Variety has officially confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. will be portraying the ubiquitous Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master work.  This has been rumored since the news first broke that Ritchie was bringing this sure fire franchise to the big screen.

Personally, I always thought that Ralph Fiennes would make a stellar Holmes, but after the disaster that was The Avengers, Ralph is probably staying away from headlining any reboot.  Now the speculation of who will fill the roles of Dr. Watson and Professor Moriarty can begin. 

Dr. Watson = Paul Giamatti

Professor Moriarty = Tom Wilkinson

Generic English Rose = Sienna Miller

I am remiss to mention the competing Will Ferrell/Sacha Baron Cohen Holmes project because I don’t think it will ever see the light of day.  Cohen commits and then backs out of many a project (recall the short lived Abbie Hoffman role in Speilberg’s Chicago 7 flick). 

Finally, is Guy Ritchie the right guy to direct this thing?  I would love to see an elegant, grand picture that captures Holmes properly (and actually shows some detective work) instead of a gritty crime thriller through the nasty streets of London with the obligatory runaway horse drawn carriage scene. 

The Boston Phoenix just did a nifty piece on the best band from your state.  Very well researched.  I couldn’t help but click on my home state of Minnesota.  

Best Band:  The Replacements (too easy of a pick IMO)

Best Solo:  Prince/Bob Dylan (Huge cop out, c’mon…go ahead and pick one!  Prince is the correct answer)

Best New Band:  Doomtree

Wow!  Doomtree?  Really?  Did not see that coming.  Not really my cup of tea.  Then again, I’m not hardcore like the Doomtree Bunch.  Side note: The Doomtree Gang also solve mysteries in their spare time.  The only mystery that has eluded them is The Curious Case of the Missing Melody. 

Jokes.  They’re fantastic.  Excellent choice.

There’s been a disturbing trend recently over at Games Radar:  it seems that they are turning into a porn site very slowly.  Let’s take a look at today’s key stories-

1.  Sexy Sells!

2.  20 Most Overlooked Game Babes!

3.  The Top 7 Shower Scenes

4.  The Net’z Sexiest Cosplay

I understand that IGN and GameSpot are the behemoths, but having your own tone doesn’t mean you have to cater to the Hentai Crowd exclusively…there’s plenty of sites that do that.

Of course Google was going to be a major player in the Social Media Arena.  Why did this news come as such a shock though?

Check it out:

www.lively.com

Universal Pictures is said to be in negotiations with Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon for a fourth Bourne Adventure.  Sure, it’s great news.  Everyone loves the Bourne films.  Good action, good writing, Damon’s devil may care attitude, Greengrass’ shaky camera work a la NYPD Blue circa 1993…what’s not to love?

Now, let’s picture a much different world.  A world where The Bourne Identity was merely a well crafted, one-off action film. It almost happened.  Summer 2002:  There was a much bigger action franchise being tracked, one that involved resurrecting a dormant action hero by the name of Jack Ryan.  Remember?  Much like speculators are driving the cost of crude oil sky high right now; the head honchos at Paramount had a similar agenda in 2002.  The commodity wasn’t oil though.  No, it was something much more dangerous…Affleck. 

Right now this probably seems like a ludicrous notion:  Build a tentpole action franchise around Ben Affleck.  But, that was the plan.  The outcome was The Sum of All Fears.  Seems like a no brainer:

1. Affleck
2. Clancy
3. Freeman
4. ??
5. Profits

Unfortunately, step 4 tripped them up.  It was a boring, non-sensical foray into mediocraty.  Bourne however, ripped through the summer like a thunderbolt, and the rest is history.  So, two years from now, when the lights go down and you are enjoying Damon go hand-to-hand against Generic Thug C in Costa Rica; be thankful that it isn’t another Affleck/Jack Ryan adventure about stopping nuclear weapons. 

Final Note:   My futures, however, are solidly placed on Director Affleck.  I’m starting the crusade right now to raise his value and equity.  Gone Baby, Gone was electric. 

I think it’s about time.  The old logo is so boring.  And what’s with the star in the middle of Wal and Mart?  Lame.  I hope they leverage some serious brand equity and really identify with me as a consumer.  If I don’t feel safe and dry under that implied excellence known as the corporate umbrella… I’m going to Target. 

According to the latest NPD report, PS3 outsold the venerable Xbox360 in May.  It only took two years and an incredibly unsuccessful product launch to get there.  Can it maintain the momentum?  No. 

With all of the insistent chatter, my money is on Diablo III.  There will be many disappointed fanboys if this is not the case.  Either way, the folks over at Blizzard are doing an amazing job of building the hype on this one. 

http://www.blizzard.com/us/splash.html

Count on it.  Announcement before/during Comic-Con…

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/billy-crystal-has-exited-icm/