THE ART OF SEQUELS

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Interview with screenwriters Kieran and Michele Mulroney

Screenwriters
MICHELE & KIERAN MULRONEY  are a husband and wife writing team who have worked on a wide range of projects.  They recently completed an original screenplay, entitled Divide, for director Ron Howard, and they are currently in development on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for director Tim Burton.  In addition, they are adapting the young adult novel Matched for the screen.  The Mulroneys recently made their directorial debut on the 2009 independent feature Paper Man. The duo also wrote the movie, which was developed at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters and Directors Lab.  They also served as executive producers on the indie feature Wild Tigers I Have Known, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Michele Mulroney grew up in the UK, where she attended the University of London and the Central School of Speech and Drama.  She also wrote, directed and acted in numerous theatre productions.  In 2007, she wrote the movie musical Sunny & Share Love You, which screened at the Outfest Film Festival, winning the award for Best Soundtrack. Hailing from Virginia, Kieran is a graduate of Columbia University.  His screenwriting career was preceded by 20 years as an actor and voice-over artist, most notably as one of the voices of the E! True Hollywood Story.  He appeared in such films as The Spitfire Grill, Gettysburg and Heart Condition.  He was also seen in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and had guest roles on such series as NCIS, Judging Amy, NYPD Blue, Star Trek: Enterprise, ER and Seinfeld.

Director
GUY RITCHIE directed the smash hit Sherlock Holmes, which opened on Christmas Day 2009 and went on to gross more than $516 million worldwide.  Prior to "Sherlock Holmes," Ritchie wrote, directed and produced the widely praised crime comedy RocknRolla.
He recently partnered with Lionel Wigram to form a new production company, which has a first-look deal with Warner Bros.  He also has several writing and directing projects in development, including the epic The Siege of Malta, as well as The Gamekeeper, based on a Virgin comic book series he created.
Born in London, Ritchie started in the UK film industry in 1993 as a runner on Wardour Street.  He worked his way up the ranks to directing music videos and commercials before writing and directing his first short film, The Hard Case, in 1995. Ritchie made his writing and directing feature film debut with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.  Made on a modest budget of $1 million, the film became one of the UK's biggest box office hits and made its U.S. premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.  The London Film Critics Circle named Ritchie the British Screenwriter of the Year for the feature, which also received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best British Film.  Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels also went on to spawn a series of British gangster flicks and helped launch the Hollywood careers of several British actors, including Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and Jason Flemyng.  Ritchie followed with the 2000 hit Snatch, which he wrote and directed.  Following Snatch, Ritchie co-wrote and directed Swept Away, a remake of the 1974 Italian classic "Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto."  Ritchie continued to explore new challenges with the edgy crime thriller Revolver. In addition to Ritchie's feature film work, he has helmed a number of acclaimed shorts.  He directed Star, a short film featured in Series 1 of the popular BMW series The Hire.  He also collaborated with Nike to create the short Take It to the Next Level, which follows the rise of an up-and-coming Dutch footballer and featured some of the industry's best players.  The project brought Ritchie a Golden Lion at the 2008 Cannes International Advertising Festival.

Point of View
Ideal escapism that offers perfect entertainment: daredevil adventure, spectacular settings, awesome visual design, vibrant characters, laugh-out-loud hilarity, and explosive action. Featuring a sumptous music score by Hans Zimmer, director Guy Richie's dynamic and distinguished style (particularly his slow motion inflictions), and his imaginative visual flair offers captivating viewing. Robert Downey Jr, who reprises his role as the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law  as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson are delicious.Reviewed by Daniel Dercksen. Rating 4/5

The Story                                         
Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now.  There is a new criminal mastermind at large--Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)--and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.
Around the globe, headlines break the news: a scandal takes down an Indian cotton tycoon; a Chinese opium trader dies of an apparent overdose; bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna; the death of an American steel magnate…  No one sees the connective thread between these seemingly random events--no one, that is, except the great Sherlock Holmes, who has discerned a deliberate web of death and destruction.  At its center sits a singularly sinister spider: Moriarty.

