These live-action Disney remakes/re-imaginings just keep on coming. According to THR Tim Burton is in talks with Warner Bros. to direct a live-action Pinocchio movie, and the director has his eye on Robert Downey Jr. to star.

No deals have been made, but if things happen Downey Jr. would play Geppetto, the woodcarver who creates the puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. Warner Bros. wants things to work out quickly as there are a few Pinocchio projects in development, with the main competition being Pinocchio prequel The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto which is set-up at 20th Century Fox and has Shawn Levy (Real Steel) attached to direct.

Here’s some details on the story from THR:

In the version being developed at Warner Bros., Geppetto embarks on a quest to reunite with his missing marionette. The well-regarded script is by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Dan Jinks (American Beauty) is producing.

Neither Burton nor Downey has a deal with Warners, but sources say Burton is keen to direct the film and has begun talks with the studio, so it’s just a question of whether Pinocchio will be his next movie. The Alice in Wonderland director also is eyeing an adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children at Fox, among other projects.

The site mentions Warner Bros. may have to find another director if Burton can’t make it his next project, so a Burton/Downey Jr. collaboration may not even happen at all. Downey Jr. is a busy man nowadays so he may not be able to fit this Pinocchio movie in amongst all the Iron Man/Avengers sequels and a potential Sherlock Holmes 3.

Would you see a Tim Burton-directed live-action Pinocchio movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as Geppetto?

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Earlier this month a German trailer for The Avengers hit the web and gave us some new snippets of footage. Now a Russian trailer has been released which is a mix of both the German and US trailers, but contains more shots Loki, the villain of the film once again played by Tom Hiddleston.

Watch below:

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, will star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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Born April 4th 1965, Robert John Downey Jr. is without a doubt one of the most popular actors right now. Very few have had comebacks as spectacular as his and even fewer were offered the chance to call themselves Charlie Chaplin, Tony Stark, a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude, or Sherlock Holmes. Actually scratch that, no other actors can claim such a feat.

With the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Robert Downey Jr. comes back to the big screen so I figured why not take a look at his past movies in order of their box office popularity in North America over the years. Me and myself pondered a good 2-3 minutes whether I should use unadjusted or adjusted for inflation numbers. The former won so here are the top 10 Robert Downey Jr. movies of all time, adjusted for inflation.

10. The Shaggy Dog (2006) $74.2 million ($61.1 million unadjusted) – I really tried to get this film out of the top 10 but there was no way to do so. You know how even the best actors have that movie they try not to associate themselves with? Well Robert Downey Jr. has a few of those and this is one. As I look back The Shaggy Dog might not be as bad as some other children movies today but that’s not saying much. If you have an 8-year-old that loves dogs, they should like this movie.

9. Gothika (2003) $78.7 million ($59.7M) – A forgettable supernatural horror that stars Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz alongside Robert Downey Jr.. It’s not a bad movie but unless you’re a fan of the actors, director (Mathieu Kassovitz), or genre, I can’t recommend Gothika.

8. Natural Born Killers (1994) $95.7 million ($50.2M) – In this Oliver Stone thriller Robert Downey Jr. plays a selfish TV journalist with absolutely no morals. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis lead as husband and wife serial killers Mickey Knox and Mallory Knox. Natural Born Killers is a brutal film that deserves your attention.

7. U.S. Marshals (1998) $97 million ($57.1M) – I don’t think I ever saw this one so I should probably add it to my queue (not Netflix). Anyway, besides Robert Downey Jr. this film also stars Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes. Ok, now I definitely have to see it.

6. Due Date (2010) $99.9 million ($100.5M) – What happens when you take The Hangover director Todd Phillips and make a road trip comedy with Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis? Well, it was supposed to be one of the funniest movies of the year. What we got instead was an R-rated version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a funnier and better movie with a lot more heart. So I say watch that movie and then catch Due Date sometime later when you’re really bored.

5. Tropic Thunder (2008) $122.5 million ($110.5M) – This movie is definitely not for everyone but for those that can appreciate its share stupidity, Tropic Thunder is an instant classic that makes fun of Hollywood like few flicks dare. Arguably one of the most quotable comedies of the last decade, Tropic Thunder features an impressive cast lead by director/actor Ben Stiller. Robert Downey Jr. plays Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus playing a black sergeant named Lincoln Osiris. This part actually got Downey Jr. his second Oscar nomination (first was for Chaplin). Also extremely memorable in his smaller role is an almost unrecognizable Tom Cruise.

4. Back to School (1986) $195.7 million ($91.2M) – I vaguely remember this movie mostly thanks to the late Rodney Dangerfield. Like many before, this is your typical 80′s comedy and if I’m not mistaking, Robert Downey Jr. plays a college student here. If you happen to catch this, look forward to that.

