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SINGAPORE: His remarkable debut film "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" branded him the cocky wunderkind of Brit Flick.
His follow-up "Snatch" proceeded to prove that his films were indeed bold, stylish and clever send-ups of British crime culture. He was more than a one-hit wonder - he had two hits. He had proven himself. Then he married the Queen of Pop and got "Swept Away" by it all.
Guy Ritchie has certainly been put through the film wringer but his latest trip into London’s underworld with "RocknRolla", which opened in Singapore on Thursday, sees him reminding the world that he’s much more than just Mr Madonna.
Not necessarily groundbreaking or refreshing, "RocknRolla" - starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton and Tom Wilkinson - is still vintage Ritchie and has the industry buzzing that he might be back to his old form. Back with a bang or suffering a serious case of deja vu?
Maybe these revealing answers from the 40-year-old father to three kids, taken from interviews held at the Toronto Film festival this year, can help you decide.
Getting to know Ritchie – again
What is a 'RocknRolla'? Is the name based on someone specific?
It’s not really based on anyone specific. I suppose I just became aware of the phrase. If someone said someone’s a RocknRolla, it seems to inspire a certain picture, and I suppose that picture is someone who lives life very large and is also very volatile. But it’s usually about someone who’s creative and has a large desire for life. The trouble is, there are consequences to that desire and often they end up putting their finger in the socket.
I think that makes fertile ground for a narrative. What we’re trying to do in the movie is integrate many of what I deem to be contemporary interesting characters. The ‘RocknRolla’ just happens to be one of those characters.
Is it hard to keep on top of developing street slang?
I don’t know, but slang seems to evolve at breakneck speed. I’m not sure if we’re a great illustration of that but we try in our old, fuddy-duddy ways to keep up with what’s happening ‘on the street’.
You described them as interesting characters but, in many cases, these are people that we wouldn’t necessarily want to meet. Is that the attraction for you?
I suppose as long as film and stories are being told, we like stories about bad guys. I don’t think I’m unique in that aspect. I’m drawn to the dark side because, again, it’s an interesting world for stories.
I think we’re just interested in the dichotomy of the human condition in that respect.
We like bad guys. If you take "The Dark Knight", everyone liked the Joker. We’re drawn to the bad guy.
Do you see "RocknRolla" as a date movie?
It seems to play much better to the ladies than I thought it would. I think the girls like the boys.
I had read that you’ve already written the second script after "RocknRolla" and I was wondering, what do you have in store for these characters?
You’ll have to keep wondering about that, I’m afraid. No 2 was inspired because we had so many stories.
Actually, even as I’m sitting here waffling on about this, I suddenly realised how exciting that world is, how many characters are in that world and how exciting, I suppose, any major capital city, but particularly London at this moment in time, is.
There were just so many stories that we put in No 1 that Joel (Silver, the film’s producer) thought it would be better to put some of them in No 2. And it was Joel’s idea to come up with the ‘to be continued’ thing.
How do you come to terms with people pre-judging your films?
I think if you’re explicit about the fact that this is ‘a Guy Ritchie film’, I don’t have a problem with that becoming a brand, so to speak.
In fact, there are many positive aspects to that. There’s the ‘Guy Ritchie film’ as a brand, and the ‘Guy Ritchie film’ that’s not a brand where I play a secondary role and am essentially there to help manifest a different identity than what I’m known as.
So, I think what you do — and this is my theory - is essentially keep my name out of the equation when it comes to promoting something that isn’t in this genre.
What other genres do you fancy tackling?
I’d like to do a Second World War movie. I like the comic world. I like kids’ movies. The list goes on. I’d like to do a load of disparate genres from what I’ve experienced so far.
Is it true you’re working on a film for kids?
I did write a film for kids. I just haven’t had the chance to manifest it. As soon as I get the opportunity, I will. - TODAY/sh
Transcript courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures.
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