Jacqui Ainsley

Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the '' Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.

Ritchie left school at age 15 and worked entry-level jobs in the film industry before going on to direct television commercials. In 1995, he directed a short film, '' The Hard Case'', followed by the crime comedy ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998), his feature-length directorial debut. He gained recognition with his second film, '' Snatch'' (2000), which found critical and commercial success. Following ''Snatch'', Ritchie directed '' Swept Away'' (2002), a critically panned box-office bomb starring Madonna, to whom Ritchie was married between 2000 and 2008. He went on to direct '' Revolver'' (2005) and ''RocknRolla'' (2008), which were less successful and received mixed reviews. In 2009 and 2011, he directed two box-office hits, '' Sherlock Holmes'' and its sequel, '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', respectively. The former was nominated for Academy Awards in Best Original Score and Best Art Direction.

His other directed motion pictures are ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' (2015), which is a remake of a 1960s spy series, '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'' (2017) and the live-action adaptation of Disney's ''Aladdin'' (2019). ''Aladdin'' earned more than $1 billion worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in 2019, and the 34th highest-grossing film of all-time during its theatrical run. In 2020, he returned to crime comedy with '' The Gentlemen'' (2019), which was mostly well received and a commercial success. In 2021, he directed Jason Statham in the action film ''Wrath of Man''.

Life and career

1968–1997: Early life and career beginnings

Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the second of two children of Amber (' Parkinson) and Captain John Vivian Ritchie (b. 1928), former Seaforth Highlanders serviceman and advertising executive. He has an older sister, Tabitha, and a half-brother, Kevin, who was born to Amber Parkinson and put up for adoption.

Both of Ritchie's parents remarried. His father's second marriage was to Shireen Ritchie, Baroness Ritchie of Brompton, a former model and later Conservative politician and life peer. Between 1973 and 1980, Ritchie's mother was married to Sir Michael Leighton, 11th Baronet of Loton Park. As a divorcée, she is styled as Amber, Lady Leighton.

Ritchie is dyslexic, and attended Windlesham House School in West Sussex and Stanbridge Earls School in Hampshire. He was expelled from school at aged 15. He has claimed that drug use was the reason for expulsion, although Ritchie's father said he was "cutting class and entertaining a girl in his room".Morton, Andrew, "Madonna", London: Macmillan, 2002; page 304.

1998–2002: Breakthrough

After Ritchie's first project on a short film, '' The Hard Case'' (1995), in 1998, Ritchie met Matthew Vaughn, nephew of Peter Morton, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe chain. Vaughn had been working in Los Angeles and expressed interest in producing Ritchie's directorial debut, ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998). It took 15 months to secure financial backing. Trudie Styler served as an executive producer—she said "I've always liked bad-boy movies".

The production of crime comedy heist ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' was completed in about eight months. Starring Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher, the film exposed them to worldwide audiences, and launched the acting career of former footballer Vinnie Jones. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 August 1998 to critical and commercial success, with Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' praising Ritchie's "brash, ebullient direction" and "punchy little flourishes that load this English gangster film". The feature earned $28.1 million at the worldwide box office. At the 1999 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' was nominated for three awards: Outstanding British Film, Best Editing and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Vaughn. The film won a BAFTA for Film of the Year. In response to the film's success, Ritchie created a spin-off television series called '' Lock, Stock...''. in 2000.

Ritchie's next film was '' Snatch'' (2000), another crime-comedy about a group of criminals searching for a stolen diamond. Starring an ensemble cast including Benicio del Toro, Dennis Farina, Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Šerbedžija and Jason Statham. Similar to ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', the film depicted events from different characters' perspectives; a narrative device which he would use in later films. ''Snatch'' was released on 23 August 2000 to a commercial success at the box office, grossing more than $83 million worldwide. Mick LaSalle, writing for ''San Francisco Chronicle'', was impressed with Ritchie's directing and "sequences that discharge with energy", but felt the writing could have been better. Film critic Roger Ebert describes Ritchie as a "zany, high-energy director" but felt the film's plot "doesn't build and it doesn't arrive anywhere".

In 2001, Ritchie directed a music video for "What It Feels Like for a Girl", a song performed by Madonna, to whom Ritchie was married at the time. In the video, she commits criminal and violent acts towards men; music channels MTV and VH1 banned the video from their rotation, opting to play it only once on the release date. Ritchie directed a short film starring Madonna and Clive Owen, titled ''Star'' for season one of '' The Hire'', a 2001 online series to promote BMW automobiles. Ritchie's next film, starring Madonna and Adriano Giannini, was '' Swept Away'' (2002), a remake of Lina Wertmüller's 1974 Italian film of the same name. It is a romantic comedy about a wealthy socialite who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with a Communist sailor. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with an average rating of 5% on film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Almar Haflidason of the BBC
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