Ridley Scott Laments The State Of Hollywood & Reveals He Watches His Own Movies Instead: “It’s A Horrible Thing”

Renowned filmmaker Ridley Scott laments Hollywood’s current most popular business model and the widespread mediocrity of the films it produces. The Alien and Gladiator director would be a respected authority on what makes a good movie. However, he reveals that at this time, he has mostly turned to rewatching his own movies.

During an interview at BFI Southbank in London on Sunday, Scott commented on the rapid production of content that is shoddy at best: “The quanтιтy of movies that are made today, literally globally – millions. Not thousands, millions… and most of it is s**t.” Scott went on to say that Hollywood is “drowning in mediocrity.“

When asked what his comfort movie(s) are right now, Scott hilariously responded that he is rewatching his old filmography and is still happy with what he has produced. Check out his full comments below:

Well, actually, right now, I’m finding mediocrity – we’re drowning in mediocrity. And so what I do – it’s a horrible thing – but I’ve started watching my own movies, and actually they’re pretty good! And also, they don’t age. I watched Black Hawk [Down] the other night and I thought, “How in the hell did I manage to do that?” But I think occasionally a good one will happen, [and] it’s like a relief that there’s somebody out there who’s doing a good movie.

Ridley Scott’s upcoming movies include The Dog Stars and multiple others that he intends to direct himself. He remains a producer of the Alien and Blade Runner franchises, which also have planned additional sequels. Gladiator 3 is also in the works, after it was somewhat set up by 2024’s Gladiator 2.

The Best Ridley Scott Movies To Rewatch

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Alien

Ridley Scott’s best movies prove that he is a director who has earned some bragging rights. His filmography is incredibly varied, as it’s hard to say whether he is best known for sprawling historical epics or subversive sci-fi adventures. A few of his movies have more rewatch value than others, but most are great in their own way.

Scott, of course, changed the space horror genre with 1979’s Alien and the introduction of the classic “final girl” Ellen Ripley. But he also created two more mᴀssively iconic female characters with 1991’s Thelma & Louise, a movie I could personally watch many, many times. On the other hand, his historical epic game has faltered in recent years.

Maybe Scott will inadvertently prompt people to also rewatch his movies at this point in time, as he has found some inspiration in the exercise, tying his works to the rare films today that truly inspire people. Even if it is still a tad ironic that he holds up his own films as a contrast to everything mediocre currently dominating the industry.

Our Take On Ridley Scott’s Comments

Scott comments on a widespread sentiment, as the streaming model demands that studios produce as much content as possible, and creativity has seemingly dried up with sequels and remakes overshadowing original filmmaking. However, even as others agree with him, this year especially has offered some hope.

It seems like we are headed into an especially compeтιтive awards season between Sinners, One Battle After Another, It Was Just an Accident, and Hamnet, while other original projects like Weapons and KPop demon Hunters have dominated the zeitgeist. Even quieter releases like Sorry, Baby prove that immensely talented auteurs are still getting chances.

Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters especially have proven the profitability of original work, which should hopefully steer the industry in the right direction. Hollywood does have some problems to overcome, but there should be some great new work coming, so we won’t have to only watch movies by Ridley Scott forever.