Before Tom Ford revived the brand in the mid-90s — and decades before Alessandro Michele would do so again in 2015 — Gucci was very much a family affair. The most famous member of the dynasty is probably Maurizio Gucci, who took over the company in 1983, was forced to sell it in 1988, and was murdered in 1995. The Gucci family again became as relevant as Gucci the brand when Maurizio’s ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani was arrested for hiring a hitman to kill him as revenge for leaving her. Patrizia was later sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Naturally, attempts have been made to make this story into a movie. Ridley Scott started developing one in 2006, with Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio tipped to star. He then handed directorial duties to his daughter Jordan, who appears to have abandoned the project. Hopefully it’s a case of third time lucky, with Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai now confirmed to be directing a movie about the unconventional family feud. It will mark Wong’s first feature film since martial arts drama The Grandmaster, and his second English-language film since 2007’s My Blueberry Nights with Natalie Portman — who, incidentally, was at some point rumored to be starring in the Scott adaptation. Wong’s Gucci film is said to star Margot Robbie as the revenge-seeking, once-celebrated Patrizia.
No other actors have been linked to the film at this early stage. Here’s hoping Ford, whose jewel-toned take on glamor was saving the brand from bankruptcy as the trial was going to court, will have time to cameo. His own film Nocturnal Animals gets an official release next week.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Wiki Commons