Ridley Scott

Sir Ridley Scott 

30 November 1937

An English film director and producer. He studied at Grangefield Grammar School and West Hartlepool College of Art from 1954 to 1958, obtaining a Diploma in Design. Scott went on to study at the Royal College of Art, contributing to college magazine ARK and helping to establish the college film department. In 1968, Ridley and Tony Scott founded Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), a film and commercial production company. 

Scott is known for his atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style, which has influenced many other directors. 

Scott was knighted in the 2003 New Year Honours. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2007. In 2011 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As director, producer

• The Duellists (1977)
• Alien (1979)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Legend (1985)
• Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
• Black Rain (1989)
• Thelma & Louise (1991)
• 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
• White Squall (1996)
• G.I. Jane (1997)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Hannibal (2001)
• Black Hawk Down (2001)
• Matchstick Men (2003)
• Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
• Numbers (2005–2010)
• A Good Year (2006)
• American Gangster (2007)
• Body of Lies (2008)
• The Good Wife (2009–2016)
• The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
• Robin Hood (2010)
• Prophets of Science Fiction (2011)
• Gettysburg (2011)
• Britain in a Day (2012)
• Coma (2012)
• Prometheus (2012)
• World Without End (2012)
• Labyrinth (2012)
• The Counselor (2013)
• Killing Lincoln (2013)
• Killing Kennedy (2013)
• Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
• Halo: Nightfall (2014)
• The Martian (2015)
• Killing Jesus (2015)
• The Man in the High Castle (2015–present)
• Mercy Street (2016)
• BrainDead (2016)
• Taboo (2017)
• 3001: The Final Odyssey (2017)
• Alien: Covenant (2017)

Quotations

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Life isn't black and white. It's a million gray areas, don't you find?

* * *

Good FBI officers are not noticeable. You would never look at them.

* * *

Do what you haven't done is the key, I think.

* * *

I was always amazed about how much I could finally squeeze into a thirty second commercial.

* * *

And I maintain good relationships with all the studios so I've never been bullied into any cut, frankly.

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Cast is everything.

* * *

How can you look at the galaxy and not feel insignificant?

* * *

Same thing with film, by the time you've finished shooting and you've really been into everything, you've touched up everything in the editing room. You've gone in there and taken little bits from everything.

* * *

When you're doing a big movie, you're gone for 10 months to a year.

* * *

Conscience, the power of conscience, can unearth all kinds of things.

* * *

It's everything and I always make decisions about the cast.

* * *

Politics is very interesting and always leads to conflict.

* * *

Business fascinates me. It's very creative.

* * *

Choosing location is integral to the film: in essence, another character.

* * *

Dad entered the Second World War like any other man, trying to do the right thing.

* * *

Far from being dead, physical media has years of life left and must be preserved because there is no better alternative.

* * *

I'm fundamentally a positive person. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing some of the insane movies that I do.

* * *

I've always avoided sequels, unless I felt there was something fresh.

* * *

In science fiction, we're always searching for new frontiers. We're drawn to the unknown.

* * *

It doesn't matter how much faith you have or don't have. I just don't buy the idea that we're alone. There's got to be some form of life out there.

* * *

It's hard writing screenplays.

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