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Ridley Scott said the future of Hollywood and streaming doesn't worry him because he gets "overpaid anyway."
The critically acclaimed director's movies — including "Alien," "Blade Runner," and "Thelma & Louise" — have enjoyed box office success and made a significant impact on pop culture.
In 2000, he directed "Gladiator," which starred Russell Crowe as Maximus, a Roman general who is betrayed and forced to become a slave fighter in the Colosseum. The director's long-gestating sequel, "Gladiator 2," picks up with Maximus' long-lost son, Lucius (Paul Mescal).
While doing press for the film, Scott shared his thoughts on Hollywood and movies that go directly to streaming.
His previous movie, "Napoleon," which starred Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte, was produced by Apple and released in theaters by Sony in November 2023, before heading to Apple TV+ in March.
In an interview published on Thursday, The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan brought up reports that Apple will stop giving its movies traditional theatrical releases in favor of the direct-to-streaming model.
Scott was asked if the news made him concerned about Hollywood's future. He said, "No, because I get overpaid anyway."
It's not clear what Scott earned for "Napoleon," but Variety reported that he had a budget of $200 million. In February 2024, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Scott's budget for "Gladiator 2" had increased to around $310 million.
But the director told The Times he completed the sequel with money to spare.
He said: "I ended up $10 million under because I did the whole thing in 51 days. What happened was we began with stop-and-go on the budget because we may have started too quickly. I am a bit of a businessman, so I said, 'Wait a minute, how much are we spending? And where has it gone?'"
When pressed on whether he had a "vested interest" in movies getting theatrical releases, he said: "No, not really. I just have fun doing what I do. But it's a privilege to be doing what I'm doing. If this is a Formula 1 car, I'm a good driver."
The director added that he doesn't think younger audiences have the same relationship with movies as previous generations do.
"It's scary how stupid we're getting," he said.
