By Jove, I've got it...

Alright, this was reported a week or so back, but I thought it might still be interesting to my blog readers. The original CSI is getting a revamp. Brace yourselves for an all-new cinematic take on the ultimate gentleman sleuth, Sherlock Holmes!


From: Variety

Warner Bros. gets a clue
'Sherlock Holmes' to investigate the bigscreen

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

It's elementary, my dear Watson -- reimagine Sherlock Holmes as an action-adventure sleuth and you may uncover a new film franchise.

Warner Bros. Pictures is teaming with producer Lionel Wigram to adapt Wigram's upcoming comicbook "Sherlock Holmes" for the bigscreen. Neil Marshall ("The Descent") will helm, while tyro scribe Michael Johnson penned the script.

"Sherlock" is expected to be Marshall's next directing project, as the studio is eager to push ahead. Helmer is currently lensing "Doomsday" for Rogue Pictures.
Exact storyline is being kept under wraps, but creative execs at Warners say they are looking for the "Sherlock" team to reinvent the sleuth and his loyal No. 2 Dr. Watson in much the same edgy way that Christopher Nolan has reimagined Batman for Warners.

Wigram, a former Warners creative exec who oversaw the first three "Harry Potter" pics and who now has a first-look deal with the studio, intends to play up parts of the detective's character that have been largely overlooked when adapting Arthur Conan Doyle's books for other media.

Wigram's vision has Holmes losing some of his Victorian stuffiness and being more adventuresome, including playing up his skills as a bare-knuckle boxer and expert swordsman as he goes about solving crimes.

Marshall, Johnson and Wigram are all Brits, like Holmes, who has likely been portrayed on film and TV more than any other fictional character. By some accounts, more than 75 actors have played the pipe-puffing, practical-minded London detective in 200 films and TV shows since 1900.

Studio and Wigram are working closely with the Conan Doyle estate. The Holmes character is in the public domain in the U.S. and most other countries, but there were still rights issues for Warners to work out. Those issues have been closed.
Wigram, who worked on the "Harry Potter" pics while at Warners, developed his "Sherlock Holmes" comicbook as a selling tool for the movie. Comicbook will likely be published to coincide with the release.


My first thought about this was 'Uh-oh'. All I could think about were the disastrous reimaginings of Van Helsing and King Arthur (and apparently there's also a Robin Hood remake in the works).

I admit I have something of an emotional investment in the character of Sherlock Holmes. When I was little I read the books, I watched the TV series, I thoroughly enjoyed the Young Sherlock Holmes movie. Hell, for a time I wanted to be a pipe-smoking detective.

This said, after watching The Descent, I do have faith in British director Marshall. And if you could cast someone who could pull off the "dashing, cerebral hero" requirement, like Hugh Jackman or Christian Bale (Alright, I'm still in Prestige mode), I think that would be a big help. The alternative would be to pull together 2 actors who work well together for the all-important Holmes/Watson combo... like the Russell Crowe and Hugh Bettany pairing, for example.

Either way, I'm definitely going to watch the development of this project.

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