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With all the Oscars buzz surrounding Lady Gaga's star turn in House of Gucci, it's hard to imagine the pop-star-turned-actress almost had an even bigger role in the film. According to Roberto Bentivegna, the screenwriter of House of Gucci, Gaga's character, Patrizia Reggiani, lost an important aspect of the film on the cutting room floor.
While chatting with Vulture, Bentivegna revealed what he and director Ridley Scott ultimately decided to cut from the script ahead of filming. It turns out, the film could've looked pretty different
“The very first draft had a ten-page opening sequence," he shared. "It was the history of the brand and the Gucci family. One of my favorite openings ever is the first five minutes of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola. I was trying to do that."
“The other thing that got cut was a voiceover throughout the movie that I wrote for Patrizia. Ridley decided that we didn’t need it and we got rid of it," Bentivegna continued. "But all the drafts had that voiceover. I mean, I’ve been very lucky, at one point, the script was 150 pages long, which is kind of insane. It got down to 135 by the time we were shooting. We didn’t really cut any scenes.”
Though Gaga's voiceover was cut from the film, she was still able to make her mark by portraying Patrizia. For those who may not know, House of Gucci is "inspired by the shocking true story of the family empire behind the Italian fashion house of Gucci." The film takes place over three decades, where "love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder" take center stage.
House of Gucci is based on Sara Gay Forden’s book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. It's now playing in theaters.