DB7

May 14, 2007
hollywoodreporter.com
Guy Ritchie is returning to the genre in which he made his name, coming aboard to helm a caper movie titled "RocknRolla." It is being produced by Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment.

"RocknRolla," which Ritchie wrote, is in the same vein as the filmmaker's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch" movies: ensemble British gangsters flicks.

The movie would be modestly budgeted and be made under Silver's Dark Castle label, which finances genre-oriented pictures that will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures. "RocknRolla" would be the second Dark Castle pic, following "Whiteout," which is shooting with Kate Beckinsale starring.

Casting for "RocknRolla" is under way, with the filmmakers eyeing a summer shoot.

Silver and Ritchie are producing the movie, as are Steve Clark Hall and Susan Downey. Dark Castle's Steve Richards and Navid McIlhargey are exec producing. Lauren Meek is associate producing.

DB7

Butler starts shooting Ritchie's latest gangster flick

Staff and agencies
Tuesday June 26, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson and rapper Ludacris have all joined the cast of Guy Ritchie's new film RocknRolla, which began shooting in London earlier this month.

The crime caper, which sees Butler as a street-smart mobster who walks a thin line between legality and the criminal world, promises a return to the style of Ritchie's early films, such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The story begins when a Russian mafioso sets up a crooked land deal in London and millions of pounds are thrown up for grabs, sparking the interests of various figures from the capital's underworld.

Wilkinson will play a top gangster, part of London's old guard, who is quickly losing ground to foreign mobsters, while Newton will provide Butler's love interest as an accountant with ties to the underworld. Ludacris will take the role of an American musician trying to break into the London music scene.

DB7

Not a great departure from his early efforts judging by this:

DB7

Guy Ritchie - husband of Madonna - is back

Last Updated: 12:01am BST 21/08/2008

After the failure of his last two movies, the director - and husband of Madonna - has returned to familiar ground with his new film. He talks to Will Lawrence

The film is RocknRolla, which features the likes of Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson and Jeremy Piven, all of whom prove dubious sorts who manoeuvre their way through the seedy underbelly of the London crime world, a realm populated by billionaire Russian mobsters, old-school London villains, crooked accountants, corrupt councillors and a brace of sadistic East European assassins. It is good fun.

It is also Ritchie's first feature film for three years. Given the critical mauling suffered by his last two, Swept Away (2002) and Revolver (2005), is he nervous? "Not at all," he smiles.

"This will be much more popular than Revolver. It's simpler and it's fun. After Revolver, I'm not sure that everything needs to be an analysis of the deeper motivation as to why we get up in the morning.

"The majority of times I go to the cinema, I want a bit of everything. I want to be challenged intellectually, and then again I don't want to be too challenged intellectually."

In person, Ritchie is composed of similar traits. He is, by turns, effusive then thoughtful, witty then serious. We're perched at the very back of his pub, which he bought earlier this year, Ritchie looking crisp in his tailored suit despite a smattering of stubble.

Lord Henry has not yet returned to answer the riddle of the frothy coffee. As we sup our drinks, Ritchie talks about his wife, although, not surprisingly, he will not discuss tabloid rumours which suggest that his seven-year marriage is set to implode.

"I believe my wife to be very creative so of course I'm interested in how she thinks," he says, "and there seems to be no end to the desire to be creative; I find that invigorating and interesting."

And do they still gel intellectually? "You know, you have conversations, some deep, some shallow," he smiles. "That's the same in everybody's relationship."

Whether his relationship will last, only time will tell, but rumours suggest that the couple are trying to remain buoyant for the sake of their children - adopted son David (two), Madonna's daughter Lourdes (11), and their own son Rocco (seven) - and so as not to detract from their forthcoming creative ventures, in Ritchie's case, RocknRolla, in Madonna's her world tour.

Whatever the truth, Ritchie needs a box office hit, and the early response among critics suggests that RocknRolla is a return to form.

It is certainly a return to familiar territory. Ritchie's two early crime romps, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000), remain his most popular films, so it is no surprise to find him visiting old ground. This time, however, his directing style is simpler - gone are the fancy shots and quick-cut editing.

"I feel that sort of film has had its day," he says. "It felt fresh 10 years ago but I'm not sure how fresh it feels now. I love the crime movie, though, because it's like the western, in that it's a genre against which you can tell any kind of story.

Originally, I was interested in making a commentary on how London has changed in the last 20 years and you just need to pick a genre in order to make that commentary. This could be a modern western."

As we talk, he defends his two critical failures. Of his seven cinematic offspring, he regards Revolver most fondly, and believes that too many people wanted both that film and Madonna-vehicle Swept Away to fail.

"The week Revolver came out, there were far worse films at the cinema, but all the crap got heaped on to me," he smiles. "And again Swept Away came out and clearly wasn't as bad as some of the films that came out that week!

"Some stuff I can tell is vitriol. There's a hidden agenda. People aren't being honest with themselves when they launch into some critical vitriol because I fancy I know what I'm doing behind a camera - I've been doing it for a long time and I know a lot about it - hence I probably know more than most critics.

But my feeling is that there was a conspiracy of reasons why people decided that that film was unpopular.

"I can see the chin maybe got stuck out a little further than it needed to," he concedes, "but we made Swept Away as a low-profile movie, for $5 million." He shrugs. "But, hey, I don't think there's anything you can do that's low profile with my missus."

Ritchie's next project will see him direct the mercurial Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes, in a story drawn from a forthcoming comic written by Lionel Wigram, a former Warner Bros executive who is set to produce the film. Ritchie also harbours hopes of shooting a children's movie. It's a dream he has fostered for some time; he and Madonna once wrote one together.

"Honestly, I can't remember its bloody name," he laughs, "it keeps changing. But I will certainly end up making a kids' movie at some point.

If you have kids, you end up watching a lot of kids' movies and often you find some of their movies are infinitely more sophisticated than adult ones. What springs to mind? The Incredibles. I thought it was smart filmmaking, and Ratatouille was bloody good.

"They are films for everybody, and that's what good films should be. We are all philosophers. It's impossible to live and not be a philosopher. Life is philosophy." He smiles. "It's just that some people have thought about some things more than others."

Personally, I'm now thinking about Ritchie's coffee problem. Maybe it's because Lord Henry is approaching. Does he have the answer to the mystery of the missing lather?

"It's down to how you grind the coffee; you need good technique to get a finer grind," Henry says politely. Ritchie is satisfied. He pauses briefly: "Thank you, your Lordship."

getcloser

getcloser was in attendence at last nights premiere for Guy Ritchie's new gangster thriller RocknRolla. We caught up with Guy, Joel Silver, Idris Elba and Mark Strong, to chat about making the film, life in London, and asked who they'd most like to get closer to.....

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