Guy Ritchie

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Guy Ritchie on Sherlock's case
New take to 'reinvent' Holmes and Watson
Source: Variety

Guy Ritchie has come aboard to direct Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes" for Lionel Wigram and Dan Lin.

Ritchie's also working on a rewrite/polish of Tony Peckham's script, based on Wigram's upcoming comicbook "Sherlock Holmes." Studio's eying a 2010 release.

The logline remains under wraps, but execs at Warners are aiming to reinvent Holmes and sidekick Dr. John H. Watson. Wigram's noted that the new Holmes would be more adventuresome and take advantage of his skills as a boxer and swordsman.

Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about Holmes, written in the late 19th century, emphasized the detective's intellectual brilliance and power of deductive reasoning. The pipe-smoking character has been portrayed in more than 200 film and TV shows.

Lin and Wigram are both former Warner creative execs who have first-look deals at the studio. Wigram worked on the "Harry Potter" pics while at Warner while Lin worked on "The Aviator" and "The Departed."

Ritchie is directing "RocknRolla," for which he also wrote the screenplay, for Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment. Pic will be distribbed by Warner Bros.

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Downey Jr. set for 'Sherlock Holmes'
'Iron Man' actor cast in WB, Guy Ritchie drama
Source: Variety

In what will be his first job since the blockbuster "Iron Man," Robert Downey Jr. is set to star in "Sherlock Holmes," the drama that Guy Ritchie will direct for Warner Bros.

Downey committed to the pic, which begins shooting in October, after Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest version of the script, written by Anthony Peckham.

Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin are producing.

Downey emerged as an action star with "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes" also will take advantage of his physical skills as the character displays brawn as well as brains.

The basis for the film is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales, but also the comicbook "Sherlock Holmes."

With Downey aboard, the film will go into production before a comedy that just coalesced at Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Holmes, and Will Ferrell playing his crime-fighting partner Dr. Watson.

Columbia is fast tracking its project, which is being written by Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") and produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller.

Downey next will be seen in "Tropic Thunder," and then stars with Jamie Foxx in the Joe Wright-directed "The Soloist" for DreamWorks. He'll reprise his Tony Stark role in Iron Man 2 for Marvel Studios and Paramount, with Jon Favreau directing.

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Rachel McAdams joins 'Sherlock Holmes'
Starring opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Guy Ritchie film
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Rachel McAdams will star opposite Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes," a reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's supersleuth that Guy Ritchie is directing for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow.

The movie, which will begin shooting next month, takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character traits.

Downey will play Holmes while Mark Strong ("RocknRolla") plays the main villain, Blackwood. Jude Law is portraying Holmes' colleague Watson.

McAdams plays Holmes' enigmatic love interest, Irene Adler, a character who appeared in Doyle's 1891 "A Scandal in Bohemia." While the character only appeared in that one story, McAdams' personage would return for any possible sequel.

Producing the film are Joel Silver, Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin.

Jon Berg and Elishia Holmes are overseeing for Warner.

McAdams, repped by UTA and Shelley Browning of Magnolia Entertainment, stars in "State of Play" with Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe, which is due in theaters in April, as well as "The Time Traveler's Wife," which will be released in fall 2009.

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Ritchie Locked for Lobo
By: Mike Fleming; Variety

Warner Bros. has locked Guy Ritchie to direct "Lobo," the live action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien interstellar bounty hunter.

Don Payne wrote the most recent script draft, and Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona will produce. Pic is a co-production between Silver Pictures and Weed Road.

Ritchie will make the film his follow-up to "Sherlock Holmes," the Silver-produced film that stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, which Warner Bros. opens Christmas Day.

Production on "Lobo" begins early next year. The character originated in 1983 in "Omega Men," written by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen. Lobo has had several comic incarnations. In the film, he is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenaged girl to stop the creatures.

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." 

Steve Richards and Kerry Foster will be executive producers.

With all the attention on Disney's Marvel deal, the Ritchie deals gives WB yet another production start through its DC Comics banner. Silver and Goldsman are producers on "The Losers," while Goldsman is a producer on "Jonah Hex." WB recently set Ryan Reynolds to play the title character in the Martin Campbell-directed "Green Lantern." DC Comics is a WB-owned entity, and Gregory Noveck steers the film adaptations for DC.

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Ritchie, Hodge at Warners table
Director, writer combo for King Arthur saga
Source: Variety

Warner Bros. is launching a King Arthur project with "Sherlock Holmes" helmer Guy Ritchie attached to direct and "Trainspotting" scribe John Hodge scripting for Atlas Entertainment and Hollywood Gang.

Producers are Hollywood Gang's Gianni Nunnari, Atlas' Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Hollywood Gang's Craig J. Flores exec producing.

Hodge is working on the script with Ritchie. Project aims to be a re-imagining of the legend of Arthur, believed to have been a 6th century king who defended Britain against Saxon invaders. Key source material will be Thomas Mallory's "Le Morte d'Arthur," published in 1485 as a compilation of French and English tales.

Jon Berg and Ollie Madden are overseeing for Warner Bros.

Hollywood Gang and Atlas are also teamed on a futuristic Robin Hood project for WB.

Warner Bros. attached Ritchie last fall to direct "Lobo," the live-action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien bounty hunter, before "Sherlock Holmes" became a hit with worldwide grosses of $470 million. Ritchie also directed "Rocknrolla" and is attached to "The Siege of Malta" and "The Gamekeeper."

Nunnari's a producer on "War of Gods" with Mark Canton of Atmosphere Entertainment and Relativity topper Ryan Kavanaugh. Nunnari and Canton partnered on 2007's "300" for Warner Bros.

Roven is developing a "Gilligan's Island" feature for Warner Bros.

Hodge's credits include "The Seeker," "A Life Less Ordinary" and "The Beach."

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Warner Bros., Guy Ritchie Team for Period Love Story 'Empire Rising' (Exclusive)
Source: THR

Warner Bros. has picked up Empire Rising, a novel by Thomas Kelly set against the construction of the Empire State Building, that will be developed as a potential directing vehicle for Guy Ritchie.

Kelly, who is also a writer and producer on BBC America's Copper, will pen the adaptation, which will be produced by Ritchie and his partner Lionel Wigram.

The novel, published in 2006, told of a epic love triangle set in 1930 just as construction on the iconic building begins and the Depression is beginning to take hold. On one side is the Irish immigrant Michael Briody, a steelworker on the building who is also running guns for the IRA. On the other is Johnny Farell, a bagman for Mayor Jimmy Walker and adapt at running the corrupt political system. And in the middle is a beautiful artist named Grace Masterson. Historical figures also make appearances.

Niija Kuykendall is overseeing for Warners. Peter Eskelsen will exec produce.

Kelly clearly has a thing for olde tyme New York. Copper, which he is exec producing and showrunning, focuses on an Irish cop in 1865. He was also a writer and supervising producer on CBS' Blue Bloods, which told of a family of New York cops.

The deal is another example of the faith Warners has in Ritchie and Wigram. The filmmaker's last three movies have been released by the Warners (including the two successful Sherlock Holmes movies) and he is pre-production on a big-screen version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, for the studio. U.N.C.L.E. will be the first production under Richie and Wigram's Warner-based banner. (Richie is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Wigram. The two are producing with John Davis.)

Ritchie is repped by CAA and attorney Matthew Saver. Kelly is repped by WME, the Gotham Group, Jackoway Tyerman and on the publishing side by Sobel Weber Associates.