Ridley Scott Takes on Gucci Family for New Film

Ridley Scott, the Gladiator director who just finished American Gangster, will go Gucci, directing a feature for Fox about the drama-filled family, according to Variety.

The film will chronicle the wild and glamorous story of the Gucci family in the 1970s and '80s, when its 153 shops moved $500 million in product annually.

"The Gucci family, as everyone knows, accomplished something far more magical than turning the proverbial sow's ear into the proverbial silk purse," wrote Francine Prose in the Observer. "They transformed the sow's ear–or presumably some more tender part of the pig epidermis–into the leather handbag, and subsequently converted the handbag (with help from some loafers and flowered scarves) into a global retailing gold mine. But, as everyone also knows, the humbly porcine origins of even the most stylish fashion accessory can be tough to eradicate. And so, while the passing years enhanced the splendor of the Gucci reputation and its fabulous real estate, penthouses, showrooms and boutiques, you could hear the faint echo of a disquieting sound: an initially plaintive and progressively more enraged and greedy … oinking. Eventually, the Guccis allowed their animal passions to trump their business acumen. Profits plummeted, family infighting escalated into accusations and cabals, lawsuits and physical violence. The family lost control of the empire that still bears its name, and–on a more personal note–Patrizia Gucci was accused and convicted of masterminding the 1995 Milan murder of her husband, Maurizio."