Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)

Infobox Film
name = Sherlock Holmes


image_size =
caption = Official logo
director = Guy Ritchie
producer = Joel Silver
writer = Michael Johnson Lionel Wigram
narrator =
starring = Robert Downey, Jr. Jude Law Rachel McAdams
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = October 2009
runtime =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:392042
imdb_id = 0988045

"Sherlock Holmes" is an upcoming film based on Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. The film began shooting in October 2008 under Guy Ritchie's direction, and will be released a year later. Set in 1891, the film revolves around Holmes and Watson stopping a conspiracy to destroy Britain.

Cast

*Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. Downey was visiting Joel Silver's offices with his producer wife Susan when he learned about the project. [cite news|title=Robert Downey Jr 'to play Holmes'|work=BBC News Online|date=2008-07-10|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7499055.stm|accessdate=2008-10-03] Ritchie initially felt Downey was too old for the role.cite news|author=Mike Collett-White|title=Downey to play Sherlock Holmes as studio eyes series|publisher=Reuters|date=2008-10-01|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE49074020081001?sp=true|accessdate=2008-10-03] However, "I think me and Guy are well-suited to working together. The more I look into the books, the more fantastic it becomes. Holmes is such a weirdo."cite news|title=Law to star in Ritchie's Sherlock|work=BBC News Online|date=2008-10-01|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7646463.stm|accessdate=2008-10-03] Downey's wife told him "that when you read the description of the guy – quirky and kind of nuts – it could be a description of me." Downey intends to focus more on Holmes' patriotic side and his bohemianism, and felt that his work on "Chaplin" has prepared him for an English accent.cite news|author=Mark Brown and Ben Child|title=Ritchie and Downey Jr launch new, 'authentic' Sherlock Holmes|work=guardian.co.uk|date=2008-10-02|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/oct/02/robertdowneyjr|accessdate=2008-10-03] Ritchie feels his accent is "flawless". Both Downey and Ritchie are martial arts enthusiasts, and have improvised much of the "baritsu" introduced in the 1901 story "The Adventure of the Empty House". [cite news|author=Matt Mueller|title=Robert Downey Jr.'s Bad-Ass Sherlock Holmes|work=Premiere|url=http://www.premiere.com/features/4694/robert-downey-jrs-bad-ass-sherlock-holmes.html?cid=246|accessdate=2008-10-04]

*Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, Holmes' ally, a surgeon and a war veteran. Law is not portraying the bumbling fool that actor Nigel Bruce popularised in the 1930s–40s films.cite news|author=Glen Ferris|title=Sherlock Holmes Casting Confirmed|work=Empire Online|date=2008-10-01|url=http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?nid=23355|accessdate=2008-10-03] Law previously appeared in the Granada Television series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", in an episode based on "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place".
*Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, a "femme fatale" from New Jersey who once outwitted Holmes, leaving him slightly lovestruck.
*Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood, a villain.
*Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan. Watson wishes to settle down with her, causing a conflict with Holmes.
*Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade. [cite news|author=Simon Reynolds|title=Marsan joins 'Sherlock Holmes' cast|work=Digital Spy|date=2008-09-29|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a131421/marsan-joins-sherlock-holmes-cast.html|accessdate=2008-10-04]

Production

In March 2007, Warner Bros. announced they would produce a film adaptation of Lionel Wigram's (unpublished) "Sherlock Holmes" comic book. Wigram, a film producer, wrote the comic in place of a spec script. [cite news|author=Borys Kit|title=Rachel McAdams joins 'Sherlock Holmes'|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=2008-09-25|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i7d59466b16c8ffd1173fce47449ed3a5|accessdate=2008-10-04] Neil Marshall was set to direct. Warner Bros. sought to reinvent Holmes in the same way "Batman Begins" revived that franchise, focusing on aspects of the character generally ignored in previous films (such as his bare-knuckle boxing and fencing skills). Arthur Conan Doyle's estate had some involvement in sorting out legal issues, although the stories are in the public domain in the United States. [cite news | author=Pamela McClintock | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961256.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title=Warner Bros. gets a clue | work=Variety | date=2007-03-15 | accessdate= 2008-10-03] Warner are also interested in beginning a series. The story, including its villain, are an amalgam of Holmes stories.cite news|author=Matt Mueller|title=New 'Sherlock Holmes' Details from London!|work=Premiere|url=http://www.premiere.com/features/4757/new-sherlock-holmes-details-from-london.html|accessdate=2008-10-03]

Guy Ritchie signed on to direct in June 2008. [cite news|author=Orlando Parfitt|title=Lionel Wigram|title=Elementary, my dear Ritchie|work=IGN|date=2008-10-03|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/879/879046p1.html|accessdate=2008-10-03] When a child at boarding school, Ritchie and other pupils listened to the Holmes stories through dormitory loudspeakers. "Holmes used to talk me to sleep every night when I was seven years old," he said. [cite news|title=Guy's Take On London's Gritty Underworld|work=CBS News|date=2008-10-08|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/08/earlyshow/leisure/boxoffice/main4509887.shtml|accessdate=2008-10-08] Therefore, his image of Holmes differed from the films. He wanted to make his film more "authentic" to Doyle, explaining, "There's quite a lot of intense action sequences in the stories, [and] sometimes that hasn't been reflected in the movies." Holmes' "brilliance will into the action", and the film will show that his "intellect was as much of a curse as it was a blessing".cite news|author=Susan Wloszczyna|title=Sherlock Holmes? Ritchie's on the case|work=USA Today|date=2008-08-01|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/2008-08-21-coming-attractions_N.htm|accessdate=2008-10-04] It will be a "very contemporary film as far as the tone and texture", because it has been "a relatively long time since there's been a film version that people embraced".cite news|author=Anita Singh|title=Jude Law to star in Sherlock Holmes remake|work=The Independent|date=2008-09-19|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2989033/Jude-Law-to-star-in-Sherlock-Holmes-remake.html|accessdate=2008-10-04] Filming began in October 2008.cite news|title=Sherlock Starts Shooting|work=IGN|date=2008-10-01|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/915/915342p1.html|accessdate=2008-10-03] There will be three months of shooting in London, including locations such as Freemasons' Hall and St Paul's Cathedral. It will also film in Liverpool.

References

External links

*amg movie|id=1:392042|title=Sherlock Holmes
*imdb title|id=0988045|title=Sherlock Holmes