Cohen, Ferrell Feel Right at Holmes With Apatow
Here’s an elementary bit of casting.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell are set to star as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the latest addition to the Judd Apatow canon, a comedy inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of the brilliant snuff-sniffing sleuth and his reliable partner in crime-solving.
Tropic Thunder scribe Etan Cohen is penning the script for Columbia Pictures. Apatow and manager Jimmy Miller will produce.
“Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson makes us laugh,” studio copresident Matt Tolmach told Variety. “Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet, and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious.”
The funnymen last acted togetherand memorably made out inTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which earned them an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss.
Ferrell, who has very few sports left to skewer on the big screen, will return to theaters July 25 in the Apatow-produced Step Brothers, while Cohen is currently shooting Bruno, featuring the flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter character he cooked up for British television. Presuming no one goes on strike, Bruno is slated for a May 15, 2009 release.
Bidding War Brews for Borat’s Bruno
First comes Borat, then comes Bruno, then comes the big bucks.
Sacha Baron Cohen has reportedly sparked a studio frenzy with the announcement that he will follow up his highly anticipated big-screen portrayal of the Jew-hating, incest-friendly, homophobic Borat with the equally brash, though slightly more palatable fashion reporter Bruno.
Here's hoping Austria has a better sense of humor than Kazakhstan.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Universal Pictures has leaped to the forefront of the bidding war over Cohen's next flick, offering more than $42 million for the worldwide distribution rights. The studio's bid reportedly puts it ahead of DreamWorks, Sony, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., all of which are vying for the comedy.
Apparently, timing really is everything.
The studios are making their wagers based solely on the presumption that Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, out Nov. 3, will be such a success that moviegoers will be clamoring for more from the English comedian.
Which, if the film's early buzz is any indication, they will be.
As of now, Bruno exists in theory only: There's no script, no director and no start date, though the Reporter says that Cohen is eyeing a summer 2007 production.
Like Borat, and Cohen's other comic alter ego, Ali G, Bruno was originally conceived on Da Ali G Show and will be the series' final character to make the jump to the big screen.
Though Bruno is much more likely to toast his new deal with a sip from an appletini than a chug of fermented horse's urine.
For those who don't know, Bruno is a leather-clad, faux-hawked and otherwise over-the-top gay fashionista who is endlessly on assignment and who fancies himself the "voice of Austrian youth TV."
One of his most popular segments from Da Ali G Show featured Bruno interviewing a Southern Baptist pastor who specializes in converting homosexuals. Bruno peppers the "gay-saver" with questions about what is acceptable manly behavior (approved with a hearty "ach-ya") and what is not (dismissed with a condescending "nish-nish").
Showering with men, eating brunch, watching Will & Grace and just generally "being fabulous," all are deemed "nish-nish" by the pastor.
Some of Bruno's other memorable reports include an investigation into wrestling in Daytona Beach and his fashion industry-skewering trend reports from New York and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Borat producer Jay Roach will produce Bruno.