Case re-opened                                        Read more abiout Sherlock Holmes
Those two tantalizing words at the close of 2009's "Sherlock Holmes" promised audiences that more adventures lie ahead.  Now "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" fulfills that promise, bringing the legendary detective back to the big screen in a new action-packed mystery that reunites the stars and filmmakers behind that worldwide hit.
Director Guy Ritchie says, "I was very keen to return to Sherlock Holmes' world because the experience of making the first movie was so positive, both personally and creatively.  There were a myriad of story possibilities in revisiting this character because he has so many interesting facets.  His idiosyncrasies almost transcend description, so I wanted the opportunity to explore that more, while giving audiences something they hadn't seen."
Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" had redefined Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic character for a new generation, with Robert Downey Jr. creating his own unique incarnation of the role, alongside Jude Law as Holmes' friend, partner, and occasional foil, Dr. John Watson.
Producer Joel Silver states, "There was a kind of magic that came out of the dynamic between Robert and Jude as Holmes and Watson, and this film gave us a chance to take that up a notch.  In the first movie, we had to give audiences the time to get to know the foibles of the characters.  Coming into this movie, we had already laid the foundation, so we could launch right into the action, which is bigger, funnier and more explosive in every sense of the word."
"First and foremost," Robert Downey Jr. adds, "we wanted to maintain the visceral tone that was part of Guy's original vision, while presenting Holmes with an even more difficult case, one that would challenge his considerable skills."
That challenge arises out of the threat from a redoubtable adversary, one whose name is familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon: Professor James Moriarty.
"We needed a mystery that raises the bar for Holmes, so we pitted him against his most famous foe," notes producer Susan Downey.  "At the end of the last film, Sherlock fleetingly learned of Moriarty from Irene Adler.  In the time elapsed, he has become increasingly obsessed with what Moriarty is up to and has only begun to realize the breadth of his plan."
Producer Lionel Wigram comments, "Moriarty is the greatest criminal mastermind in the world.  He is a genius--albeit a mad genius--but because he is so brilliant, Holmes may have met his match."
Ritchie emphasizes, "Because they are intellectual equals to a degree, there is the sense that this is a game that is stimulating to them both.  In this way, they actually need each other, and that idea is authentic to the books.  Holmes needs Moriarty as much as Moriarty needs Holmes."
To write the screenplay, the producers enlisted husband-and-wife writing team Kieran and Michele Mulroney, with the latter being exceptionally well-versed in the source material.  She offers, "Growing up in England, I remember reading the books and being awed by the weird and wonderful way Holmes' mind worked.  It was a joy to revisit the original stories and still marvel at the inventiveness and intricacies of Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries."
In fact, true Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts will notice that the filmmakers paid homage to the author by incorporating some of Conan Doyle's language in the dialogue.
The screenwriters also felt a responsibility to do justice to the story's villain, as well as its heroes.  "We knew that whatever dire scheme Moriarty had up his sleeve, it had to feel insurmountable," Kieran Mulroney confirms.  "The stakes needed to be proportionate to the professor's appetite for evil, which is obviously huge.  Our goal was to push Holmes and Watson to their limits in pursuit of this man…to test their relationship even more than in the last film."
"I was thrilled that the connection between Holmes and Watson, as we had developed it, was still very much the heart and soul of the story," says Jude Law, who returns in the role of Watson.
Producer Dan Lin, who had worked with the Mulroneys before, observes, "Kieran and Michele's script explores the evolution of Holmes and Watson's relationship after the first movie--with Sherlock ready for the next case, and Watson engaged to Mary and planning to settle down and step away from the life of a private detective.  What does this mean for their future?  And how will the world survive without them, especially with Sherlock's most formidable nemesis, Professor Moriarty, on the loose?"
Apart from Moriarty, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" introduces contemporary film audiences to another character well known to readers of the original stories--Sherlock's older and far more urbane brother, Mycroft Holmes, played by Stephen Fry.  Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler is also back to tempt and torment Sherlock, while a new woman has entered the fray: a Gypsy named Sim, played by Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who could provide the link to the final piece of the puzzle, completing the picture of Moriarty's sinister plot.
As the vastness of Moriarty's conspiracy unfolds, it broadens the scope of the action beyond the confines of London, to France, Germany and on to Switzerland.  Ritchie affirms, "Our narrative enabled us to spread our wings across Europe to expand the topography and tapestry of the story."
Wigram says, "It also allowed us to add a different flavor to the mix that dovetails nicely into what was happening at the end of the 19^th century, politically, economically and especially in terms of industry.  It was the beginning of the modern age, where we see the seeds of the military-industrial complex, with bigger and more powerful weapons and more efficient warfare."
With a changing world on the brink, there is danger afoot.  For someone who knows how to stir the pot, however, there is also tremendous opportunity to grasp untold wealth and power.  Only Sherlock Holmes has deduced that Professor James Moriarty is the one stoking the fire…and it is only a matter of time before everything boils over.

