It's risky to mess with certain Italian families, but Ridley Scott believes that movie-goers will shell out $20 for a ticket and some popcorn to take in all the blood-spattered pin-striped suits then can handle. Nope, it's not a film about the mob, it's a film about fashion. Specifically, about the murder of Maurizio Gucci by his wife in 1995 in Milan.

The film is a departure for Scott, whose testosterone-laden films like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down have attracted distinctly alpha male stars and audiences. And though he can depict blood-thirsty Romans and devastating battle scenes, there's a distinct chance he'll find the inner workings of the fashion flock is the nastiest subject he's encountered yet.

Scott hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Guccis. Patrizia Gucci, a great-granddaughter of Gucci's founding father today implied that Scott has misled her: "It seems to me the idea is to make a very aggressive film. I find it offensive. It does not seem to me to be worthy of Ridley Scott, who is a great director."

But why the sudden interest in the luxury brand? Turns out Scott's girlfriend, the pneumatic Italian actressGiannina Facio, has a thing for it, and had approached the Gucci family about a potential project but gave the impression that it would focus on something more palatable than the grisly murder. With these latest developments, it looks like Facio won't be getting that Gucci bag for Christmas this year.