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Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937) is a British film director and producer. Having cut his teeth on UK television commercials in the 1970s — most notably the Hovis New World advert — he graduated to Hollywood, where he produced and directed a number of top boxoffice films. His striking visual style, incorporating a detailed approach to production design and innovative, atmospheric lighting, has been tremendously influential to an entire subsequent generation of filmmakers — many of whom have simply imitated him outright.
Scott is notable for his versatility. He rarely makes two films in the same genre, and many of his films are popularly rated as some of the best examples of their genres.
| Genre | Film | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| TV Commercial | Apple 1984 commercial | 1 |
| Horror / Sci-Fi | Alien | Top 10 - NFR |
| Science Fiction | Blade Runner | 1 - NFR |
| Road Movie | Thelma & Louise | Top 10 |
| Sword and Sandal | Gladiator | 2 |
| War | Black Hawk Down | Top 10 | NFR – Selected for National Film Registry |
In 2004, while on location in Morocco during the filming of Kingdom of Heaven, a movie about the Crusades, Scott reported receiving death threats from Islamist extremists. The Moroccan government sent hundreds of soldiers to protect Scott and the production.
Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing. He was knighted in the 2003 New Year Honours.