"It is our last adventure, Watson.  I intend to make the most of it."

The titular character created by Robert Downey Jr. in "Sherlock Holmes" had defied convention.  Gone were the once-emblematic deerstalker hat, curved pipe and posh British decorum, replaced by a streetwise, bare-knuckled brawler, whose physical prowess was equal to his superlative mind and preternatural powers of perception.
Ritchie says, "One of the most important things about the first movie was to get away from the somewhat dustier, if you will, impression of the character that I think many people were expecting.  In keeping with Conan Doyle's original creation, we wanted to access the physicality of Holmes while conveying his intelligence and wit, and Robert brought all that and more to the equation.  There were a lot of little nuances going on that added so much to the role.  I find it impossible now to imagine anyone else as Sherlock Holmes."
Downey reciprocates, "I love working with Guy; it's such a collaborative process and he has a terrific sense of humor that really comes into play here.  On this film, there was an element of rediscovering Sherlock Holmes all over again.  We wanted to maintain that sense of fun but with even more gravitas."
"Robert knew how to get inside Sherlock Holmes' head--to make him funny and eccentric and yet absolutely believable as the most renowned detective of all time.  It was fantastic to watch," Silver remarks.
In the time that has elapsed since the end of the first film, Holmes has been bent on a singular mission, triggered by the revelation that, while he had taken down the evil Lord Blackwood, he had somehow missed an even greater threat.  Shrouded in secrecy, Professor Moriarty had been patiently lying in wait to capitalize on Blackwood's handiwork.

Downey reveals, "Months later, we see the aftereffects of Holmes having been consumed with Moriarty, to the point that he's clearly kind of 'nutting up.'  He's focused on him to the exclusion of everything else, including, quite possibly, his own sanity," the actor smiles.
That is the state in which Dr. Watson discovers his old friend when he returns to Baker Street on the eve of his wedding to Mary.  Jude Law notes, "Watson arrives looking forward to the stag party that his best man was supposed to arrange.  Instead, he finds he has reason to be concerned with Holmes' obsessive behavior regarding Professor Moriarty.  I don't think he doubts that Holmes is right, and there's still a bit of the old soldier in Watson who feels a responsibility to see justice done.  But he does suspect it will result in the dilemma he always faces: a secure life with his wife or the thrill of the chase.  He undoubtedly has great times when he's on a case with Holmes and wants to help his friend out of the scrapes he gets himself into, so it's a constant struggle for the poor chap."
Ritchie suggests, "We'd all love to have the genius of Sherlock Holmes, although we're much more likely to empathize with Watson.  Being a doctor, he is an intellectual in his own right, but to a degree, Watson is your every man who is enticed by a life of action and Holmes is his window of opportunity to that life.  It makes for a perfect partnership, and that's the engine that drives these stories."
The connection between Holmes and Watson was reflected in the off-screen friendship between the two actors playing them.  Downey attests, "I feel about Jude the way Sherlock feels about John: I love the guy like a brother.  I couldn't ask for a better partner."
"Developing the interaction between Holmes and Watson was one of the most rewarding parts of the first film, and from the get-go, Robert and I slipped right back into it," Law recalls.  "We benefited this time from the fact that we really knew the characters, having laid the bedrock of their relationship in the first film, so we could trust our instincts and even push it a little further."
Michele Mulroney says that the actors' familiarity with their characters made their input vital.  "Robert and Jude live and breathe these two characters and understand exactly what makes them tick.  There's no getting dialogue past them if they don't think it's spot on.  It was invaluable having them as the gatekeepers of Holmes' and Watson's voices."
"Robert and Jude are extremely talented actors who love what they do, and they are also good mates," adds Ritchie.  "Having those ingredients brought a great energy to the set and made all our jobs much easier."

