So Robert Downey Jr. is gonna play Sherlock Holmes, eh? This, of course, comes just over a week after it got out that Sacha Baron Cohen is starring as Sherlock Holmes in a totally different upcoming movie. Which brings me to two important questions. One: Can RDJ please lobby Guy Ritchie (who is directing his Sherlock flick) to take a look at Gary Susman’s spec script? Two: What’s with all the Sherlock Holmes movies? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Holmes. The original Arthur Conan Doyle stories and novels are total classics, obvs. The master deducer has been played by lots of actors in lots of productions, many of them awesome. I even started digging Fox’s House more when I got clued into its Holmesy paralells. But isn’t this a slightly random time for there to be some sudden run on the property?
Well, whatever. Both of these movies actually sound like they could be great. The leading men are two of my favorite contemporary actors, and the projects are different enough — the Ritchie/RDJ one’s an action-y drama, while the SBC one is a comedy that will reunite him with Will Ferrell as Doctor Watson (!). And what with production schedules and existing commitments, who knows if they’ll even end up in theaters anywhere near the same time. (I’ll take this as an opportunity to note quietly that early reports on Baron Cohen’s Bruno movie make it sound like it might — might — be more about exposing homophobic prejudices than reveling in them, as I’d worried last year.) So forget my carping! Why don’t you take over here: Which of Sherlock’s new adventures are you most looking forward to?
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RDJ. ‘Nuff said.
Cohen, hands down. He even LOOKS more like Sherlock Holmes. Downey is both American and not tall enough, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, because look how awesome Daniel Craig turned out to be as Bond. So I’ll say both. But I’m nervous about Guy Ritchie directing and this “all-action Sherlock” stuff–why can’t we have a canonical adaptation? There’s plenty of action in those.
Come on over to http://www.holmesian.net and talk about it with us. We’d love to have you.
Robert Downey Jr! And it would be interesting to see if Guy Ritchie can still make a good movie! (how can he go wrong with RDJ?)
Both – and because I like the fact that there will be 2 different takes on this.
Can I be excited for both? I’m pumped to see RDJ in a great post-Iron Man film, and if Guy takes a cue from Susman’s script, it should be AWESOME. But I also love me some SBC. And I’d like to see Will Ferrel play second-fiddle for the firs time in how long? Years?
apples & oranges
I wonder if Guy Ritchie’s version will explore Holmes’s drug addiction and if this is one of the reasons Downey was chosen. It would be interesting to see an honest take on Holmes’s cocaine habit. I know that it’s been done before, but you’d have to agree that Downey would have a little more experience with addiction than some of the past portrayals.
I think Guy Ritchie is OVERRATED. I liked Iron Man, but I’ve never been a huge RDJ fan. Thus, SBC and Will Ferrell all the way. They’re great together.
I actually am looking forward more to the Sacha Cohen version than Guy Ritchie’s. As a Sherlock fanatic, I don’t think there’s any improving on the old Jeremy Brett as Holmes back in the day. But Sacha Cohen /Will Ferrell as Holmes/Watson sounds cool; I think the idea of playing Holmes for laughs excites me more than a straight ahead version.
Is “both” a valid answer? I guess I’ll go with the comedy; if it’s good Will Ferrell, it sounds great. The Ritchie movie sounds interesting as well, but I’m with JoeC — I just think my Jeremy Brett biases will be impossible to overcome, even if I like the movie.
I’m kinda rooting for Guy Ritchie to make a good movie again (I don’t even remember his last one being released in theatres in the US) and RDJ is brilliant.
That being said, I’m actually a little surprised that I’m anticipating the Cohen/Ferrell one more. Making it a comedy should freshen things up. Also, Cohen will obviously be funny and I’m interested in seeing Will Ferrell in a second banana role. He’s been a bit too much lately, and I think he’ll benefit by having someone else who’s really funny taking much of the load away.
Robert Downey Jr Will make this movie awesome becouse he is a great actor and is not the firts time he played an detective, remember the singing detective?? Robert Donwey Jr can make whatever he want to play so….. Theres only one thing we can do… wait to the movie goes out and enjoy it, till then Go and see Tropic Thunder!!
I’m looking forward to the remake with Adrien Brody! I mean, come on! He is the quintessential Holmes!
(just to clear up confusion, there is no remake with Brody, I just want there to be one.)
To answer the original question, RDJ…despite my worries about the modernization of the character/story
I am not big onto slap-sticky type of humor so I don’t care for anything Will Ferrell has done so I am looking more forward to the RDJ/Ritchie collaboration. I think Ritchie knows what he is doing (forget that island movie with Madonna and watch Snatch and Lock,Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)!!!
Will Ferrell is past his prime as he just continues playing Will Ferrell in everything he does. However, Sacha Baron Cohen is still on the rise and has a lot of interesting projects in the works. RDJ is also on the up-and-coming list after Iron Man. Should be a tight race which is better, but I’ll go with RDJ/Ritchie. Cohen’s is bound to be hilarious though.
