Wednesday, November 11

• Sgt. Rock Adaptation Set on Fast Forward

  Producer Akiva Goldsman is already involved in the production of four comic book movie adaptations, including Jonah Hex, The Losers, Lobo, and Swamp Thing, and now he's attached to a fifth. Goldsman is joining Joel Silver in his decades-long quest to bring DC Comics' WWII hero, Sgt. Rock, to the big screen.

  Only, Rock and his "Easy Company" are not going to be slogging through the trenches fighting Nazis in war-torn Europe. According to THR, the Sgt. Rock movie will be set in the future. Previously envisioned as a Dirty Dozen-esque "authentic" war film, the change of time period and locale is said to be reflective of the lack of interest by moviegoers in period war films.

  Silver had previously enlisted Guy Ritchie to script and direct Sgt. Rock, but Ritchie has moved on to direct Lobo with Silver so Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) has been brought in to front the film. Chad St. John (The Days Before) will write the script.

  
  

  Posted 11/11/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Akiva Goldsman | Joel Silver | Guy Ritchie | Francis Lawrence | Lobo | Jonah Hex | The Losers

Tuesday, October 20

• Akiva Goldsman Says Lobo Movie Design Is "Pretty Much Done"

  Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) has thrown off the shackles of his comic book movie mistake, Batman & Robin, and is forging ahead with multiple comic adaptations. One he's especially excited about is a live-action version of DC Comics' Lobo, a nearly-immortal alien bounty hunter with a penchant for heavy metal, loose women, and extreme violence.

  Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla) is attached to direct, and Goldsman told the LA Times that he is excited to see what Ritchie can do with the character.

  There's something hyperbolic and authentic about a Guy Ritchie movie. His best movie are deeply, deeply stylized yet they are all grounded; there's a grit of stylization, which sounds like an oxymoron but it makes perfect sense when you've seen his films.

  We've never seen Guy's sensibility married to a project with such a large special effects budget.

  While no plot details have been released and no casting decisions have been made yet, Goldsman said that at least one phase of pre-production is nearly done.

  We've got the character design pretty much done and the test will get us moving forward to the next step.

  Next up for Ritchie is Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.

  
  

  Posted 10/20/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Akiva Goldsman | Guy Ritchie | Lobo | Batman & Robin | Sherlock Holmes

Tuesday, October 13

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan Would Play Lobo If Offerred

  Frequent comic book movie actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, The Losers) expressed interest in another comic book adaptation, Lobo, last month. He told MTV that while he is not officially cast in the role of the blue-skinned anti-hero, he is officially a fan of the production.

  I don't know that I'm a big blue guy. Lobo happens to be a character that flies by the seat of his pants. I don't know if I'm the guy or not, but I think it's going to be one hell of a movie. I'll certainly be going to see it.

  Dean Morgan claims that while he may not have the role, he is interested.

  Hey, if Guy Ritchie came to me and said, "You want to do Lobo?" I'd say, "Yeah."

  Ritchie will be directing the rumored-to-be PG-13 production from a script by Dan Payne, with production scheduled to begin next year. Dean Morgan, meanwhile, is working on the remake of Red Dawn.

  
  

  Posted 10/13/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Jeffrey Dean Morgan | Lobo

Friday, October 9

• Robert Downey Jr. Says His Sherlock Holmes Role was "Really Difficult"

  From all indications, director Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is not going to feature the contemplative detective that we have come to know through countless films and TV shows, but rather a more visceral version of the character. Actor Robert Downey Jr., who will portray Holmes to Jude Law's Dr. Watson, said that portraying the character was very demanding.

  I am kicking ass for two-and-a-half hours, and all this stuff I've been learning for five years [is applied]. Suddenly, I'm co-choreographing with these veteran stunt guys and bad-asses. And I'm in there, having this meat-eating, man-slaughtering competition with these guys, and then, at the same time, playing a very reserved Brit. And that, to me, was a massive education and just a process.

  While Downey Jr. said that his role in Holmes was "technically really difficult," it was his Oscar-nominated role as black-faced Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder that really took its toll on him.

  Whatever it was, it was just this massive catharsis for some reason. And then, after that, I was like, "Oh well, now that space is empty." All this kind of venom, rage, discomfort, and hiding behind things stuff kind of went away.