"This faceless man with whom you find yourself in business
is no ordinary criminal.  He's the Napoleon of crime."

As it turns out, Watson has no option whether or not to rejoin Holmes.  His choice is taken away from him by Moriarty, who targets the good doctor and his beloved Mary as collateral damage in his battle with the detective.
Jared Harris takes on the role of the man he describes as "arguably the first uber-villain in modern literature, which was quite daunting.  He has to operate on a level that justifies Sherlock Holmes' high opinion of him in terms of the magnitude of the threat he represents.  You have to believe he is as smart as Holmes--perhaps smarter--like a grandmaster in chess who is able to think several moves ahead of his opponent.  But the fact is he's a sick sociopath…which made him a lot of fun to play," he laughs.
In casting one of the most malevolent characters ever imagined, the filmmakers had to consider the fact that the world perceived Moriarty as a brilliant but benign professor of mathematics, who was admired rather than feared.  Ritchie explains, "We wanted to stick to the idea that Conan Doyle intended him to be the least likely villain you can imagine.  It was the size of his ambitions that set him apart.  Jared was the right man for the job."
Wigram affirms, "Jared plays Moriarty with a wonderful combination of charm and menace.  He can appear very demure and kind, but there's also a mad glint in his eye, so he conveys the different sides of Moriarty: respected university professor and friend to the rich and powerful, and the diabolical mastermind of a massive criminal enterprise, who sees how industrialization is changing the landscape and is exploiting it to his own ends in a way no one else would fathom.  That's his genius."
"Only Holmes comprehends the scale and complexity of Moriarty's plans," says Ritchie.  "It's up to him to impart that to Watson and, through him, the audience."
Holmes himself might not have discerned Moriarty's scheme until it was too late were it not for Irene Adler, who, it was revealed in "Sherlock Holmes," has been in the professor's employ.  She divulged his identity to Sherlock, ironically warning the detective not to underestimate him even as she placed herself directly between these two powerful adversaries on a collision course.
Susan Downey comments, "Irene is the only woman that's ever bested Holmes, the only one who gets under his skin.  They have a very combustible relationship, of which Moriarty is well aware, and that proves dangerous to them both."
Reprising her role as the calculating femme fatale, Rachel McAdams says, "Irene's relationship with Sherlock can be quite playful--a cat and mouse game of who is going to admit their true feelings first--but there's also drama and intrigue because you never know what she has up her sleeve.  It was fun working with Guy and Robert to find just the right pitch of their love/hate relationship…like a well-choreographed dance."
Acting as a courier for Moriarty, Irene inadvertently provides Sherlock with another clue: a letter to a mysterious Gypsy fortune teller named Sim, who becomes what Downey calls "the lynchpin to unraveling the case."
The role of Sim marks the first English-speaking part for Noomi Rapace, who came to the filmmakers' attention in the 2009 Swedish film "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."  Ritchie confirms, "We were all big fans of hers, and when we met with her, she was already full of ideas for the character.  I loved working with Noomi because she's ballsy and smart and totally committed--all qualities we were looking for in Sim."
Rapace says that the nomadic lifestyle of a Gypsy and the attitudes of the time have combined to make Sim tough.  "She's forever on the move and wherever she goes, she's not treated very well, so she's had to learn to defend herself.  Her people are used to surviving under extreme circumstances and living on the edge, usually in places where they're not welcome.  Sim has seen the darker side of humanity and, in that way, she has something in common with Holmes."
The actress might also have something in common with her character.  "My father was a Flamenco singer from Spain, and I was told he had Gypsy blood in him," she offers.  "I'm not sure if it's really true or not, but I've always had an interest in Gypsy culture and playing Sim gave me a fantastic opportunity to delve into that--the way they live and love and their strong sense of family and loyalty.  Guy gave me a lot of freedom to develop her character, which I appreciated."
"Noomi was incredible…not only a wonderful actress but a lovely person," Silver says.  "She's in most of the movie alongside Robert and Jude and really had to hold her own with them, and she was amazing."
