‘I feel her inside of me all the time’: Lady Gaga on playing the murderer at the heart of the House of Gucci
Lady Gaga has told Sky News that her latest film role took a toll on her – but it’s a toll she welcomed.
“That’s part of my artistry, is leaning into the suffering of a character,” she said at the premiere of House of Gucci, which tells the true story of the family behind the fashion house.
And while all families have their differences not many end in murder.
In the film the singer plays Patrizia Reggiani who was convicted in 1998 for hiring someone to kill her former husband Maurizio Gucci.
“To say that it would be easy to play a murderer would be a lie,” Gaga said. “I don’t believe she had the murder gene, but I do believe that she was triggered and pushed so far over the edge that she committed this murder.”
Patrizia Reggiani, ex-wife of slain fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci, leaving court during her murder trial in 1998
Gaga, who stayed in character for 18 months while making the film, says after inhabiting the character for so long it will take time to extract herself again.
“I would say that in terms of letting the character go, I don’t know that I’d ever let her go,” she explained.
“Today I chose this ring and it looks just like her engagement ring – I feel her inside of me all the time and I think it will take years.
“It took me years to shed Ali from A Star Is Born and I think the same will be true here.”
Benedetto Ceraulo (L) and Orazio Cicala were hired by Patrizia Reggiani to kill her ex husband
With this Gucci role only her second lead after that Oscar-nominated performance in A Star Is Born – Gaga is coy about whether she will dominate Hollywood like she has the music industry.
“I don’t know, you have to ask the audience,” she laughed.
The singer leads an all-star cast in the movie which also includes Adam Driver, Salma Hayek and an almost unrecognisable Jared Leto, wearing heavy prosthetics for the role of Paolo Gucci.
Lady Gaga, from right, Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Salma Hayek at the House of Gucci premiere Pic: AP
As another actor known for staying in character, and who also has a successful music career, Leto said he can see parallels between himself and the Chromatica star.
“I think Lady Gaga and I are both artists, rule breakers in our own ways, and what I love about is her bravery,” he told Sky News.
“She’s absolutely fearless and it was fun to do this with her, I really appreciated the opportunity and the freedom and her commitment.
“I expect a lot out of myself and when other people make great commitment, it’s really an absolute dream.”
The film has been a long time coming for Leto, who’s wanted to work with director Ridley Scott for almost two decades.
“I remember I met Ridley Scott in 2003, and I went up to him at a film festival and basically begged to work with him, and about 18 years later, he said ‘yes’.
“He’s one of my favourites – I mean, Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner, The Martian – he’s just one of a kind, a real maverick, a real master, and I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.
“Genuinely, I mean it, it touched me and it was a very, very special project for me, it doesn’t happen like this every time, so I feel really fortunate to be here and to be part of the journey.”
Maurizio Gucci was gunned down on the steps outside his office as he arrived at work in March 1995 Pic: AP
For Adam Driver, who plays Maurizio Gucci, the film marks his second time working with Scott – following period drama The Last Duel which came out in cinemas last month.
He says the film-maker brings out a different side of him.
“His process is so opposite to mine in a way – he works fast, likes minimal takes, and sometimes I like to do a lot and overthink it to make it over precious,” Driver told Sky News.
“He’s very much about first impulses and I love it, and he’s the most unpretentious, hilarious person to work with – I love being on set with him.”
The movie sees the twists and turns of his character’s relationship with Gaga’s Reggiani.
Driver says they were both given the time to really dig into the roles.
“We had the luxury of two weeks before we started [filming] of rehearsal.
“Changing the script a lot and really finding the arcs of both characters, and so it was great.
“Ridley sets a tone that is very collaborative so it’s a dream job.”
House of Gucci is out in cinemas in the UK on November 26th.
Entertainment
NFL star Travis Kelce: Taylor Swift’s boyfriend lands presenting role on celebrity spin-off of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Travis Kelce has landed his first TV presenting role – hosting the game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?
The American Football star – who has become more famous since he began dating Taylor Swift last year – plays for the Kansas City Chiefs and helped them win the Super Bowl for a second year running in February.
Kelce and Swift at Coachella. Pic: Jennifer Johnson/Shutterstock for Neon Carnival
Their high-profile relationship has been credited with bringing NFL a legion of new fans, and causing a buzz every time they’re seen out together, including their recent date night at the Coachella music festival.
