Two of the stars of Ridley Scott’s upcoming House of Gucci, Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, improvised their sex scene in the early stages of the film. Scott’s true-crime drama has been building considerable momentum ever since the early days of its production, and with recent premiere screenings in London and now New York, the film has managed to gain early acclaim. A considerable portion of this hype comes from Lady Gaga’s performance as Patrizia Reggiani, the former wife of Gucci fashion house head, Maurizio Gucci (Driver).
In recent years, it could be argued that Scott, the filmmaker who brought the world Alien and the multi Oscar-winning Gladiator, has ventured deeper into portrayals of the Italian criminal world. House of Gucci marks his second exploration of a violent yet fascinating page in the European nation’s history, with 2017’s All the Money in the World telling the true story of oil magnate, John Paul Getty, and his 16-year-old old grandson’s 1973 kidnapping in Rome. As for House of Gucci, however, the film tells the story of the marriage between Gucci and Reggiani, the subsequent dissolution of that relationship and the murder of Gucci after Reggiani hired an assassin to kill him.
As diabolical as the events that lead to Gucci’s murder were, House of Gucci doesn’t simply revel in the dark side of the doomed couple’s life. Within the tragic tale is also a love story set during the early days of Gucci and Reggiani’s relationship. The film showcases a sex scene early on that Driver recently told EW was improvised. Insisting that he and Gaga were very comfortable with one another by the time the scene was filmed, Driver spoke about shooting the scene, saying:
"We blocked it out as we would any fight or any scene, then we just kind of ran it maybe once or twice, and that was it! We were feeling it, so to speak! Everything I say sounds like a double entendre, but, we winged it! I will say also, at that point, we had been shooting for a month, so we felt very comfortable to go where we needed to go."
While most people still have a little over a week to go before the film arrives in theaters, those fortunate enough to have seen an advance screening of House of Gucci have praised Gaga’s performance. The film is already being marked as a contender for Oscar recognition. Part of this praise could be attributed to the comfort among its cast that Driver spoke of, which is particularly impressive given that the aforementioned sex scene has already gained a reputation for being quite wild.
Another point worth considering in this – and something that could help Gaga’s Oscar chances, is that while she has acted professionally before, her feature film experience is somewhat limited, especially compared to Driver’s. Having improvised a sex scene with one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars is certainly no small achievement. What’s more, the comfort that Driver spoke of hints at a film cast that possessed the confidence to take things in any direction necessary. This is certainly one of House of Gucci’s strengths and within the coming weeks and months, it will be interesting to see where those strengths take the film.
Source: EW