  
  
  Next Showing: Sherlock Holmes opens December 25

  Posted 10/09/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Robert Downey Jr. | Tropic Thunder | Sherlock Holmes

Thursday, September 3

• Guy Ritchie Named to Direct a PG-13 Lobo Movie

  Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie has been tapped to take on a DC Comics character — an insane space tracker called Lobo. But will Ritchie be able to do it as a PG-13 offering?

  The comics character is one of DC's crudest and bloodiest, but according to Variety:

  WB is aiming for a PG-13 rating. Pic will be strong on visual effects, and Ritchie will bring the irreverent, gruff tone of past films like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

  With all the recent news and attention on Disney's Marvel deal, one wonders if this is an attempt by WB to shine the light on their productions. The picture is set to begin next year. Don Payne will pen the script (The Simpsons, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, My Super Ex-Girlfriend), with Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman, and Andrew Rona producing.

  
  

  Posted 09/03/2009 by Jim

  Related: Guy Ritchie

Sunday, August 23

• Sherlock Holmes Goes Viral

  Viral marketing has become the best way for studios to tease potential audiences about movies that might otherwise be overlooked. A perfect example is the immersive MNU site that heralded the coming of District 9. Now, director Guy Ritchie's latest film, Sherlock Holmes, has gone viral.

  When you enter the site, you are shown five blank boxes and left to figure out the password. (Since there are no clues, we don't feel guility telling you that the password is I-R-E-N-E for Irene Adler, Rachel McAdams' character.) A short video plays, a mysterious hooded man explains the "four indispensable conditions" of the magus (which we won't spoil for you), and then you are asked to enter your age and email address. Doing so rewards you with a crypric message.

  Well, what else would you expect from the worlds' greatest detective?

  
  
  Next Showing: Sherlock Holmes opens December 25
  

  Sherlock Holmes - Trailer

  Guy Ritchie directs and Robert Downey Jr. stars.

  Posted 08/23/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Rachel McAdams | Sherlock Holmes

Saturday, August 1

• Sherlock Holmes a "Bromance" Flick?

  Sadly, it took a divorce from Madonna to get Guy Ritchie to return to feature filmmaking full-force (we're not counting Swept Away). After the Snatch-esque RocknRolla proved he still had the right stuff, Ritchie jumped right into the director's chair on the big-budget period film, Sherlock Holmes.

  The thinking-man's detective might seem like an odd fit for Ritchie, the king of hip, modern gangster movies, but Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes) thinks Ritchie was a perfect choice to direct:

  I've been around and Guy really knows how to tell a story. He's done complex storytelling very well, and he's got a great visual sense. And, I think that between that stuff and Jude Law and I really, really becoming very close-knit in our preparation for this, and we've got Rachel McAdams playing the diva adventuress. We just had a great cast and we had a fantastic time shooting it.

  McAdams plays the love interest in the movie, but at a recent press event she said that the real romance was between Holmes and Watson. Downey Jr. joked along, saying that Holmes and Watson shared "circumstantial homosexuality." He went on to say:

  Before Jude said he was going to do the movie, before he said that he was available, before he said that he either did or didn't want to be courted, we just started talking like two serious actors about what would need to happen to make this work as a piece of straight drama.

  We just became really close, really quickly, because we just rolled up our sleeves and started working from jump.

  
  
  Next Showing: Sherlock Holmes opens December 25
  

  Sherlock Holmes - Trailer

  Guy Ritchie directs and Robert Downey Jr. stars

  Posted 08/01/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Rachel McAdams | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes

Friday, July 17

• Daniel Radcliffe Can't Wait for Sherlock Holmes

  Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes isn't due in theaters until December 25, but fans are already excited about the movie. Count Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's Daniel Radcliffe among them. He told Entertainment Weekly that Holmes is the movie he's "most looking forward to seeing" this year.

  Apparently Radcliffe is a "huge fan" of the British Sherlock Holmes TV show starring Jeremy Brett. He says Brett's Holmes is a great example of playing "an over-the-top character without ever being over-the-top himself." We hope Radcliffe knows that Robert Downey Jr. is Holmes this time around.