The Prime Video production is a spin-off of the popular US game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, which first aired on Fox in 2007 and was hosted by US comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
It was later revived by Nickelodeon in 2019, fronted by action star John Cena, and also spawned a board game and a book.
In the UK, the show was remade as Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old?, and was fronted by Noel Edmonds, and later by Dick and Dom.
In Kelce’s new spin-off of the show, an adult contestant will be given 11 elementary-level questions which they can ask a classroom of various celebrities for help answering.
The final question is from the sixth grade curriculum and is worth $100,000 (£80,000). Only one celebrity is allowed to talk through the answer to the last question with the contestant. Sixth grade students in the US are usually 11-12 years old.
Filming for the 20-episode series has already finished.
Swift at this year’s Super Bowl with Kelce. Pic: Reuters
‘The ultimate class clown’
Kelce said in a statement that he grew up watching game shows and is “excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons”.
He went on: “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favourite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining.
“I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
The original series co-creator Barry Poznick called Kelce “the ultimate class clown,” adding, “replacing the kids with celebrities gives us more laughs and surprises, like a roast, as contestants cheat off their famous classmates”.
Earlier this month, Kelce picked up his degree from the University of Cincinnati, 12 years after he finished his course.
He completed his remaining credit hours in 2022 to earn his degree in interdisciplinary studies, according to The Cincinnati Inquirer.
Producer, podcaster and festival founder
Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? isn’t Kelce’s first TV role. He starred in his own 2016 dating competition show for E! called Catching Kelce and hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live last year.
He’s also a producer on the upcoming documentary King Pleasure, about American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Away from TV, he co-hosts a podcast New Heights with his brother, fellow NFL star Jason Kelce, chatting about popular culture as well as football.
He has also launched his own music festival, Kelce Jam, which will take place for the second year later this month, with starts including Lil Wayne and Diplo headlining.
US music stars Ashanti and Nelly have revealed they are engaged and are expecting their first child together.
The award-winning performers – who first dated over 20 years ago – rekindled their romance last year.
They first met at the Grammy Awards in 2003, and dated for a decade before going their separate ways.
The stars pictured in 2011, during their first relationship. Pic: AP
Ashanti shared a video on Instagram, saying she’ll need “about nine months” to prepare for her next big gig.
Nelly also shared the post, which was captioned, “Baby baby baby baby”, on his official Instagram feed.
In the video, Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas, asks her how much time Ashanti will need to get ready for the show.
We see the Foolish singer, who is wearing a glittery outfit trimmed with fur, grabbing a pregnancy test and disappearing backstage, before replying: “I’m going to need about nine months.”
The 43-year-old later confirmed she is engaged to the Hot In Herre and Ride Wit Me rapper Nelly, 49, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr.
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‘Sharing this with my family, fiance’
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” Ashanti told Essence magazine.
“Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this with my family, fiance, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The baby will be Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s fifth.
Nelly has a daughter and a son with his former partner, Channetta Valentine, and he adopted the two children of his late sister, Jackie Donahue, after she died of leukaemia in 2005.
The rapper’s family starred in the reality TV show Nellyville in 2014 alongside his then girlfriend Shantel Jackson.
Samantha Davis, the wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis, has died aged 53.
Samantha co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside Warwick.
Warwick announced the news in a statement shared to the BBC, revealing she had died on 24 March.
“Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs.
“She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.”
He added that she was his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”.
Their two children together, Annabelle and Harrison, also paid tribute to their mother, saying: “Her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives.
“Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers.”
The couple met on the set of George Lucas’s film Willow and married three years later in 1991.
(L-R) Harrison Davis, Warwick Davis, Samantha Davis and Annabelle Davis at the screening of Disney+ series Willow in 2022. Pic: PA
Samantha also played a goblin in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 while her husband played both Professor Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in all eight films in the franchise.
Annabelle, 27, has followed in her parents’ acting footsteps, starring in CBBC’s The Dumping Ground and Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
Warwick starred as the titular hero Willow Ufgood in the 1988 original film Willow and reprised the role for the 2022 sequel.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
He also played several characters in the Star Wars film series.
Samantha and Warwick co-founded Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.
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