3. Sherlock Holmes (2009) $213.8 million ($209M) – Besides the accent, there’s really nothing to complain about Robert Downey Jr.’s take on the popular Arthur Conan Doyle character. British director Guy Ritchie creates a decent adaptation here with his unique style making for a fun if flawed movie. Jude Law plays an equally great Dr. Watson to Downey’s Sherlock Holmes. Actually the bromance between the two characters is the best part of this film.

2. Iron Man 2 (2010) $312.8 million ($312.4M) – The sequel to the extremely satisfying 2008 original, Iron Man 2 builds on that movie but not necessarily in better ways. A lot of the charm is lost here and what we get instead is a good sequel to a spectacular movie that follows below.

1. Iron Man (2008) $352.9 million ($318.4M) – This is the role Robert Downey Jr. was born to play and director Jon Favreau knows it, using that to the fullest extent. Iron Man is the perfect summer blockbuster and one of the best superhero movies of all time. In a year when The Dark Knight got the most accolades, Iron Man offered the most entertainment, at least that’s my opinion.

At the end I have to mention a very special movie that didn’t make this top 10, Chaplin, the 1992 biopic. Based on the troubled and controversial life of actor Charlie Chaplin, this film deserves your time if only to see Robert Downey Jr. in probably his best role yet. Before playing Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. was the man that became Charlie Chaplin for a movie 19 years ago.

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The German arm of Marvel has released a new trailer for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. It’s similar to the teaser trailer we got earlier this year, but contains new footage of Black Widow and Bruce Banner meeting and a few new action shots. Those who don’t speak German probably won’t be able to understand it, but it’s still worth a watch.

From De.Marvel (via CBM):

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, will star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and will be released May 4th, 2012.

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Thanks to a more compelling villain, better pacing, and more action, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a big improvement over the first film in this series. With more serious end of the year fare taking over the box office for the remainder of the year, the latest adventure of the world’s most famous detective provides a solid mystery, great banter, and the same loveable characters that made the first film in this series so entertaining.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson is one of the most fascinating elements in this franchise. It’s not breaking new ground or anything – Holmes takes issue with Watson’s new bride-to-be, realizing it could be the end of their adventures together – but this subplot is so well-handled that it feels fresh. Much of the conflict goes unspoken between the two friends, each coming to grips with the inevitability that one day; their partnership will come to an end. This kind of communication could be interpreted as homoeroticism by some, but I choose to read it just as two friends who have worked together through countless adventures and have a detailed understanding of the other’s methods. Holmes legitimately cares for Watson far more than he lets on, as revealed in his first meeting with Moriarty in which he asks for Watson and his new bride to be excluded from their deadly game of wits. Watson cares as well, evidenced in the story he writes about his friend. It’s a Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday dynamic, and one that is rarely explored as interestingly on screen.

Noomi Rapace, who brought an intense physicality and commitment to the role of Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, falls flat here, essentially playing the Penelope Cruz role in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. For the most part, her character Sim is an inactive observer, serving no other purpose than to lead our main characters to the MacGuffin (her brother, an anarchist who is the final piece in Moriarty’s puzzle). Rachel McAdams reprises her role from the first film, but she’s not nearly as involved this time around. It’s a shame; Irene Adler is a far more compelling character than Rapace’s Sim. As the femme fatale in the first film, Irene was just clever enough to provide problems for Holmes, and seeing him flustered and distracted by her was a welcome obstacle on the way to accomplishing his larger goals. Much of the first film hints at Irene’s relationship with Moriarty, and as an audience, we wonder how she became involved with him and what role she plays in his grand plans. I was hoping we’d get even more of this type of interaction, but…let’s just say that doesn’t quite happen in A Game of Shadows.

In the first movie, we never saw Moriarty’s face because the filmmakers weren’t sure who would play him in the sequel (Brad Pitt was rumored at one point, due to his previous working relationship with Guy Ritchie). Here, Jared Harris from “Mad Men” steps out of the shadows and plays a terrific Moriarty, the perfect antithesis of Holmes and a truly worthy adversary. While Lord Blackwood’s satanic magic was spooky in its own right, I never got the feeling that Holmes was stumped by him. The same cannot be said here, as Moriarty puts Holmes’ back against the wall at every turn. Harris as Moriarty is the best part of this film; he does a great job making the audience believe he’s actually smarter than Holmes, which gives the hero an underdog status that we haven’t seen from him yet. The filmmakers know that if it was too easy for Holmes, the audience would lose interest, so bringing on his arch nemesis this early in the game is a wise move.

The pacing is great; with Ritchie and his writers doling out action sequences or intellectual reveals every few minutes to keep us entertained along the way. There’s even a bit of subversion of expectations as Holmes goes into his patented slow motion fight mode and is interrupted by Rapace’s character hurling a knife into Holmes’ opponent. The setup without the payoff works as a comedic moment, a more involved rehashing of Spielberg’s iconic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indiana Jones, exasperated, pulls out his gun and simply shoots a swordsman. There are big action set pieces that work well, too – a train sequence in which an attempt is made on Watson’s life, and an excellent woods escape that uses speed ramping that should make Zack Snyder stop what he’s doing and come take a look.

