Gucci heirs offended over family’s depiction in new film

MILAN: The great-grandchildren of Guccio Gucci, who founded the luxury fashion house that bears his name, have appealed to filmmaker Ridley Scott to respect their family’s legacy in a new film on a sensational murder.

“The House of Gucci,” starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, is based on a book about the 1995 murder-for-hire of one of Gucci’s grandchildren, Maurizio, and the subsequent trial and conviction of his ex-wife. Patrizia Reggiani, portrayed by Lady Gaga, served 16 years in prison for contracting the murder.

One of Maurizio’s second cousins, Patrizia Gucci, is worried that the film goes beyond the headline-grabbing story and pries into the private lives of the Guccio Gucci heirs.

“We are truly disappointed. I speak on behalf of the family,” Gucci told a news agency. “They are stealing the identity of a family to make a profit, to increase the income of the Hollywood system….Our family has an identity, privacy. We can talk about everything. but there is a borderline that cannot be crossed.”

Patrizia Gucci said she reached out to Ridley Scott’s wife, Giannina Facio, for clarification on the scope of the film but has not received any reply. She said her family will decide what further action they might take after seeing the film.

Their concerns stem from the casting of top actors to play family members whose stories intersect little with Maurizio Gucci’s murder, the lack of contact with Scott’s production company and inaccuracies in the book on which the film is based.

Al Pacino plays Aldo Gucci, whom his granddaughter remembers as an expert salesman who opened Gucci stores in Rome and New York, bringing in VIP clientele and expanding the brand’s global reach.

Jared Leto plays Paolo Gucci, whose creative contributions included the idea to create the Gucci brand’s famed double-G logo as well as its trademark bags and moccasins. Patrizia Gucci said paparazzi photos from the “House of Gucci” set have not been at all reassuring.

“My grandfather was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant. 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,” she said.

Leto’s Paolo Gucci, meanwhile, is shown with unkempt hair, and a lilac corduroy suit not at all in line with his daughter’s recollections. “Horrible, horrible. I still feel offended,” she said.

The Gucci family has not been involved with the Gucci fashion house since 1993, when Maurizio sold his remaining stake to the Bahrain-based company, Investcorp. It was later bought by the French group PPR, which is now Kering.

The fashion house is cooperating with the “The House of Gucci,” opening its archives to the film company for wardrobe and props. Salma Hayek, the wife of Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, appears in the film. Leto is a close friend of creative director Alessandro Michele.