathetic. I did not see her character as sympathetic in the film. She seemed like a gold-digging woman who was pretty self-oriented and goal-oriented, and I don't know what Lady Gaga saw. I did not see love between them in the film, maybe a couple points, but it seemed like she was motivated by her quest for money and power and that does not seem to be her driving force in reality.
Ashley:And who knows, maybe Lady Gaga read the book. I'm assuming she did and you can tell in my summary of the case. She does come off as sympathetic at a lot of points, especially when describing Maurizio's really insanely cold and once violent treatment of her.
Remi:This could have been a film like Wall Street or something like that of a good guy who slowly is corrupted and it leading to a downfall of sorts.
Ashley:Well, and interestingly this is something I did not include but when Rudolfo was on his deathbed, he actually warned Patricia that this would happen, that she needed to keep an eye on him, because he was worried that if his son when his son got the 50% stake of Gucci, that the power would go to his head and change him. And that's exactly what happened.
Remi:And I am in no way endorsing what Patrizia had carried out, but it is a story of a man who seemed like he started in one place and, through wealth and power, ended up in a completely different place, as a completely different person.
Ashley:Oh yeah, she definitely becomes less sympathetic after she starts doing the witchcraft shit.
Remi:I also felt that Paolo was more sympathetic in the real version than he is in the film and Aldo is more toned down in the film and way more eccentric in real life. So yeah, I agree with your opinion that Leto could have actually done a good job portraying Aldo if it was more closely resembling the impulsive, eccentric version that he seemed to be in reality.
Ashley:And with that, why don't we shift gears here and launch right into our objection? Of the week, your honor, I object. And of the week is the most useless change from the true story to the movie adaptation, the change that a director made that really didn't add or take away anything from the plot. Remy, what do you pick for your objection?
Remi:There was a few different objections that I was toying around with, but the one I'm sticking to. Despite the fact that this film did omit several different family members and siblings and people of that nature, they also admitted one of the daughters. There was only one daughter in the film Alessandra. Alessandra does not really do much of anything. She is more of a prop in the film than anything else and it really would have made no difference in the film to include one extra little girl in those scenes, but they chose to exclude one and the fact that Lady Gaga even in one of her statements apologized to how it must be affecting Patrizia's real life. Children I mean, they excluded one from the film. How would that feel Like? It seems like they could have included both little girls and, for whatever reason, they changed a lot, but that was something that didn't seem like it needed to be changed.
Ashley:That's a good one too, and I don't know why they did that. I'm assuming because the whole story about Alessandra's name is cute and then they just didn't want to have another minute scene that shows her giving birth or pregnant with another daughter. I don't know.
Remi:You wouldn't even have to have acknowledged it. The way Ridley Scott shoots films, you could have just had a scene start off with oh there's two little girls. Now they had another kid at some point and you would just kind of put it together visually, but they didn't do that. Maybe it was probably more difficult to have two children on set than just one, but seems unnecessary to me. What is your objection?
Ashley:this week set than just one, but seems unnecessary to me. What is your objection this week? Mine has to do with the second scene of the movie, when it shows Maurizio and Patrizia meeting at a disco party in 1978 instead of at a debutante party in 1970. I do not understand why he pushed us forward eight years.
Remi:I'm definitely voting with you on this one. When I first said that, when I was reading my part of the podcast, you had me stop and you looked it up to verify like did I write that down wrong? But no, it was changed for no reason. Yeah. The definition of a objection in my mind.
Ashley:Phew, I was losing my touch. I feel like I haven't won one in forever. I'm back, baby.
Remi:Well, with that, let us get into our verdict.
Narrator:At the conclusion of each episode, our hosts will deliver a verdict based on the film's accuracy. If the film is an honest portrayal of the events, then it will earn a not guilty verdict. If the adaptation is mostly factual but creative liberties were taken for the sake of entertainment, the film will be declared a mistrial. But if the film ultimately strays too far from the truth, then it will be condemned as guilty and sentenced to a life behind bars.
Ashley:I'll start us off with this one.