Prolific composer Hans Zimmer also returns, continuing his storied career with another solid score. His work here sounds like the jangly theme song for “Dexter” (especially in the gypsy-heavy sequences) blended with his score for Rob Marshall’s Pirates 4. I found it odd how much Zimmer uses those gypsy-inspired sections throughout the film even though the corresponding characters are so bland on screen. This isn’t close to Zimmer’s best work – not even his best work this year, since that honor belongs to Rango – but for a big studio sequel, it gets the job done.

With an increase in humor, a better mystery, and a more intricate villain, A Game of Shadows improves on the first film in nearly every way. It’s fun to watch Downey and Law build these characters and banter with each other, and even more fun to watch the character of Sherlock Holmes face an opponent who is his intellectual equal (or who may be even better than he is). Looking to the future, my only concern is with the ending; while the first film ended with a clear direction for a sequel, I can’t help but wonder where the series can go from here. That’s the problem with bringing in a story’s most famous villain in the second movie, an issue Christopher Nolan faces as he wraps up his Batman trilogy. We’ll see how both of those series handle that pressure in the coming months and years; we don’t have much longer to wait for The Dark Knight Rises, and it’ll probably take a couple of years before we see another Sherlock Holmes because of Downey’s commitments to Marvel (Iron Man 3, an Avengers sequel, etc). But even if we have to wait a few years, I’m still looking forward to seeing more adventures of Holmes and Watson on the big screen. Until next time…

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Warner Bros. has released the second official trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and it’s more action-packed than the first.

With the shock of seeing Robert Downey Jr. in drag out of the way our attention can return to the many slow-mo shots and explosions, along with the return of Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler and more of Professor Moriarty. Still no glimpse of Stephen Fry though.

Watch the new trailer below:

In A Game of Shadows Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes’s older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy called Sim (Noomi Rapace).

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will be released December 16, 2011.

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Warner Bros. have released the first official trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.

As with most sequels it’s more of the same, just with bigger action and the comedy is turned up a notch (Sherlock Holmes appears in drag). The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo actress Noomi Rapace looks set to be a great addition to the sequel, although i’m disappointed with the lack of Stephen Fry.

Watch below:

If the trailer music sounds familiar it’s because the marketing department have used the same music they used in the trailer for the first film. I suppose there’s no need to try out new stuff if the music already works.

In A Game of Shadows Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes’s older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy called Sim (Noomi Rapace).

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The first trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows is expected to hit any day now, and in preparation USA Today posted our first official look at Jared Harris as villain Professor Moriarty. Warner Bros. have also released plot details for the sequel.

Here’s the full synopsis:

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.

Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him.

The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returns to direct “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The sequel also reunites producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman serves as executive producer, with Steve Clark-Hall co-producing.

Jared Harris (TV’s “Mad Men,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) joins the cast as the notorious Professor Moriarty. Also joining the cast, in her first English-speaking role, is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who gained international attention in the Swedish film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Stephen Fry (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) plays Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother.

Additional cast members returning from the first film include Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade; Kelly Reilly as Watson’s bride, Mary Morstan; and Geraldine James as Holmes’s long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Wigram Productions, a Guy Ritchie Film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”

The film will be distributed worldwide beginning December 16, 2011, by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

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According to Alberta Film Ratings a trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has recently been approved and runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds.

So far there has been no confirmation as to when it will be released, but as it’s a Warner Bros. movie there’s a good chance it will be attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 which comes out on July 15th.

In A Game of Shadows Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes’s older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy called Sim (Noomi Rapace).

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Don Cheadle said earlier this year that James Rhodes/War Machine would not be appearing in The Avengers, however the actor is set to reprise his role in Iron Man 3 and Cheadle recently revealed filming may begin in February 2012.

From Collider:

Q: Are there any future Marvel movies that you might be appearing in?

DC: Well the Iron Man 3 is coming back. We’ll probably do that again in February and there’s talk of a War Machine spinoff, which I guess, unless I get recast, I would probably do.

Q: Will you be in The Avengers?

DC: Not this one that they’re shooting right now. Thank god!

Q: Was that ever in the works?

DC: Me being in The Avengers? I have a contract to be in The Avengers but I’m glad they haven’t exercised that option yet. I need some down time.

Shane Black, who directed Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and was behind the scripts for Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout is directing the third film, and earlier this year he said Iron Man 3 will be more like a Tom Clancy-thriller, with Iron Man fighting real world villains, and will not feature any other heroes from the Marvel Universe.

Marvel and Disney have set a May 3, 2013 release date so shooting in February will give them a whole 16 months to make the film. Jon Favreau only had a year between the first day of filming and Iron Man 2‘s release, so Black has plenty of time to make a better film.

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