The cryptic letter that drew Sherlock Holmes to Sim was from her brother, Rene.  Years earlier, Sim and Rene had joined a group of anarchists called the Lapin Vert.  When the group became too extreme, Sim and her brother abandoned the cause, but for reasons unknown Rene made his way back and wound up as a pawn in Moriarty's deadly game.  Sim agrees to help Holmes and Watson if they will save her brother.
Holmes first seeks out Sim at a gentlemen's club, where he has brought Watson and his own brother, Mycroft Holmes, under the pretense of throwing Watson's stag party.
Mycroft Holmes, who holds an unspecified but apparently high-level post in the British government, is played by popular British actor and comedian Stephen Fry.  He relates, "Sherlock Holmes was one of my first and most passionate attachments in literature.  I joined the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and was, I believe, its youngest member at the time.  When I got the call about Mycroft, I was thrilled; I couldn't have jumped further, faster or higher.
"The marvelous thing about Sherlock Holmes," Fry continues, "is he has particular qualities that endure as each generation rediscovers him.  When I saw the first 'Sherlock Holmes' that Guy made with Robert and Jude, I thought, 'This is the one for our time.'  It had a mixture of action and humor and everything that exemplifies the best incarnations of the character.  It was a joy to work with them on this film.  Guy is an amazing director--smart as a whip, constantly curious, knows what he wants, and just how to make the atmosphere on the set fun."
"Stephen Fry is referred to in England as a national treasure, and if you spend a little time with him, you understand why," Susan Downey states.  "He is not only an extraordinary actor, he is also one of the brightest, most knowledgeable, and most articulate people I've ever met.  He's a walking encyclopedia.  More often than not, if we had a question, be it about history or Holmes, we'd turn to Stephen because we could always count on his answers to be accurate."
A true aficionado, Fry came to the role of Mycroft with an utter grasp of all his quirks.  "I love the idea that Sherlock Holmes has a brother who is smarter than he, but is completely lazy and disinterested in people.  Mycroft is a total misanthrope.  He co-founded a club, called the Diogenes Club, where no talking is allowed.  When we see him with Sherlock, they immediately fall into trying to outdo each other, and there is poor Watson stuck in the middle of these two super brains having a deduce-a-thon," he laughs.
Dr. Watson's new bride, Mary, is stunned and somewhat horrified to learn there is another Holmes when she is rather unceremoniously deposited into Mycroft's care after Sherlock hijacks her honeymoon.
Reprising the role of Mary Morstan, now Mrs. Watson, is Kelly Reilly, who, Susan Downey calls "wildly talented."  She adds, "We were so pleased that we get to see more of Mary in this film in both action and comedy moments, which gave us an opportunity to showcase the different dimensions of Kelly as an actress and Mary as a character."
Of her character, Reilly remarks, "Mary knows John loves her, but she also knows he's torn between a quiet life with her and a life of adventure with Sherlock Holmes.  And I believe she enjoys his exploits more than she's willing to admit."
The main cast of "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" also includes Paul Anderson as Moriarty's right-hand man, Colonel Sebastian Moran, reputed to be the best sharpshooter in Europe, and Thierry Neuvic as Claude Ravache, the leader of the Lapin Vert, who makes the mistake of allying himself with Moriarty, with tragic consequences.

"My dear fellow, if you could be bothered to see this
through to the end, I shall never again ask you to assist me."

Holmes has already been on Moriarty's trail for some time when he is reunited with Dr. Watson.  In celebration of his last night of bachelorhood, Watson arrives at 221B Baker Street, the exterior of which was constructed at Leavesden Studios.  Watson is expecting the traditional stag party, but he should have known that tradition is not his friend's strong suit.  Instead the door opens upon a literal urban jungle--the living room afforested with plants and trees and inhabited by a menagerie of exotic animals.  Read more

"If we can find him and stop him…it will prevent
the collapse of Western civilization.  No pressure."

Moriarty's grand scheme is intended to have global repercussions, so the mission to stop him eventually leads Holmes and Watson beyond England's borders.  The international scope of the adventure presented both opportunities and challenges to the creative teams, starting with the fact that the movie was filmed almost entirely in the UK. Read more

The art of sequels

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