Ashley:I do want to preface this verdict by saying that, as we've gotten deeper into this podcast, I feel like I've become more of a harsher judge than I was at the beginning, and that's just because I think it's funner to have more of a variety in our verdicts than a lot of them being mistrials and so.
Ashley:For that, I'm going to give Gucci a guilty verdict, even though there were a lot of similarities between the story and the movie. I think the fact that Ridley Scott portrayed Patrizia as really the primary influence in this decade-long financial feud, this schemer that's going behind her husband's back and trying to convince his cousins to go out and start their own brand and file suit, and asking about forging documents that was never proven, it even happened in the first place and all of this stuff, even small things like her stalking Maurizio and Aldo when really it was Maurizio the one that was infatuated with her and the one who pursued her and her trying to convince Aldo to get Maurizio to move to New York when he didn't want to, when in reality they both were excited for the opportunity. It just seemed that it changed so much of the real essence and feel of the story that, similar to reasons that I gave all the money in the world a guilty verdict, I have to give House of Gucci a guilty verdict as well.
Remi:I am right there with you. This is getting a guilty from me as well. They changed a lot from what you had said a moment ago about Maurizio being the one to actually pursue Patrizia. Patrizia was engaged at the time, the numerous family members excluded.
Remi:The motivations from characters are switched around and the portrayal of Paolo, I think, is absurd and ridiculous and in my opinion, patrizia was not really the center focus of things until after Maurizio had died and in the film the film kind of ends right after Maurizio is murdered and we get a quick little wrap up. And yeah, it seems like those were the moments her trial and her incarceration and all of that were really the moments where she should have been the focus and we should have gone into that if we were going to make the film be about Patrizia. But for whatever reason, they took a story that is about Maurizio and made Patrizia the like tangled web, weaving everything together for some reason, and that just wasn't what she was. So for that and many other reasons, this gets a guilty verdict from me. Even a lot of the business, moves and decisions were altered in various ways. There's so many things. It is the story, but, man, they really changed just about everything they could.
Ashley:And you are 0 for 2, mr Scott. So I don't know if you have any other true crime movies, but if you do make one in the future, you got some redeeming to do. And until then, remy, what are we talking about next week?
Remi:You will be watching the Sacrament and I will be doing a bunch of research and going deep, deep, deep into the man responsible for the Jonestown massacre, Jim Jones. The film I know is very, very different. It's a 2013 found footage film by Ty West, who is the director who recently did Maxine, Pearl and X. So it's going to be a big undertaking for me, but I don't know anything about this film. I haven't seen it. So, Ashley, you're going to have to do a lot of explaining for me.
Ashley:Yes, it is our switcheroo episode and thankfully Remy picked this one to swap with, which gave me a little break from having to do all the heavy lifting, so I am very excited. I have seen this movie once before and I really, really liked it. I know a lot of people are not going to have heard about this movie, but hopefully the fact that it's inspired by the Jonestown Massacre and that it's a horror movie directed by a really up-and-coming director will be enough to intrigue some listeners.
Remi:And I am so, so regretting picking this as the episode that I'm doing. There is a lot of information and it is a very interesting story and we really hope that you all will join us for it. And please tell a friend if you're enjoying what you're hearing, leave a review, all that jazz, and we will be playing a trailer for the Sacrament at the end of our podcast in just a moment. But until next time, court is adjourned, you guys ready? Watch it.
Remi:We've been to some of the most chaotic, war-torn places in the world, but never for something as bizarre as this. Here we are. Welcome to Eden Parish.
Ashley:You guys built all this Father had a vision and we built heaven here on Earth. Who is Father? He's the guy that started all of this.
Sacrement Trailer:Can we speak with him at some point? He agreed to sit for an interview tonight at the gathering. It's been pretty amazing.
Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver):Everyone we've talked to seems to feel that this is everything they ever wanted, and they all credit you for that.
Sacrement Trailer:Oh, I don't deserve the credit. You come down here and I'll give you a place to live, I'll give you a job, I'll give you a bed. These people are my family, my children, and when you write this up, just know that you're dealing with their lives.
