Ridley Scott Says Modern Movies Are “Shit”

87-year-old Ridley Scott is still the firebrand he was half his life ago, when he broke into Hollywood. He's the director of some of the greatest movies of all time. And we've covered the best Ridley Scott shots, so we know you can spend weeks watching all the cool things he's done.

And he knows that, too.

Somehow, he never won an Academy Award, which is nuts, but the Oscar-nominated filmmaker recently reflected on all the good movies he's made at a BFI retrospective of his career.

And he talked about all the bad movies being made today.

According to Metro, the director told his son, Luke Scott:

The quantity of movies that are made today, literally millions globally, and most of it is sh*t. So what I do, and it’s a horrible thing, but I’ve started to watch my own movies, and actually they’re really good! And also, they don’t age.

I love how Scott can embrace his own work and how much he's looking back and is proud. You only have one life to live, and it's cool to see Scott happy with how he used it and the stories he got to tell. There's real inspiration and pride in that.

And I think something beautiful about it as well.

So what's Scott's theory on why all these modern movies are not good?

Well, it has to do with the screenplays.

Socct said, “I think a lot of films today are saved and made more expensive by digital effects, because what they haven’t got is a great thing on paper first,” he continued. “Get it on paper!”

That's something we echo here all the time. And also, it's why we have a free screenwriting book — to help people get their ideas down on paper.

So if Scott is rewatching his own movies, what are the ones he likes the best?

In the talk, he cited Black Hawk Down as one that still amazes him. He said he watched it and thought, “How in the hell did I manage to do that?”

Scott is not down on all movies made today, just the majority of them. Sometimes he'll watch one and feel impressed.

Scott said: “I think occasionally a good one will happen, [and] it’s like a relief that there’s somebody out there who’s doing a good movie.”

Now, even at 87, Ridley Scott is not slowing down, and is aiming to make even more movies he can watch. He has a film slated for release in 2026 called The Dog Stars. It's an apocalyptic sci-fi epic starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce.

Here's hoping it's as rewatchable as all of his others.