Ridley Scott rewrote the movie Napoleon because of Joaquin Phoenix

Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix are used to working on historical epics, but when they next collaborated on the next Napoleon movie, Phoenix's performance was so good that Scott rewrote much of the film.

Speaking to Empire Magazine for its 50 Greatest Actors issue, Scott praised Phoenix - who also starred in Scott's legendary film Gladiator - and also revealed that his questions and suggestions on the plateau had led Scott to single out Napoleon.

"Joaquin is about as far from convention as you can get. Not deliberately, but by intuition. That's what thrills him. If anything bothers him, he'll let you know. He made Napoleon special constantly questioning," Scott said. "With Joaquin, you can rewrite this fucking movie because it's uncomfortable. And that's what happened with Napoleon. We unchecked the film to help him focus on who Bonaparte was. I had to respect that, because what was being said was incredibly constructive. It all grew and got better."

Scott went on to clarify that it wasn't a bad thing the duo worked on revamping the film, saying they "did some digging and found the character", and said Phoenix was probably "the most special and thoughtful actor I have ever worked with.”

Directed by Scott, Napoleon is described as "an original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift and ruthless rise to emperor, seen through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and son. true love, Josephine. The film will capture Napoleon's famous battles, his relentless ambition and his incredible strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and visionary of war."

David Scarpa (All the Money in the World) is writing the screenplay for the 20th Century Studios project produced by Scott and Kevin Walsh for Scott Free. Production of the film took place in early 2022.