I am not big onto slap-sticky type of humor so I don’t care for anything Will Ferrell has done so I am looking more forward to the RDJ/Ritchie collaboration. I think Ritchie knows what he is doing (forget that island movie with Madonna and watch Snatch and Lock,Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)!!!
Actually, I’m looking forward to neither. There have been several good Sherlock Holmes movies after 1970, including “The Seven Percent Solution” and even “Young Sherlock Holmes,” but come on — who can beat Basil Rathbone or, on BBC TV, Jeremy Brett? (Even “They Might Be Giants” was pretty good.) And does anybody remember how bad “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” was? That said, Baron Cohen may actually be better for Holmes than Downey, who can convey genius (Chaplin and Stark), but not the kind of hyperfocused genius Holmes requires. Wouldn’t it be great if Baron Cohen, who could convey that genius, played it straight? Actually, I’d like to see Hugh Laurie, mainly because he’s already playing Holmes, sort of, in “House.” And Stephen Fry as Holmes. And forget Guy Ritchie — get Alfonso Cuarón or Neil Burger.
I would like to have seen Rupert Everett as Holmes once again but, what do I know. Looking forward to both.
This is like the last time two movies came out at about the same time about Truman Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman was so delicious in his version that the other one – Infamous – is not even worth remembering. In this case, RDJ will do his own version Holmes that will be much better than anything else. The fact that he is an American shouldn’t matter any more than a Brit playing some other American, except to the Brits. SBC has never been funny unless you consider Benny Hill funny, neither has Will Ferrell, although he was brilliant in The Producers. And if Talladega Nights is anything to go by, there is no comedic chemistry between the two outside the MTV generation.
My father is the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan so I was eagerly anticipating the announcement on who would play the lead in Richie’s film…I am thirilled with the casting of RObert Downey Jr.–_I was fearful they would cast someone like Russell Crowe and Id of been upset. I love SBC but Will Farrell is a hack and might keep me from seeing that other film version of Holmes.
I’m not crazy about Americans being British –I kinda feel the same in reverse, but British actors can play Southern Americans wonderfully. Sherlock Holmes –nobody –NOBODY will ever be better than Basil Rathbone.
Can I choose: D) None of the above
Um, are you kidding? It’s Guy Ritchie AND Robert Downey Jr. By themselves I think they’re genius. Together? It’s gonna be AWESOME.
i think guy ritchie is tragically overrated – it’s not that he’s a bad filmmaker, ’snatch’ was really well made. the problem is he’s all style no substance. that being said, i’ll watch his sherlock with RDJ in the lead, because i trust the latter’s taste in projects – he hasn’t let me down yet.
Am I in the minority here? Since when did it become cool to hate Will Ferrell? He’s HILARIOUS. I’ve always loved Anchorman and Talladega Nights. If you’re sick of the movies where he’s the lead actor, what about his other movies? He easily stole the show in Wedding Crashers, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and the Producers IMO. If he’s second fiddle to SBC (who’s probably even funnier than WF), this movie will kick ass.
How about an adaptation of Michael Chabon’s clever Sherlock Holmes story “The Final Solution”? They could cast Peter O’ Toole, Ian McKellen, or some other legend in the role.
As much as I love Will Ferrell, I just have a feeling that WF’s and SBC’s film is going to be awful. They’ll probably take everything good away from the Sherlock Holmes storyline and make it into a raunchy comedy. Honestly, we have enough of those already.
With that being said, I think I’m looking more forward to seeing RDJ’s version. I absolutely love him, and Guy Ritchie is not that bad of a director. Hopefully GR will do a good job directing with RDJ bringing just enough comedy with his delivery.
Face the facts. A new idea is the extinct animal of Hollywood. All most every movie is based on a novel or comic. And if the novel is part of a series, then you can guarantee someone is shopping for the rights.
Iron Man as Sherlock? Heck yeah…Ricky Bobby as Dr. Watson…not so much…
I’m not a Sherlock Holmes fan, or least I wasn’t. But I love Jeremy Brett and David Burke, in the Granada Sherlock Holmes Series playing on PBS! I’m not sure anyone can do it better.
Downey and Cohen are both capable of totally immersing themselves into characters. Downey did a good job with Chaplin, but he has created stinkers like “Singing Detective”. Cohen certainly can play characters and he’s English, but Watson is very important, and I don’t think Ferrell can do the part justice. It sounds like Downey’s version would be more serious (closer to the original), while Cohen’s more of a spoof, but Ferrell is still a huge negative. I probably won’t watch either one.
It is too bad Jeremy Brett died, or I’d vote for more Jeremy Brett and David Burke. Checkout your local PBS station to see if they are showing it.