Mathieson,who has worked with the 86-year-old on both his Gladiator films, told a podcast that the director had “changed” and become impatient on set.
He also revealed Sir Ridley paid little attention to clutter in the shots while filming the blockbuster sequel to the 2000 movie starring Russell Crowe.
John Mathieson, pictured at the Gladiator II Los Angeles premiere, said Ridley Scott’s method had become "rushed". Photo / Gilbert Flores, Variety, Getty Images
Speaking to the DocFix podcast, the 63-year-old said: “It’s really lazy … It’s the CG [computer graphics] elements now of tidying-up, leaving things in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, bits of set hanging down, shadows from booms.
“And they just said, ‘Well, clean it up [in editing]’.”
He added that Sir Ridley had become “quite impatient”, explaining that “he likes to get as much as he can at once” by using multiple cameras in each shot.
John Mathieson was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the first Gladiator film, starring Russell Crowe. Photo / Dreamworks Pictures
Mathieson insisted the use of multiple cameras was “not very good” for his role in the filmmaking because it means “you can only light from one angle”.
“Look at his older films and getting depth into things was very much part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants to get it all done,” he added.
Gladiator II, which was released on November 15 and stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington, was filmed between June last year and January this year and included a five-month pause as a result of the Hollywood strikes.
Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus in Gladiator II. Photo / Paramount Pictures
However, Mathieson said the British director’s “impatience” and rushed process on projects was not leading to better movies.
The cinematographer, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the first Gladiator film, told the podcast: “Now it is this thing of ‘generally covering stuff’ rather than me being the cook cooking you something wonderful in my kitchen downstairs.
Director Sir Ridley Scott (left) and actor Katherine Waterston on the set of Alien: Covenant. Scott's films include The Martian, Blade Runner and Napoleon. Photo / Twentieth Century Fox
“You just go to the supermarket and get one of those really big trolleys and you just put your arm on the shelf and just chuck all that stuff in and we’ll sort it out later. It’s really lazy.”
He added: “Having lots of cameras, I don’t think has made the films any better”.
“It’s a bit rush, rush, rush. That’s changed in him. But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think many people do, but people love his films and he’s Ridley Scott and can do what he wants.”
