Ridley Scott says The Last Duel flopped because of millennials and their 'f**king cellphones'

[midian182]

A hot potato: Ridley Scott has been behind the camera for some of cinema's greatest and most iconic movies—Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator, to name a few. His latest offering, The Last Duel, is another to receive rave reviews from critics, but that hasn't translated into box office takings. According to the director, the fault lies with apathetic millennials and "their f**kin cellphones."

Scott used his appearance on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast to reveal why he believes The Last Duel performed so poorly. "I think what it boils down to—what we've got today [are] the audience who were brought up on these f***ing cellphones," he said. "The millennian [sic] do not ever want to be taught anything unless you told it on the cellphone."

"This is a broad stroke, but I think we're dealing with it right now with Facebook," the 83-year-old director added. "This is a misdirection that has happened where it's given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think."

Millennials, for those unfamiliar, are generally classed as those born between 1981 and 1996.

The Last Duel, which stars Ben Affleck, Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, and Adam Driver, is an epic historical drama set in 14th-century France that deals with social issues relevant today. It has an 85% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81% audience score.

But despite all the praise, The Last Duel has recouped just $27 million from a budget of $100 million. Scott emphasized that Disney went all out in promoting the film. "Disney did a fantastic promotion job," he said. "The bosses loved the movie […] I was concerned it was not for them."

This isn't the first time Scott has drawn the ire of a specific demographic. He recently referred to superhero movies as "f**king boring as s**t," and in 2017 said he would rather "keep making smart films" than any featuring DC's and Marvel's characters. He wasn't much of a fan of Epic Games' version of Apple's '1984' ad, either—Scott directed the original.

Covid continues to influence cinema-goers, of course, with many people opting to see blockbusters such as superhero movies on the big screen while waiting for the likes of The Last Duel to hit streaming services. Scott's next film, House of Gucci, is out this week. He'll probably be hoping Millennials can stay off their phones long enough to enjoy that one, though the early reviews haven't been as positive.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92344-ridley-scott-last-duel-flopped-because-millennials-their.html

 

[Burty117]

I hadn't even heard of the movie.

 

[winjer]

I hadn't even heard of the movie.

Me too. This is the first time hearing about this movie.
Maybe their adds just ran on TV, radio and printed press, where only older gens linger.

Just saw the trailer and found it boring and cliché. It smells like sjw propaganda in medieval Europe.

 

[mailpup]

I saw the movie in my local theater but then I'm not a millennial.

 

[Lounds]

Maybe stick to Sci-fi... I remember watching Robin Hood in 2010 which was directed by Riddley Scott and it was bloody crap.

 

[OortCloud]

It's good film. I can imagine his frustration. Makes a great film but nobody goes because all they want to watch is the same old tired-rehash super hero dross that marvel churn out these days.

 

[hahahanoobs]

He is right about the super hero movies. If I want milk I'll go to the grocery store.

 

[Dimitriid]

Haven't seen the movie, don't really care about Riddley Scott's body of work either. I don't hate it I certainly don't even mind watching stuff like American Gangster or Hannibal: stuff to pass the time, stuff to munch popcorn to in a warm summer night with friends.

So maybe the fact he's known mostly for those types of movies which coincidentally, we haven't been able to experience because of the plague hitting us for the past 2 years has something to do with it beyond this tired "complain about millennials" routine? No?

Just saying: Riddley Scott makes the kind of movies I'd watch when I want to turn off my brain and be entertained by the dancing monkeys on the big screen. Why would I expect these mfer to "teach" me anything at all?

 

[Enaks]

I’m not sure he knows what a millennial is; I’m 41, technically ‘a millennial’ and didn’t get a mobile phone until I was 18-19.

Even then, that phone had a two line, monochrome LCD display.

Maybe he just made a film that no-one wanted to watch?

 

[y6Tq2RGXEejb]

Never heard about the film, and the fact doesn't really concern me given the gentleman's present attitude. The only response I, as a millenial, have is "ok boomer", and I think for once it seems well-justified.

 

[McMurdeR]

Never heard about the film, and the fact doesn't really concern me given the gentleman's present attitude. The only response I, as a millenial, have is "ok boomer", and I think for once it seems well-justified.

In this instance I have to agree. He's made some really good flix, but he's clearly not been keeping up with the times. And to hurl insults at the youth of the day won't help sell his movies.

