Sherlock Holmes Has there been a more inspired creative idea since Michelangelo wondered if he should try painting the ceiling?

You have Robert Downey Jr., one of the most enjoyable and talented actors of all time, playing the most famous detective of all time; Jude Law as Sherlock’s sidekick, Dr. Watson; and the entire scrumptious package is in the hip and capable hands of Guy Ritchie. It could be the biggest geekgasm in 2009.

And apparently all you have to do to get a part in the flick is look distinguished and be in the right place at the right time. Acting scouts spotted 56-year old Raymond Emanuel leaving a theater, where he’d taken shelter from the cold. Emanuel had been homeless for the past seven months prior to his appearance as a high-ranked politician in Ritchie’s Holmes. Emanuel doesn’t have any lines, but that hasn’t stopped him from hiring an agent. One day, Emanuel hopes to have enough clout to openly tantrum and give lengthy speeches about “his process.”

Source: UK's Daily Mail Sherlock Holmes is set for release (tentatively) November 30th, 2009

Lara Croft and the Werewolves

If you didn’t already know it, Rhona Mitra has taken over for Kate Beckinsale in the prequel to the uber cool Underworld franchise. Could this be disastrous? Surely—but it also has potential. Mitra has served as a model for the toughest chick in gaming history, Lady Lara Croft, and she was all steely-eyed competence in the action packed, gore-fest Doomsday, so don’t you dare dismiss her out of hand.

And don’t dismay: according to reports, Kate Beckinsale does appear as the endlessly tough and sophisticated vampire Selene at the beginning and the end of the film—albeit in scenes recycled from the original Underworld. Is it a sign that the franchise is confident enough to take a break from the accepted formula, or do the tealeaves spell doom? The predictions tend toward the latter theory, but we can always hope.

Source: Beyond Hollywood Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is set for release January 23, 2009.