"F--k This Corruption": Ridley Scott Claims That His Debut 1977 Movie Should Have Won One Of The Biggest Film Prizes Had It Not Been For $50K Bribery

Ridley Scott claims that his debut 1977 movie would have won one of the biggest film prizes had it not been for $50K bribery. The English director is perhaps best known for his iconic sci-fi films, Alien and Blade Runner, which were only the second and third films of his career. A few years earlier, he made his feature directorial debut in 1977 with a lesser-known historical drama, his first in the genre before directing many more in Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, The Last Duel, and Napoleon.

Scott's later historical epic Gladiator did win arguably the biggest prize in film, the Academy Award for Best Picture, in 2001, while his 2016 sci-fi film The Martian was also nominated for the honor. Additionally, Scott has received an Oscar nomination for Best Director three times for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down. The director has also competed for another one of the biggest prizes in film several times, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with his debut film, Thelma & Louise, and Robin Hood all premiering at the festival.

Ridley Scott Claims The Duellists Should Have The Palme d'Or

The Director Claims There Was $50K Bribery

Ridley Scott claims his debut movie, The Duellists, should have won the Palme d'Or had there not been bribery. Directed by Scott in his feature debut, based on a short story by Joseph Conrad, the 1977 historical drama follows a series of duels between two rival officers that span nearly 20 years during the Napoleonic Wars in France. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, Keith Carradine, Albert Finney, Edward Fox, Cristina Raines, Robert Stephens, Tom Conti, and Stacy Keach.

During a recent appearance on The Hollywood Reporter's annual Director Roundtable alongside Denis Villeneuve and other fellow filmmakers, Ridley Scott claimed The Duellists should have won the Palme d'Or had there not been bribery. The director claims corruption influenced the Cannes committee, though the actual winners, the Taviani brothers for Padre Padrone, deserved the Palme d'Or and weren't the ones bribing the jury. Instead, a new prize, Best Debut Film, was created for Scott. Read his full comments below:

You want to hear a story about Cannes? I did my first movie, it cost $800,000, called The Duellists. David Puttnam was my producer, he said they want us to be the English entry at Cannes. I said, “Wow, that’s good!” So I’m at Cannes, and I’m approached by a very important gentleman who was on the committee, a very big American director. He said, “Love your goddamn movie. The problem is the jury has been given $50,000 as bribery to vote for another film.” He said, “I will create a prize for you.” [Scott won a prize for debut film.] I didn’t get the Palme d’Or. Ironically, the Palme didn’t go to the guy who was paying them off. It went to two brothers who made Padre Padrone. They earned it by having a good film. I thought, “Fuck this corruption, even at this level.

Our Take On Ridley Scott's Claim Of Corruption At Cannes

The Cannes Jury Process Remains Largely Honest

While there have been some instances of alleged corruption at the French film festival, the Cannes jury process remains largely an honest one. Even in the case that Ridley Scott references, he admits that the Taviani brothers earned the Palme d'Or by "having a good film," Padre Padrone, and they weren't even the ones bribing the jury. Though the director didn't win the Palme d'Or for his debut, The Duellists, Ridley Scott ultimately earned an even greater accolade – winning Best Picture for another historical epic, Gladiator, in 2001.

Source: THR