Sherlock Holmes
 

July 09, 2008


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 Ethan 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 also reprise his Tony Stark role in Iron Man 2 for Marvel Studios and Paramount, with Jon Favreau directing.

Well, turning Holmes into an action hero will certainly be a "fresh" approach, I guess.


:rolleyes:

Actually Holmes was an accomplished amateur boxer. He was also skilled at 'Baritsu' - a Japanese wrestling art that Doyle made up for the stories.

But you are right it'll prolly suck - we'll get to see hackneys roll off cliffs and then explode :-)

So thats 2 new Holmes films on the horizon.

I always liked Robert Downey Jr. This could be fun.

all my life i've been a big fan of anything 'sherlock holmes'

looking forward to anything that keeps the characters alive.

Thats only because you can relate to his drug habit.


everybody knows that ALL Canadians are hooked on cocaine.

And lazing around. :D

Holmes Trivia:

What was the only Basil Rathbone Holmes film that referenced his drug abuse?

What fine wine was recommended by Nigel Bruce and co on Sherlock Holmes Radio show?

"Hound of the Baskervilles,"


Petri Wine

I'm all for keeping the characters alive, if they're close approximations of Doyles characters. If they turn Homes into something like Indiana Jones or Doc Savage though, that's not keeping the characters alive, it's creating a new character and giving it Holmes' name.

Doyles stories were about reasoning and deduction- hell, there are some stories where he barely leaves his flat.