After 24 years of collaboration, Gladiator II cinematographer John Mathieson criticized filmmaker Ridley Scott, calling him impatient. He also criticized Ridley’s “lazy” approach to storytelling. Read also: ‘Wicked’, ‘Gladiator II’ earn $270.2 million at global box office
John Mathieson speaks
during a Interview On the DocFix Documentary Storytelling podcast, John criticized Ridley’s filming process on Gladiator 2.
“It’s really lazy,” he said. it’s CG [computer graphic] Now there are elements of clean up, things being left in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, set pieces hanging down, shadows from booms. and he just said [on Gladiator II]’Okay, clean it up…he’s quite impatient so he likes to take as much as he can at once. This isn’t great for cinematography.
Talking about Ridley’s use of multiple cameras, John said, “He’s quite impatient so he likes to take as much as he can in one go. It’s not great for cinematography,” he explained, adding that it means you can “only light from one angle. Look at his old films and going deeper into things was very much a part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants it all. I don’t think having lots of cameras made the movies better…it’s a bit rush, rush, rush. This change has come in it. But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think a lot of people do, but people love his movies and he’s Ridley Scott and he can do whatever he wants”.
He shared that people want to shoot with multiple cameras because they get a lot of exposure and they get a lot of people involved, but he feels there is a lack of care. John shared that producers are more concerned about covering things up.
Ridley has released four films in the last three years: The Last Duel, House of Gucci, Napoleon and Gladiator II. He also currently has eight projects in development, including his next film The Dog Stars and Gladiator III starring Paul Mescal.
About Gladiator 2
Gladiator 2 stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. Derek and Connie reprized their roles from the first film, with Paul replacing Spencer Treat Clark. He plays Lucius, the son of Maximus and Lucilla, who becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by a Roman army led by General Marcus Acacius. This film was released on 15 November. The Paramount Pictures film is the sequel to the film that won the Best Picture Oscar two decades ago.
