Fans for months have been delighted by Lady Gaga and Adam Driver’s throwback (and meme-worthy) fashions as seen on the set of House of Gucci, set to hit cinemas this autumn.
The movie, however, has already received a less-than-enthusiastic response from members of the family it portrays.
Directed by Ridley Scott, the crime drama follows Patrizia Reggiani (played by Gaga), who was convicted of plotting the 1995 murder of her ex-husband, fashion impresario Maurizio Gucci (Driver). An Italian socialite, Reggiani served 18 years before she was released from prison in 2016.
Patrizia Gucci, Maurizio’s second cousin, told The Associated Press this week that she and her relatives are “truly disappointed” by Scott’s film ― at least based on what heavily circulated paparazzi photos have revealed thus far.
“They are stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system,” Gucci said on Wednesday. “Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything, but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed.”
Gucci said she reached out to Scott’s wife, Giannina Facio, for insight on House of Gucci, but did not receive a reply. The movie is based on the 2000 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, which Gucci believes is largely inaccurate.
And though early buzz about the film is focused on Gaga and Driver, most of Gucci’s criticisms were directed at the casting of Al Pacino as her grandfather, Aldo Gucci, and Jared Leto as her father, Paolo Gucci.
“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant,” she said. “He is being played by Al Pacino, who is not very tall already, and this photo shows him as fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly. Shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all.”
“Horrible, horrible,” she added of Leto. “I still feel offended.”
It seems unlikely that Gucci’s assessments will be taken into account, at least in any official capacity. The Gucci family has not been involved with the fashion house that bears its name since 1993. Currently, it’s owned by Kering, a French company.
Due out in November, House of Gucci is Gaga’s first movie since 2018’s A Star Is Born, which netted her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and a win for Best Song.