Gladiator IIcinematographer John Mathieson slams Ridley Scott’s new “lazy” filmmaking style after 24 years of collaboration. Serving as a follow-up to 2000’sGladiator, Scott’s sequel follows Maximus' son, Lucius (Paul Mescal), as he becomes a hero of the Colosseum.Reviews forGladiator 2haven’t been as glowing as those for the original, and, in fact, the lukewarm reception is similar to many of Scott’s recent movies, which includeNapoleon(2023) andHouse of Gucci(2021).
During a recent interview onThe DocFix Documentary Storytelling Podcast(viaActioNewz), Mathieson criticizes Scott’s filming process onGladiator 2as “really lazy.” According to the DP, Scott, unlike with many of his earlier movies, prefers to now uses multiple cameras to capture scenes. Mathieson, however, “can only light from one angle,” meaning the cinematography suffers. Scott’s reliance on multiple cameras, the DP claims, is out of a desire to move quickly:
“He is quite impatient so he likes to get as much as he can at once. It’s not very good for cinematography.
Coupled with his use of multiple cameras for a given scene,Scott has also come to rely much more on CGI, Mathieson says. In addition to its more obvious uses, the DP says that Scott is using CGI far more often to remove unwanted elements from a shot, such as cameras, boom mics, and shadows. Check out his comments below:
“It’s the CG [computer graphic] elements now of tidying-up, leaving things in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, bits of set hanging down, shadows from booms. And they just said [on Gladiator II], ‘Well, clean it up.'”
“Look at his older films and getting depth into things was very much part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants to get it all done. Having lots of cameras I don’t think has made the films any better…It’s a bit rush, rush, rush. That’s changed in him.
But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think many people do, but people love his films and he’s Ridley Scott and can do what he wants. People want to shoot multi cameras because they get lots of performances and they put lots of people in. But there’s not the care.
Now it is this thing of ‘generally covering stuff’ rather than me being the cook cooking you something wonderful in my kitchen downstairs. You just go to the supermarket and get one of those really big trolleys and you just put your arm on the shelf and just chuck all that stuff in and we’ll sort it out later.”
Mathieson served as Scott’s cinematographer on projects includingGladiator,Hannibal(2001),Kingdom of Heaven(2005), andRobin Hood(2010), among others.
What Mathieson’s Ridley Scott Claims Mean For Gladiator 2
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It’s fairly unusual for an actor, cinematographer, or any above or below the line talent to so openly criticize a former collaborator, especially one with whom they have such a long working relationship. Such comments make it seem unlikely that Mathieson and Scott will work together again, and suggest thatthere may have been a falling out between them during the making ofGladiator 2.
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It’s interesting, however, that Mathieson shared more sympathetic comments about Scott’s use of multiple cameras onGladiator 2during a recent interview withIndieWire. Though the approach may have compromised the lighting, he acknowledges that it was necessary due to the massive scale of the production.“You don’t want to be plodding along with one camera,” he said, “You want to get as much as you can. Not all the shots are great, but what they do have is energy and continuity.”
Mathieson stressed in this sameIndieWireinterview that thedesert heat made speed an important factor as wellfor theGladiator 2castand crew’s safety. The DP’s own comments, then, complicate the notion that Scott’s process is “really lazy.”
Our Take On Scott’s Gladiator 2 Filming Process
Scott Is Working At An Incredible Pace
Scott is days away from turning 87 years old, and he’s directed four movies and two episodes of a TV show since 2020. He also has a handful of films currently in the works, and he’sexpressed interest in makingGladiator 3. This is a director, then, who still has a great deal of ambition and wants to continue releasing new projects while he still can.
Even though someGladiator 2shots may have been compromised from Scott’s use of multiple cameras, the look of the movie arguably isn’t its biggest problem. If anything, the script is where the film falters. BothNapoleonandThe House of Gucciwere also flawed, butScott’s continued energy and enthusiasm for making movies is commendable, and there are still relatively few filmmakers who can work so efficiently at this level.
Gladiator II
Cast
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
