Ridley Scott Confirms Paul Thomas Anderson Was Brought in to Re-Write ‘Napoleon’

Amidst Academy Award-winner Joaquin Phoenix‘s much-publicized exit from Todd Haynes’ NC-17 gay romance, the actor’s history of getting cold feet came under newfound scrutiny. Back in August, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Phoenix almost left Ridley Scott‘s epic biopic “Napoleon,” but was convinced to stay after Paul Thomas Anderson stepped in to make some rewrites. This news has now been confirmed by Scott himself during a recent interview with The New York Times.

Referencing Anderson, Scott said, “Tommy was doing ‘Licorice Pizza,’ advising me how to do ‘Napoleon.’ It turned into a lot of fun, actually. Three of us in this room screaming with laughter.”

This was not the first time Scott had to deal with an apprehensive Phoenix. On their first film together, “Gladiator,” Phoenix nearly walked off set, but, thankfully Scott said, Russell Crowe stepped in to set him straight.

“He was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it,'” said Scott of Phoenix on the “Gladiator” set. “I said, ‘What?’ And Russell said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.'”

Scott said he feels that both he and Phoenix grew from “Gladiator,” and the men remain close to this day.

“I can act as a big brother or dad,” Scott said. “But I’m quite a friend of Joaquin’s. ‘Gladiator’ was a baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning.”

Not all directors have had the same luck with keeping Phoenix happy, clearly in the case of Haynes and his fallout with the actor, but also in relation to M. Night Shyamalan and his thriller “Split.” Speaking on the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast back in September, “Split” star James McAvoy shared that he was brought onto the project only two weeks before shooting after Phoenix dropped out.

“He’s an amazing actor,” McAvoy said. “I think he’d give a very different performance to the one I did, but I think he’d give an incredible performance.”

A few weeks ago, on the red carpet for the Academy Museum Gala, co-star Danny Ramirez told Variety how difficult it was having the Haynes project fall apart as a result of Phoenix choosing not to go forward.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” Ramirez said. “If anything, it just gave me more inspiration to keep driving, keep pushing, and knowing that I’m on the right path and approaching the work the right way. So that’s what I’m excited about.”