 

[Dimitriid]

In this instance I have to agree. He's made some really good flix, but he's clearly not been keeping up with the times. And to hurl insults at the youth of the day won't help sell his movies.

"Youth" is a bit of a stretch as @Enaks said: some of us are categorized as millennials and already 40 or 41 with most millennials being at least on their mid to late 30s. Sorry but we haven't been the "youth" of the world since the time Britney Spears was a rising star in the late 90s early 2000s.

 

[SirDigby]

I've got a cinema membership for unlimited viewings for a few months and I haven't seen this advertised anywhere, also cinemas are still very much feeling the pandemic damage, box offices aren't back to pre-covid levels.

 

[stewi0001]

Maybe people rather read a book?

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

I heard about the movie early this year but had no idea the movie was out LOL. I'm 32 and im a Millennial, so idk if he know which age group falls in that category.

 

[Irata]

„ that deals with social issues relevant today.“

When I read this I immediately think of ‚great, another woke movie‘ and it‘s an automatic no go for me. Checking the web, it really does appear to be the case.

 

[Mister_K]

I saw the movie in my local theater but then I'm not a millennial.

What have millennials have to do with anything I don't know...

 

[fps4ever]

Hollywood out of touch with reality? Who saw that coming.../s

 

[DZillaXx]

It was a poor story line to toss money at. Regardless of how good it was or not, doesn't stop the fact that this movie was never going to meet the sales they were hoping for. This should have had producer that is able to make magic happen on a limited budget.


Now if it had Game of Thrones in the title, you know you'd get your return on the movie. Otherwise Medieval time period settings are a hard sell.

Ridley Scott is one of the greatest, but I don't think he knows what the millennial age group is... Most of us are over 30, and the youngest millennial can only be 26 and I have a hard time even considering them a millennial.

He put in name behind the wrong product for its day. Period.

 

[mgwerner]

Me too. This is the first time hearing about this movie.
Maybe their adds just ran on TV, radio and printed press, where only older gens linger.

Just saw the trailer and found it boring and cliché. It smells like sjw propaganda in medieval Europe.

"older gens." That so cute. Most of us invented the stuff younger people use, but have the wisdom to avoid the toxic BS younger people did with the tech.

Get off my lawn! /s

 

[Eldritch]

It's not me. It's the world who is wrong.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I haven't enjoyed a theater experience since probably the release of the Lord of the Ring movies. I've seen some movies in the theater since the LotR trilogy, but my experiences kept going downhill - and this is from visiting multiple different movie theaters over the past 10 years.

LotR trilogy came out in the early 2000s. Having a phone with immediate internet connection wasn't a common thing for most people. The iPhone didn't even release until sometime around 2007 - 4 years after LotR trilogy came out. People didn't have easy access to stupid youtube and there wasn't snatchchat (I mean, snapchat) and you didn't have $hitty social media polluting people's attention span and feeding off their ignorance faster than the normal news media outlets.

Seeing movies years ago was a decent, enjoyable experience.

These days everyone has a cell phone so you always have some issue with phones going off or people talking on them. Or you have entitled pricks that are bored because their cell phone isn't keeping them occupied during the movie so they start throwing things. Now you get to wear your mask for 90-120 minutes straight while you sit and watch a movie....

No thanks. I'm not spending, on average, $20 a person to see a movie in the theater to be annoyed by morons. I'll buy the movie when it releases and then add it to my Plex server so I can watch it whenever I want.

 

[winjer]

"older gens." That so cute. Most of us invented the stuff younger people use, but have the wisdom to avoid the toxic BS younger people did with the tech.

Get off my lawn! /s

You do realize that there is a clear divide with the demographics that use TV, radio and printed press?
This is not some kind of jab at any gen, it's just a simple fact.
Don't get angry with reality.

 

[UltraModernGuy]

So the Boomer is big mad at Millennials? Aren't Zoomers the new punching bag for generational groups realizing they are no longer relevant?

 

[Todd Sauve]

Never heard about the film, and the fact doesn't really concern me given the gentleman's present attitude. The only response I, as a millenial, have is "ok boomer", and I think for once it seems well-justified.

Where to begin? Since Ridley Scott is 81 he is NOT a boomer. Perhaps you could learn a little bit of arithmetic before using my generation's nick name in the pejorative sense?