  It's easy to be swept up into Radcliffe's enthusiasm after watching the latest trailer for Sherlock Holmes. Even a fickle New York audience applauded it. Check it out below:

  
  

  Posted 07/17/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Daniel Radcliffe | Guy Ritchie | Jeremy Brett | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Wednesday, June 10

• What Happened to Sherlock Holmes with Will Ferrell and Sasha Baron Cohen?

  Around the same time that Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes was being prepped for production, another Sherlock Holmes was announced. Instead of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law playing Holmes and Watson, it would feature Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen as the famous duo in the first comedic version of Holmes since Michael Caine in 1988's Without a Clue.

  Ritchie's Sherlock is opening December 25. However, the Ferrell-Cohen version seems to have disappeared. Ferrell explained the situation to HollywoodOutbreak:

  We're trying to develop [Sherlock Holmes]. We've got a script written by Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder). I just met with Sacha three weeks ago, we're kinda talking about it some more. It's just a question of the Robert Downey Jr. one that they just shot, which I think comes out during Christmas. I think everyone just wants to see ... well, that one's probably going to be, you know, a hit kind of franchise, and whether that is something you want to go up against or would it inform the audience to allow for us to do a comedy version or would it just feel like, "Oh we're just trying to copy them." Even though, I think, we wrote our script before they did. But yeah, we're thinking about it.

  This follows a string of bad luck for Ferrell, whose Land of the Lost bombed at the box office while the possibility of an Anchorman sequel recently became doubtful at best.

  
  

  Posted 06/10/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Sacha Baron Cohen | Will Ferrell | Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Robert Downey Jr. | Etan Cohen | Sherlock Holmes

Thursday, May 28

• Terminator Salvation Producer Talks Sherlock Holmes and Lara Croft Prequel

  At the US premiere of Terminator Salvation, About.com interviewed producer Dan Lin, who talked about, among other things, a couple of his upcoming projects. Lin is producing Sherlock Holmes -- directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law -- and a prequel to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which is not yet in production and has no one attached to it.

  Here's what he had to say about Sherlock Holmes:

  The tone is period Butch and Sundance. It's almost like a buddy cop movie set in the period world. Like Butch and Sundance, it's action-oriented, but there's definitely comedy to it. It's really about these two guys, Sherlock and Watson, who basically they're best friends and there's an incident that sets them apart and they have to come back together at the end of the movie.

  Sherlock Holmes reimagined as Butch Cassidy? Interesting notion.

  Lin then gave some details about the Lara Croft project, which will be a prequel to the other two movies.

  Really excited -- it's a great origin story that we're going to tell. A very character-oriented, I would say more realistic than the past Lara Croft movies ... I would say it's like Terminator -- character-driven action. I think for me the Lara Croft games and movies have gone a little too action-oriented. I wanted to have action, but with character.

  The movie will also require a re-casting, since it involves a Lara Croft significantly younger than Angelina Jolie.

  You can view the interview in its entirety here.

  
  

  Posted 05/28/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Angelina Jolie | Robert Downey Jr. | Dan Lin | Sherlock Holmes | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | Terminator Salvation | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Wednesday, May 20

• Robert Downey Jr. in First Trailer for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes

  The first trailer for Sherlock Holmes is now up on the web. And it looks like the normally mild-mannered sleuth is now a raging action hero and ladies' man. We were wondering how Robert Downey Jr. would look in a deerstalker, but there is nary a deerstalker to be found in this preview. There is, however, Mr. Downey engaging in some fisticuffs and some Bond-esque repartee.

  This latest adaptation of the classic mystery series stars Downey as the famous detective and Jude Law as his compatriot, Dr. John Watson. The story is based on the yet-to-be-published comic book created by producer Lionel Wigram, which was in turn based -- very loosely, it appears -- on the original characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. No surprise, this movie is directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and is set for a Christmas Day release, which should ensure a good audience.

  Warner Bros. has also posted production photos at the movie's official site.

