2008: Sherlock Holmes appears to be headed for the big screen in not one, but two, different film projects scheduled for release sometime in 2009-2010, with the rumor of a new television outing also on the table.
July 2008: Warner Bros. has Guy Ritchie (“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells”) directing Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man”) as Sherlock Holmes in an action oriented film based on an unreleased comic book by Lionel Wigram. Mark Strong is rumoured to appear in the film, but no confirmed casting, beyond Downey as Holmes, is available at this time. Shooting is scheduled to begin in October 2008.
July 2008: Columbia Pictures have also announced their own Sherlock Holmes project, this one a comedy that is said to star Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”) as Sherlock Holmes and Will Ferrell (“Talladega Nights”) as Watson. Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") is scripting, and Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller will be producing this as of yet unnamed film.
August 23, 2008: UK website Broadcast Now indicated that Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has teamed up with The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss for a contemporary update of Sherlock Holmes for the BBC. It is reported that a pilot is expected to be delivered to the BBC in 2009. Moffat has previously updated Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde in the six-part series Jekyll, which was broadcast on BBC1 in 2007.
August 2008: David Ian Davies’ One Voice Recordings is now offering, in addition to Davies wonderful audio recordings of the Canon, a unique Sherlock Holmes pen featuring a lovely sculpture of artist Tom Richmond’s delightful caricature of Sherlock Holmes. This molded plastic pen is a delightful work of art and a truly unique oddball Sherlockian collectible. For details and ordering info visit the One Voice Recordings web site by clicking here.
October 2008: Calgary’s own Charles Prepolec and Jeff Campbell have edited a new anthology of fantasy themed Sherlock Holmes pastiche for Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. “Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes” features 11 new stories by Barbara Hambly, Christopher Sequeira, Barbara Roden, M.J. Elliott, Martin Powell, Chico Kidd & Rick Kennett, Peter Calamai, J.R. Campbell, Chris Roberson, Bob Madison and Kim Newman, with a foreword by David Stuart Davies and intro by Charles Prepolec. Cover by Timothy Lantz with 12 b&w illustrations by Phil Cornell. The book is set to launch during World Fantasy Convention Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, 2008 in Calgary, AB, Canada. For further info on Gaslight Grimoire visit www.gaslightgrimoire.com or pre-order a copy online at Amazon.com
April 2009: Calgary’s Vertigo Mystery Theatre is mounting a production of Steven Dietz’s 2007 Edgar Award Winning play “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” as part of their 2008-2009 season. Performances will run from April 25 – May 17, 2009. For information this play and Vertigo Mystery Theatre click here to visit Vertigo’s web site.
Older Items: The highly irreverent and bizarre four issue comic book series “Holmes” by Omaha Perez has been collected and released as a graphic novel with great new cover art. Likely to offend as many as it entertains, the graphic novel collects the four issues of the “Haydn’s Head” storyline into one handy volume. The book is available from Amazon or you can order directly from the artist at his website by clicking here. Also available directly from the artist is a postcard set featuring the 4 issue cover art. |
