Ridley Scott is 82 years old. I didn’t realize that. I thought he was in his 60s. He still works all the time, he’s British but he’s mostly based in Los Angeles. He’s managed to be seven years younger than Clint Eastwood and somehow be seven times more spry and “with it.” Since Ridley lives in LA, he’s been on lockdown there for the quarantine. So he was available for what I assume was a phone interview with Variety, where he talked about hitting pause mid-production on his latest film (The Last Duel) because of the coronavirus, and what he thinks about pandemic politics. I enjoyed this, and I hope more Hollywood people do this: chatty phone interviews about the pandemic.

What he thinks of American politicians’ handling of the pandemic: “Particularly with this orange-headed fellow that’s running us, he’s a nutcase, isn’t he? [New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo made a name for himself, he’s put himself on the map certainly. Looking at the globalization of the politicians that are running the world, half the time being run by idiots and the other time by despots, there are very few worthwhile ones, if you know what I mean. No one wants to go into politics. If anyone has half a brain they wouldn’t want to go into politics anyway, right?

What leaders should be doing differently: “I’m a war baby, so, in the war years, we had rationing. People could not binge on food, we had ration books with coupons where you were at a limited amount that you could buy. They should do that now because people are buying so much food and then the food is rotting. In England as well, I mean, Jesus, Boris [Johnson], get out your thinking cap, ’cause what we’re now talking on is an iPhone, a perfect coupon distributor to limit what you can buy each time you go to the shops. And that way, you have order. You must have order and calm.

What he thinks will help stop the spread of coronavirus: “If we stay indoors for the given amount of time, they get a handle on it to understand what’s going on. The irony is that for the most part, it’ll be an experience of mild to severe flu for most people and old geezers like me have gotta watch my back. And I am. I’m being very cautious, I want to return and finish off the film with Matt Damon.

What he’s doing in isolation: “I’m a big painter. I resumed painting 10 years ago. My whole grounding is in art school. I paint all the time.”

[From Variety]

I’ve gone to the grocery store once a week for three weeks for my stuff and it is legitimately crazy to see grocery stores so picked-over and all of these empty shelves with no paper towels or toilet paper or pasta. It’s the weirdest and eeriest thing. But I will say this: grocery stores in my area have started rationing all on their own. No one can buy multiples of paper towels or toilet paper when it is in stock. As for truly intelligent people wanting to get into politics… I have a feeling that Liz Warren, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris are three of the smartest people to ever run for president. The problem isn’t that “smart people don’t want to be in politics,” it’s that dumbf–ks won’t vote for smart people.

Photos courtesy of WENN.