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"It
was exactly the same,” Scott said of working with Phoenix,
jokingly adding “I like stress,” when asked what he liked about
his leading man.
The film portrays Napoleon, a historical figure both revered and
criticized in France, as a ruthless military tactician whose
softer, vulnerable side was uncovered by his wife Josephine,
played by British actress Vanessa Kirby.
In addition to collaborating with Phoenix, Scott said he also
wanted to return to a theme he first explored in his feature
film debut in 1977.
"In ‘The Duellists’ I end on Napoleon Bonaparte. That's the
reason why. I enjoy that part of France and the whole ambience
of that culture. So, I wanted to go back to it completely with
'Napoleon',” he told Reuters on the red carpet.
The director, 85, whose long career includes hit films such as
"Thelma & Louise", "Alien" and "The Martian", said his
production team was dedicated to making the historical epic look
accurate.
"Every aspect of what you see from armoury to horses to saddles
to hats, to the wardrobe, it's all researched. I sit there like
an octopus glomming all this stuff coming at me because they've
researched everyone."
"I'm like a child, I look at picture books. I go 'I like that'.
So, I don't do anything."
Filmed during the pandemic, Scott and his frequent collaborator
for cinematography, Dariusz Wolski, orchestrated elaborate
battle scenes, that recounted Napoleon's conquests in Austerlitz
and Moscow, and his famous defeat in Waterloo.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic I've made 'The Last Duel',
'Gucci', 'Napoleon Bonaparte', and I'm halfway through
'Gladiator (2)'. We don't stop. We ran that protecting it like
an army. I had no COVID problems at all," Scott said.
"Napoleon" is out in cinemas on Nov. 22.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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