The odd couple: Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr.

I love reading Variety as much as the next guy, but sometimes the venerable trade paper is so willfully clueless about ignoring the real story at the heart of its latest dispatch that you wonder if its reporters--all in all, a pretty smart bunch--are forced to pull their punches for fear of scaring off the advertisers. A case in point: Today's Variety reports that Robert Downey Jr., perhaps Hollywood's hottest actor of the moment after starring in the "Iron Man" mega-hit, has announced that his first post-"Iron Man" gig will be playing the lead in "Sherlock Holmes," a new drama directed by Guy Ritchie.

Yes, that Guy Ritchie, the guy whose pop diva spouse, Madonna, makes a spectacle of herself everywhere she goes, starred in his biggest flop, the awful "Swept Away, and is now rumored to be fooling around with Yankees All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez. So why would the hottest actor in town want to make a movie with a director whose career has been in a huge tailspin? His last film, "Revolver," was such a dud that it grossed $75,000 in a courtesy U.S. release. In fact, Ritchie hasn't had a hit since "Snatch," a film released nearly eight years ago.

Variety is silent on this strange turn of events. But let's connect the dots, shall we? Ritchie has a movie in the can at Warners, "Rocknrolla," a gangster thriller due in October that stars "300's" Gerard Butler and Jeremy Piven. People I know who've seen it say it's actually pretty good--so perhaps Ritchie has some renewed heat. But one detail seems to have eluded Variety. Guess who produced the new film? Susan Downey, who is Robert Downey Jr.'s wife and--equally important--an exec VP for Joel Silver, Warners' top action producer. And guess who is producing "Sherlock Holmes"? Wow--it's Joel Silver and Susan Downey. 

Isn't it amazing how everywhere you turn in Hollywood, there's a funny coincidence staring you right in the face?

And now, something you only get to do to Madonna in a Guy Ritchie movie:

Photo of Madonna and Guy Ritchie by Christophe Karaba / EPA

Comments

[Joe Bob]

Maybe you should read the Hollywood reporter. They covered the same story on the front page and mention his wife's connection to the new Sherlock Holmes film.

[Patricia]

It worries me intensely that Generation Blog is so brutal and abusive. Why in GOD'S NAME would you even imagine that your readers would be eager to physically abuse Madonna? This is so ugly it really sickens me.

[John Blowitz]

I am an admirer of Patrick Goldstein's The Big Picture.

This is the first time I've ever "blogged" so I'm not quite sure how this differs from an email to the author, but here goes:

As a former studio marketing guy who also ran his own Beverly Hills marketing company, I'm still familiar with a few of the players. One is former client Bob Shaye. I think Goldstein accurately described one of the finest examples of the industry's historic filmmakers.

I only take exception to the opinion about Shaye's last few years at New Line. The urge to direct a film for many resembles the pull of the bottle to an alcoholic. "The Last Mimzy" is a perfect example of Shaye's "addiction" and misdirection from his former laser-sharp attention to business.

You should have mentioned it. Otherwise, thanks for your many fine observations.

[Chris Grove]

You "wonder" if the trades such as Variety and Hollywood Reporter pull their punches for fear of angering advertisers?

Really?

That's a little like Captain Renault's "shock" there was gambling at Rick's.

In 1993, for example, Peter Bart famously apologized to Paramount Pictures when they threatened to pull all the studio's advertising from the paper because they (Paramount execs) objected to a negative film review of "Patriot Games" in Variety. (The execs hilariously accused reviewer Joseph McBride of having a "pro-Irish" bias.)

Also, the New York Times pointed out five years ago that Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter took in an estimated $42 million in annual revenues from those "For Your Consideration" ads running up to the Oscars (representing the majority of their annual revenue). So the trades have a huge incentive to "pull their punches." That might be good for business but it hardly makes for vigorous, independent journalism.