ShoWest
ShoWest: First Look at Sherlock Holmes
Source: Edward Douglas
March 31, 2009
 Sometimes, ShoWest does pull out a few unexpected surprises, and while it was always known that Warner Bros. President and COO Alan Horn would be giving the welcome remarks at the State of the Industry Update, he used his time to also give a preview of some of Warner Bros.' upcoming movies, including showing the first footage of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.
An even bigger surprise was the actual presence of Downey, who took a break from preparing for Iron Man 2 to introduce the footage to the theater owners in the audience. After coming out to applause and being hugged by Horn, Downey Jr. joked that Horn hugs him every time he sees him now though that it wasn't always that way.
Before showing the footage, he told the audience how he came to the project, how after the opening weekend of Iron Man, he was told he probably could do anything he wanted to do "for the next hour and a half," so he went to Joel Silver, who gave Downey his first job 25 years ago (Weird Science), and gave him some ideas what he might be interested in doing. He learned about Guy Ritchie's plans to update Sherlock Holmes. Ritchie thought that Downey was too old for the role, but Downey convinced him and then also convinced him that Rachel McAdams wasn't too young to play his love interest. (He made a joke about using "Benjamin Button"-like CG to minimize their age difference.) Downey claimed that part of the reason Ritchie's movie will be different from the previous incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character is that besides going back to the original source material, the other projects never had the money to do it correctly.
The footage, a pseudo teaser-trailer, that followed had never been shown before, although we did glimpse a few scenes we saw being filmed and that were shown to ComingSoon.net during our set visit last year, including Holmes' bare-knuckle fight and the early fight with Blackwood's henchmen. Otherwise, there was a lot of information going by very fast, as is always the case, so we tried to take notes and remember what we could.
It opens with eerie music and shadowy scenes of Victorian London and we see a shot of Downey's Holmes running down a spiral staircase and another of him smoking his trademark pipe as a voice-over tells Holmes that he needs to "widen his gaze" because he's underestimating the "gravity of coming events." The voiceover tells Holmes that at the dawn of the new day, the world as he knows it would end, to which Holmes responds playfully, "Well, there isn't any time to waste then" and he jumps out the window.
We get a brief glimpse of Eddie Marsan's Inspector LeStrade saying something about someone seeing Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong's villain in the film) rising from the grave, and Holmes is asked to find and stop him, which Holmes claims will "take every ounce of my not inconsiderable experience." To that, LeStrade comes back with a slam about it maybe being a hobby to Holmes, but that he does it for a living. (This confirms what Marsan told us last year about their working relationship not being a particularly friendly one.)
Holmes says that he needs to have someone with him that he can thoroughly trust, at which point we see him greeting Jude Law's Dr. Watson and we get a bit of the rapport between them, as the two of them squabble about the things roommates normally argue over, Law complaining about Holmes playing the violin late at night and his "lack of hygiene."
After that, we get a bit of the interaction between Holmes and Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler, as they scuffle, her pulling out an ornament from which sharp blades jut out to threaten Holmes. That interaction ends with him left chained to a bed. Watson finds him in that state and asks, "Holmes, does your depravity know no bounds?" to which Holmes replies, "No." (Later we see Adler in a very sexy outfit, as McAdams' credit is shown.)
Another scene shows Holmes facing a much larger opponent, who looked like Nathan Jones, the giant from the opening of Troy, atop what looked like a clock tower. Jones is wielding an enormous sledgehammer while Holmes is carrying just a standard everyday hammer, which he promptly throws at the giant hoping that would do some damage. (It doesn't, and the giant attacks.) This scene got a huge laugh from the audience.
There was a quick-cut montage of more action scenes before a scene where a maid walks into a room and screams, dropping the tray she was carrying. We cut to Downey chained to a bed naked except for a pillow covering his genitals, and he asks her to remain calm and that under the pillow is the "key to his release" and the shocked woman runs out screaming.
It was a very funny and exciting first look at what will surely be Guy Ritchie's most high profile film to date, and it got a great reaction from the exhibitors in attendance. It'll be interesting to see where and when this teaser trailer will surface, as it definitely did its job in showing what the movie is all about.
Sherlock Holmes opens on Christmas Day. Look for more from ComingSoon.net's visit to the set shortly.
Related Articles From Other SitesPosted by: Grondo on March 31, 2009 at 14:41:59
I really, really hope this is good. The casting is very promising, and the idea of a new big-screen Holmes has me very excited. I hope they don't mess it up by trying too hard to make the material "hip".
Posted by: A DARK KNIGHT on March 31, 2009 at 14:42:06
we need a teaser trailer
Posted by: james on March 31, 2009 at 14:43:41
I almost feel asleep reading this. Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes, how boring.
Sherlock holmes versus Dracula or something like that and maybe i'm interested
Posted by: english gentleman on March 31, 2009 at 14:49:52
Sounds great. These films really benefit from a mix of UK/USA to brng out the best in both sides of the pond. Should be fast funny and clever to stand out and sounds like thats the way they're filming it.
