Baron Cohen/Ferrell in Sherlock Holmes film; Apatow produces

[GOBBluth]

That's right, folks
Will Ferrell is playing Sacha Baron Cohen's sidekick

Cohen, Ferrell to star in Sherlock film
Apatow, Miller to produce Columbia comedy
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Columbia Pictures has set an untitled comedy that will star Sacha Baron Cohen as master detective Sherlock Holmes and Will Ferrell as Watson, his crime-solving partner.

Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") is writing the script, and Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller will produce.

The comedy is inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales. Though the thrust is different, the Baron Cohen-Ferrell pairing is the second major studio project featuring the supersleuth, as Warner Bros. is prepping the Anthony Peckham-scripted drama "Sherlock Holmes" with director Guy Ritchie.

The Col project reteams Baron Cohen and Ferrell, who played rival racecar drivers in Columbia's 2006 hit comedy "Talladega Nights," which Apatow and Miller also produced.

"Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson makes us laugh," said Col co-prexy Matt Tolmach. "Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet, and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious."

Baron Cohen, who most recently starred in "Sweeney Todd," has been filming "Bruno," based on his character creation, for Media Rights Capital, with Universal Pictures distributing domestically.

Ferrell, who just wrapped "Land of the Lost" for Universal, will next be seen starring for Col in "Step Brothers." That film reteams him with "Talladega Nights" co-star John C. Reilly, director Adam McKay and producers Apatow and Miller.

[WillFerrellFan]

Ok this will be the comedy of the decade

[Becky]

I love Will. That said, not digging this idea yet.

[jonwest]

i am interested in this. i want to see how it turns out

[its the pleats]

nuff said.

[django_minx]

Haha. Marvellous! I wonder if Will be tackling an English accent...

[Chee-eeese]

i am interested in this. i want to see how it turns out

Ditto.

[GOBBluth]

Now that I think about it, since Apatow is involved, it would not surprise me to see him cast Russell Brand in this. Maybe as the villain

[drew-is-cool]

Russel Brand would complete an absolutely amazing trio....

I dunno, as cool as this sounds, this has high-sucktitude possibilities, if you ask me. I hope it doesn't end up like Walk Hard, tone-wise. I hope it's more like Get Smart -- a legit try, but with an updated comedic edge. Not a silly spoof and weak satire.

Still though, I'm excited to see it develop. Could be big!

[jonwest]

yeah i hope they make it seem legit. i liked walk hard, but could definatly see why it didn't do well.

[WillFerrellFan]

yeah i hope they make it seem legit. i liked walk hard, but could definatly see why it didn't do well.

I still dont see why, all other spoof movies seem to do well, and that one ha da great soundtrack with it

[Mario_B]

Big, big news! I was at a concert almost all day yesterday and didn't read about this until this morning in the Metro UK newspaper (when was the last time you opened a newspaper and read breaking news that you didn't know about already?). According to Metro, "Sacha Baron Cohen's sleuth will play a dim-witted second fiddle to Will Ferrell's genius Watson."

Now, that, right there, is what sells the idea for me. The idea that Watson is actually the crime-solving genius is brilliant. And it'll be nice to see Will play someone smarter than himself for once.

[django_minx]

Big, big news! I was at a concert almost all day yesterday and didn't read about this until this morning in the Metro UK newspaper

Make the most of the weather mate! It's going to piss down for the rest of the week!

The Guardian website has an article about this (the Sherlock Holmes film, not the weather..)

http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2288537,00.html

Sacha Baron Cohen to play Sherlock Holmes


Just as Sherlock Holmes had his Moriarty, so Guy Ritchie has his Sacha Baron Cohen. Barely a month after the announcement that the British director is to shoot an "all action" Holmes adventure tale comes news of a rival project spearheaded by the Borat creator. Columbia Pictures' as yet untitled production will star Baron Cohen as the great detective and Will Ferrell as Dr Watson, his endlessly admiring assistant. Variety reports that the film is being scripted by Tropic Thunder author Etan Cohen and will be co-produced by Judd Apatow.

While Ritchie insists that his version will "take advantage of [Holmes's] skills as a boxer and swordsman", the Columbia project looks set to take a more comedic stance. "Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson made us laugh," studio spokesman Matt Tolmach told Variety. "Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious." Baron Cohen and Ferrell first collaborated on the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights.

Created by the Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle in the 1880s, the enigmatic, mercurial Holmes has long been a favourite character for film-makers. He has been portrayed on screen by an eclectic roll-call of actors that runs the gamut from Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee through to Roger Moore and Peter Lawford. The classic Basil Rathbone pictures updated his adventures from Victorian London to the dark days of world war two, while Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes re-branded him as a plucky boy investigator. However, history suggests that Conan Doyle's adventures are resistant to a purely comic approach. The 1988 comedy, Without a Clue - starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley - died a swift death at the box office.

No offence to Sirs Michael & Ben but Will & Sacha are alot funnier!

[Mario_B]

No offence to Sirs Michael & Ben but Will & Sacha are alot funnier!

I was just going to say the same. I think it was probably more due to the fact that that Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley are resistant to comedy than anything else.

[GOBBluth]

Last week on the Tribute site, I noted how there are 2 Sherlock Holmes movies in production and "Clearly, our money is on the version with two of the world's biggest comedy stars."

Yeah, um, so about that last bet...

Downey Jr. set for 'Sherlock Holmes'
'Iron Man' actor cast in WB, Guy Ritchie drama
By MICHAEL FLEMING

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.

Um... yeah... maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to claim victory for the comedy because... well, now the Downey version sounds pretty badass.