With its glamorous fashion, cast of A-list actors, and intriguing scandal, House of Gucci is a well-dressed thriller that has as many fascinating behind-the-scenes facts as its compelling narrative suggests. At the heart of Ridley Scott's soapy melodrama is the rags-to-riches story of Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), whose covetous association with the Gucci designer family (including Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Jared Leto) leads her to plot the murder of heir Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) when he strays outside of their high profile marriage.
Whether fans will be tantalized by Lady Gaga's method-acting approach to get inside the head of Italy's "Black Widow", or learning how costume designer Janty Yates came up with all of the costumes worn in the movie, a saga so over-the-top demands a certain level of uniqueness and eccentricity in its production.
Lady Gaga Improvised Her Dialogue
For being such a well-regarded director, Ridley Scott doesn't run a strict set, allowing actors to explore their roles with freedom of self-expression. Lady Gaga improvised a lot of her lines, especially the iconic "Father, Son, and House Of Gucci" that has become the de-facto tagline for the movie.
Lady Gaga frequently practiced her lines in her trailer, ad-libbing where she saw fit, and Scott and screenwriter Roberto Bentivegna decided to keep the line in the movie because it felt right. One sentence captures the sanctity and melodrama inherent to the Gucci brand, making it seem larger than life on an almost theistic level.
Lady Gaga Went Full Method
Lady Gaga went full method for House of Gucci, with the star reportedly maintaining the signature accent of Patrizia Reggiani for nine months while filming. She practiced not only getting the way the murderess sounded correct but her mannerisms and frame of mind too.
According to Gaga, she went to a dark place emotionally because of the emphasis she was putting on perfection. That level of commitment, though admirable in a performer, can often lead to the sort of breaks in reality that Gaga experienced because what's real and what isn't starts to become too convoluted. Probing the mind of someone who would plot to kill their ex-husband could take quite a toll on someone's state of mind.
Adam Driver & Lady Gaga Improvised An Intimate Scene
Adam Driver and Lady Gaga were "feeling it" when the actors improvised a sex scene as Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani, going so far as to add emphatic sounds to convey the impassioned boldness of their intimacy. When asked about their love-making, Driver simply explained that after spending weeks filming the movie together, they felt comfortable exploring what sort of sexual relationship these two characters would have.
Driver is known for being a contemplative and introspective actor, so it's interesting that not only did he feel comfortable enough with his co-star to be so vulnerable, but that he doesn't mind publicly sharing the details of such a sensitive scene. Clearly, both actors felt like it was important to show how much the two were in love before their marriage devolved, making its demise that much more painful to witness.
Lady Gaga Specifically Refused To See Patrizia Reggiani
Despite the fact that the real Patrizia Reggiani was released from prison in 2016 after serving 18 years of a 29-year sentence for arranging the killing of her ex-husband, Lady Gaga decided against meeting with her in order to better perfect her performance.
In an interview with Good Morning America, the actress revealed that she didn't want to condone what "The Black Widow" did. She felt that the real Patrizia wanted to glorify what she'd done, and Lady Gaga didn't want to add any more fuel to that fire.
Salma Hayek Took A Hilarious Mud Bath
When sharing a scene with another actor, it's important for both performers to lift each other up, but in Salma Hayek's case, scene partner Lady Gaga was trying to make her sink - literally! Hayek, who plays Giuseppina "Pina" Auriemma, shared a scene in a mud bath with Lady Gaga's Patrizia Reggiani, but couldn't find a way of keeping her body from floating.
Hayek had trouble in the mud bath scene because the more she wriggled, the more her body wouldn't submerge. Fearing that she might be distracting to her co-star and expose herself to the film crew, she turned to Lady Gaga for help, who reminded her to stop moving so much and let the mud slowly envelop her.
Jared Leto Took His Paolo Gucci Look Out For A Spin
Jared Leto's incredible transformation into Paolo Gucci has to be seen to be believed, and the citizens of Rome and Milan were able to get a glimpse when the chameleon actor traveled from where he was staying to the set of House of Gucci. He was truly able to disappear into the role when no one recognized his trademark good looks.
Leto "fell in love with the character" because of his bold zest for life, his physicality, and the fact that "he was a dreamer." Fully inhabiting his character made him appreciate the authentic person Paolo was in the often superficial world the Gucci family lived in.
There's Not A Lot Of Gucci Worn In The Movie
Speaking with WWD, longtime costume designer and Ridley Scott collaborator Janty Yates explained that because Gucci in the '70s was "mostly tweeds and browns," it wasn't part of the dynamic fashion seen in the movie. Patrizia Reggiani preferred Yves Saint Laurent, while Maurizio Gucci could be found in suits straight from Seville Row, and Aldo Gucci was fond of Zenga.
Though Gucci ensembles would become much more of a statement later, seeing the brand at a time when its focus was luggage, scarves, shoes, and accessories provides a glimpse into an important moment in fashion history.
The Gucci Archive & Museum Was Consulted
In the same interview with WWD, Yates went on to say that the first step to bringing House of Gucci to life was to consult the Gucci brand archive as well as visit the Gucci museum. The design team was able to have the archive moved to Los Angeles to do fittings for principal actors, as well as use many of the belts, bags, and other accessories.
Being able to explore both the archive and the museum was important not just for access to the beautiful clothing, but because pictures and video footage of the showrooms, workrooms, and artisans hard at work creating the Gucci brand would be invaluable in making the movie feel genuine.
It Took 20 Years To Get Made
Around the time that Ridley Scott was making Gladiator, Scott's wife Giannina Scott acquired the film rights to the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. As she explained to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie languished in development purgatory for almost ten years, going through different directors, actors, and scripts, before finally being made twenty years later!
The fact that the Scotts persevered to get the movie made in exactly the way they wanted demonstrates a level of dedication to cinematic storytelling that is seldom seen in an industry that is often desirous to move on to the next up-and-coming tent-pole franchise. The attention to detail and regard they have for the story is evident in every aspect of the movie.
Jeremy Irons Thought Rudolfo Gucci Was A Terrible Actor
In the same interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Jeremy Irons - who plays Rudolfo Gucci - thought that the head of the Gucci family was a terrible actor. After researching the part and watching some of Rudolfo's old films, he concluded that while he had no talent in cinema, he was capable of a depth of sensitivity, especially since his late wife was a German actress whose old films were a comfort to him after she passed.
He might not have been a good actor because he wasn't able to be vulnerable with his family, but surely wouldn't have approved of the disgrace they brought upon him with their very public feuds throughout the '80s and '90s. After it was Rudolfo Gucci's turn to pass, his brother Aldo Gucci and his son Maurizio fought over who would claim the Gucci empire, at one point even involving Rudy Guiliani (yes, President Trump's personal attorney) and the New York Supreme Court.