  
  

  Posted 05/20/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Lionel Wigram | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes

Wednesday, March 11

• Mark Strong Ruins the End of Sherlock Holmes

  Can't anyone keep a secret anymore? Sherlock Holmes actor Mark Strong can't, that's for sure. Strong told TotalFilm the ending of the upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed movie:

  There's a fantastic sequence where we duel to the death on a half-built Tower Bridge. It's a perfect way to end the movie, Robert [Downey, Jr.] and I hammering seven bells out of each other on top of this swinging bridge with Victorian London as a backdrop. It's going to be amazing.

  You know what's amazing, Mark? Keeping a secret.

  
  

  Posted 03/11/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Robert Downey Jr. | Mark Strong | Sherlock Holmes

Wednesday, February 25

• Warner Brothers Sets Release Dates for Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and More

  ERCBoxOffice reports that Warner Bros. has announced official release dates for several movies, including the DC Comic adaptation of Green Lantern, which just recently nabbed director Martin Campbell, and will arrive December 17, 2010, months after First Avenger: Captain America and Thor have hit theaters. So instead of competing with Marvel's comic book movies of the summer, Green Lantern will attempt to capitalize on the success or failures of Marvel's Avengers movies.

  Not that Warner Bros. isn't trying to compete with Marvel's Avengers movies, just not with Green Lantern. Instead, Christopher Nolan's Inception will go head-to-head with Thor on July 16, 2010, with Josh Brolin as DC's gun-for-hire Jonah Hex following less than a month later on August 6. The Avengers will also get some competition from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II when they both open on July 15, 2011.

  With Green Lantern set as Warner's December blockbuster or 2010, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is set for this year, bumped to December 25 rather than the original release date of November 13.

  Other notable movies include The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans which will fight for box office dominance on March 26, 2010, while Zack Snyder's Watchmen follow-up, Sucker Punch, an action movie with an "all-girl" cast that Snyder describes as "crazier than anything" he's ever done, opens with a "definite" R rating on October 8, 2010.

  
  

  Posted 02/25/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Christopher Nolan | Josh Brolin | Louis Leterrier | Martin Campbell | Zack Snyder | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Thor | The Avengers | Sherlock Holmes | Green Lantern | Jonah Hex | First Avenger: Captain America | The Incredible Hulk | Watchmen | Clash of the Titans

Monday, December 1

• Iron Man Knocked Unconscious While Moonlighting as Sherlock Holmes

  A freak accident on the set of Sherlock Holmes nearly resulted in the second casting replacement for Iron Man 2. During shooting of the Guy Ritchie project, Robert Downey Jr. was accidentally popped in the face by a 350-pound stuntman during a fight sequence. He was knocked unconscious briefly, but is apparently now doing fine. In fact, the actor refused a trip to the hospital upon reawakening and even reportedly wanted to go right back to shooting. He ended up with six stitches in his mouth courtesy of the on-set nurse.

  Apparently a petrol tanker also exploded on the set last week, causing a two hour shutdown. Some sources claim the explosion came perilously close to actor Jude Law.

  Is Sherlock Holmes cursed? Maybe we should consider going to 11 on our list of The Ten Most Memorable Cursed Movies.

  
  

  Posted 12/01/2008 by reelz

  Related: Jude Law | Guy Ritchie | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | Iron Man 2

Thursday, July 10

• Ritchie casts Downey Jr. as Holmes

  There are two official Sherlock Holmes projects in the works and now both of them have their lead role cast.

  Last week, word broke that Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell have signed on to play Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson in a comedic version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's well-known stories for Columbia Pictures.

  Meanwhile, over at Warner Bros., Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as a more serious version of the super-sleuth in Guy Ritchie's more traditional (albeit also comicbook-inspired) take.

  Now it's a race to the theater. May the best Holmes win.

  Source: Variety.

  
  

  Posted 07/10/2008 by reelz

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle

Wednesday, June 4

• Guy Ritchie to Direct Sherlock Holmes

  Warner Bros. has hired Guy Ritchie to direct Sherlock Holmes, which will be based more on Lionel Wigram's upcoming comicbook adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic series than on the original series itself.

  Ritchie will also be tweaking the script. Word is we can expect him to breathe new life into the pipe-smoking 19th century smarty, perhaps incorporating Holmes's boxing and swordfighting skills into his sleuthing. Sounds like Holmes is going to kick some serious nerd butt.