Posted by: ClarkPaco on March 31, 2009 at 15:05:44
Yeah, Sherlock Holmes with Downey Jr, made by Guy Richie Sounds boring. Not to mention set in sex crazed, orgy filled Victorian London... sounds real boring... clown!
Posted by: Smurf on March 31, 2009 at 15:18:23
Jude law, guy richie, think i'll wash my dog instead that weekend
Posted by: M Pollux Ork on March 31, 2009 at 15:21:33
As Lex Luthor would say (in Returns):
WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!
Holmes is not supposed to be funny, nor sexy.
Posted by: Mr Motivator on March 31, 2009 at 15:23:55
sherlock holmes vs amazon warrior women. hell i'd finance
Posted by: Sans serif on March 31, 2009 at 15:24:00
Sounds like a buddy movie more than the action-mystery one could expect for Holmes.
Posted by: Sans serif on March 31, 2009 at 15:31:59
Sounds like a buddy movie more than the action-mystery one could expect for Holmes.
Posted by: Micronaut on March 31, 2009 at 15:34:21
Is Megan Fox in it? I only watch Megan Fox movies.
Posted by: PabloC. on March 31, 2009 at 15:35:08
OK, "james" is ignorant.
Anyway, I haven't finished reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but from what I've read, this Ritchie/Downey Holmes sounds nothing like the real Sherlock. Tied up naked in a bed? Arguing with Watson over "roommate stuff"? Never would've happened in the book. It's a bummer, because the real Sherlock would have been something unique and awesome. I'll still give the film a chance, but I'm 99% sure I won't accept it as Sherlock.
Posted by: Angel of Death on March 31, 2009 at 15:54:58
hmm...sounds like they're going for a more Pirates of the Caribbean tone. It worked for that film, may work for this? I'm looking forward to a trailer.
On a side note, why does every fanboy on this bloody board have to be a narrow-minded purist?
Posted by: joe asylo on March 31, 2009 at 16:41:05
wait for the right word, wait for it:
Rad.
Posted by: namir on March 31, 2009 at 17:15:12
beautiuful movie
Posted by: Rusty on March 31, 2009 at 17:39:00
Sounds like Downey Jr's "Capt. Jack Sparrow" to me.
Posted by: Xyle on March 31, 2009 at 18:56:22
" I almost feel asleep reading this. Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes, how boring.
Sherlock holmes versus Dracula or something like that and maybe i'm interested " - James
Wow... yeah Holmes vs Dracula, I can pretty much guess you and many like you are the type who enjoyed many **** films.
I can tell your sense of culturalism is lost to you
Posted by: Moriarty on March 31, 2009 at 19:42:34
The teaser trailer will debut with Terminator Salvation...
Posted by: SoulPatch on March 31, 2009 at 20:13:44
It's weird, I love Downey Jr., I love Guy Ritchie, but I am not excited about this at all. Here's to hoping they make it great because a Sherlock Holmes movie is not something I have been clammoring for.
Posted by: Stormi on March 31, 2009 at 20:23:34
as long as they don't dumb it up, it could be good.
Posted by: PabloC. on March 31, 2009 at 23:51:34
@Angel of Death. I have a feeling your comment was aimed at me. I'm definitely not a "narrow-minded purist". I said I'd still give the film a chance, but it's just annoying that they're making a movie called "Sherlock Holmes" that isn't anything like Sherlock Holmes. I'm not asking for Watchmen-style scene-for-scene purism, but people would be outraged if someone made a movie about a guy named Kal-El and changed Superman's costume, powers and personality. So yeah, I'm just saying, if you're going to make a Sherlock Holmes movie, make a Sherlock Holmes movie. And if it's only similar but not the same thing, just change the name like "Disturbia" did and don't profit off of something you don't have love and respect for. It sounds easy enough, but they're obviously trying to profit off of the familiarity of the name.
Posted by: APD on April 1, 2009 at 04:46:26
Stop having a go at "purists" I'm one and I don't have a good feeling about this film. After what is the point in dramatising a literary character only to change it beyond all recognition?
Posted by: Fungelstein on April 1, 2009 at 18:33:58
Actually, James. There's a radio drama with Sherlock Holmes versus Dracula. It was pretty nicely done too.
I can't wait to see this movie, though the Holmes fan in me is cringing a little bit at some of the scenes that were described. Also, from my understanding of the book, Watson actually enjoyed Holmes' violin playing.
I do sorta understand them doing humorous scenes like those because from the past movies I saw with Downey, he does a nice job with them.
There's nothing wrong with being a "purists"; to me it just doesn't make any sense to deviate from a character when he or she has already been developed. It's like taking Winnie the Pooh and changing his character to a be some sort of punk bear. Or maybe changing Goku's character from being an orphaned child living in the wild to a young teenager living in the suburbs.
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