Christopher NolaninterviewedRidley Scottafter a screening ofGladiator IIat the DGA Theater in West Hollywood on Tuesday night.
Thank God for all the platforms, Scott said.
I can press a button and see the first film I did 40 years ago.
Christopher Nolan, left, talks with Ridley Scott about ‘Gladiator II’ and more.Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
Thanks to the platform, the film evolves a life of its own.
I tend to watch incomers.
Where To Watch Gladiator: Is Ridley Scotts 2000 Film Streaming?
Christopher Nolan, left, and Ridley ScottVivien Killilea/Getty Images
Scott invited hisAmerican Gangsterstar, Denzel Washington, into theGladiatorworld.
As Macrinus, Washington gives a flamboyant, Machiavellian performance.
Scott said Washington was reacting to the grand scale of the Ancient Rome sets.
Denzel, funny enough was amazed by the scale of things, Scott said.
Denzel was actually nervous.
From that came something great.
Like the originalGladiator, that scale came from sets built on location in Matla and Morocco.
The production built the Coliseum and palaces, only using CGI to enhance from where the set ended.
If you build the set and know what youre doing, its cheaper than bluescreen, Scott said.
Every shot has money in it.
In Morocco, Scott ended up renting a set from his own previous film.
On thisGladiator, I had to rent my own set for a million dollars, Scott said.
So they got the last laugh.
Scotts films have been building practical sets throughout his career.
Scott joked that he would argue with star Gerard Depardieu over his English pronunciation.
Hes a big guy, you cant argue with him, Scott said.
I said, The world.
He said, No, no, the vorld.
No, the world.
Nolan inquired how Scott approaches world building in a film likeGladiator II.
Scott broke it down as a matter of departments.
Youre running a corporation thats 1,200 personnel, 40 HODs [heads of department], Scott said.
When they do, its usually because they havent spoken to the other departments.
The key is people must talk to each other, Scott said.
They try and keep it to themselves and fix the problem.
All you have to do is ask him, and hell tell you.
Scott also trusts each department to do their job and largely leaves them alone.
He said he would check in with editing and sound mixing on weekends during the shoot.
I leave them to it, Scott said.
That becomes very efficient, which enables me to move on to the next one.
Nolan also was interested in Scotts use of up to 11 cameras simultaneously.
Scott said he drew on his experience directing live television at BBC.
He also takes advantage of lighting from different angles.
You use the front light, Scott said.
In his early films, Scott would operate the camera himself.
It was all handheld because the corridors were so narrow, Scott said.
Adrian became my cushion.
It isnt just shooting speed that has increased Scotts output, though he said he shotGladiator IIin 51 days.
But later in his career, Scott learned not to attempt to develop too many projects.
When you begin, you want 40 things in development and thats not smart, Scott said.
Otherwise you spin a lot of wheels and waste a lot of time.
Nolan did give Scott one direction.
Im just going to ask you to change your grip, Nolan said.
Scott joked Nolan was telling me what to do already.