  Source: Variety.

  
  

  Posted 06/04/2008 by reelz

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Sherlock Holmes

Thursday, April 17

• Madonna adds "Director" to her resume

  Not content to sit and watch her director husband Guy Ritchie have all the fun, Singer/Kabbalist Madonna is entering the filmmaking game. Variety reports that IFC has snapped up the rights to the Material Girl's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, described as a "comedic drama" featuring an ensemble of colorful characters, among them "a man who spanks for money, a chemist and a pole dancer."

  Let's just hope she's better at directing than she is at acting. Filth and Wisdom is slated to debut in theaters and video on demand this fall.

  Source: Variety

  
  

  Posted 04/17/2008 by reelz

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Madonna

Wednesday, March 26

• Thandie Newton dishes on Guy Ritchie's next flick(s)

  ReelzChannel.com caught up with actress Thandie Newton (Beloved, Crash) at the recent press day for her romantic comedy, Run, FatBoy, Run, which opens this weekend and the British beauty gave us some details on her upcoming projects.

  "I did a movie with Guy Ritchie called Rocknrolla, which I think is coming out at the end of the year. And I loved it," she said. "It's him going back--I don't want to say going back to what he's done before, but it's more about the underworld of London. It's just fantastic," she continued. "He wrote it. The script was like a sketch, and he just let us be very spontaneous and create."

  But Newton had a little more to reveal about Mr. Madonna's intentions with Rocknrolla--which she said is part of a trilogy--and her character. "[Ritchie] cleverly didn't really say there was going to be another movie because a lot of people die, as you can imagine," she said. "Thankfully my character survives, so I'll be doing the next one."

  
  

  Posted 03/26/2008 by reelz

  Related: Thandie Newton | Guy Ritchie | RocknRolla

Saturday, October 27

• Guy Ritchie and the Russian Mafia

  In town to promote his trippy new gangster flick Revolver, UK filmmaker Guy Ritchie (you know, the dude who's married to Madonna) gave us a glimpse of his next project, RocknRolla:

  "That's not such cerebral stuff -- that's fun," described Ritchie, contrasting RocknRolla's tone with the brainier Revolver. "It's kind of a commentary on how London is now. It's all to do with Russian oligarchs buying up the city and stuff and then the shenanigans that take place in the underworld because of that."

  Oil-rich Russian oligarchs have flocked to London in recent years, riling some native Brits with their extravagant spending habits. "There is a particular oligarch in the film who builds soccer stadiums," Ritchie hinted, most likely referencing Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian oil baron who stirred up much controversy in the UK when he purchased England's fabled Chelsea Football Club in 2003.

  
  
  Next Showing: Revolver opens December 7th

  Posted 10/27/2007 by reelz

  Related: Guy Ritchie | Revolver

Thursday, July 26

• Fanboy alert: Guy Ritchie on Gamekeeper, Iron Man drives an Audi, and more!

  King of the hard-core quick cut (and Mr. Madonna) Guy Ritchie will be bringing his comic series, The Gamekeeper, to the silver screen.

  Ritchie, who will direct (naturally), came up with concept--that of a Scottish caretaker who uses the animals of the urban jungle to seek revenge on his son's murderer. Hey, if anyone can make British gardeners badass, it's Ritchie.

  Elsewhere, Paramount and Marvel have inked a deal with Audi for sponsorship of its upcoming mega-movie, Iron Man. What does that mean? Tony Stark will be tooling around in his Audi R8 supercar, of course. Those of us who have ridden in Audis know it isn't an entirely illogical choice.

  And finally, DreamWorks is making plans to adapt comics Courtney Crumrin and The Damned for film. The former is Ted Naifeh's comic about the misfit daughter of well-to-do parents who discovers magic in her uncle's creepy mansion. The latter is Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's horror noir about rival gangsters that must unite to combat supernatural demons.

  Dreamworks bought the rights to both. No word yet on scripts, directors or shoot dates.

  Source: Variety.

  
  

  Posted 07/26/2007 by reelz

  Related: Guy Ritchie | The Gamekeeper | Courtney Crumrin | The Damned | Iron Man