Sir Ridley Scott hadn't read The Dog Stars
Sir Ridley Scott has discussed his experience of shooting The Dog Stars.
Sir Ridley Scott had never read The Dog Stars before the script for a movie adaptation landed on his desk.
The 88-year-old filmmaker has helmed the new film adaptation of The Dog Stars, Peter Heller's 2012 sci-fi novel - but Ridley admits he wasn't aware of the book until the project was proposed to him.
The acclaimed director - whose previous film credits include Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Black Hawk Down - told People: "I didn’t know the book and Peter Heller."
The Dog Stars focuses on a former civilian pilot, and a hardened former Marine in a post-pandemic world, as they seek to create a better life for themselves beyond where they live.
Ridley still has vivid memories of reading the story and harbouring doubts about 30 pages in.
The director said: "I read and I think about 30 pages, I started to get anxious in case he would drop the ball.
"I just like to read by surprise. I never read a reader’s report, I just read it. And I was blown away."
Ridley has also reflected on the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that mankind has not yet made a complete recovery from the global health crisis.
He said: "You have a pandemic of that kind, well, we haven’t got a hold of it yet.
"At the same time, you have a financial disaster like 2008. You’re staring at the global abyss in the financial market. Then you have something else, warring groups, and suddenly you have chaos. And once you have chaos, you have panic. And that’s how in a flash it can happen."
Meanwhile, Ridley previously suggested that he's become a better filmmaker as he's aged.
The legendary film director likened directing to playing tennis.
He told the Guardian newspaper in 2025: "What happens – providing you sustain all your marbles – is that you refine your game. I can now work eight to 11 cameras.
"I finished my latest film in 34 days. It would normally be 60. Gladiator was 48; normally, 100. I’ve learned to formulate and predetermine, plan on paper and storyboard in my head. That’s why it’s so efficient.
"My game was tennis. I’ve just had my final knee replacement. I did one in 2012 and the other last week. So that’s the end of tennis. But like any game, the more you practise, the better you get. Forty years of tennis, I became quite good. If I hadn’t played tennis, I’d be a 300lb [136kg] couch potato."
