Napoleon: Ridley Scott Has Hilarious Response to Historical Inaccuracy Complaints

Napoleon arrives in theaters in just a matter of weeks, bringing to life Ridley Scott’s take on the complicated historical figure. The epic film’s existing marketing has been met with a lot of praise, but has also faced some criticism among history buffs for loosely adapting true events. Seeing as Napoleon is far from Scott’s first or last biopic, he had a pretty simple and unique take on that backlash in a recent interview with The New Yorker.

“Get a life,” Scott argued.

What Is Napoleon About?

Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

In Napoleon, Phoenix plays Napoleon Bonaparte with Vanessa Kirby starring as Napoleon’s love and future empress, Joséphine. The film also includes Tahar Rahim as French revolutionary leader Paul Barras. Napoleon‘s cast also includes Ben Miles as Napoleon’s advisor Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as socialite Theresa Cabarrus, Madame Tallien, Matthew Needham as Napoleon’s brother Lucien, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, one of Napoleon’s commanders, Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreau’, king of France, Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander, Ian McNeice, Paul Rhys as the diplomat Talleyrand, John Hollingworth as celebrated soldier Marshal Ney, Gavin Spokes as Moulins, and Mark Bonnar as Jean-Andoche Junot. Scott helms the film from a script that was penned by David Scarpa.

Will Napoleon Get a Director’s Cut?

In a recent interview with TotalFilm, Scott confirmed that a longer cut of Napoleon will be sent to Apple TV+, after the film’s initial theatrical debut.

“I’m working on it. It was four [hours] 10 [minutes] this morning,” Scott explained. “And so what will happen is, we’ll screen [the theatrical cut] first with Sony, and then it has its run, and then the perfect thing is that [the director’s cut] goes to streaming, and we have four hours 10 minutes.”

What Is Ridley Scott’s Next Project?

Also for Apple TV+, Scott is executive producing Sinking Spring, and will also direct an episode of the series. The show is based on the book Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya, and will debut on Apple TV+. Production on the series is currently shut down amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

Sinking Spring follows two friends who pose as DEA agents to rob a house faces the consequences of their actions when it turns out they robbed a large narcotics operation. The series stars Brian Tyree Henry as Ray, Wagner Moura as Manny Cespedes, Marin Ireland as Kristy Lynne, Kate Mulgrew as Theresa Bowers, Amir Arison as Mark Nader, Ving Rhames as Bart, Dustin Nguyen as Ho Dinh, Nesta Cooper as Michelle, Idris Debrand as Young Ray, Liz Caribel as Sherry, Will Pullen as Marchetti, and Emma Lewis as Izzy Pham.

Napoleon will be released exclusively in theaters on November 22nd, followed by a streaming debut on Apple TV+ at a later date.