Ridley Scott
is one of the highest-achieving directors of his generation. Last year, his movie Gladiator II helped propel his lifetime gross as a director to over $5 billion. This impressive sum puts him as the no. 9 highest-grossing director of all time at the worldwide box office, coming in just above Tim Burton and nearly $1 billion below Christopher Nolan. Several of Scott’s films have made hundreds of millions of dollars, including The Martian, Gladiator II, Prometheus, and Hannibal.

In addition to his stellar box office record, Scott is also an accomplished director in terms of awards. He has been nominated for Best Director three times, and his 2000 film Gladiator even won Best Picture. His incredible achievements have allowed him to work with some of the world’s most talented actors, including Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington, and Matt Damon. The film that earned Scott his first Best Director nomination is one of his best, but it was nearly made by a different visionary.

Thelma & Louis Was Offered To At Least Five People

They Turned It Down For A Shocking Reason

Scott explains how five people turned down Thelma & Louise before he ultimately became the director. A pinnacle of feminist film history, the movie tells the story of the friendship between two women that develops when they are on the run from the law after committing serious crimes. The cast features Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt, and Stephen Tobolowsky. The movie, and especially its final scene, is considered an iconic piece of cinema history.

Despite the status it has gained over the years, Scott explained to GQ how the road was not always as smooth for Thelma & Louise since he was originally supposed to produce the film only. When trying to find a director, however, he had to cycle through five people, all of whom said that they had “a problem with the women.” At a loss, Scott eventually decided to take on the project himself following the consideration from Michelle Pfeiffer. Check out the full response from Scott below:

That was brought to my company, Scott Free, not for me to direct but actually to produce. And Callie Khouri, who actually was a receptionist I think in David Fincher’s company. And he never read the script and I did. I think one day she said ‘David, I’ve had the script read.’ ‘Who, Ridley,’ he went ‘Oh ҒUCҜ, okay.’ So I offered it to five people who said ‘nah nah nah, not for me, not for me. I got a problem with the women.’ That’s the whole point. Having a problem with the women shouldn’t be a problem. You should get it. I was interviewing Michelle Pfeiffer, I think it was. She said ‘Listen, I can’t do this, but I like the script. Why don’t you come to your senses and you do it?’ So I said ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’

Our Take On This Thelma & Louise Response

Thelma & Louise Was A Bold Portrayal Of Women

While the rejection of the script is a distasteful look at the early ’90s, it kind of perfectly sets the scene for what Thelma & Louise became. The movie was revolutionary at the time for portraying women who go to extremes (in this case, murder) to act out against those that oppress them (in this case, through rape). This was bold messaging for the time when many roles for women on screen were relegated to the love interest. The societal “problem with the women” was reflected in the Scott film’s pre-production response.

Source: GQ